Snapshots from Korea

Chuseok Jal Boneyseyo!

2008-09-11T17:51:00.002+09:00

Another week is coming to an end here in Korea, so I'm dropping you a note with the news of this week. It's been another good week here, and while it's only Thursday, I definitely feel like it's time for a weekend. Since last week was the first week of the semester, a lot of time and energy were spent on administrative stuff, but the actual class time was quite light. However, it's no longer the first week. There's still a lot of administrative stuff to be done, as students are getting their schedules figured out, but classes are also in full swing.

My upper level classes are all in the beginning of the week, so Monday and Tuesday are a rush to prepare a variety of more challenging materials, and I end my week with my basic conversation classes, which means teaching the same 2-hour lesson 7 times. Each class certainly has its own personality, but it still gets a bit tedious. It's only Thursday, so I have a whole day yet to go, and I can do the lesson from memory. Fortunately, one of my basic English conversation classes has been canceled, and another one might yet be if the only student registered for it can move to another class.

I've learned about a quarter of my students' names. Since many Korean names are gender-neutral, I find that it takes me a lot longer to match names with faces than it ever did in the U.S. I can pronounce Korean names well enough if I can see them written in Korean. Sometimes students think they're helping me by writing their names phonetically in English, but that's actually much more difficult for me to read because there are so many variations in English phonics and transliterations. Korean phonics is much more straight forward. My poor Chinese students, on the other hand, are having their names slaughtered in every class. I'm fortunate that they're all being patient with me.

My biggest news of the week is that I finally have most of my official documents. I'm just waiting my national health insurance card. My passport and Korean registration card arrived from the immigration office yesterday. I was able to get my bank account straightened out with my new information, so I should have no problems being paid this month. To make me feel even more official, I got my university business cards today. They're in English on one side and Korean on the other. It makes me laugh because despite their "officialness," the Korean side lists only my first name in Korean letters. Now that I have my ID card, someone is checking telephone and internet plans for my apartment, which means it'll get done sometime later, probably "right now" at the least convenient time, but it's hard to be picky when other people are taking care of things for me. In the meantime, I have telephone and internet access in my office, and I discovered that I can "borrow" a neighbor's wireless connection at home if I sit on my kitchen floor, which is really the only option since I still don't have much in the way of furniture.

This weekend is Chuseok, a Korean harvest festival similar to Thanksgiving and one of the two biggest holidays in Korea. The day before and the day after Chuseok are also national holidays. Since it's on a Sunday this year, we only end up getting one day off, but I'm still happy to have a 3-day weekend. My Canadian friend and I are going to the islands just off Incheon to do some low-key exploring and hopefully enjoy some nice sunsets over the Yellow Sea, or West Sea as it's known in Korea.

That's all for now. Chuseok jal boneyseyo! (Happy Chuseok!)

One week down

2008-09-05T17:11:00.003+09:00

It's Friday afternoon, and I've finished my last class for the week here at the university. What a week it has been, too. I had 13 two-hour classes on the schedule, but for one of my classes, only 1 student showed up, and no students showed up for another class, so it looks like those two might end up being canceled. I'm adjusting to the new teaching load. It's actually about the same amount of time in the classroom as I had in my previous school, but the schedule is a little more managable because I start (and therefore end) earlier in the day, except on Mondays and Tuesdays. I won't be at all disappointed if a class or two ends up canceled, though. In total, I have about 200 students, most of whom are freshmen. A few of my students have lived overseas and speak English quite well. Others find it more challenging. I'm delighted to have 8 Chinese students in my classes. They are much more reserved than the Korean students. At first I mistook this for a lack of understanding, but it seems it has more to do with culture. I look forward to getting to know all of my students a little better in the coming weeks. However, the task of learning 200 new names, many of which are gender neutral, is a bit overwhelming right now.

My students are very curious about my age, and I'm a little conflicted about what to tell them. I have a decade on my youngest students, so that's not a problem, but the older students are not much younger than I am, especially the men who have already completed their two years of compulsory military service. In a society in which age is so important in determining roles, respect, and relationships, its awkward to have such a position of authority over people who would otherwise be my peers. I try to avoid the subject. When they ask, I answer them truthfully, though I confess that I always tell them my Korean age, which is two years higher than my actual age.

I'm getting to know the other faculty and staff, at least well enough to recognize them and say hello on campus, and I frequently run into students both on and off campus. I'm becoming a somewhat familiar, though still stare-worthy, face, and I've heard from several sources that I am indeed the only foreigner in town. The other foreign English instructor at the university lives in a larger city, but I decided to live within walking distance of the university. There's also a foreign German instructor whom I've seen but haven't met, but he lives in Seoul and is only on campus one day a week.

My apartment is coming along. My bathroom and kitchen are unpacked and ready to go, but everything else is still in boxes since I don't have any furniture. I have no closet space, so yesterday I bought a spring-loaded suspension-rod contraption. After much trial and error (and completely giving up on the installation instructions, which were, of course, in Korean), I finally got the thing set up so that I'm reasonably confident that it won't come crashing down on my head again. Just to be safe, I moved my bed to the other side of the room. My clothes are now hanging, and putting the suitcases away has made me feel a lot more settled. My apartment is still quite empty, but the first weekend in October, I'll get a desk, table, and chairs from another teacher who is leaving. I'm making a list of other things that I need. For now I have a bunch of pillows along the wall. They used to be accent pillows on my couch in my previous apartment. However, the couch belonged to my previous employer, so now I just have pillows. I'm trying to figure out what else I can do to make my place a little less stark and more like home. It's hard to decide what to invest in to make myself comfortable, while knowing that my stay here is temporary and that I can't take things with me when I leave.

I'm still waiting for my Korean registration card to arrive. (They had misplaced my passport the last time I was in the immigration office. However, they assured me that I'd have it back, along with my ID card, by the end of next week.) Until I have my official registration number, I can't make any kind of legal contract. (The real estate office accepted a photocopy of my old card and my thumb prints for the lease on my apartment.) Fortunately my office is less than a 5-minute walk from my apartment, and my key card allows me access to the building anytime, so it's not really so inconvenient to come over here in the meantime.

Now that the initial shock of leaving the US again has worn off, I'm really happy to be back in Korea and getting settled again.

First day of school

2008-09-01T20:52:00.000+09:00

It's 8:30 PM, and I just finished my last class of the day. So far, so good. I think I'm really going to enjoy my English discussion class. Several students in that class have lived in English-speaking countries, so their level is quite high, which makes it a lot easier to relate to them. My non-credit continuing ed. class is another matter entirely. There are a couple strong students, but most are struggling quite a bit. It's going to be a challenge to choose a textbook for that class. My other class today was mostly first-year English majors, with a wide range of maturity levels.

I've discovered that in addition to managing the university's computer system, I need to figure out the computerized photocopiers in Korean as well. I knew how to use the one at my previous school, but these have completely different menus and buttons. If I didn't have quite so much on my plate this week, it would be more of a fun challenge.

New stomping grounds

2008-08-31T23:16:00.004+09:00

I moved into my apartment today, so I'm trying to make myself feel at home. My building is just down the street from the main entrance to the university, less than a 5-minute walk from the foreign language building. The jury is still out on whether or not I like my new place, but in general I'm pretty happy. It is by far the nicest place I saw and my only decent option.

Positives: across the street from the univeristy, new building, low deposit, more space (2 small rooms, bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room--my old apartment was a studio, so this is a big improvement), good natural light, washing machine, air conditioner. Negatives: no bathroom sink (seriously!), no chain on the door (yet), higher rent than I was hoping for but not out of my budget, dorm-style refrigerator with no freezer, far from a downtown area, no hot water (yet), no closets. It's not particularly accessible by public transportation, but the university regularly runs a free bus between the campus and the nearest train station. It's an unimpressive, quiet neighborhood with a very small-town feel (for those of you in Galena, think East Dubuque, without the charm ;))--well, quiet except for the military aircraft that do drills overhead throughout the day--kind of reminds me of the 3 years my family lived on an army airfield when I was a kid.

I do have a spare room in my new apartment, so if you'd like to come visit, I can offer more space and privacy than before, though no furniture yet and no bathroom sink.

I'm fairly certain I'm the only foreigner in town. I get a lot more stares, pointing, nervous giggles than I have in the past. The campus is on a hillside and has a very pretty park, and right now the rice fields in the area are beautiful. I guess the long and the short of it is that it's going to be just fine, though with a few disadvantages. I have no furniture except for my bed, so my task now is to find a few inexpensive things so that it's a little more livable. I just moved in this morning and spent the better part of the day trying to get things as organized as possible without furniture or closets. I'm hoping to get my phone and internet hooked up early this week.

Classes start on Monday. I'm excited and terrified. Overall, I'm glad to be back in Korea. I've had a little time to catch up with friends over meals, and it's so good to see them again since they have become the Korean extension of my family and help to fill the void of being so far away from people I love.

Progress

2008-08-28T08:00:00.004+09:00

It's been an incredibly busy transition back to Korea. Every day this week has been so busy that I pretty much collapse as soon as I get back to B. and S.'s apartment, where I've been staying temporarily while I look for my own place close to the university.

There was a new faculty orientation at the university on Tuesday--2 hours entirely in Korean, followed by a lunch with the dean and other administrators--another 2 hours entirely in Korean. Every couple minutes they'd stop, look at me, and ask "Do you have any questions?" I didn't understand 99% of the orientation. I just smiled, nodded, and figured I'll figure it all out as I go along anyway. I'm finding that I'm expected to be a lot more self-sufficient than I was at my previous school. In fact, I'm expected to do a lot of things that Korean faculty members do at the university, including using the university's computerized student records system, which is, of course, all in Korean.

In addition to the three other new faculty members at the orientation, I've met two of the Korean English professors (both fascinating women whom I'm delighted to be working with), a handful of university administrators, and the other foreign English teacher, with whom I share an office which is pretty much a disaster area. I spent the better part of yesterday trying to get my part of it cleaned up a little.

I found an apartment yesterday. One of my friends helped me look for it, and I'll sign all the papers for it today. The only hitch is that I don't have my Korean registration card yet, and immigration has my passport while they process it, so I'm hoping they'll accept photocopies of my documents. I'll be really happy to move into my own apartment as soon as I can. It was so generous of B. and S. to let me stay here, but it's also really awkward living in someone else's house.

My new apartment is right next to campus in a relatively new building. It has two small rooms, connected by a small kitchen, with an enclosed balcony. It's in a very quiet residential area. The downside is that it's a long walk (across rice fields) or a bus ride (free shuttle from the university) to the nearest subway station and downtown area, but it's really not too far, and I decided I'd rather not try to commute from a busier, more interesting area everyday. From my apartment, the subway station would be an easy downhill bike ride, so I'm thinking about getting a bicycle once I'm a little more settled. It was a little more expensive than I had hoped. I was hoping to find something less than my housing allowance that so I could also apply it to utilities. My rent is exactly my housing allowance, so utilities are coming out of pocket, but this was by far the nicest apartment I saw.

I ended up accepting all of the overtime they've asked me to teach at the university, so I'll be clocking 26 classroom hours each week, which doesn't include preparation and grading. I'm a little bit nervous about it but am also glad for the extra income. I'll teach 8 sections of freshman English conversation, and 1 section each of English conversation (for sophomore+ English majors), advanced English conversation (jr and sr English majors), advanced English discussion (like debate--also for jr and sr English majors), and a non-credit English conversation course through the university's continuing ed. program.

Not so sure

2008-08-25T06:50:00.001+09:00

It's a little strange to be back in Korea. After looking forward to coming back all summer, now that I'm here, I find myself wondering if this is really where I want to be and what I want to be doing. I'm hoping this will wear off as I get over jet lag and get busy at the university. (Being wide awake at 3 AM is not necessarily a good thing for someone who is already prone to serious introspection.)

On the ground

2008-08-23T22:39:00.001+09:00

I made it back to Korea safe and sound. When the plane landed in Seoul, I felt that as much as I was leaving home, I was also returning home. It was more or less an uneventful trip. Y.I. met me at the airport. We dropped my things off at the apartment where I'll be staying temporarily and then went out for dinner. The apartment I'm staying in is a lot of fun--huge by Korean standards (4 bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, big kitchen), and my friends have this great collection of very colorful comteporary art. Tomorrow I'm planning to visit the public baths and then go to the cathedral in the evening. It's good to be back.

I hardly slept on the plane, thanks to the Indian woman sitting next to me who looked like she could have stepped right out of a National Geographic photograph. She smelled like it, too, that is if National Geographic photographers could also capture the smells of their subjects. So that means I'm going on about 26 hours without sleep, so I'm going to call it a night.

On the Road Again

2008-08-19T13:48:00.002+09:00

Or in the air again.

I'm on my way to spend a couple days in California with my dear friend and mentor Karen before journeying back to the Land of the Morning Calm. I'm glad I've had the summer at home, but I'm also glad to be returning to work and life back in Korea.

I have an orientation on August 26th, and classes begin on September 1st. I'm schdeuled to teach eight sections of the same course, but I've also been asked to teach several extra classes: an additional section of the course I'm already teaching, a non-credit course that's open to the community, and two upper-level courses for English majors. It's going to mean a lot of teaching if I accept all of the extra classes, which I'm inclined to do right now. I'll make the final decision after I meet with the chair of the English department on Monday and see what the schedule looks like on paper.

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band

2008-07-20T09:03:00.002+09:00

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performed a "Support the Troops" concert in Wheaton yesterday. 10,000 people in attendance, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
What did I blather on about as I shook his hand? Well, besides telling him that CSI is really popular in Korea and that my friend Joy is a big fan, I told him that having grown up an army brat, I can say that when you do things to support the troops, you are also supporting their families, so thank you.

Now that she's back in the atmosphere

2008-07-05T23:54:00.010+09:00

. . . with drops of Jupiter in her hair hey hey . . .

Back at the end of March, I told the directors of my school that I was not planning to renew my contract with them. It was a tough decision since I'd been really happy at my school, but for a lot of reasons, I know I made the right choice. Because my school didn't announce to my students and their parents that I was leaving until mid-May, I didn't feel comfortable writing completely openly about it.

This spring I applied for two jobs back in northern Illinois . . . and waited and waited and waited. No response. I was slightly over-qualified for both positions and not really excited about either, so I wasn't too disappointed when I finally saw on one organization's website that the position had been filled and received a rejection email message from the other. At that point, I decided to look more carefully at what was available in Korea. My friend Jenny from high school came to visit for a week at the end of April just as I was responding to about 30 ads for teaching positions at universities in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. She was patient enough to put up with me printing out my 15-page application packet well into the early hours of the morning after full days of sightseeing.

And then nothing. No interviews. No rejections. No response at all. So I bought my one-way ticket back to Chicago, started giving away my things and packing the rest, and started the long, terrible process of saying good-bye to the people and country I had come to love. I felt so conflicted. I was getting no responses from Korea, but I didn't see any possibilities on the horizon in Chicago. I felt this inevitable pull back to northern Illinois, where I so deeply wanted to spend time with my family, but I also wanted a stable, fulfilling job, friends, and things to capture my curiosity and imagination that I had in Korea. While I was looking forward to being with my family, I felt this indescribable sadness and discord to be leaving Korea.

I made my arrangements to leave Korea on June 5th and made a trip to the immigration office in Suwon to extend my visa that long. Then just a week before I was due to leave the country, I got calls for not one but three interviews. I was told by someone at the first interview that they had a good feeling about it. I was offered the second position on the spot, and I was unofficially offered the third position, though they had another week of interviews to go before they'd make a final decision. Just two days before my departure date, the first university called me back, offered me the position, and I accepted it.

That left me two days to find storage for my things, redirect my packing efforts, sign contracts, and start applying for my new visa, while still wrapping things up at my school and saying my final good-byes to my students. On my last day, T and H-k met me at my apartment and helped me move a few things over to the school where they're graciously letting me store them for the summer. Then we stopped by Joy's apartment so I could give her a few things, say good-bye, and drop T off at his apartment. It was so hard to say good-bye to T and Joy, friends who have become my family in Korea. It took all my strength to keep my composure and hold back my tears. I knew I'd see them again in August, but I also knew that an important part of my life had come to a close.

I had to keep fighting to hold back my tears as H-k drove me to the airport and as we ate lunch together after I checked my bags in. I wanted so much to thank her for the past two years, for giving me the opportunity to love Korea, but all I could do was eat my lunch and sniffle. I sent her an email message when I arrived back in the U.S. I gave her a hug and went through security, still struggling to keep my composure. Just as I was about to pass through, H-k called to me, "EM," she said, "you've made the right decision." Upon hearing that, all the emotions I'd bottled up through my good-byes to friends and students, the suspense of my job search, concerns for my family, everything came pouring out, and I cried all the way through security, through immigration, through the terminal, and onto my airplane. Since I didn't sleep at all my last two nights in Korea, amid sobs, I fell asleep while my plane was still at the gate in Seoul and woke up just minutes before we landed in Tokyo.

I had a 20-hour layover in Tokyo. I tried to get on an earlier flight on standby but wasn't able to, so the airline put me up in a hotel, and I was able to explore the little town outside the airport. While still overwhelmed by the emotions of leaving Korea and anticipating being home again, I enjoyed exploring a local shopping center, temple, and garden. I got so wrapped up in visiting the garden that I lost track of time and almost missed the bus that would get me back to the hotel to check out in time to catch another bus back to the airport for my flight. I had wandered so far through the garden that I was no longer sure exactly where I was, but I knew the approximate direction, so I just took off running and made it just as the bus was pulling up to the stop.

My flight from Tokyo to Chicago was uneventful. I had a window seat, and the sky was clear most of the way, but I was very disappointed that we didn't fly over Alaska this time. That is the highlight of any flight between North American and Asia for me, though Lake Winnipeg comes in a very close second. There is something so amazing, almost holy, about getting that perspective of the earth, and those particular geological features seem more majestic than others. Mom and Dad met me at the airport in Chicago. It was mid-morning, so we stopped at the Olive Garden for lunch on our way home.

My Korean friend J-y had been in Chicago for the past 10 months to study English, but she hadn't been out of the city and was about to return to Korea, so Mom and I took her to Galena for a few days. Just like having Jenny in Korea, having J-y in Galena was such a thrill as I got to be the host, instead of the guest, for a change. When we returned to Chicago, I said good-bye to J-y, knowing I'll see her again in Seoul in a couple months.

The past few weeks have been filled with family events, errands, doctor and dentist appointments, another trip to Galena to catch up with friends, and a trip to Philadelphia to see my uncle who is bravely battling cancer. My parents, sister, and I all spent a day in Chicago together to celebrate my parents' anniversary. We went to the top of the Sears Tower (the first time for me). Then Mom and Dad took the architectural tour of the city on the canal boat, and Sal and I wandered down to Millennium Park. Sal had to head back to the suburbs, but in the evening, Mom, Dad, and I went to see the play Jersey Boys. This weekend, my parents and I just spent a lovely 4th of July together before my dad heads back to Philadelphia for a few days.

My plans for the rest of the summer are to spend time with my family, help out around the house, reconnect with old friends, continue with some serious dental work to repair my nightmarishly root-canaled tooth, and if I ever get around to it, continue studying Korean. In mid-August, I'll head back to Korea to begin my new position teaching freshman English conversation at a university about 20 miles out of Seoul and not far from where I've lived for the past two years. (For more detailed information about my university and location, please send me an email.) I'll have to find a new apartment, collect all my things from my friends who so graciously offered me storage space for the summer, and figure out what exactly is required of my new position at the university. I'm excited but more than a little nervous.

Now I'm back in the blogosphere, and I hope to keep writing this summer, at least to recap some of the events of this spring and upload some of my pictures from both the Land of the Morning Calm and the Land of Lincoln.

Long Overdue News

2008-05-22T08:45:00.002+09:00

I'm very sorry for my posting hiatus for the past month. At the end of March, I informed my school that I would not renew my contract at the end of May. However, that decision wasn't announced to my students and their parents until this week. Given the public nature of this blog and my unconfirmed suspicion that people I know here in Korea sometimes read it, I didn't feel comfortable writing about my departure until my students and their parents were properly informed. Since the fact that I'm leaving colors the things I do and think (and hence, would write about) these days, I've felt unable to write even about day-to-day things as well. Now that the announcement has been made, I feel free to write again.

I'm indescribably sad to be leaving Korea. This place has become my home in the two and a half years I've been here. While I'm realistic about its flaws, there's also so much that I love about it. I feel hollow these days, and tears well up in my eyes when I look at the calendar and realize how few days I have left with my friends and students.

I'm really not sure what's next for me. I'll be in the Chicago area with my parents for the summer. I'm delighted that I'll be able to spend the summer with my family, but I wish I felt more at peace with my decision to return to the U.S. I've applied for several jobs, both in Chicago and in Korea, but I haven't had any positive responses from any of them. I'm quite happy here in Korea and would be glad to return in the fall if it weren't for concerns about my family and being able to spend adequate time with them. There is a lot of teaching jobs here in Korea, but finding one that provides the time I need to go home during the year-long contract continues to be a challenge. I may also go back to school this fall. I'll just have to see how things work out, I guess.

The next two weeks are going to be busy, as I'm making my preparations to leave, but when I get to Chicago in early June, I hope I can backtrack and cover everything I neglected to write about in the past month and upload the 200 or so photos I've taken since the last time I posted. I may be leaving Korea in June, but I should have enough writing and photography to keep this site updated through the summer.

Hiking with Grace

2008-04-26T23:56:00.000+09:00

Grace and I have both been feeling stressed out lately, so we went for a hike in the local mountain park today. When we got to the top, we shouted "ya-ho!" from the top and let it echo through the valleys below. When I first moved to this town almost two years ago, I hiked this mountain almost everyday. Now I don't go often enough. I'm usually too lazy, but when I do make it up to the top, I always wonder why I don't go more often. There's something so peaceful about being up so high and looking down on the world below. After hiking back to town, we called Joy and met her for a dinner of soon-dae-gook, blood-sausage soup. Grace had actually never eaten it before.

Azaleas in the spring

2008-04-21T23:39:00.000+09:00

One of my very favorite things about my town in the spring is this beautiful park that is just covered in azalea bushes. I took a walk over there before school this morning just to take it all in.Look carefully at this next picture. A man is standing in the flowers to the right of the path. That can give you an idea of the scale of this azalea-covered hill.This last one is a panoramic shot that can be enlarged by clicking on it.

Namdaemun Gate

2008-04-20T23:11:00.000+09:00

I went into Seoul today. I was going to go to the public bathhouse, but the weather was just so beautiful that I decided just to go for a walk instead. I walked over to Sungryemun (Namdaemun), the south gate that an arsonist set fire to back in February. I hadn't seen it in person since the fire and wasn't really prepared for the sight of the destruction. There is protective scaffolding all around the remaining stone structure of the gate, and one side of the scaffolding is a window so you can look through and see the restoration progress.Large pieces of paper were hung along the wall, and people wrote very personal notes of sadness at the loss of their beloved cultural landmark. Most of the notes say something to the effect of "We're sorry for not protecting you." You can make this image larger by clicking on it.There were also a few pictures and letters from children. This one says "our great gate" and "our family."It's expected to take three years and as much as $21 million to restore the gate. The fire was set by a 69-year-old man who was upset about not being paid the full amount he was due when he sold his property. He considered derailing a train but didn't want to hurt any people, so he chose to set fire to the gate instead. He previously set fire on one of the palace grounds in Seoul.

Independence Hall of Korea

2008-04-19T20:19:00.001+09:00

I met Jackie and A. in Cheonan this afternoon. It was nice to get out and do something after being sick for the past several days. Jackie, A., and I ate lunch and chatted, and then A. and I visited the Independence Hall of Korea in Cheonan. A. and I spent three hours there and didn't come close to seeing the whole thing. It's a lot to take in at once. The museum campus has seven exhibition halls and several large outdoor areas. I highly recommend the trip for anyone interested in learning more about Korean history and trying to get a deeper understanding of Korean culture.

The top picture is a panoramic shot that can be enlarged by clicking on it.The largest tile-roofed structure in Asia, according to the park brochure.

Spring

2008-04-18T09:39:00.004+09:00

Sorry for my lack of updates. I'm doing a lot of thinking these days, and it seems that putting thoughts into words is too much hassle sometimes. This spring is bittersweet for me. The weather is beautiful, and I'm so glad that the long, grey winter is finally over. The trees are green, and flowers are in bloom. However, I feel like each warmer day is bringing me closer to the end of this particular chapter of my life, and that brings me a lot of sadness.

Since I've been sick the past couple weeks, I missed the peak cherry blossom season, only seeing them from my apartment window, but they were there, in bloom, in their snowflake-like glory. I think the azaleas are in bloom now. I've been meaning to get over to the local park to see, but I'm still feeling a little under the weather--hopefully this weekend.

I'm thrilled that my friend Jenny is coming to visit me in two weeks. She'll be my only visitor during my time in Korea. I haven't seen her since the summer after we graduated from high school. I didn't really keep in touch with her after high school, but we've reconnected online in the last couple years. I love living in Korea, and since I came here, I've wanted to share what I love about this country and culture with someone at home. I can do that to a limited extent through this blog, but I am delighted beyond words to have the opportunity to do that in reality and to reestablish a friendship in person and not on the computer. My school is covering my last class for me on the day she arrives, so I can meet her at the airport, and after some negotiation, they've given me the day off on her last day. She'll be here over a three day weekend, and she'll come to school with me one day, so we'll be able to maximize our time together during her very short stay.

Lately, I've been spending my free time studying Korean and feel like I'm making good progress. Y-i and I meet 1-2 times a week at a local coffee shop and work our way through the textbook developed by one of the major university Korean language programs here in Seoul. I enjoy our time together, and my reading, writing, and listening skills improve everyday. It's amazing what a difference a little grammar makes. My speaking skills are still virtually nonexistent, however. I need to get to work on that.

We're 6 weeks into the new school year, and the classes are becoming routine, though I still haven't quite adjusted to my new schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I teach from 2:30 to 9 PM with no breaks other than the 5-10 minutes between classes. At the end of a Tuesday or Thursday, I actually feel like my brain doesn't work so well after having continuously changed gears so many times though the day. My schedule on Mondays and Wednesdays is just right, and my Friday schedule is actually a little light, so it's just Tuesdays and Thursdays that present challenges for me.

My plans for the weekend include eating lunch with some friends on Saturday and studying Korean on Sunday, hopefully with a trip to the local park one of those days to see what flowers are in bloom.

Tsutsugamushi

2008-04-10T22:21:00.004+09:00

It seems that the mountains have gotten the better of me. After spending Saturday hiking, I had a bad headache and felt a little flu-like on Sunday. Monday was even worse, so at Joy's insistence, I went to the doctor. "It's probably just a bad cold," he said, "but if you develop any black spots on your skin, be sure to come back." He gave me some mystery pills and sent me on my way.

I felt marginally better on Tuesday, but on Tuesday night, I noticed a mysterious, sore, black pimple. It didn't quite look like the spot the doctor described to me, so I wasn't too concerned. However, on Wednesday, it continued to grow and become more painful. I went back to the doctor this morning, and sure enough, I have a case of tsutsugamushi, scrub typhus. It's contracted by being bitten by an infected chigger. Just my luck.

I felt pretty awful again today. T covered all but one of my classes, so I was able to spend most of the day at home in bed. I'm feeling slightly better tonight but still pretty bad. Headache, nausea, severe coughing, body aches, fever, chills, fatigue, and a very sore black spot. The doctor loaded me up with antibiotics and said I should start feeling better by Saturday. I sure hope so. The weather is beautiful these days, and everything is in bloom, so I want to be outside admiring the cherry trees, not cooped up at home.

Dobongsan

2008-04-06T21:41:00.001+09:00

Spring is here in Korea, and I've found the call to the mountains too hard to resist. Yesterday I met up with some friends and climbed to the top of Ja-u Peak on Mt. Dobong in the northern part of Seoul. It was a steep, crowded climb, but the view made it more than worthwhile.

Checking out the map at the park entranceTaking a break about halfway up. The lanterns are for Buddha's birthday next month.Almost to the topAt the peakWe hiked back down and stopped for dinner at a restaurant where we sat on the patio overlooking a rocky stream in the early evening sunlight.

Delicious food: Dotorimuk (acorn jelly), Beoseotjeongol (spicy mushroom soup), and Kimchijeon (kimchi and seafood pancake)We stopped at the subway station for one last picture--this one with the beautiful spring flowers which are all in bloom here in Korea.

A Visit from a Friend

2008-03-30T23:11:00.003+09:00

I spent today with my friend Mi-jin. I met her a little over a year ago when I took a trip to Jeju Island. I was visiting various tourist destinations by bus. I made it to a temple in the far southwest part of the island and was planning to continue east along the southern coast from there. What I didn't know as I sat at the bus stop was that no buses ran the route I wanted to travel. So I waited and waited and waited for a bus that was never going to come. A taxi driver tried to persuade me to take a very expensive ride to my next stop and got a little confrontational when I insisted that I wanted to take the bus. Finally, an older man noticed the problem I was having with the cab driver and came over to help. He explained that the bus wasn't going to come and that I shouldn't go with the cab driver, but if I wanted to wait a couple hours, I could ride along with his group of senior citizens. I didn't really see an alternative, so I agreed.

While I was sitting on a bench waiting, these two girls, a couple years younger than I am, came over to me and asked me to take their picture. Then they told me they were driving on to the next place I wanted to go and asked me to join them. Their names were Mi-jin and In-shil. They grew up on Jeju Island and went to elementary school together. Mi-jin had moved to Seoul and was back visiting her family for a holiday. She had borrowed her dad's car, and the two of them were spending the day driving around to various tourist destinations on the island.

Since they were ready to go and seemed like better traveling companions for me than the group of senior citizens I would have had to wait another 90 minutes for, I took them up on the offer and had one of my best days in Korea. I tagged along with them to several of the tourist destinations along the south coast of Jeju Island. Communication was a little difficult, but we managed to converse and joke and share and learn from each other. I was genuinely sad to say good-bye to them when they dropped me off at my motel at the end of the day.

In-shil still lives on Jeju Island, so I haven't seen her since that day over a year ago, but I met Mi-jin in Seoul shortly after returning from my trip to the island. Unfortunately, we didn't keep in touch this year, but about a month ago, I sent her an email message to see if she still remembered me. It turns out she did and wanted to get together, so she came down to my town to spend the afternoon with me today.

We had lunch together, came back to my apartment and talked, went for a walk in the local mountain park, and stopped at a coffee shop on the way back to town. Her English has improved a lot in the past year, and so has my Korean, so we were able to communicate better than before. She called In-shil while we were eating lunch, so I was able to talk to her again, too. It was fun to reunite with a friend, and I'm disappointed that I let so much time go by without being in touch with her. I don't want it to happen again, but sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of daily life that before I know it, a whole year has gone by.

In a way, my whole time in Korea has been like that. One day became a week became a month became a year became two years and more. I can hardly believe that my second contract at my current school is coming to an end. I've made the first step of an important decision concerning what's next for me, but it's too early yet to post that publicly on the internet. What I can say is that I'm mostly content with the first part of my decision and am looking forward to what comes next.

A Painting-less Art Museum

2008-03-22T23:12:00.000+09:00

My friends are more or less convinced that weird things happen in my presence. I don't know whether they think I bring them about or attract them or am cursed or blessed or just have some kind of twisted luck, but it seems that every time we meet, they have this look of mischievous expectation in their eyes, and somehow, I always seem to confirm their belief. Today was no different.

I met up with Kay to visit the Seoul Museum of Art this afternoon. They had a special exhibit of Antoine Bourdelle's sculptures. Three words: big, bronze, Beethoven. The captions were all in French and Korean, and since the cultural/educational element of our outing was second to the social gathering itself, we decided to forgo the audioguides. Kay could at least read the Korean captions, and between my extremely limited Korean and my creative guesswork of the French, I figured out that Bourdelle had a thing for Beethoven that I can't quite explain.

After a relatively quite trip through the Bourdelle exhibit, we decided we'd make the most of our $9 admission and visit the permanent exhibit, only to discover that everything else in the museum had been removed while they repaint the gallery walls. Of course, there's nothing to indicate that when you enter the museum, nor are there any signs--in any language--on the staircases or in the gallery entrances to say that the art museum has no paintings. I think the guys watching the security cameras must have been getting a kick out of watching the museum visitors searching in vain for, heaven forbid, art in the Seoul Museum of Art.

In the foyer of the Seoul Museum of Art. I guess they don't worry about painting this wall.
Kay at the entrance of the Bourdelle exhibit.We left the museum and visited Deoksugung, one of the palaces in Seoul. The last time I was there was two years ago when I was trying to leave my terrible job in Sapkyo. I had come to Seoul one rainy April weekend to stakeout the place where I had an interview scheduled the following week. Deoksugung was in the same neighborhood, so I stopped by and ran from building to building on the palace ground in the downpour. As I left the palace, sopping wet and out of breath, I saw that they have an umbrella-lending service for visitors at the entrance. Who'd have guessed? Deoksugung has been on my list of places to go back to for the past two years, but somehow I had never gotten around to it until today. Kay and I had a nice time walking around, even though one whole section was closed for restoration. There's a much smaller art museum on the palace grounds, and they had an excellent exhibit of the Korean artist Choi Young-lim and his Japanese art teacher Munakata Shiko. There was also a special photo exhibit of the last king of Korea and his family.

On the Deoksugung palace groundsKay in front of the small art museum at DeoksugungKay and the last king of KoreaUnfortunately, there were several elementary school groups on a field trip at the palace, so every building we visited, every corner we turned, we were greeted by mobs of young children shouting, "Oh-ah, waegukin (foreigner)! Hello! Hi! Nice to meet you!" Most foreigners who have been here in Korea for a while have had this happen enough that they aren't surprised by it. Some have even learned to ignore it. Kay, on the other hand, had never experienced it. She thought it was funny the first time but was definitely tired of it after we encountered our third group. "Welcome to my world," I told her. Even when I feel comfortable here, I never blend in.

We stopped by a bookstore, grabbed some lunch, visited a coffee shop, and chatted. Kay had an evening appointment, but I stayed in Seoul a little longer. I bought three bunnies from a woman selling stuffed animals from a cart on the sidewalk to add to the Easter baskets I'm making for E, L, and Chloe. I was very proud of the negotiation since it was an actual conversation with an adult that made use of my kindergarten vocabulary: animals, colors, and numbers.

I went home and spent the rest of the evening studying Korean. I'm so happy to have a basic understanding of grammar now. I feel like I have all these fragments of the language loose in my head and finally have some glue to begin holding the pieces together.

What's next?

2008-03-19T11:32:00.003+09:00

The other night, I had a dream that indicated to me just how strongly conflicted I feel these days. In my dream, I was hiking alone in the mountains north of Seoul. The land, the weather, everything was perfect, so I kept walking. It was the best day of my life. After some time, however, I noticed that I wasn't entirely sure where I was, and it had been a while since I had seen signs of other people. I ended up lost and unable even to find the trail I had followed to get there. Remembering what my dad taught me when I was a child, I hiked downhill, because water is downhill, and where there's water, eventually there will be people. He was right. As evening approached, I could see a tourist area in the distance. Relieved at the sight of the hotels below, I was sure I could just ask where I was and catch a bus back home. However, when I got to the tourist area, I realized it wasn't that easy. The tourist area was Mt. Geumgang--in North Korea. Somehow I had wandered across the DMZ. I couldn't stay where I was because it was only a matter of time before the Mt. Geumgang employees recognized me as a tourist who never left. Since I hadn't passed through North Korean immigration to get there, I had no documents and couldn't risk leaving the country with the other southbound tourists. I couldn't turn around and go back because I wasn't sure which route I had taken to get there and could end up even deeper in North Korea. I was stuck. I couldn't stay where I was, I couldn't go back the way I came, and I couldn't go forward.

The problem was unresolved when I woke up with this feeling of dread and fear. It took me a few moments to realize I was no longer agonizing over decisions about my fate in a desperate situation but was in my own bed in my own apartment in a country, that while foreign, has become my home. As I felt that fear leave my body, I understood my dream as a symbol of how conflicted I feel these days. It helped me to appreciate the weight of my conflict and what it means to me, but, alas, it didn't offer me any clarity on what I should do next.

My contract at my school is coming to an end this spring, and I haven't decided what I'm doing next. I think about this a lot. In some ways, it's more difficult to leave Korea than it was to leave the United States to come here. I think that's because when I left the United States, I always knew I'd be back again. Even though I cried as a I drove away from the rolling hills of my home in northwestern Illinois, I knew I'd see them again. That land is a part of me, the only constant in the scattered geography of my life. I knew my good-byes to my friends and family weren't final, that we'd pick up again where we left off, that one day soon, we'd sit at the same table and enjoy a meal together. I knew that the memory of my language and culture could never fade. My situation in Korea is different. The low mountains of this peninsula, the friends who have become my family here, the language and culture that I try so earnestly to understand--all these things have become a very real part of me, but it is a part that stands a good chance of fading with time. Leaving means allowing that to begin.

As I see it, I have four options, each with its pros and cons:
1. Stay at my school for another year.
2. Stay in Korea but change schools.
3. Return to the U.S. and work.
4. Return to the U.S. and go back to school.
5. Stay in Korea and go back to school.
6. Go somewhere other than Korea and the United States.

I know that #4 gives me the best long-term opportunities for my life in the United States, and I do want to go back to school at some point, but maybe not right now. I feel limited when it comes to #3, unless someone has a non-church lead in the Chicago area for someone with a BA in religion. #1 and #2 are easily possible and would most likely provide me with short-term security and contentment, but will they give me what I need long-term? Possibly. I don't know. The truth is, I'm not good at long-term goals and plans. My entire life has been composed of short-term situations. I'm not sure that's ever going to change or that I even want it to change. So, for now, I sit at Mt. Geumgang, unable to stay for long, unable go back, and unable to move forward.

Brutal honesty

2008-03-16T22:17:00.005+09:00

I met up with U for coffee this morning. Because of conflicting schedules and illness, we hadn't seen each other in about 3 weeks, so I was glad for the opportunity to catch up. One of the things I really appreciate about U's friendship is that she's brutally honest. We were talking about the direction of my life, a topic that anyone who has had a conversation with me in the past few months has encountered. (Sometimes it's probably a good thing that there's a language barrier between me and most of the people I meet on a regular basis.) My parents would have been pleased with her advice. She was encouraging me to go back to school, which is something I want to do some day but don't have a definite plan to do at this point. "After all, E," she said, "it's not like you're a daft cow." Brutal honesty. Now, that's what I call friendship.

I appreciate her advice, as I appreciate the advice from anyone who I know genuinely cares about me. I really take it to heart. I might not agree with it at first. It might even annoy me, but I can guarantee you that the things people tell me in love stay in my mind for a long time. This is especially true of my parents, who are by far the most influential people in the decisions I make, though sometimes I think I give them reasons to doubt it.

I came home and spent the rest of the afternoon studying Korean with the warm spring sunlight pouring through my window. I just glanced over at my table and thought it was a really funny sight, so I snapped a picture. Does this look like the table of a serious student or what? If only I could be so diligent in all my studies.I think Korean is easy to study because its practical application to my current, though possibly not long-term, life is so easily apparent. I've been studying a lot lately. I finally have some sense of grammar, and I feel like the mess of words and phrases that I've gathered in my head in the past 2+ years finally has some order. Today I received a short email message from one of my Korean friends, and I could read it without any guessing involved. It made me laugh right out and even brought a few tears to my eyes as I was just so darn excited to feel that I'm starting to break through this linguistic bubble that surrounds me.

Gwanaksan

2008-03-15T21:05:00.003+09:00

I met up with Jackie for a good hike this afternoon. We started at Seoul National University and hiked up Gwanaksan. The weather was perfect, if a bit hazy. From the top, there was a nice view of Seoul to the north and the suburbs to the south. I can see Gwanaksan from my apartment, so I figured I should be able to see my apartment building from the top of the mountain, but I couldn't find it in the clutter of concrete below.We hiked down to Gwacheon City where we saw this sign at the park entrance. It says "Cultured citizens never leave anything unclean behind." The fine print at the bottom says "Gwacheon, a city that everybody wants to live in forever." And there we have it.From Gwacheon, we decided manuvering an unknown bus system was too much trouble, so we took a taxi to a nearby city for dinner. I found myself feeling very sleepy as we ate and felt bad that I was suddenly very bad company. After Jackie and I parted ways, I stopped at a bookstore to pick up the workbook that goes along with my Korean textbook. I was there about 20 minutes when I started to get a terrible headache, so I bought my book and went straight home. I still have a splitting headache, along the lines of a migraine, so I'm on my way to bed. It was a disapointing end to an otherwise fun day of hiking and catching up with a friend.

So Sad

2008-03-13T23:59:00.000+09:00

Today my 5th and 6th graders were chatting a lot in Korean when they should have been writing. They get easily distracted, so to get them on task, I asked, "You're talking because you're finished writing, right?"

"Ms H," one of my girls asked, "you know the missing girls?"

I knew what she was talking about. Two elementary school aged girls from the next city over disappeared on Christmas. There have been signs with their pictures everywhere--in the post office, in the convenience stores, in the elevators in almost all public buildings, in taxis. I've seen the pictures so many times that I can't forget their faces.

"Yes," I said. "I know about them. Is there more information?"

The kids told me that police have found the dismembered body of one of the girls on a mountain not far away. There are no words to say how tragic this is. I feel so sorry for those little girls and their families. I don't understand how a loving God can allow things like this to happen in the world.

Learning Korean

2008-03-11T23:40:00.002+09:00

I met with Y-i to study Korean yesterday. Since we had to cancel all three of our meetings last week, I wasn't entirely sure that we would actually meet, but everything worked out. We studied for three hours (after a full day of work for both of us) and covered the first 50+ pages of the textbook. We weren't planning to stop at that point, but the coffee shop we were in was closing, and the manager told us we had to leave. Most of the material was review for me, but it was helpful to clear up some grammar questions and work on pronunciation, which I can't do very well when I'm sporadically studying on my own. I went home and studied for another two hours last night and then two more hours this morning before Catherine called me to go to the gym. Grace gave me a test this afternoon. I made lots of grammar errors but could more or less make myself understood. After I write the corrections in my notebook, I'm going to stick my test on my refrigerator. Hopefully it won't be too long before it will be replaced by a test with a lot less red ink on it. I'm so thankful for my friends who are patient with me as I struggle to communicate in their native language.

Some Weekend Fun

2008-03-09T23:05:00.003+09:00

After an insanely busy couple of weeks, I felt like I needed a fun, slow weekend, and that's exactly what I did. Yesterday I met my friends Kay and Jo for lunch in Myeongdong, the crowded fashion district in Seoul. After lunch, we walked past the Seoul Animation Museum and took the bus up to the top of Namsan ("South Mountain") and walked around. It was a little hazy but not bad compared to most days in Seoul, so we had a good view of the sprawling city below. The weather was perfect--cool but not cold. I was a little too warm in my heavy winter coat. Kay had to leave early, but Jo and I walked down the mountain and back to Myeongdong and had a very Harry Met Sally conversation. These are the crazy statues in front of the Seoul Animation Museum. We ended up missing not one but two buses because we were having too much fun taking pictures.At Namsan, they had these fun sculptures suspended from wires around the park. I tried to make it look like Kay is holding it up. She was a little confused by my directions and felt silly standing with her hands in the air, so I only took the one picture. I'm not sure the illusion worked, but it was worth a try.I said goodbye to Jo and met up with Catherine in the early evening for a trip to my favorite jjimjilbang. She had never been to this particular bathhouse, and she was impressed. It has hot outdoor pools which are just perfect in the cool weather. We stayed for about four hours and then returned to our town.

Today was another beautiful day, but I appreciated it from my apartment. I didn't even get dressed today, just did some long overdue housecleaning, took a nap, updated my journal, and studied my Korean vocabulary. Grace is giving me a test tomorrow morning, and I'm supposed to have a Korean lesson with Y-i tomorrow night, but since we ended up canceling all three of our scheduled lessons last week, I'm not so sure it's really going to happen. That's the plan anyway.

My two goals for the new school year are to go back to the gym (been there once so far this month, that's progress) and study Korean more seriously. The other night I wrote down every word in my Korean notebook and gave a copy to Grace. I told her she can give me pop quizzes any time. I need that kind of pressure to study well. As I've demonstrated time and again in the past, independent studying with no one checking up on me just doesn't work.

Party On: First Week of School

2008-03-07T23:41:00.000+09:00

It's been an insanely busy first week of the new school year. Since I'm no longer teaching at the preschool in the mornings, I've taken on extra classes at the language school. I'm teaching 1st through 6th grade classes now. I'm teaching about the same number of hours as before, but my classes start and end later in the day. My mornings are free, but because my new classes require a lot more preparation than my preschool and kindergarten classes, I go to school early, and right now, it feels like a lot more work. I'm adjusting. Elementary school classes are a lot more managable than preschool and kindergarten. I don't need as much help from the Korean teachers to explain things or calm everyone down.

I'm teaching several of the same students as I have in the past. I'm really enjoying my 2nd grade classes because I taught them when they were in kindergarten but not in 1st grade this past year. They've grown and learned a lot since the last time they were in my classroom, and it's so much easier to communicate with them now. Most of my first graders were in my kindergarten classes last year, so it's nice to continue teaching them, and I still have the same 4th, 5th, and 6th grade bilingual classes. I also have some students who are new to the school and some who are just new to me. I'm enjoying getting to know them, but I'm also a little overwhelmed by the new schedule.

Party On: Last Day of School

2008-02-29T23:18:00.012+09:00

Today was the last day of the school year, so it was party day. The new school year begins on Monday, and along with it, I will have a completely different teaching schedule. I'll be teaching 1st-6th grade as of next week, so I had to say good-bye to all my preschoolers. I'll still seem them in the hall at school, and I'll try to visit their classroom when I have a break, but I'll no longer be their teacher. I also had to say goodbye to several students who are going to different schools. One of my little girls is emigrating to Canada. Goodbyes are always hard. I genuinely love my students. I hope I've given them the best possible start to their English education. Last night I was looking through their pictures from the beginning of the school year. It's amazing to see how much they've grown and consider how much they've learned in one year.

Our last teachers' lunch of the school year:Partying preschool/kindergarten-style. Bring on the ABC computer games!My bilingual 3rd/4th grade classes finished a unit on reading and writing instructions, so it was time for a project. I wrote the instructions for rice krispie treats. We brought in a portable gas range and all the ingredients and set them loose. The kids loved it, but it will be a LONG time before I cook with 11 9-year-olds again.We spent the rest of the class time playing Monopoly and watching a movie. The kids had never played Monopoly before and loved it. I wish I had more board games to play with them because they're a great way for the kids to practice their reading, speaking, and negotiating skills.

Note: I was the banker; I didn't buy up all the property from the kids.I'm sad to say goodbye to some wonderful students, but overall, the day was a lot of work but a lot fun.

Preschool and Kindergarten Graduation

2008-02-27T23:28:00.006+09:00

My job at the preschool/kindergarten is officially over. Today was the graduation ceremony. I was so sad to say good-bye to the kids I've gotten to know and love in the past year, but I'm happy to think about the preschoolers moving up to kindergarten and the kindergartners moving up to first grade. Here are a few photos:Since the ceremony was all in Korean, I didn't pay close attention during the teachers' and director's speeches. At one point, the director was talking and my mind was wandering all over the place. I heard, "Blah blah blah blah EMH blah blah blah blah." The sound of my name startled me back to reality. I looked around in surprise, and one of the moms sitting near me motioned for me to stand up. Then the director motioned for me to come up to the stage and asked me to give a speech. Yikes! I had no idea that was coming.

Holy Coyote!

2008-02-26T23:09:00.000+09:00

I had a box waiting for me when I returned home last night. Mail! As-sah! It was from Mom and Dad. They had told me that something was on its way to me, but they had said that it was just a few letters, so I was really surprised to have a whole box. The customs label said it contained a stuffed animal, so I was a little confused. I took my box upstairs and opened it to find not just any stuffed animal but a coyote puppet. It's made by the Folkmanis Puppet company, the same company that made the groundhog puppet Dad gave me two Christmases ago. Mr. Coyote was definitely a hit with my kindergartners.Puppets are great teaching tools because the kids are drawn to them. They want to communicate, so when they animals speak in English to them, they answer naturally. It's especially fun to have puppets of North American wildlife because the kids (and parents) aren't quite sure what they are. I must have had the following conversation 15 times today.

What is it?
EMH: It's a coyote.
A dog?
EMH: No, a coyote.
A wolf?
EMH: No, a coyote.
A fox?
EMH: No, a coyote.

When Mr. Groundhog comes to school, we go through the same conversation with kids and parents guessing it's a beaver, squirrel, and bear. Some days I think grammar isn't so important if we can correctly identify our North American mammals.

Saying Goodbye

2008-02-22T23:28:00.001+09:00

My contract is up at the preschool, and since I'm already teaching more than full time without my classes there, I've decided not to renew the contract. I said goodbye to the kids today. At the end of each class, I asked the kids if they could now speak, read, write, and understand English. Even though they are just beginners, they have such confidence and answered each question with an enthusiastic "Yes!" I had tears in my eyes as I left my last class, and they were only made worse when the kids followed me into the hall to give me a hug. I wonder who they will be in their futures, these Korean children whose lives have crossed briefly with mine. I hope I've given them an adequate introduction to English. Here are some pictures from the last days of class.And the end-of-the-year preschool staff pictureAfter work this evening, one of the preschool teachers had a housewarming/end-of-the-school-year party at her apartment. Since the preschool teachers have hardly spoken to me all year, I was a little nervous that it was going to be an awkward evening. Even though I couldn't really participate in the conversations, I'm glad I went. I felt like I actually connected to the other teachers. I wish we had done something like this a year ago so I could have gotten to know them a little better. I'm thankful for the teachers who speak some English and could help include me in some of the conversations. While I'll see the kids and teachers again at the graduation ceremony next week, I'm really sad to say goodbye. However, I know I've made the right decision and will be glad to have a couple hours of free time each morning. I plan to start going to the gym again and also be more intentional about studying Korean. I had wanted to take a course at a nearby university, but there isn't enough time between the end of the Korean class and my first class at the school. Instead, a couple friends have offered to help me. It's going to require a lot more discipline than I usually have when it comes to studying, but improving my Korean is very important to me these days since the language barrier is bothering me more than it has since I came here. Feel free to pester me about my progress. It'll help keep me on task.

Jungwol Daeboreum

2008-02-21T23:56:00.004+09:00

Today is the Korean celebration Jungwol Daeboreum, which means the first full moon of the new (lunar) year. It's Korean tradition that because the moon is full, it's a day for driving away evil and making wishes to ancestors for the new year. There was a big festival in the center of my town this afternoon, with lots of traditional music, dancing, games, and food. I spent about an hour walking around and taking everything in. One of the preschool teachers gave me a plate of hangwa, traditional Korean snacks. They're too pretty to eat!Today Joy brought a traditional Jungwol Daeboreum lunch to school for us--ogokbap (five grain rice) and namul (cooked vegetables) with kimchi and kim (dried seaweed). Thanks, Joy!Unfortunately, I worked so late tonight that by the time I went home, I was so tired that I forgot all about looking at the moon, and my apartment window doesn't face the right direction to see it now. I'm sleepy and already in my pajamas, so I'm not going to get dressed and go outside. I guess I'll have to wait for next year.

Busy Week

2008-02-17T19:44:00.000+09:00

It turned out to be another very busy week. On Thursday, T taught my preschool classes so that I could attend Chloe's middle school graduation. What an honor to see her reach this milestone in her life. Since Joy and another friend of theirs were taking pictures, I didn't take any. Joy hasn't emailed her pictures yet, so I'll have to post them later.

On Saturday I attended E and L's end-of-the-school-year performance. The three-hour performance included songs and skits in Korean, English, and Chinese, drum and xylophone performances, and taekwondo and tumbling demonstrations. The kids did a super job, but it sure seemed like overkill for these 3- to 6-year-olds. Because of the dim lighting and the limitations of my little point-and-shoot camera, my photos of the event didn't turn out too well, but this one of E is my favorite, a little girl in a blur of motion:Today I took E ice skating. We had been skating once before. She loved it, and I told her then that we'd go again someday. Days get busy, though, and almost 10 months have gone by, so on Sunday, the two of us headed off to the rink. H-k was with us the last time we went, so she bought the tickets and did all the talking. This time, the responsibility was on me. I didn't think it would be a problem negotiating admission and skate rentals, but since the last time we were there, the ice rink installed automatic ticket machines in place of the helpful people in the ticket booth. There's a pretty good chance that people in a ticket booth speak a little bit of English or might understand my little bit of Korean. An automatic ticket machine, on the other hand, isn't quite so flexible. It stretched my Korean to its limits, but I was able to purchase the right tickets for admission and skate rental for one adult and one child. I consider it a success.

Little E did a fantastic job on the ice. This was only her second time skating. She went from depending entirely on me to keep her balance and support her weight to inching along the wall to skating holding my hand to even venturing a few feet on her own. H-k and I had thought that 1 or 2 hours would be plenty of time on the ice, but at the 2 hour mark, E was still having a blast and wanting to stay, so we called H-k to check in and skated for another hour. When we took a break at the end of the third hour, E was adamant that she wanted to skate some more. In the very same breath, she started to doze off on the bleachers, still wearing her gloves and skates. I told her I thought it was time to go home and see what her parents and sister were up to.

"No," she said, "one more time ice skating."

"Not today," I said. "I'm sleepy, too."

"I'm not sleepy," she said with a yawn. "I'm happy."

"I'm happy, too," I replied as I helped her take her skates off. I promised her we'd go again, without quite so much time between outings.

We walked hand-in-hand back to the locker room, returned our rental skates and helmets, retrieved our backpacks, and caught a cab back to her apartment. I hadn't even finished telling the taxi driver where to go when she fell sound asleep. When we arrived at her apartment building, I had to carry my sound-asleep 5-year-old ice-skating friend inside.

It was a special afternoon, but I'm really feeling the strain this evening--not your typical ice-skating strain, which is usually in the ankles and legs, but a strain that's new to me, that of teaching a 5-year-old to skate. It's all in my back, shoulders, and arms. It's the strain of not being concerned so much for my own weight and balance as hers. I don't like the feeling--it hurts--but on the other hand, I don't mind it quite so much. However, now that she has a feel for her feet on the ice, I'm going to let her do more of the work next time.

A Sad Day for Korea

2008-02-11T23:52:00.000+09:00

It's a very sad day for Korea. Overnight, Korea's National Treasure #1, the Sungryemun Gate (Namdaemun) burnt down. Police suspect arson. First constructed in 1398, it served as the mained entrance to Seoul when the city was surrounded by a stone wall. Unlike many of the other important culturally and historically significant structures, the stone and wooden gate survived the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953).

The fire started around 8:30 last night. Firefighters thought they had extinguished it, but a while later, the whole thing went up in flames. By 2 AM today, the beautiful wooden structure was reduced to ashes.

H-k told me the news today. I am so sad. This was a precious piece of this country's culture and history, and while I'm not Korean, I also feel like I've lost something. I've walked past Sungryemun many times and appreciated its beauty and history.

It's estimated that it will take three years and $21 million to restore.

Photos below are from the Times Online.

Gyeongju, Day Two

2008-02-08T23:59:00.000+09:00

I was really tired last night. I fell asleep at about 9:00 and had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. I think my bug from a few weeks ago still has a hold on me. I didn't actually get out of the yeogwon until almost 11 AM, which is very unusual for me when I'm on vacation. I felt like I had no energy, but there was so much I wanted to do today.

My first stop was the Gyeongju National Museum, which displays about 3,000 of its 100,000 artifacts from prehistoric times through the end of the Silla dynasty. It was an excellent museum, smaller but better than the national museum in Seoul in my opinion. I visited the achaeology hall and art hall and then walked around to see the things on display on the museum grounds. It turns out that I missed a whole building on the museum campus, so I'll have to visit that on my next trip.

The most interesting thing outside was the Emille Bell, which was cast in 771 CE. According to the legend, the bell failed to ring when it was first struck. It was recast and struck again, but that time, it cracked. After several failed attempts to cast and ring the bell, a spirit told a priest in dream that the fire spirit dragon needed to be appeased in order for the bell to ring. Do do this, a young girl born at the exact time as the dragon needed to be found and thrown into the molten metal. This was done, and the new bell rang with a mournful sound "emille"--the cry of a child for her mother in the ancient Silla language. I hope it's just a story.They had a lot of outdoor activities and demonstrations because of the holidays, including traditional Korean games and music.After visiting the museum, I walked past the Anapji ponds to Gyerim, "Chicken Forest." According to legend, one night in 65 CE, King Talhae heard a rooster crowing from this grove of old Chinese elm trees. He sent his prime minister to check it out. The prime minster found a gold box hanging from a tree and brought it back to the palace. They opened the box and found a baby boy. King Tallhae didn't have a son, so he adopted the boy and named him Alchi, which meant "young child" in the Silla language. Alchi was never king, but his descendants ruled continuously from 356 to 912 CE.From Gyerim, I walked past more burial mounds, with the spiritually significant Namsan in the background.
From there I visted Cheomseongdae. Built during the reign of Queen Seondeok (632-647 CE), it is one of the oldest structures in Korea. Historians believe it's a star observation tower, and the number and position of the stones are believed to represent seasons, zodiac figures, and positions of certain stars.In the park adjacent to Cheomseongdae, the Silla Culture Experience Center was sponsoring a kite festival. I stood around and watched for a while and then saw the table where people from the center were writing kids' names in Chinese calligraphy on paper kites that had a rubbing of the Chinese zodiac character for their birth year on them. I decided to buy a kite as a souvenir to take home. I told them I needed a monkey kite, but the old man doing the calligraphy couldn't understand my name and walked away. At first, the other people working at the table wanted me to write my name on my kite, but I told them no, so another volunteer wrote it in Korean and English for me. I intended just to take it home with me, but as I soon as I held it, with the ink from my name still wet, the wind caught it, and I couldn't resist. I spent the next hour flying kites in the park with about 50 other people. It was one of my very best Korean experiences.By the end of the day, I was very tired and very cold. I think I'm still a little sick from a couple weeks ago. There was still a lot more I wanted to see in Gyeongju, but I just didn't feel that I had enough energy for another day. I went to the bus terminal at 6:00 and was able to change my ticket to a bus that was leaving for Seoul immediately. Sitting on the bus, I was a little worried that I would be disappointed by my decision to go home early, but now that I'm home, ready to sleep in my own bed tonight, with absolutely no plans for the next two days, I'm very happy. I feel like I'll need a couple days of rest before I'll be ready to deal with kids again.

Gyeongju, Day One

2008-02-07T20:35:00.000+09:00

I arrived in Gyeongju at about 1:00 this afternoon after a surprisingly uneventful 4-hour bus ride. There was almost no traffic this morning, and I dozed on and off most of the way. I checked in to a small yeogwon (small, family-run inn)--nothing fancy, but it was clean and cheap--and set off with my map to explore the city.

The Gyeongju National Park is split into several districts which cover more than one third of Gyeongju City. A small city, it's easily navigable on foot, with short bus, bike, or taxi rides to a few sites. First, I visited Tumulus Park, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list and contains 20 tombs from Korea's Three Kingdoms Period, mostly from the 3rd to early 6th centuries CE. Since today was the actual Lunar New Year day and also very cold, I only saw a few other people as I was walking around the park. It was an odd feeling to be the only person walking around the tombs of people who were obviously so important that upon their deaths, these incredible mounds were created. One mound had a tunnel dug into it, allowing for an inside look at the structure and an explanation of the archaeological excavations that have taken place at the park since the 1920s. From Tumulus Park, I caught a bus, hoping to go to the Gyeongju National Museum. However, by the time the bus got out to the museum, it was only open for another 45 minutes. The bus was bound for the temple Bulguksa, 16 kilometers from the city. Even though I had planned to spend most of tomorrow at the temple, I decided to stay on the bus and do a reconnaissance for tomorrow. It was almost sunset, and the light around the temple was so pretty that I went in and stayed until the temple closed an hour and a half later.

Bulguksa, originally built in 528 CE, is also on UNESCO's World Heritage List. While it was busy, it wasn't at all crowded. I enjoyed walking around it and though I was very cold, I was a little disappointed when it was time to go at closing time.

Guardian figures at the entranceThe Dabotap pagoda, constructed of granite around 750 AD, with the main temple hall in the background.Tiled roofs of the temple buildings.Gwaneumjeon, my favorite of the buildings at the temple, is a shrine dedicated to Avalokiteśvara, the Boddhisatva of Perfect Compassion. In Mayahana Buddhism, a boddhisatva is a person who has already achieved enlightenment but who chooses to use his or her wisdom to help others. Avalokiteśvara made a vow to listen to the prayers of all people experiencing difficulty and postpone his own buddhahood until he has assisted every being on earth. I found this story very moving and not unlike my own understanding of Christian compassion. I stood by the side doorway for a while and watched a family saying their prayers. Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside the shrine. The boddhisatva figure and mural in the background were beautiful.

Gwaneumjeon, with a caretaker sweeping the pathThe decorations near the roof of GwaneumjeonLate-afternoon winter light shining on the temple buildingsIt's no longer the year of the pig, but they didn't have a rat statue out yet.The staircases that lead up to the temple's inner courtyards. Symbolically, to go up the staircases is to leave the secular world and enter the spiritual world of Buddha, but the staircases have been closed since 1973 to protect them.From Bulguksa, I took the bus past the Bomun Resort area and went back to town. Most restaurants were closed for the holiday, but I picked up some "street food" for dinner from a woman selling things from a cart on the sidewalk. Then I went back to my yeogwon to write. I'm very tired tonight. The combination of traveling, cold air, lots of walking, and not quite feeling well are taking their toll on me. I think I'll go to bed early tonight.

Maybe I'm a Soccer Fan

2008-02-06T23:04:00.000+09:00

I have the rest of the week off for the Lunar New Year holiday. Tonight Jo, Kay, and I went to the Korea-Turkmenistan World Cup Preliminary (Soccer) Game. I don't know that I've ever actually enjoyed a sports event before, but this was a lot of fun, mostly because Jo cheered with incredible passion. Korea won, 4-0. We're talking about going to the South Korea-North Korea game in March. I think I might be a soccer fan.

Outside the stadium before the gameThe teams enter the stadiumPark Ji-sung, Korea's favorite soccer playerThe Korean team celebrating the first goal of the gameCold Korean soccer fansFirst thing in the morning I'm off to Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla dynasty, about 4.5 hours southeast of Seoul. I'm a little nervous about traveling within the country at this time because most Koreans return to their hometowns for the holiday, creating massive traffic jams throughout the country. Nothing like what's going on in China right now but still not a lot of fun. Train tickets were all sold out, so I'm going by bus. Hopefully I'll be back Saturday evening, having soaked in my fill of old Korean history and culture. More later.

Congratulations, Chloe!

2008-02-01T22:44:00.000+09:00

It's an exciting, stressful time of year for Korean students in their last year of middle school. The school year is just finishing, and the kids are finding out which high school they've been accepted to. Chloe found out this afternoon that she got in to her first choice. Her middle school graduation is in a couple weeks, and H-k agreed to give me the morning off so I can attend. We're all so excited for her and proud of her. We went out for dinner tonight to celebrate. Yay, Chloe!

This Just Isn't My Week

2008-01-29T18:42:00.000+09:00

I had just drifted to sleep while watching TV on the couch last night when the phone woke me up. It was about 10:00. I hung up, took my medicine, turned off the TV, and crawled into bed--only to find myself wide awake--and so I was for the next seven hours. At about 5 AM, I finally fell asleep again, only to be awakened by the phone at 8:30. H-k asked if I was feeling well enough to teach today. I felt pretty miserable but decided to give it a try.

The kids were really good in my morning classes at the preschool, and the Korean teachers helped a lot. After those classes were over, I stopped at the doctor's office to ask if one of the medications he gave me could have kept me up all night. Then I went to the school and had lunch with Grace. My afternoon was busy--three preschool classes and one kindergarten class. H-k had a new computer installed in my classroom yesterday, so that was a very nice surprise. I used some online phonics activities with the kids, which kept their interest with a little less energy expended on my part.

Just before my final class of the day, one of my kindergartners gave me a gum drop. I popped it in my mouth and immediately felt a weird sensation--that of my new crown popping right off my tooth. This really isn't my week.

Joy made an appointment for me on Friday to have the crown placed back on the tooth. As it turns out, Catherine, M, and K are all going to the same dental clinic Friday morning, and T is going next week, all at my recommendation. I think I should get some kind of commission.

B, my American physician friend, just called to check on me. He said it still sounds like scarlet fever to him but that at this point, antibiotics probably wouldn't make much of a difference in terms of how I feel anyway, so there's really no problem with letting it run its course. I really appreciate being able to ask questions and get answers I understand. I'm very fortunate to have good people who are willing to help me here.

Not Scarlet Fever?

2008-01-28T17:59:00.001+09:00

My rash was a little better when I woke up, but I think the hot water in the shower made it worse again. My throat is still sore, but I don't feel nauseous.

I went to another doctor today. He said he doesn't think I have scarlet fever but have some kind of a virus instead. He gave me a prescription for medications to relieve the symptoms but said the virus has to run its course, and I should be feeling better in a couple days.

K and H-k taught my preschool classes this morning, and H-k and M taught my elementary school classes this afternoon. I find it a little amusing that it takes three people to fill in for me. After the morning preschool classes, K and H-k were going to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. Since it's in the basement of my building, I met them there. When I arrived, H-k had already ordered two cups of soup for me--one to eat there and one to take home.

I spent the rest of the day hanging around home today. I feel pretty lousy but don't like just lazing around. I finished one of the assignments for the geology course I'm taking and submitted it online and did a load of laundry. I'm really tired, but I don't want to fall asleep now because if I do, I won't sleep well tonight. I hope I can go back to school tomorrow.

Scarlet Fever?

2008-01-27T21:34:00.000+09:00

By 11:30 last night, my rash had spread a lot. My skin was bright red, hot, and covered in little itchy bumps. As my luck would have it, by 11:30 on a Saturday night, the pharmacies--the only places you can get medication, even over-the-counter--are all closed until Monday. I called H-k to ask if there was any place that would be open. She didn't think so, but her sister had some anti-allergy medicine and some cream, so she brought it over. It didn't help, but I really appreciated her running out in the middle of the night to bring it to me.

I couldn't sleep. I had a very sore throat and was nauseous all night. In the morning, I had a splitting headache, and the rash was still there. U called for our regular Saturday/Sunday morning conversation. When I told her how I felt, she said it sounded just like scarlet fever. Scarlet fever? Isn't that an 18th century disease? I did a little internet research and found out that it's actually a common childhood illness. I had all the symptoms except a high fever, and my rash looked just like the pictures on the internet. H-k called a little later, and when I told her, she suggested that we go to the local emergency room. (Interestingly, the local ER is part of one of the only university hospitals in the country that practices Chinese medicine, along with Western medicine, though not in the ER.)

The ER doctor looked at me, spoke mainly to H-k, and said it might be scarlet fever but might not be and sent me away with medicine to hold me over until Monday when the regular doctors' offices and pharmacies are open. Then we went to a juk (rice porridge) restaurant for lunch. H-k had half of her juk and half of mine put in take-out containers so I'd have some gentle food at home. I'm lucky to have such a good friend. Catherine met us at the restaurant. Then the three of us stopped at the school so I could write down some quick lesson plans for K and M who will teach for me tomorrow.

I spent the rest of the day lying on my floor (floors are heated here) and dozing on and off. I made some chicken noodle soup from the ingredients I had left in the refrigerator from Friday, but I wasn't really hungry. Tonight I called B, the American physician I met in North Korea in September, and he said it sounded like scarlet fever to him, too. I'll have to follow up with another doctor tomorrow since the emergency room pharmacy can only dispense 1 day's worth of medications.

New Friends

2008-01-26T20:55:00.000+09:00

Today one of my coworkers at the preschool invited me to lunch in Seoul with one of her friends. I was a little reluctant to agree because I don't know her very well and was worried that it might be an awkward lunch with stressful communication. It turned out to be a truly enjoyable time. I feel like I know my coworker much better now and have two new friends.

At the restaurantIn the subway station on our way home, we ran into these people dressed up as vegetables to promote farm produce. What vegetable is this? Sweet potato? Beet? I'm not sure.Today made me think that it would be nice to get together with some of the other teachers from the preschool. Even though I've worked with them four mornings a week for a whole year, I've hardly had a conversation with any of the teachers there. Their English skills are limited, and they are obviously very nervous when they have to interact with me. I try not to make them feel nervous. I also have very little free time when I'm at the preschool--15 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and no breaks on Mondays and Wednesdays--so I'm always in a rush and thinking of other things. I'm afraid the combined effect is that I come across as distant and unfriendly at times. I hope they don't think that about me.

We stayed at the restaurant for about 3 hours. Good food and good conversation. I started noticing that I was very itchy, but I figured it was just because of the dry winter air. After lunch, I ran some errands and returned home. This evening, I changed my clothes and noticed I have a little bit of a rash on my stomach, chest, and back. Joy and Chloe have both been sick, and I've had a sore throat since Wednesday, so I hope these aren't related.

TGIF

2008-01-25T23:59:00.000+09:00

Since the school day during the Winter Intensive quarter begins at 9 AM and ends at 9 PM, the staff has been taking turns bringing lunch to school. This week we had British steak and potatoes, chili, Korean pork and vegetables in a red pepper sauce, and Chinese take-out. Today was my turn to bring lunch. Since I've been feeling a little under the weather since Wednesday and since it's cold outside, I thought chicken noodle soup and a big salad would be good classically American foods to share with my friends. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I actually like to cook when I'm not the only person eating.After classes were over, K, M, and T took a guys' night out and went to see Sweeny Todd. Catherine and I had dinner together and then went over to H-k's for a girls' night in. I'm really impressed by how much English E and L picked up while they were in England this month. It's amazing how quickly young children learn. L kept saying "Just a minute" and "There's something interesting in here." E informed me that she sometimes calls me "Daddy" by mistake. I was definitely able to have better conversations with them in English than before their trip. We had fun reading stories, playing with stuffed animals, and wearing plastic tiaras. T, K, and M returned, and we all sat around the kitchen table talking. It was a nice evening, and I'm glad to have good friends.

Bless Her Heart

2008-01-22T22:20:00.000+09:00

Just before class this afternoon, I saw L, one of my kindergarten students, talking to her mom in the lobby. She looked like she was about to cry. When it came time for class to start and L still wasn't there, I sent S, another student in the class, to see if she was coming. S came back and reported that L was crying in the bathroom with her mom.

"Is she okay?" I asked.
"I think so." S replied.
"Is she sick?"
"She's sad."
"What happened?"
"I don't know."

Since I knew her mom was taking care of whatever the problem was, I continued with the class and figured I'd find out later. L came to the classroom about 10 minutes to the end of the class.

"Are you okay?" I asked.
She nodded but didn't look okay.
"Are you sick?" I asked.
She shook her head no.
"Are you sad?" S asked.
She nodded yes.

I let the kids go out the door. Since I had another class starting in just a couple minutes, I didn't go out to the lobby with the kids, but a minute later, I heard another teacher in the hallway ask "L, why are you crying?" so I went out to see what was going on.

L was just on the verge of tears, standing there in the hall with another teacher and L's mom. Her mom said that L had something to talk to me about with H-k, the director at my school.

L, H-k, and I went into H-k's office. L looked liked she was about to start bawling. H-k and I squatted down to her eye-level. H-k explained that just before class, L was in the classroom alone and saw a piece of candy on my desk and put it in her mouth. Her mom happened to be standing in the doorway and watched her take it. She took her out of the classroom and told her that she can't just take things that aren't hers and that it's a shameful thing to help yourself to other people's food.

L is a very sweet and sensitive little girl, and this apparently cut her to the core, hence the crying episode in the bathroom.

As H-k explained all this as the two of us squatted at L's eye-level in H-k's office, L lost all composure and these big tears poured down her sweet little face. She was barely able to mutter "I'm sorry." My eyes started to tear up, too, but I held it together because I didn't want her to misinterpret my empathy as anger or sadness with her. I gave her a hug, and she clung to me. "Don't worry," I said. "We're still friends, okay?" She nodded. I looked her in her eyes. "L," I said, "it's okay. I'm not angry. You," I said pointing to her, "and I," I said pointing to me, "are friends."

She didn't smile, but she did pull herself together. I gave her some cookies for her and her little brother, and she, H-k, and I walked out to her mom in the lobby.

"Don't worry," I said as she walked out the door.

"Okay," she whispered and walked down the hall holding her mom's hand.

God bless her.

Creepy

2008-01-20T23:05:00.000+09:00

I was awakened at 3:00 this morning by the sound of someone at my apartment door--not just knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell, but actually pushing the buttons on the keypad and attempting to come in! I had the keypad disabled from the inside, as I always do at night, so I knew that even if they knew the combination or guessed correctly, that the door wouldn't open, so I wasn't too worried. I could hear male voices speaking in Korean in the hallway. When the keypad didn't work, they banged on the door. I didn't answer. They finally went away but came back a little while later and tried again.

I know a lot of Korean women and some Western men, but I only know a few Korean men, none of whom would be anywhere near my apartment at that hour of the morning, so I figured they were probably drunk and at the wrong place. Nevertheless, the sound of someone trying to enter my apartment was disconcerting. It made me realize that even though I know how to call the police, fire station, ambulance, etc., I don't know how to contact the security guards in my own building without actually going downstairs to the lobby. Why is this the first time this has occurred to me in the two years I've lived here?

Today I learned some important things. First, I learned that the "경비" button on the intercom in my room calls the security guard at the front desk of my building. Next, I learned that the "현관" button turns on the security camera at my door and allows me to see who is out there.

This evening H-k wrote a letter to the building security guards explaining what happened. When I returned to my building, the main security guards were taking a break, so I gave the letter to the man who was filling in. He read it, gave me a thumbs up, and left the letter on the desk. About 30 minutes later, the intercom rang. It was my favorite security guard saying I should come down to the lobby right then.

It was 10:00 PM, and I was already in my pajamas, but I got dressed and went downstairs. He was obviously concerned. He doesn't speak any English, but he told me that if it happens again, I should push the "경비" and someone will come up immediately, anytime day or night. Then he tried to tell me something else, but I didn't understand what he was saying. I asked him to call H-k and tell her so she could explain it to me, but he didn't understand what I was saying. He asked three or four people coming in or out of the building if they could speak English, but no one could. Finally a woman about my age came along and interpreted for us. As it turns out, she lives just down the hall from me. We've run into each other on occasion, but I don't really know her.

Through her, the security guard told me that his daughter lives in France, so he feels a special responsibility to help take care of the foreigners who live here. He was really sorry to hear what happened and said that anytime I need help, all I have to do is push the "경비" button and someone will come up.

T was also very concerned about what happened and gave me a short lecture for not calling him when it happened. He said if it ever happens again, I should call, and he'll be here in 5 minutes. I'm really not sure how he'll do that since it takes 10-15 minutes to get here from where he lives, especially at 3 AM when the buses aren't running and very few taxis are out, but nevertheless, it's nice to know that I have friends here who would try even to overcome time to help in an emergency.

Too Busy

2008-01-16T22:46:00.000+09:00

2008 is off to a more than busy start. Korean public schools are on their winter break until the end of February, so our school is offering extra English classes. Elementary and middle school kids who usually come to our school 2 hours a day, 2-3 days a week are now coming for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. It's hard to keep track of the constant coming and going of kids throughout the day.

I'm teaching a special writing course for my bilingual 3rd-5th graders during our Winter Intensive and am so impressed by their progress even in this short time. I'm pushing them hard to develop their writing skills, and so far, they're rising to the challenge. Today, however, my 3rd-4th graders were acting burnt out and zombie-like, so I only assigned two sentences for homework. I usually assign a page of writing everyday. It amazes me how accustomed I've become to the Korean educational system--that I assign substantial homework, knowing their other teachers are doing the same, on their vacation. I sometimes need to remind myself that respecting Korean culture and trying to adapt to it doesn't mean I have to give up my own Western understanding that play time is an essential part of childhood, and Korean kids seem to get far too little of it.

I want to challenge my students to do their best, but I don't want to see them burnt out. I don't want them to become so hardened by tedium that they start to shut down that natural childlike curiosity that makes them such eager learners in the first place. I want my students to be confident readers, writers, speakers, and listeners but not at the expense of their enthusiasm. That balance can be a challenge to achieve, especially given the competitive nature of the educational culture here, but that's my goal as the person who has been trusted with this portion of their education.

A Year in Review

2007-12-31T23:12:00.000+09:00

After 4 hours of sitting on the runway at O'Hare and 13 hours in the air, I have completed my 11th trip across the Pacific Ocean and am back in Korea. I had intended just to take a short nap so I could go into Seoul tonight. My short nap turned into an 8-hour nap, and I woke up at 11 PM, having slept right through my alarm clock. It looks like I'll welcome 2008 from my cozy little apartment.

2007 Year in Review

January--I returned to Korea on my 7th trip across the Pacific Ocean. Complications from a root canal sent me to the endodontist, my new hero. I experienced my first earthquake. I got my own classroom at the school.

February--I celebrated Lunar New Year with Catherine and her family. My pants split in class one day. I started teaching full time.

March--I traveled to Jeju Island for a 4-day vacation and climbed Mt. Halla, Korea's highest peak. I started working at the preschool in addition to my regular school. I stopped working at the church.

April--I watched the sunrise from the east coast of Korea and almost watched the sunset from the west coast on Easter. I helped coach Miss Korea. The staff of my school spent a weekend in the mountains.

May--Adorned with lanterns and spring flowers, May was Korea's prettiest month this year. I was the English-speaking MC for the inaugural ceremony of Educators without Borders. I watched the Lotus Lantern parade and visited two big temples in Seoul for Buddha's Birthday.

June--I walked through a big public market that got creepier the deeper I got into it. I moved to a bigger apartment that has a full-sized refrigerator and washing machine. I went to Chicago on my 8th trip across the Pacific Ocean.

July--I spent the whole month of July in the U.S. with my family. We celebrated Mom and Dad's 30th wedding anniversary by going to The Color Purple in Chicago. We drove around Lake Michigan on a family vacation.

August--On my 9th trip across the Pacific Ocean, I returned to Korea. It was a very hectic month at school.

September--The month for traveling. I visited the DMZ, North Korea, and China. The highlight was spending a day hiking on the Great Wall.

October--Beautiful weather meant October was the month to be outside. I went hiking at Songnisan and Gyeryongsan National Parks and took field trips with most of my students. I ended the month in Samsung Medical Center's emergency room with pneumonia and a kidney infection.

November--I joined the gym with Catherine and was very dedicated--for about a week. Everyone came to my apartment to celebrate Thanksgiving.

December--I helped clean up the oil spill at Mallipo in Taean County and was misquoted in a major Korean newspaper. I made my 10th trip across the Pacific to spend Christmas in Chicago. I made my 11th trip across the Pacific Ocean and am back in Korea.

While having lunch with friends in Galena last week, I broke a tooth, which means that the year has come full circle. I'll begin 2008 in much the same way I began 2007--I have an appointment with the endodontist on January 2nd.

Lunch

2007-12-26T09:23:00.000+09:00

What: lunch
When: Thursday, December 27, 11 AM
Where: Happy Joe's, Galena
Questions: Call me at Grandma Shirley's Thursday morning. If you don't know her phone number, call Jane N. ;)

Pass it on! I'd love to see anyone who can make it.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T22:46:00.000+09:00

I'm wishing all my friends and family a very merry Christmas and a healthy, happy, holy New Year!

It's been wonderful to be home in the Chicago area with my family this week. Last night, Mom, Dad, Sal, Grandma, and I went to church. This morning we opened presents. Later, the extended family came for Christmas dinner and more presents. It's a blessing to have such a loving, supportive family.

Christmas EveChristmas Day

Back to the Land of Lincoln

2007-12-19T23:30:00.000+09:00

I flew to Chicago yesterday (Korea time), today (Chicago time). It was my 10th trip across the Pacific Ocean, not counting flying to Hawaii in 1990 and back in 1993. It was a thankfully-uneventful 14-hour nonstop flight. I had a window seat, and no one sat in the middle seat, so I had a little more room than I usually have on these long flights. Since I left Seoul in the evening, it was dark outside during the first half of the flight. However, just as we were flying over Alaska, the sun started to peek over the horizon. The light was perfect as we made our way over the Alaska Mountain Range. I looked out the window for over an hour, transfixed by the rugged, snow-covered mountains changing from dark blue to white to pink to orange as the sun came over the horizon. This is why I ask for a window seat. Interior Alaska in winter is not something I'm likely ever to see from the ground.Now I'm in Chicago. It's a very short trip this time, but I'm happy to be able to spend Christmas with my family.

I didn't say that

2007-12-17T23:43:00.000+09:00

The father of one of my students called the school this afternoon to tell us that he read about me in an article about the oil spill clean-up in one of Korea's national newspapers. H-k found the article on the internet by searching google with my name in Korean. They got some facts right--my name, where I live, my age, and where I'm from--but the quote is completely wrong.

I was asked why I volunteered and what I thought about the clean-up effort. I said I was there for three reasons: 1) I use oil, so I have some responsibility for what happened. 2) I enjoy being outdoors and am concerned about the environment. 3) Though I'm not a Korean citizen, I am a resident of this country and have as much of a responsibility to help this country while I live here, as I do to help my home country when I live there.

I also said that I thought it was encouraging to see so many people working together to assist with the clean-up effort, and although it felt like slow progress and could be discouraging, we have to start somewhere, so I was glad to join everyone and help out.

That's what I said. H-k interpreted for me, and I have no doubt that she's a trustworthy interpreter.

However, I was quoted saying that I was amazed by Koreans' ability to come together to overcome this crisis, just like Koreans came together following the IMF crisis and while hosting the 2002 World Cup.

Huh? I've never in my life talked about the IMF crisis or the World Cup. So, Chosun Ilbo, thanks for thinking of me, but at least get my words close to right.

They published an interesting photo along with the article. It shows a section of beach near where we worked to show the progress that's being made to clean things up, mostly by hand. The first photo was taken on Dec. 9th and the second on Dec. 16th.Here's a link to the article, but it's all in Korean: 해변이 다시 숨쉬기 시작했다

Oil Clean-up

2007-12-15T22:49:00.000+09:00

Today H-k and I joined nearly 32,000 other people from around Korea to help clean up the oil that has covered nearly 170 kilometers of Korea's west coast since a Hong Kong oil tanker and a Korean barge collided 8 kilometers from shore last Thursday, dumping 10,500 tons of crude oil into the West Sea (known outside Korea as the Yellow Sea).

We left our town at 7:30 AM and traveled by bus with an environmental group to Taean County where we spent four hours mopping up oil from the rocky beach with absorbant cloths and scooping mounds of oil-covered oyster shells into burlap sacks for safe disposal. It was cold and windy, and the sky occasionally spat snow and sleet on us, so we had to wear bulky layers of clothing under our protective suits, giving us an amazing resemblance to the Marshmallow Man. They don't let you work for more than four hours at a time because the exposure to the fumes and chemicals is unhealthy and potentially dangerous.

I felt fine while I was working, but on the bus on the way home, both H-k and I had a headache and felt dizzy and a little nauseous. That passed once I got off the bus, ate some dinner, and took a shower. Now my arms hurt from scrubbing rocks and bagging shells, and my legs hurt from squating on the rocks. The beach we worked on was not the hardest hit among the beaches on Korea's west coast yet the progress was just so slow, even with all the people working. We'd clean one section of beach and look down and see more oil. This spill is devasting to the natural environment, which consists significantly of coastal mudflats and is an important habitat for migratory birds, and also the local fishing, marine farming, and tourist industries. It felt hopeless, but as H-k said, we have to start somewhere.

I'm no dummy either

2007-12-13T23:50:00.000+09:00

Today I overheard this conversation, in Korean, between two of my five-year-olds.

Laura: Ms EMH can speak Korean.
Aaron: No, she can't.
Laura: Yes, she can. She understands it, too.
Aaron: No, she doesn't. Watch this. (yelling) MS EMH IS A DUMMY!
Ms EMH: AARON! Don't say that!
Aaron: (whispering to Laura) Wow, she does understand Korean.

I was so pleased to have understood it all that I didn't mind being called a dummy so much.

More Christmas Tree Love

2007-12-12T23:24:00.000+09:00

We've been taking class pictures in front of the Christmas tree this week.Finally, here's the Christmas tree in the center of town.Merry Christmas!

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

2007-12-05T23:53:00.000+09:00

Joy put the Christmas tree up while the rest of us were teaching last night. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to help, but at least there were still a few Christmas ornaments left to be hung when my last class of the day was over. I love having the Christmas tree up at school. It's immediately in the entry way (and right in front of Joy's desk), so it's a cheerful welcome to the school. It makes the kids happy, too. Catherine, Grace, Joy, and I took some pictures in front of the tree tonight after all the kids had gone home.I'm not sure why we're doing this with our hands. It was Joy's idea. I told her I thought it was funny and that I would tell everyone I know that this is how Koreans smile for photos. That made everyone laugh.I love having the Christmas tree up at school. I know there are a gazillion versions and verses to the song, but this is the one that's stuck in my head these days:

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

I think one of the reasons I'm so happy to have the Christmas tree up is that it's a visible reminder that very soon I'll be in Chicago celebrating Christmas with my family. I bought my plane ticket a month ago, but Joy just helped me make my seat assignments today. I'm flying nonstop and have a window seat. Oh yeah.

And for a slight aside that only my family will understand, I also have Uncle Tuney's choir singing "Hurry home for Christmas. Don't stop (stop) until you get there. Yeah." stuck in my head.

Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon City

2007-12-02T20:29:00.000+09:00

I met Jackie in Suwon this afternoon to take a walk around the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon City. I was there barely over a year ago with one of the teachers from my previous school, but we only saw a very small portion of the fortress on that visit. Today Jackie and I were about halfway around the 5-kilometer fortress when someone from behind us called, "Hey, waeguks (foreigners)!" We turned around, and much to our surprise, there was Scott, a hiking friend who lives in the far southwestern part of Korea. The three of us continued around the fortress together. Then Scott caught the bus back to his city, and Jackie and I checked out a store and then talked over ice cream in the train station before heading our separate ways home. Some photos from the trip.

Jackie, Scott, and EMH:Traditional Korean archery--I sure wouldn't want that guy's job.Hwaseong Fortress and Suwon: Some displays in the windows of a Chinese medicine shop:It was a good day. I always enjoy the opportunity to see more of Korea, chat with friends, and eat ice cream. Throw some exercise and fresh air in there, and it's a great combination. It's a good start to my week.

Weariness

2007-11-29T23:05:00.000+09:00

Ever since my pneuomina-kidney infection combo a month ago, I find that I get tired a lot more easily than usual. That's been especially true this week. It's the end of the month again, so in addition to my usual 12-hour school day, I've been working on monthly progress reports and lesson plans. Toward the end of the day, I can actually start to feel my brain start to shut itself down. I remember learning about different types of brain waves in a psychology class in high school. Is it possible actually to feel your brain waves change? I think I can.

When I get home at night, I'm tired. I'm not able to think clearly enough to read or write or study, so I'm not making anywhere near enough progress on my geology and math courses or my Korean, and my journal entries and email messages go unwritten. Honestly, at the end of the day, I no longer want to communicate. It's almost as if after a full day of trying to communicate, I have no more words left to exchange--none to say, none to hear--in English or Korean. I don't even turn the television on. I just want to sit in quiet.

My brain feels a little more fried than usuaul today. In my morning classes at the preschool, I have no control over the curriculum. I am simply given a lesson and am expected to teach it. However, the lessons are frequently inadequate--insufficient material or an inappropriate level or simply a poor quality. Today I was given a science lesson that was designed for 2nd graders in the United States, and I was expected to teach it to 5- and 6-year-olds whose English is so limited that they sometimes still have trouble answering the question "How are you?" with the pat response "I'm fine, thank you." At the preschool, I'm supposed to have a Korean coteacher in the class with me. Some are very sweet and helpful, but others surf the internet with complete disregard to the fact that the kids don't have any idea what I'm saying and chaos is beginning to ensue.

Today the lesson was obviously too difficult for the kids, but I had to teach it anyway. In one class, this resulted in 12 children holding up papers and screaming "MS EMH, 어똫게?????????????" ("WHAT DO I DO???") With no common language, I had no real way to explain to them what they were supposed to do, and even if I could have explained it, the lesson would have been too difficult for them anyway. The Korean coteacher, completely oblivious to the deafening noise level, didn't try to help with the explanation. She was too busy keeping a child, whom I suspect to be autistic, from wandering out of the classroom (why his assigned seat is closest to the door is beyond me), and no matter how may times I said, "Raise your hand!" or "Don't yell!" the screaming persisted.

I don't blame the kids. They're just little and asking for help in the way they know how--repeating themselves with increased volume when they don't get a sufficient answer to their question. I don't blame the teacher. She's usually helpful and was obviously busy assisting the special needs child. I do, however, blame--or at least question--this culture of ultra competitiveness that makes people believe that it's somehow beneficial to their very small children to push them past their ability to comprehend--to give beginning English students materials designed for native English-speakers who are several years older than they are. The sad thing is that this completely wasted valuable class time during which real progress could have been made in their English education. It's even sadder that this isn't the first class we've had like this.

Discipline, or Lack Thereof

2007-11-27T23:58:00.000+09:00

I was a little on edge today, so things that normally don't bother me too much grated on me more than usual. I have one student who is particularly rude and annoying. Most of the time, I believe I deal with this student well and ignore as much as I can, but today, I actually yelled in class. Normally, I think yelling is a waste of time and energy, but on this particular day, nothing else seemed to get this student's attention. When the rude, annoying behavior continued after repeated warnings, I completely lost my cool. The student was startled and almost in tears and the rest of the class just stared at me. "I think Ms EMH is serious," one of the kids whispered to another.

"As opposed to the times I'm not serious when I say this behavior is unacceptable?" I thought. In my mind, I could hear echoes of my mom saying to my sister and me when we were kids, "Do you think I yell because I like to?!"

Most of my students are sweet, but a few, like this particular student, have already bought into the aspect of Korean culture that essentially gives a foreigner no status in society. While most of my students are respectful, sweet children, it's frustrating to the extreme to encounter those who already view foreigners as somehow less deserving of respect than Koreans and who view foreigner teachers as having no real authority.

I'm not sure yelling earned me any respect in this student's eyes, but since nothing else I tried seemed to work, if this at least communicates that being rude and annoying is socially unacceptable, then maybe something important was learned this week.

I wanted to talk to this student after class and say something to the effect of, "We didn't do too well together day. Let's work together better next time," but the student was out the door faster than I've ever seen this student move. I sighed as I watched the little head of black hair disappear down the hallway with remarkable speed.

My project for the week: learn some new discipline strategies because what I currently know clearly isn't working in this case.

I'm thankful . . .

2007-11-23T23:23:00.000+09:00

. . . for my family and friends.
. . . for my teachers and mentors.
. . . for my physical and emotional health.
. . . for the peace and prosperity in which I live.
. . . for food on my table and a roof over my head.
. . . for my students who challenge and inspire me.
. . . for a life that is full of people and places I love.
. . . for clean water to drink and clean air to breathe.
. . . for access to quality healthcare and trained physicians.
. . . for my education and life experiences which have molded me.

I had a happy Thanksgiving dinner at my apartment with my friends from work. Instead of turkey, we ordered some Chinese delivery. Great food and good company. As the only American at the table, I did my best to explain American Thanksgiving traditions, or at least those of my family. I also tried to answer T and M's historical questions, which at one point required pulling my copy of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower off the bookshelf to check facts. It was fun to celebrate an American holiday with my friends here, but at the same time, I missed being with my family.

Here's our Thanksgiving dinner, including a rare recent photo of yours truly without glasses.

We thank Thee, Lord, for this our food,
For life and health and every good;
By Thine own hand may we be fed;
Give us each day our daily bread.
John Cennick, 1741

November Highlights

2007-11-20T23:15:00.001+09:00

I've been too busy to write much this month. Among all the other things on my plate, I began the mammoth project of editing my Korea journal for consideration for publication--as if teaching, recovering from pneumonia, taking two university courses, joining the gym, and studying Korean weren't enough to keep me busy.

We had our first snowfall of the year last night. It didn't last long and was followed by a thunderstorm, but it was pretty while it lasted. It signals that fall really is on its way out. The trees are looking pretty bare right now, but just a couple weeks ago, they were the most beautiful yellow and red. These shots are of the ginkgo trees right outside my apartment building.November has been a good month. I attended the baptism of one of my students early in the month. It was an honor to be invited and very nice to be back inside a church. It was the same church that I stood in front of several months ago and contemplated having become an outsider. Here is beautiful Irene, dressed her in hanbok for her baptism.The following weekend Catherine, M, and I went along with T and H-k to E and L's ballet recital at the local culture and arts center. Another two of my students were also in the three-hour performance. The little kids were clumsily cute as they basked in their prima ballerina glory, and the middle and high school students who performed a combination of ballet and traditional Korean dancing were elegant.As usual, I'm thankful for my friends here who give me little glimpses into the celebrations and routine of Korean life. To share some American culture with my friends, I've invted them to my apartment for dinner this Friday to celebrate Thanksgiving with me. Since I don't know where to get a turkey in Korea and couldn't cook one on my two-burner gas range anyway, I'm opting for the alternate American tradition--Chinese take-out.

Reminding Myself Why I Took PE Pass/Fail in High School

2007-11-13T23:35:00.001+09:00

P.E. was the downfall of my otherwise straight-A year in 9th grade. I was uncoordinated, out-of-shape, asthmatic, and entirely unmotivated when it came to athletic endeavors. When I transferred schools midway through high school, I was relieved that my new school offered the option of taking P.E. pass/fail, which meant I could show up, don the uniform, make a fool out of myself, and not suffer any academic consequences.

I like to think I've come a long way since then, but today I joined a gym for the first time in my life, and I'm not so sure. I'm still a little under the weather from my round of pneumonia a couple weeks ago, but I'm feeling like it's time to get moving again to shake what's left of this bug, so when Catherine suggested joining the gym with her, I decided to give it a try.

Since I've done absolutely no physical activity in the past three weeks, I was surprised that I didn't do too terribly on the treadmill. I'd never used one before, so it took a while to figure out how to keep my balance on it, but once I got the hang of it, I kept going for longer than I thought I would. However, stretching was another matter entirely. The trainer at the gym gave Catherine and me a stretching lesson that was a little too complicated for me. I couldn't follow the instructions in Korean, so I did my best to watch the trainer in the mirror and do what she was doing. What a flashback to adolescent uncoordination. At one point, Catherine noticed me struggling to figure it out and stopped what she was doing to reposition my arms. The whole ordeal made me laugh, which didn't help. Yeah, it's a good thing I went for the pass/fail option in high school.

We're going back again in the morning, and they're going to do something or other to analyze our body fat and water balance. Other than no breakfast tomorrow morning, I'm really not sure what that means.

Zapped

2007-11-03T10:01:00.000+09:00

This week has been a blur. I stayed home from school on Monday and felt too miserable to do anything. I didn't read, didn't watch tv, didn't even sleep. I just sat on my couch and wrapped myself up in a pretty pink shawl that my new friends S and B, whom I met in North Korea in September, gave me for my birthday.

On Tuesday I went back to school. I taught my morning classes, but H-k taught my afternoon classes, and I just helped out. I was really beat at the end of the day. I went home at 7:00 and was sound asleep by 8:00. I only woke up twice in 12 hours! On Wednesday I taught my morning classes. H-k taught two of my afternoon classes, and I taught the other two. On Thursday and Friday, I taught all of my classes by myself.

I had a follow up appointment with the doctor on Friday. H-k gave me a ride, and we had to leave here by 6 AM, which was not a lot of fun. They did blood tests and chest xrays. The doctor said there's a lot of improvement but still some sign of infection, so I'm not supposed to exert myself for another two weeks, and I'm supposed to keep pumping fluids. It's frustrating because I want to be better NOW. The fall colors are at their peak now--beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds--and I want to be on top of the mountains. I know not to overdo it, however. I don't want this bug coming back. I was actually starting to feel close to normal on Friday, but I'm feeling really lethargic and just generally ill again today. No plans for the weekend except staying warm and sleeping.

Another Day, Another Doctor

2007-10-29T06:02:00.000+09:00

I woke up at 3:30 yesterday morning and felt pretty miserable, worse than I had felt on Friday and Saturday. I hung in there until about lunch time, but when I started feeling even worse, I decided it was time to call H-k and ask if the clinic has an emergency number since it's closed on Sundays. She and T decided I needed to go to the emergency room, and she came to pick me up a little while later.

H-k took me to the Samsung Seoul Hospital. They did a bunch of tests, concluded that I have a kidney infection and pneumonia, and pumped me full of fluids and antibiotics. Six hours later, we were allowed to go home, with an arsenal of medications (with labels!) and a follow-up appointment on Friday.

The emergency room was very crowded yesterday, probably because it was Sunday and most local clinics were closed. There were a few other foreigners there. While I was waiting for an xray, I observed a southeast Asian couple struggle to make themselves understood by the doctors and nurses. I was so thankful that H-k was there with me. Even though the doctors and nurses could speak and understand English, it was such a reassurance to have someone else there who could help me communicate when difficulties arose. I told H-k that she graduated to a new level of friendship yesterday, not only because of her care and concern, but also because at one point she had to help me remove my bra while I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and had an IV in my hand. No easy task, let me say. We joked that it was an R-rated version of the human knot game that we played with our students in the park just a couple weeks ago. It's good to keep a sense of humor about things.

A visit to a medical facility is never my idea of a fun way to spend the day, and in Korea, I find it all the more uncomfortable because of the language barrier and cultural differences, but I have to say that what I experienced in the emergency room was not significantly different from what I would expect in the U.S., with a few notable exceptions.

The first major different was the lack of privacy. Examinations that required undressing were performed behind a curtain, though I had other people walk in on me twice without any notice, but all other procedures and consultations were carried out in a crowded common room. The other major difference I noticed was a different standard of sanitation. The hospital was clean, but the examining tables didn't have linens or paper, and I didn't notice anyone disinfecting them between patients. I'm also used to doctors and nurses at home washing their hands right there in the room before they touch you. I didn't see anyone do that here. No one's hands appeared dirty, but now that I think about it, I didn't notice a sink anywhere around. Maybe we're a little paranoid about things like privacy and sanitation in the West, but I'm not so sure that's a bad thing.

T is teaching my classes again today, and I'm really thankful for all his help this week. I'm getting very tired of staying at home, so I'm hoping I can go back to school on Tuesday if someone helps me with crowd control in my classes. I miss my students and friends.

Not such a happy camper

2007-10-27T16:33:00.000+09:00

I've been home sick for the past three days. I felt it coming on for a couple weeks, but I thought I was achy from all the hiking I've been doing and coughing because of a cold that would pass on its own. However, after two nights and one day of serious pain and coughing so hard that I was gagging and having a hard time catching my breath, on Thursday morning, I finally gave up, called in sick, and went to the doctor.

Joy went with me, and while I didn't actually need an interpreter, I was feeling so miserable that it was nice just to let someone else do the talking. One of the nurses even asked me, "You don't talk?" Every inch of my body hurt so much that even breathing was painful.

This was only the second time that I've been to a doctor since I came to Korea. The medical culture is different here than it is in the United States. Perhaps because of the national health insurance program, which makes medical care both easily accessible and affordable to everyone, people go to the doctor much more readily here than they do in the U.S. Medical privacy seems almost nonexistent. People don't seem to ask as many questions of their doctors here, and similarly, doctors seem to have less patience with patients' questions than they do in the U.S. Doctors seem to prescribe more medications but for a shorter duration than they do at home, and medications come in little packets with no labels. I lovingly refer to these as mystery pills. Here's my second round of them, acquired this afternoon.Joy and I arrived at the clinic when it opened at 10 AM. They took my height, weight, blood pressure, and temperature right there in the waiting room, in front of an audience of 4 elderly people who had arrived before us. Since the receptionist said there would be a wait, Joy decided I needed to eat, even though I had no appetite, and took me across the street for samgyejuk--a chicken and rice porridge that is the Korean equivalent of chicken noodle soup for someone who is sick. I generally like all sorts of juk but had no interest in eating and couldn't even finish a third of it, so Joy had them package the rest of it for me to take home.

Then we went back to the clinic. Even though the doctor could speak some English--as most educated people in Korea can--he was obviously nervous about the language and primarily talked with Joy. It made me feel a little childish to be spoken about rather than spoken to while I was sitting right there, especially since I could follow some of their conversation in Korean, but I was also so uncomfortable that I didn't care so much. Living here has made me learn to trust people and also to be okay with needing help. I made sure to describe my symptoms slowly and clearly myself, but I wasn't feeling chatty, so it didn't bother me too much just to be quiet. He listened to me breathe and then smacked me on the back . . . hard. I was in pain to start with, but that felt like a knife was going right through me. "Did that hurt?" he asked as if my wince and moan weren't clear enough indications that it did. Then, just to be sure, he did it two more times in slightly different places, each producing the same reaction from me.

He then wanted a urine sample, but unlike doctors' offices at home that generally have a toilet somewhere in the office, this clinic had none. The clinic is located with several other medical and dental offices on the 4th floor of a shopping mall, and they all share the public restroom, which was, of course, down the hall, around a corner, down another hall, around another corner, down yet another hall, around yet another corner, and down still another hall. Joy encouraged me, "You can do it!" So off I went with my little plastic cup to the restroom. As I returned to the clinic, carefully carrying my little plastic cup, which didn't have a lid by the way, I hoped that I wouldn't run into a student or parent--not that it's anything to be embarrassed about really--but carrying a little plastic cup of your own pee in public is generally not a socially acceptable thing to do where I'm from. I didn't run into anyone, however, and when I returned, Joy greeted me with an enthusiastic "Good job!" to which I had absolutely no idea how to respond.

The doctor concluded that I have a bacterial infection in my lungs and kidneys. He sent me off with a prescription for a bunch of mystery pills and told me to drink a lot of fluids and get a lot of rest. Joy took me to the pharmacy where I made them explain to me, much to their frustration, what each pill was--an antibiotic, a cough medicine, an anti-inflammatory painkiller, and an orange pill that they couldn't find a way to describe for me.

Joy took me home and waited while I wrote out a quick lesson plan for T who was covering my classes. It turns out that I wasn't thinking clearly enough to write down the correct page numbers, but he's resourceful, so I'm sure he managed just fine. I spent the rest of the day feeling miserable and sleeping. On Thursday night, Joy, Catherine, and H-k all came to check on me, which I really appreciate. H-k brought me some juice, corn tea, and fruit.

I was actually able to sleep Thursday night, only waking up three times. Friday was a little better than Thursday. I'm a far cry from 100%, but I'm in nowhere near as much pain and am not coughing as much. H-k called to check on me Friday morning, and T stopped by so I could write down a brief lesson plan for him. Catherine and Joy called to check on me in the afternoon and evening. It's really reassuring to know that I have such good friends who are so concerned and caring.

Since I was stuck at home yesterday but feeling a little better than Thursday, I tried to be productive. Between naps, I corrected 9 workbooks and 7 journals, graded 9 tests, and wrote 20 progress reports. The end of the month is always really busy--with progress reports and next month's lesson plans due--so I wanted to get some work done so that it's not such an overwhelming task when I return to school on Monday.

I went back to the doctor this morning for my next round of mystery pills (pictured above) and then stopped by the school to swap books, but I have no other plans for the weekend except continuing to pump fluids and sleep.

Field Trips!

2007-10-22T23:51:00.000+09:00

I love field trips. They are so much work and so exhausting, but they're a blast. The kids run around, burn energy, have a great time, and don't even realize that they're learning. Last week we took almost all of our preschoolers through 4th graders to the city's central park for a few hours of fun, cooperative outdoor games. I loved it . . and the kids had fun, too.

Preschool and Kindergarten First GradersSecond GradersThird and Fourth Graders One kindergarten class and one 2nd/3rd grade class together

Gyeryongsan National Park

2007-10-21T11:08:00.000+09:00

Jackie organized another hiking trip this weekend. We went to Gyeryongsan National Park in the central part of Korea. I was feeling pretty worn out because of a cold and chest congestion, and I wasn't able to keep up so well. The park was crowded, and it was cold out. As we were going up, I got warm and took my coat off, but when I stopped moving, I got quite chilly. It was an enjoyable weekend with a good dinner at the end. Cheers to Jackie for another successful outing.

They say it's (my) birthday!

2007-10-20T06:00:00.000+09:00

I had a wonderful birthday this week. My day started with a phone call with Mom and Dad, which is always one of the highlights of my week. Then all the teachers at my morning preschool sang Happy Birthday to me in English, despite being nervous about it. When I got to my regular school in the afternoon, my friends had flowers for me. I got a lot of hugs and "I love you"s from kids all day.

On Friday, I went out to lunch with the mothers' class. As we were walking to the restaurant, one of the moms started walking away from the group. I asked the others where she was going, but they pretended not to me. She showed up at the restaurant a little while later with a cake. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

I invited my friends from work over to my apartment for dinner on Friday night--salad, minestrone, and pizza. One of my students had given me a cake on Thursday, so we ate that, too. Everyone seemed to have a good time--I sure did.

It was a very happy birthday. It only would have been better if my family and friends at home had been here, too.

Everyday I am thankful that I work with people who are also my friends and have become my family here in Korea. I love this picture. Back, L to R: T, H-k, M, Catherine, Jenny. Front: Chloe, Joy, E and L (on Joy's lap), and myself.

Flesh-eating fish

2007-10-16T23:28:00.000+09:00

About a month ago, my friend Catherine told me about "Doctor Fish," small fish that eat the dead skin from your feet. Since then I've heard about them five or six times but hadn't given it a try until tonight. It sounded too unique to miss, so when H-k suggested tonight that we check out a new cafe that has doctor fish, I more than enthusiastically agreed.

It was a really strange sensation--somewhere between a tickle and a scratch. They all swarm around your feet and nibble away. H-k joked that they seem to like "ethnic food," meaning American feet, for a change.

Here are some pictures.

Songnisan National Park

2007-10-07T22:03:00.000+09:00

My friend Jackie organized a hiking trip at Songnisan National Park in the central part of Korea this weekend. I took the train about an hour south of where I live to Cheonan and met up with everyone. From there we took two buses to the national park. We visited the big buddha at Beopjusa and then hiked halfway up the mountain to the hut where we'd stay the night. Half of our group of 10 stayed at the hut Saturday afternoon and the other half of us hiked up to a small hermitage near the ridge. From there, Scott, Jackie, and I continued to the highest peak in the park--Cheonhwangbong--at 1058 meters. Jackie and Scott are pretty serious hikers and left me in the dust when I stopped to take a couple pictures, but I eventually caught up with them.

Then we headed back to the hut for some excellent Korean food for dinner--and a lot of it. We sat there around the table next to the wood-burning stove and talked and laughed for a few hours. Then we called it a night. Most of us got up early Sunday morning, due to some extreme snoring in one of the rooms were were sharing. We gathered around the table and ate and talked some more. Jackie, Scott, and I had talked about hiking to another peak on Sunday, but a combination of laziness, tiredness, and sore muscles kept us sitting until it was time to hike back down the mountain to catch the bus home again.

All in all, it was an excellent weekend. Mega kudos to Jackie for pulling it all together. While she was the only person there whom I knew before this weekend, I feel like I left with several new friends. The weather was beautiful, and the views from the ridge were amazing.

On our walk through the town to the national park, we passed this man and his performing monkey. I felt sorry for the monkey.The 33-meter bronze buddha at Beopjusa:At the mountain hut--EMH talking and everyone looking annoyed. Oh no!From the hermitage, almost at the ridgeline:The hike to Cheonhwangbong at 1058 meters:Dinner:Representing 5 countries, here is the whole crowd, minus 1 who got an early start down the mountain:On our way back down:While we were waiting for the bus, there was this old man blowing on a single-note pipe whistle like a little kid. He just kept blowing and blowing on it, making a lot of annoying noise but nothing even close to a tune. I was amused.

Signs

2007-09-29T23:56:00.000+09:00

I got up at 7:00 this morning and went downstairs for breakfast with Nina, and we met Grace down in the breakfast room. She had had a good time hiking the Great Wall yesterday and was planning to walk to the Temple of Heaven today. That's a really long walk from the hostel, so we suggested that she rent a bike or take a taxi today.

After breakfast, Nina and I shared a taxi to the airport. Her flight was an hour before mine, so I had plenty of time to roam around the airport. I love to walk around airports and look at the monitors at each gate to see where the planes are going. On my way to my gate, I passed this monitor:In case it's too small to read, the destination is Pyongyang. I realized that that's one city I've never seen on an airport monitor before, and I hope I see the day when I can pass a similar monitor and not think that it's an unusual sight.

On the topic of unusual signs, here are a few of my favorites from China.

On the bathroom door of the hostel: City of Beijing is short of water. Please treasure the water and don't forget close the faucet in the toilet after use. By the way, We do not suggest you drink the water in the toilet. (Ummm . . . no, neither do I.)At Tianamen Square: Construction on the spot. No admission. Thank you. (I'm glad they get right on it.)At the Lama Temple: Fire-fighting equipment is strictly prohibited to be diverted.At the Great Wall:All that belong to the nation belong to the world civilization is the most important. (And there we have it.) Be civilized visitor, set up the ecosystem together! (We're really keen on civilization at the Great Wall.)Appreciate the Great Wall lovely view, do not forget the fire is heartless!Speaking cellphone is strictly prohibited when thunderstorm.
Heart cerebral disease sufferer ascend the Great Wall to please watch for.At the Ming tombs: No Scribbling. No Climbing. (So if you're going to deface the tombs, at least stay in the lines.)In Beijing, the amuseful/happy customer easy meal restaurant.The wet towel on the airplane on my way back to Korea: This refreshing towel also has a sterilizing effect. (I hope not.)Now I'm back in Korea, but I have a long list of things to see on a return trip to Beijing someday!

Beijing, Day Five

2007-09-28T23:18:00.000+09:00

I slept in until 7 Am today and then stayed in bed and read for an hour. I had picked up Hiroshima by John Hersey in the airport in Seoul, and even though it seemed like a strange selection at the time, it has been an interesting and educational read. After being on the go early the past three mornings, it was nice to be lazy. I went downstairs to the hostel's cafe for breakfast and debated in my head whether or not I was too sore to spend another day on a bicycle and if I should give motorized vehicles a try. I decided on the bicycle, despite my very sore left knee and hip. Fortunately for me, my same hot pink single-speed rental bicycle was available, and off I went down the hutong alley. I rode south to a street that has several antique shops, though whether or not what they're selling was really made all that long ago is anyone's guess.

The antique stores I found some quirky and fun gifts for my family and then wandered the alleys through a residential area. Despite Beijing's facade of skyscrapers, ornate palaces and temples, and manic Olympic construction, it's more than evident in Beijing's hutongs that many people live a hardscrabble life--one and two room cinder block houses, mostly lacking electricity, plumbing, and some even doors. Wealthier families, by Beijing standards, live in apartment buildings with electricity and water. In the hutongs there are rank-smelling public squat-style toilets in the neighborhoods. Small, meager businesses--a barber, a cobbler, a take-out restaurant, a bicycle repair shop, a fruit shop, a tiny grocery store--were scattered here and there. Most of the shops were so small that the proprietor stood inside and the customer stood outside, and business was transacted through the door or window. Clothes were hung out to dry in the windows and doorways. Grandmothers dutifully and dotingly chased after toddlers--mostly boys--wearing split-crotch pants and no diapers. When duty calls, they either squat where they are, sometimes on a piece of newspaper hastily supplied by Grandma, or are rushed to one of the public toilets. When you consider how many diapers a toddler in the U.S. goes through--and the associated cost and environmental impact--the diaper-free crotchless pants actually make sense.

Some snapshots from the hutong alleys I spent the entire morning and part of the early afternoon at the antique street and surrounding hutong and then got on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle and made my third attempt to visit Mao's mausoleum. By then it was late enough that the lunch time that was posted yesterday was over, and I was sure the third time would be a charm. However, it seems that Mr. Mao likes to begin his weekends early as the mausoleum is closed after 11 AM on Fridays. I guess he'll just have to wait until my next trip to Beijing. I don't think he'll be traveling to Korea anytime soon.

I got back on my bicycle and rode past Tianamen Square again to Wangfujing Street to buy some souvenirs for friends and family. Then I rode my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle past St. Joseph's Church and paused to watch the skate-boarders for a while.I returned to the hostel in the early evening, took a shower, and went for one last walk up and down the alley that my hostel is on. I went back to the hostel and ran into Grace, who had just returned from a Great Wall hike. She and Nina and I compared the things we bought. It was interesting to see the unique things that they each picked up. At 10:30 PM, as I was packing my bag for the morning, I remembered one person I still needed a souvenir for. Fortunately a few of the shops near the hostel were still open, and I was able to pick something up. Now I'm back at the hostel and have finished packing, sad to be leaving Beijing in the morning.

Beijing, Day Four

2007-09-27T22:13:00.000+09:00

The rain last night cleared the sky of Beijing's pervasive air pollution, making this morning truly pleasant. I left the hostel at 5:30 this morning. I told the person working at the desk last night that I wanted to rent a bicycle early in the morning. I was hoping that I could arrange everything the night before so it would be ready for me to ride in the morning, but they told me the person working at the desk would take care of it for me in the morning. I went out to the front desk a little before 5:30. Everything was dark, and no one was there. After calling "hello" a few times, a very sleepy hostel staff member appeared from the common room where she had been sleeping. She sleepily got me squared away, and I set off on a hot pink rental bicycle down one of Beijing's narrow alleys. As I pedaled, I felt that the gears were set too low, but when I went to change them, I hit the bell instead. That's the first time that I noticed that most of Beijing's myriad bicycles are single speed. I continued down the alleys on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle in the early morning darkness, since along with gears, it was also lacking a headlight.

I rode to the area around Tianamen Square. The flag raising would start at 6:06 AM, and I got there at about 6:00. I had read that you can't take a bicycle on the square, but I didn't know where I could leave it, so it took me a little bit of searching and scrambling to find a place a couple blocks away. Then I had to run to join the throngs of flag-waving tourists and track-suit-uniform-clad students. I was directly across the street from Tianamen Square when the Chinese national anthem starting blaring over the loudspeaker, and the flag started to go up. I had a clear view of the flag and the Gate of Heavenly Peace, thanks to being at least a full head taller than the majority of other people assembled for the event. I was too far away, however, to fully appreciate the honor guards' perfectly timed paces as they emerged from the Gate of Heavenly Peace. I'm not too disappointed. I've seen enough military ceremonies in my life to get the idea, and it was exciting to me just to be among the Chinese crowds for this event. By 6:07 AM, the Chinese flag was flying high over Tianamen Square.When I was satisfied that the flag was sufficiently raised, I got back on my bike and rode south through decrepit hutongs to the Temple of Heaven park. I arrived just as the park was opening at 6:30 and parked my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle alongside those of the Chinese grandmas and grandpas who were beginning their day with badminton, ballroom dancing, and tai chi in the park. The temple grounds themselves didn't open until 8:30, but I was more than content to spend a couple hours just walking around and watching people do what they do in the early morning in Beijing. Unlike all the tourist things I had done, this was an authentic Beijing experience.At 8:30 AM, I tried to walk onto the temple grounds, but the woman at the gate told me it was closed "for the Olympics." I could hear a lot of activity inside--announcements, music, people moving about. It all sounded pretty official. I wondered if maybe they were practicing something for the Olympics. Since I couldn't go inside, I walked around to the back of the temple and over to another part of the temple ground. At 9:30 AM, I went to the back gate of the part that was closed and peeked between the doors. The little part of the sign that I could see said, "Final Leg. Torch Run." Too cool, I thought. Then the door opened, and a police office looked at me. I thought maybe I had done something wrong, even though there was nothing indicating that the doors were off limits.

"Ticket," he said. I showed him my general admission tickets to the temple. "Okay, come in," he said. I couldn't believe it but sure didn't ask any questions. When I got inside, I could see the whole sign, which read "2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games Law Enforcement Torch Run. Beijing Welcome and Relay Launch Ceremony." Not exactly what I thought it was when I was peering through the doors, but it was cool nonetheless. There were many performers and a small army band and lots of decorations. When the ceremony was over and they started cleaning up, I realized that I was the only tourist there. For about 10 minutes after they had finished cleaning up but before they opened the gates to the general public, I was the only person at the temple. It felt so strange to be in the middle of this huge city, at an important cultural site and popular tourist attraction and have the place to myself. When the crowds finally came pouring in, I had already seen everything and was on my way out, feeling pretty pleased with my morning.I wandered back through the park, pausing to watch ballroom dancing, kite flying, badminton, tai chi, sword dancing, fan dancing. At one part of the park, no less than 50 people were gathered around and clapping their hands to a steady beat and chanting in call-and-response style. I wonder what they were saying. From another part of the park, I heard a squeaking/screeching sound and followed it. There were about 30 people clustered in groups of 2 or 3, playing traditional stringed instruments and singing. They weren't trying to outdo each other but their close proximity to one another created this great collage of cluttered sound--interesting but not something I wanted to listen to for very long.

I made my way out of the park, retrieved my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle, and pedaled on to the Hongqiao Market. When I was in the Philippines a few years ago, I brought back strings of freshwater pearls for family and friends, and they were a big hit, so I wanted to do the same again. The whole 3rd and 4th floors of the market are pearl stores, with the less expensive freshwater pearls on the 3rd floor and the more expensive Tahitian salt water pearls on the 4th floor. As I wandered around the 3rd floor, people shouted at me continuously, "Lady, come here. Lady, look at this." If I even glanced to the side, the salespeople shouted and held things up to show me.

One store caught my eye, not because of anything there--for all practical purposes, it was exactly like all the other stores--but because the woman behind the counter very politely asked me, "Friend, are you buying pearls?" No pressure, no yelling, just a simple question.

I'm really bad at bargaining, but I gave it a try as it's the way things are done in China. I believe she gave me a fair price, though I have to admit that I really don't know what a string of freshwater pearls should cost. Since I bought several strands, she had to call her friend at another stall to come help her restring them and tie knots and clasps. While they were working, we had a pleasant conversation, and they gave me a few insights into their lives. The one saleswoman looked to be about my age and told me she's from northeast China, near North Korea. The other is from southern China and is 19 years old. She came to Beijing on her own when she was 16 years old to earn money. Both only finished middle school. They work 10 hours everyday, though they said they occasionally get a day off, and they get some time off for Chinese New Year, when they both return to their hometowns to visit family. The older of the two said her birthday is this week and she'll take her friends out for dinner. The younger saleswoman told me she likes working better than school. They had lots of questions about the United States--what's the weather like, what are schools like, when do people get married, how long is the work day. They gave me a little insight into Chinese life, and I hope I gave them a little insight into American life.

I left the market and hopped back on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle and pedaled my way north past Tianamen Square. It made me giggle to be mixed in with the cars, buses, and bicycles passing such a significant place. I had hoped to pay a visit to Mr. Mao today, but the mausoleum was closed for lunch when I was in that area. I rode my bicycle on to Wangfujing Street--a mostly pedestrianized tourist shopping area--and spent an hour browsing the shops. Then I got back on my hot pink single-speed rental bicycle and rode to an area of the city that was supposed to have a gallery that displayed North Korean propaganda. I rode all around the area, up and down the street it was supposed to be on, but I couldn't find it. Either the name was in Chinese or it had moved or closed since the publication of my guidebook. After a thorough search, I gave up and joined the chaos of Beijing's rush hour traffic to return to the hostel. I took a shower and then joined Grace, a Canadian guest at the hostel, for a kung-fu show. Very impressive but after being on the go since 5:30 AM and bicycling all day, I was sore and sleepy and even drifted off a few times.

After the show, I returned to the hostel, met my new roommates--Nina from Holland and Roberto from Italy--and went out for dinner. I'm very tired and sore from the past four busy, active days. I had planned to visit the Summer Palace and Beihai Park tomorrow, but I think that's farther than I want to go and more walking than I want to do, so I think I'll try to sleep in in the morning and have a relatively quiet shopping day tomorrow.

Beijing, Day Three

2007-09-26T21:57:00.000+09:00

Today was a little disappointing, but I suppose if my holiday only has one disappointing day, that's not so bad. I signed up for a tour to another section of the Great Wall. I had read that this section is really touristy and not exactly recommended because of the scores of people. I already saw the Great Wall yesterday, but this tour, advertised by my hostel, also included the Ming tombs, a jade factory and a Chinese medicine practitioner. I was really interested in visiting the Ming tombs and thought the jade factory would be interesting since I like rocks. As for the Chinese medicine practitioner, I figured it couldn't hurt.

I had also read that some "tours" in China are essentially schemes to get tourists to buy things from certain (overpriced) stores, and the tour guide gets a cut. I didn't think I had to worry about ending up on one of those since this tour was organized through my hostel, but it turns out that I was wrong. The hostel itself doesn't run the tour but makes reservations with a separate company for hostel guests. The day-long "tour" was really several shopping opportunities with brief stops at the Great Wall and Ming tombs. We didn't go to the Chinese medicine practitioner, but we went to a silk factory instead. Even lunch was at a restaurant at the back of a huge "Government Friendship Store" displaying signs which simultaneously boasted and warned "Reasonable prices. No bargaining."

I was told that the tour group would meet in the hostel lobby at 6:30 AM, so I was ready bright and early . . . and I was the only one. I asked at the front desk and was told that the bus was running late. That still didn't explain the complete absence of other people, but the guy behind the desk looked tired from working the night shift and was struggling to communicate in English, so I decided I'd just wait, and my question about probably be answered soon enough.

At 6:45 AM, a taxi pulled up to the hostel, and a guy got out and told me we'd catch the tour bus down the street. "Am I the only one?" I asked.

"No, we'll pick up others at the other hotels."

We walked down the alley, and at 7:00, the bus came. We spent the next two hours driving from one hotel to another and then back to the first hotel, picking people up. At 9:30, we were finally on our way and spent the next hour in stop-and-go rush hour traffic until we arrived at the jade factory. By the time we arrived, I had been on the go for three hours, making a bathroom break my top priority when I finally got off the bus. I didn't realize that the jade factory tour would be so short that when I came out of the bathroom, my group would be finished and in the show room already. I missed the whole thing, so I walked through it on my own and tried to figure out for myself what was going on. I saw part of another tour (in Chinese) and by watching could figure out that they were talking about how to distinguish real jade from other stones, glass, and plastic and what makes a good-quality jade. Then I worked my way into the show room.

When I decided to come to China, one of the things I wanted as a souvenir for myself was a good quality jade bracelet. I tried one on that I really liked, but the price was way too high. I was able to bargain it down by 40%, but I still think I paid too much for it. I really like it, though. It will always be a good reminder of my trip and this time in my life and will be something nice to pass on to someone someday. It's a solid bangle in a relatively uniform shade of medium green. They say the color will become darker and richer with age. Jade is very hard and strong, so it's pretty much impossible to scratch or break. They say if it ever does break, then it has protected its wearer from something bad. It's worn on the left arm because that's closest to your heart, and the bumping of the bracelet against your wrist is supposed to be good for your energy. I don't know if it's true, but I always enjoy a legend. It's good incentive to keep exercising. If my hand and wrist get any bigger, I won't be able to get it on and off. I was hoping to buy something for my mom and sister, too, but by the time I was done bargaining, I had to get back on the bus.

We went to the Badaling section of the Great wall. It's one of the only sections that has been restored for tourists. Unlike the section I hiked on yesterday, there were no crumbling rocks here. There were lots of (Western) tourists, and it wasn't very pleasant. This section of the wall is a staircase up the mountain, and it was a line of people the first half of the way up. After that, most people turned around and went back down.

Only two other people from my group wanted to go to the top, so we walked together, and I enjoyed their company. Jimmy was born in Hong Kong and emigrated to Canada as a teenager in 1997. He was visiting Beijing with his father who was also on today's tour but gave up on the stairs about a third of the way up. Michael is from Poland and is back in Beijing after spending two weeks in Pyongyang visiting relatives who have been in North Korea for four years with the Polish embassy. Michael said that it was a weird two weeks and that his relatives are more than looking forward to returning to Poland this summer. Jimmy and Michael made for some fun company.

Here we are at the end of that section of the Great Wall. We asked an American tourist to take the photo for us--with each of our cameras. She joked, "Don't you all know each other?" I thought, "Umm . . . no, not really!"It took us an hour to climb up the wall and 15 minutes to come back down. I'm a little concerned that I may have some problems with my knees because on my last several trips that have involved hills or stairs, I've had significant pain when I was on my way down.

We were late returning to the bus, so everyone was waiting for us. I usually don't like to keep people waiting for me, but it didn't bother me so much today since we hadn't been given a realistic amount of time to enjoy the wall. I had read that at the base of the wall, it's possible to have your picture taken in a Mongolian warrior uniform, sitting on the back of a two-humped Bactrian camel. Despite my usual aversion to ultra-touristy things, I wanted to do this, but I looked around and couldn't find a camel. I was moderately disappointed about that.

Back on the bus, we were shuttled to the restaurant/Government Friendship Store for lunch that was pretty much like Chinese food in the U.S. The store was expensive. I didn't buy anything. I did compare the prices of jade bracelets, though, and it seems that the bracelets like mine cost about the same.

A portrait of Mao above a doorway at the "Government Friendship Store. Reasonable Prices. No Bargaining."Then it was back on the bus to the Ming tombs, which would have been very cool to visit if we hadn't been herded through so quickly. There were also hordes of tourists, mostly elderly Chinese and mostly wearing red baseball caps provided by their tour company. It made me feel like maybe I had started a trend or had a fan club or something. However, since it wasn't sunny or rainy, I didn't have much need for my own red hat and left it in my backpack for this part of the trip. It still warmed my heart to see that a gazillion elderly Chinese tourists understand that traveling is just so much better when you're wearing a red baseball cap.

At the Ming Tombs. Notice all the red hats.Our total tour of the Ming tombs lasted about 45 minutes. I really wanted to spend more time and take it all in, but we were herded back on the bus and shuttled to the silk factory for another whirlwind tour followed by a long time in the show room. There were beautiful things, but they were expensive, so I didn't buy anything.

At the silk factory:Then were back on the bus again, battling rush hour traffic on our way back to various hotels to drop people off. We were at a dead stop in traffic when I noticed that we were only a few blocks from my hostel, so I had the bus driver let me off, and I walked the rest of the way, glad to be able to go at my own pace for the first time today.

I returned to my room, took a shower, got something to eat, checked my email, and made my plans for tomorrow. Unfortunately it's raining now. My plan was to rent a bike, go to Tianamen Square at sunrise to see them raise the flag, go to the Temple of Heaven, go shopping at the pearl market, and explore some of the city by bike before returning to the hostel for the Kung-fu show. I'll have to see how the weather is in the morning.

Beijing, Day Two

2007-09-25T21:32:00.000+09:00

I slept really well last night. I didn't even hear my roommates return to the room or notice them turn out the light. I woke up early this morning and met the bus for the Great Wall hike. I had a window seat, but the cold medicine I took this morning knocked me out, and I slept most of the way. I woke up a few times during the three-hour bus ride to see the change from city to suburbs to country and the land become more mountainous. The country villages we passed looked a little like the villages in North Korea--identical houses in straight rows with grey tile roofs. The Chinese villages seemed in better repair, though, and unlike the eerie silence in North Korea, there were definite signs of life and people about their daily business in the Chinese villages.

We arrived at the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall at about 10:30 AM, and the bus driver said he would meet us at the Simitai section 10 km further on by 2:30 PM. From there we were on our own. Since I generally walk fast, I ended up ahead of the rest of the people on my bus from the very beginning, which mean that for a few minutes, I was standing on the wall alone, with no one else in sight. I looked down and had a hard time believing that those were my feet on the Great Wall of China. TV documentaries and elementary school history books don't hold a candle to standing on the Great Wall with my own feet. It was a warm, hazy day, so visibility wasn't the best--pollution is bad here in China--but the Great Wall was visible along the mountain ridge all the way to the horizon. "Great" is no understatement. I started to walk, stopping several times along the way to take pictures and pinch myself that I was really there.

A few people from my bus caught up with me when I stopped for a break--a woman from Scotland on a year-long backpacking trip, a couple from Holland in China for three weeks, two friends from Sweden who came to Beijing on the Trans-Siberian Railway. I envied all of them a little but also remembered that my almost two years in Korea is my own adventure and that I'm more than happy with my life. Still, I enjoyed talking with all of them and listening to their stories about their travels. Sometimes I walked along with one or more of them, and sometimes I walked along alone, as I alternated between stopping to take pictures and walking briskly. It was just the right mix of pleasant company and solitude for me. There were other people along the way--very persistent souvenir and water peddlers who carry their merchandise in backpacks and tote bags and follow hikers along the way. I bought some postcards and an "I climbed the Great Wall" t-shirt. I also caught up with and passed a tour group who had started an hour earlier but were walking considerably slowly.

It was such a thrill to spend a day on the Great Wall. Parts of the wall were in pretty serious disrepair. It was even reduced to rubble in a couple places. I guess it's hard to maintain something that is 6,000+ kilometers long and on top of a mountain. There were little lizards along the way, and a lot of insects, including a contemplative-looking praying mantis and a centipede about the size of my finger.I made it back to the bus by 1:30 PM. Even though it was a moderately strenuous hike with a lot of stairs to go up and down and up again, I was surprised that it wasn't more difficult. I wasn't physically tired at the end, but my cold medicine was starting to wear off, leaving me with a headache and a very runny nose, so I wasn't and too disappointed to head off the wall and down the mountain and just sit until the rest of my group showed up. I went to a restaurant and ate some watermelon and apples and drank cucumber juice until it was time to go. I took some more cold medicine and slept most of the bus ride back to Beijing, waking up occasionally to look out the window and see the mountains gradually disappear and the countryside become suburbs become city.

I arrived back at the hostel at 6 PM, took a shower, and checked my email. Then I took a walk around my hostel's quirky neighborhood and got some dinner--stir-friend bacon, veggies, and rice cakes--too salty but okay. I walked back to the hostel, stopping at a small grocery store for some green apple flavored Miranda and some tissues. Between my runny nose and China's complete lack of toilet paper, my supplies were dangerously low. Now I'm back at the hostel, sitting on my top bunk, drinking my green apple flavored Miranda, and contemplating bed time, even though it's only 9:30. I'm tired and really feeling my cold--sore, swollen lymph nodes, runny nose, and all. It was another good day in China, so hard to believe that I'm actually here.

Agenda for tomorrow: visit another part of the Great Wall, the Ming tombs, a jade factory, and a Chinese medicine practitioner (maybe he can give me something for this cold).

Beijing, Day One

2007-09-24T21:33:00.000+09:00

My plane arrived in Beijing at 8:00 last night. My hostel said someone would be waiting for me with a sign with my name on it, but when I walked out of customs, I saw lots of signs with lots of names but not mine. I looked around, waited for a while, looked around again, and then asked the people at tourist information to call the hostel for me. They said the driver was there looking for me and told me where to find him, but I suspect that he had been running late and just arrived, because when he handed in the parking ticket, the meter showed that he had been in the parking garage less than 20 minutes, and I had definitely been waiting longer than that. No harm, though. I found him, and before long, we were on our way to the hostel in downtown Beijing.

The most obvious difference I noticed between China and Korea is the language. I realized that even though Korea is a foreign country to me, I more or less have daily life there figured out. I know what to expect. In China, I don't. This is most obvious in the language. Unlike Korean, which I can read, frequently understand, and occasionally speak, Chinese is completely incomprehensible to me. Even my first couple hours in China revealed to me that Korea has become more familiar, more like home to me, than I realized. Being in such an unfamiliar setting in China made me remember those days when Korea was a stranger to me, too.

We arrived at the hostel, and I got checked in. I'm staying in a 5-person room. Last night I shared it with three German guys--David, Jörg, and Joachim--who live in Shanghai and are visiting Beijing. I had a great conversation with David but just met Jörg. Joachim didn't even return to the room until long after I had gone to bed. The whole co-ed dorm concept is requiring a little adjusting on my part.

After claiming my bed--top bunk--I decided to walk around the neighborhood that the hostel is in. It's located in one of Beijing's many hutongs--neighborhoods of small, cinder-block houses along a network of narrow alleys. This particular hutong is kind of funky, obviously catering to the Western backpackers staying at the hostel. It has a lot of cafes, restaurants, bars, and unique and slightly off-beat shops. Interesting character and not at all what I expected Beijing to be like. I walked around for about an hour, then returned to the hostel, chatted with David, and went to bed.

I slept in until 8:00 this morning. David, Jörg, and Joachim were still asleep. I got up and ate breakfast in the hostel's little cafe in the basement. Then I consulted a map and set off on foot to the Forbidden City. It wasn't yet 10 AM when I arrived, but it was really crowded. I decided to forgo the audio guide and just walked around. The palace was beautiful, but the interpretive signs were cryptic at best, so while I got some great photos and thoroughly enjoyed looking at everything, I didn't learn much. It was really crowded inside the Forbidden City--lots of tour groups speaking a great collection of languages . . . and lots of "art students" wanting to practice English and get tourists to visit small exhibits and buy things. I had been warned that those were often scams, so after being approached 10 times in my first hour there, I started pretending I didn't understand English. It wasn't difficult since I've had lots of experience not understanding what people say to me. It didn't keep them from approaching me, but it did keep them from following me in attempt to persuade me to change my mind when I walked away.

At the Forbidden City . . . From the Forbidden City, I headed south through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to Tianamen Square to soak in some Soviet-inspired architecture and pay a visit to Mr. Mao. Unfortunately, the mausoleum is closed on Mondays, so I might have to make a return trip. There's some controversy over whether the body is real or not. I've heard that they've had to reattach his ear a few times. Apparently he wished to be cremated. Why anyone would want to be mummified is beyond me.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace, with Mao's portrait hung in the center:Three photos stitched together to form a panorama of Tianamen Square, as seen from the Gate of Heavenly Peace:Countdown to the 2008 Summer Olympics--319 days, 7 hours, 37 minutes, 10 seconds--in front of one of the government buildings at the east end of Tianamen Square:Statue in front of Mao's mausoleum :Mao's mausoleum:EMH at Tianamen Square:From Tianamen Square I was hoping to catch the subway north to the Lama Temple, the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing, but it turns out that the subway line on my map is still under construction, so I walked, stopping along the way for a few bottles of water and something to eat. It was hot and smoggy today, and I'm coming down with something.

I passed this sign with the 2008 Summer Olympics mascots on the way. Yingying, the yellow one, is my favorite.The Lama Temple was beautiful. It was interesting to see the many differences between Tibetan Buddhism and Korean Buddhism. I stopped in the main hall for a while to listen to the monks in ornate robes chanting and smell the incense burning outside. After the crowded chaos of the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square, the peace of the temple was welcome indeed.

The Lama Temple . . .From the temple, I negotiated my way through hutong alleys back to the hostel. I walked about 10 miles today, and I was tired, but I had signed up for the hostel's excursion to an acrobat show, so I cleaned up, changed out of my sweaty clothes. David, Jörg, and Joachim have gone, and I now have three new roommates--Jysk from Denmark who came to Beijing on the Trans-Siberian Railway and a couple from France who don't speak to other people and only whisper to each other.

I caught the bus to the theater to see the Chinese National Acrobat Troupe. I was surprised that most of the performers were teenagers and children, some looking as young as 7 years old! They were incredible, but I had to wonder what kind of life those young performers have. The show was much different from the North Korean show I saw a few weeks ago. There were more flaws in the Chinese show--the North Koreans were more precise, thought that may be because of the very young age of the Chinese acrobats.

Now I'm back at the hostel, very tired but more than satisfied with my first whole day in China. Tomorrow I'm hiking the Great Wall. Well, not all of it.

Banned

2007-09-23T23:55:00.000+09:00

Nihao from Beijing!

I can post to my blog from China, but I can't read it, compliments of the Chinese government's internet censorship program. I read that an estimated 10% of all websites are inaccessible from mainland China, including anything to do with the Tianamen Square protests of 1989, Taiwan, the Dalai Lama, democracy, Marxism . . .

Here are the sites I tried to access tonight, with no success:
Snapshots from Korea
American Embassy in Beijing
US State Department Travel Information
CNN
BBC
Wikipedia

Because of this, I will write my journal entries long-hand in my notebook this week and post them, along with pictures when I'm back in Korea next week.

A Weekend in North Korea

2007-09-18T23:10:00.001+09:00

Friday, September 14, 2007
After school, I headed home, packed my backpack, took a shower, and then caught the subway into Seoul. I met the tour group at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal a little before midnight. It was pouring down rain. We left the bus terminal at about 12:30 AM and arrived at the northeast corner of South Korea at about 5:30 AM, stopping every hour or so at rest stops. The rain never let up. I tried to sleep but was too excited and uncomfortable.

Saturday, September 15, 2007
We arrived at the check-in point in Goseong, South Korea around 5:30 AM, but the site was too busy, so we had to wait at a nearby park for an hour and a half. The park was right along the beach (inaccessible due to serious barbed wire fencing because of the proximity to North Korea). It was still pouring rain, so I stayed in the bus. We returned to the check-in point and were issued our North Korean ID cards, which were to be worn around our necks at all times while in North Korea. From the check-in point, we proceeded to the South Korean immigration office. At around 9:00, I had my passport stamped by South Korean immigration indicating that I was on my way off South Korean soil. While North Korea doesn't stamp passports, South Korea has a special stamp for people going to this mountain, so I now have that to add to my collection.

After clearing South Korean immigration, our bus headed north through the South Korean side of the DMZ and crossed the Military Demarcation Line. It was interesting to see land that has been largely untouched for the past 50+ years. A single concrete post at the side of the road marked the Military Demarcation Line--no geographical feature, no fence, no barbed wire, no sign--nothing but a single concrete post indicated that we were now in a different country.

Just past the North Korean side of the DMZ, we stopped at the North Korean immigration office, which is housed in a semi-permanent tent and is heavily guarded by armed soldiers. Our ID cards and passports were inspected and our bags and cameras searched for the long list of forbidden items: cellphones, laptops, telephoto lenses, powerful binoculars, weapons, reading material for distribution. It was still raining steadily when we arrived at the immigration tent. We had to line up to enter the immigration tent in the order of our ID card numbers. I was number 5, which meant I didn't have to stand out in the rain quite as long as other members of the group. Once I was past the immigration officer, I was greeted by the strangest sight of my weekend--a person in a bear suit who was seeking shelter from the rain inside the immigration tent. Here I was standing in one of the most heavily guarded borders on the planet with a person in a bear suit greeting visitors.

We boarded the bus again and continued through this part of rural North Korea to the mountain park that is one of the few parts of the country open to visitors, though still strictly limited. The differences between the two countries were immediately apparent. The absence of trees on the North Korean mountains along the DMZ precipitated erosion. The hills were dotted with concrete bunkers, inside which anti-aircraft artillery were visible. North Korean soldiers stood every 100 meters and watched expressionlessly as the buses passed by. Each soldier held a red flag, and if they saw any cameras in the bus windows, we were told that all buses would be stopped. Fortunately no one challenged them on this.

We passed by a couple rural villages and many fields, some of which were flooded from the heavy rains that had been so devastating this summer. The towns looked very poor. All the houses looked exactly alike--small, white buildings in traditional Korean style with grey tile roofs that appeared badly in need of repair. We passed right by a school that looked about the same as the houses but bigger and also in serious disrepair. A couple newer buildings had large portraits of the late president Kim Il Sung on the facade. A few people were out walking through the fields in the rain--no umbrellas. This was perhaps my only view of the "real" North Korea--both on the way in and on the way out--as the rest of my weekend was spent in the tourist area. Tourists can't leave the tourist area. Local residents can't enter it, except for the North Korean employees, whose comings and goings are closely monitored.

We arrived late at the tourist area, so part of our itinerary had to be canceled, much to my disappointment. Those of us who were hiking were immediately bused to the start of the trail. Manmulsang was a moderate 5-kilometer hike with beautiful jagged cliffs. The rain let up now and then to allow for some very mystical-looking photographs. The landscape reminded me of Chinese paintings, and the mist and fog seemed perfect.On our way back to the tourist area at the end of the hike, we passed a huge mosaic mural glorifying Kim Jeong Il and the late Kim Il Sung. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but we could give our cameras to the North Korean guides to take pictures for us.After the hike, we were bused to the hotel, where we had about 20 minutes to drop our things off and change into dry clothes before a performance of the Pyeongyang Moranbong Circus. Both lunch and dinner were scrapped from our itinerary because we were off schedule. The acrobat performance, complete with an orchestra in the balcony, was amazing, though not at all a relaxing experience as I was half-expecting someone to fall at any second. We were only allowed to take pictures at the very end, but I bought a set of postcards that I'll scan sometime.By the time the circus performance was over, I was hungry. It was 7 PM and the last proper meal I had eaten was lunch the day before. Dinner was very good that night.

After dinner, I walked around the small tourist ground and tried to catch a few glimpses over the wall that separated me from the rest of North Korea. I could just see the roof tops on the other side. A local road crossed through a narrow part of the tourist area. It was guarded by soldiers, ensuring that the local residents didn't enter and the tourists didn't leave. It had been a long day, so I headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

Sunday, September 16, 2007
I got up early on Sunday and went for a walk before breakfast, hoping to take some pictures of the town on the other side of the tourist area. You can see the white buildings with grey roofs in the background. Since there were armed soldiers and signs saying no photography, this was as close as I dared to go with my camera.We ate breakfast at the hotel and met the tour bus at 7:30. Since some of the people in my group were late and since we all had to travel together, our buses couldn't leave until 8:15. This was not the first time this happened on the trip, and I found it especially annoying. Finally everyone was assembled and we were bused to the Guryongyeon District for a 9-kilometer hike up a beautiful valley and past several waterfalls. Of course, it rained.Propaganda praising Kim Il Sung, Kim Jeong Il, and North Korea's particular brand of communist ideology were etched into the granite cliffs. I stopped to try to read a few buy my political vocabulary is limited to one word--통일 "unification"--a word sadly lacking from the faces of the North Korean cliffs. The people in the photos below give you an idea of the scale of these carvings.There was a bathroom at the start of the trail, but we were told that bathrooms in the mountains had an admission fee--$1 for #1 and $2 for #2. I took a picture of the sign in front of one of the bathrooms, but when I took a picture of the bathroom itself, a North Korean guide chased after me, took my camera away, and deleted several pictures. There's no plumbing in the mountains, so anything . . . um . . . deposited . . . at the bathrooms has to be carried down and properly disposed of--hence the fee. However, the North Korean government doesn't want visitors to leave with photos of anything that would make North Korea look bad, so you're only allowed to take pictures of approved things. Apparently, the pay-per-use bathrooms aren't on list.I had my camera confiscated again about 15 minutes later. There was a traditional style pavilion that was in the process of being repainted, and without even thinking, I started taking pictures of the intricate work. A North Korean guide came running over to me and took my camera away and deleted several of my snapshots because they had the North Korean painters in them. I was more interested in the work they were doing than the people. The North Korean guide politely but sternly informed me that I can take pictures of the building and the art but not the people. Duly noted. I apologized and continued along the trail.My favorite part of the hike was reaching the top of the tall peak that towered above one of the waterfalls. The rain let up and the fog lifted momentarily, allowing me to peer almost vertically down into the valley below. The green water below, the blue and green and red pavilion across the valley, and the very first yellow and orange leaves of the fall stood in stark contrast to this grey day. Not normally wary of heights, I was a little nervous on that peak. The guard rails were more cosmetic than functional and wouldn't have done much to block a slip on the rocks--or a suicidal jump. I couldn't help but wonder if anyone's last moments were on that mountain top.While I was standing there, a cautious distance from the guard rail and certain death, one of the North Korean guides approached me. The tourist area employs many North Korean hotel and restaurant staff and guides, distinguishable from the South Korean and Chinese employees by the pin of Kim Il Sung that they wear on their jacket. The North Korean staff I encountered were all very polite but very matter-of-fact. They didn't converse, except as necessary, in Korean or English, and they did not want their photos taken. I can't blame them. The South Korean guide explained that if their photos are circulated and they're found doing something wrong, suspicious, or simply out-of-the-ordinary, there could be serious consequences for them. I imagine they also must deal with annoying requests from numerous tourists who want a photo of real, live North Koreans, as if they are animals in a strange zoo.

So I was surprised when a North Korean guide approached me. We had a 15-minute conversation in his broken English and my severely limited Korean. It wasn't like talking to a member of the "Axis of Evil" but to someone a lot like me. I wondered what he thought of me. Did he see me as just another tourist? Someone privileged, wealthy, different? A contributor to his country's economic distress or part of the solution? What does he know about my country? What history has he been taught? For that matter, what history have I been taught about his country? Was he content with his life, or did he envy mine? I'd like to think that as we exchanged superficial small talk in our haphazard mix of Korean and English that he also thought that we're more the same than we are different. He told me that he and I are 친구. In this context, I think he meant that we're the same age, but the word also means "friend."

I had taken my time on the hike up the mountain so I could take a lot of photos and allow the scenery to be embedded on my mind, so I had to say good-bye to my new friend and hurry back down the mountain to my bus. On the way down, I passed several members of my group, which gave me the reassurance of knowing I wouldn't be the last person back on the bus.

We drove back to the tourist area and had a couple hours to eat lunch and visit the shops. I walked around some more, hoping to catch a few glimpses of the town. One of the restaurants in the tourist area had a 2nd floor balcony that probably would have had a good view, but there were several North Korean restaurant workers up there taking a break, and I didn't want to risk having them delete more of my pictures, so I didn't go up there. I wonder if that's intentional. I took these pictures from the first floor porch of a restaurant. The red, blue, and brown roofs are in the tourist area, but the white buildings with grey roofs in the background are in the town on the other side of the wall/fence that separates the two areas.We then loaded up the bus to return to Seoul. Again, the drive away from the tourist center was probably the most interesting part of the trip, and I kept my eyes glued to the window to catch whatever glimpse I might get of the "real" North Korea. We passed the same small villages with their identical houses and flooded corn fields. The mountains became lower and treeless. We passed the anti-aircraft artillery and then arrived at the North Korean immigration tent. This time, there was no person in a bear suit. We lined up in numerical order, had our bags x-rayed, and turned our North Korean ID cards in to the immigration officer. Then we boarded the bus again, rode through the North Korean side of the DMZ, crossed the military demarcation line, rode through the South Korean side of the DMZ, and arrived at the South Korean immigration office, where a stamp in my passport indicated that I had officially returned. It was a long drive back to Seoul, and we arrived at about 10 PM, so I caught the subway back to my city.

All in all, it was an exciting trip. I would not recommend my tour company, but I would recommend the experience of visiting Mt. Geumgang. There wasn't enough time to see the whole mountain, so I would like to go back again, but I would probably go with a Korean tour group. On this trip I went with a group of other foreigners, mostly English teachers, and while I met a really nice American couple and a nice Scottish woman, there were quite a few people in my group who were generally obnoxious and even offensive. The tour company also didn't do a good job of keeping us on schedule or giving us an overview of the tourist area and rules.

I'll remember Mt. Geumgang and especially my conversation on top of the mountain for years to come, and hopefully someday visiting that mountain won't be any more difficult than visiting Korea's other national parks and will only be different because of its spirit and not because of its inaccessibility.

South of the Border, Korea Style

2007-09-17T08:48:00.001+09:00

I'm back from my weekend trip to North Korea's Mt. Geumgang. What an experience. There is so much to say, but I need to get ready for school, so I'll have to write later. The weather was awful. It was pouring rain for most of the weekend. It certainly reduced visibility on the mountains and meant that my clothes never really dried out, but it also created this mist on the peaks and through the valleys that made the scenery look like a painting, almost mystical. It rained steadily for the entire bus ride back to Seoul late last night, so imagine my surprise upon waking up to a beautiful blue sky this morning.

North Korean staff took my camera away twice and deleted some of my photos, but I still came home with a couple hundred snapshots of the scenery. When I have more time, I'll post some here and write a better update.

Northbound

2007-09-14T20:42:00.000+09:00

Now I'm finished teaching for the week and have my bags packed for my hiking trip on North Korea's Mt. Geumgang. I'm really excited about it.

At the end of one class today, one of my little girls asked, "Miss EMH, is it true?!"

"Is what true?" I asked her, wondering what could be so unbelievable about the lesson we were finishing on participle adjectives.

"That you're going to North Korea to teach English to Mr. Kim Jong Il?" she said, with a completely serious expression on her face.

"Who told you that?" I asked, laughing.

"Mr. B." she said.

This was the first I had heard the story, and it made me laugh right out loud. Then the other kids had a bunch of questions. It turns out that the directors of my school told some of my students that I'm going to North Korea this weekend to teach Kim Jong Il how to speak English and make hamburgers, and a couple of the kids believed it.

I made them finish the page they were working on before I'd say anything more about it. While they scrambled to finish writing sentences, I just sat there and chuckled.

When they finished, I answered a couple questions about how I'm getting there and what I'll be doing. They asked me to bring pictures back for them. I thought that was sweet. I clarified that I'll be hiking, not teaching English or hamburger-making, and that I'm quite certain I won't see Mr. Kim Jong Il, not in person anyway.

On Friendship

2007-09-13T23:08:00.000+09:00

I'm really lucky. Since coming to Korea, I have made friends who have become my family here. I owe so many of my positive experiences in their country to them. Sometimes I think they can't possibly know what a difference they make to me, that my life is better and happier because of them. All friendships are important, but as a foreigner in Korea--a foreigner with limited Korean language skills and a limited understanding of the culture and society--I depend on my friends more than ever. Sometimes I feel like an infant here. I'm unable to do things independently that I would be able to do without even really thinking at home. Sometimes I worry about becoming a burden on the people closest to me when I need to ask for help with silly things, small things. On the other hand, I have learned to accept the assistance of others graciously and try to return it or pass it on as often as I can. I am lucky. I came here a stranger and will leave here a friend.

Some photos from this week:
City Youth Festival with Chloe, 9/9/07. She's dressed in the school uniform worn by characters in Japanese comic books.With some of the other staff members at school, 9/11/07. We coincidentally all wore black shirts that day. Unfortunately I didn't get the memo about hair color.

A Strange, Serious Game of Chess

2007-09-09T10:51:00.001+09:00

There aren't any trees on the mountains.That was my first thought while looking across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea from the Dora Observation Post yesterday afternoon. The landscape looked just like the landscape of South Korea, which makes sense since the boundary between the two countries is artificial. The most notable difference to me is that when I looked at the mountains in North Korea, the same low granite mountains as in the South, I didn't see any trees--pale green vegetation with rugged rocky outcrops but no trees. That was my first thought as I soaked in the view from the two-story picture window of the Dora Observation building. Our guide later stated that there were two explanations for the lack of trees: 1) people use wood for fuel, 2) the North Korean government doesn't want a place for defectors to hide. From the Dora Observation post, we could see Kijeong-dong, the uninhabited "Propaganda Village" with its oversized flag across the border. We could also see Kaeseong, home of the collaborative industrial area between North and South Korea.

Two visitors look across the DMZ toward Kijeong-dong, "Propaganda Village," in North Korea. Notice the oversized (160m high) flag pole in the center of the photo.With two of my colleagues at the Dora Observation Post:From the Dora Observation Post, we got back on the bus and visited the Third Infiltration Tunnel, a 1.7-kilometer tunnel, 73 meters underground,that was dug from the north to the south to be used in a military attack on Seoul. Black "coal" is painted on the bedrock walls, and when it was discovered by South Korea in 1978, North Korea claimed it was a coal mine. It was an interesting visit, and the small museum associated with the tunnel gave a decent brief overview of separation of the two countries. (Score 1 for EMH for correctly identifying granite, despite the black coal paint. Practical application of my geology course #1.)

From the tunnel, we got back on the bus for the most interesting part of the day, the tour to Panmunjeom, the Joint Security Area. It's a collection of buildings on the Military Demarcation Line and the only place in the DMZ where North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face. Our US Army guide was excellent, gave us a good overview and answered questions when he could. At the JSA, we were led out of the bus and into the Freedom House, which was originally designed to reunite separated family members but which North Korea has refused to use for fear that any North Koreans who went to the South Korean side would refuse to return.

From the Freedom House, we walked in two single-file lines into the Military Armistice Commission (MAC) Conference Room building, which sits squarely across the Military Demarcation Line, half in North Korea and half in South Korea with a door at each end of the building. The MAC Conference Room is where delegates from both sides can meet and communicate. In this photo, it's the blue building on the left. The building in the background is in North Korea.I was the first person in one of the lines, and our army guide told me to walk to the other end of the room, at which point I was on the North Korean side of the line. I looked straight out the window at North Korea and then at an angle at the line (a concrete block) and back at South Korea. That's North Korea out the window behind me in this photo.The door behind this guard opens into North Korea.This concrete slab marks the Military Demarcation Line, with North Korea to the left and South Korea to the right, as seen through a window in the MAC Conference Room.A South Korean soldier facing North Korea, as seen from a window in the MAC Conference Room.This South Korean soldier is guarding the United Nations flag inside the MAC Conference Room.We were then ushered back to the Freedom House steps where we could stand and take pictures of the buildings in the north. From where I was standing, I could see one North Korean military guard standing in front of the main building on the North Korean side of the line. There was also a guard inside the building looking through the window at us with binoculars, but I didn't see him until someone pointed him out to me when we took the bus past there again on our way out. You can see the North Korean soldier next to the door in this picture. The man with the binoculars was in the window to the left of the soldier.After visiting that part of the Joint Security Area, we went to a guard post from which we had a clear view of Kijeong-dong, "Propaganda Village."North Korea is behind me in the picture below. The white markers to the right of the picture indicate the Military Demarcation Line.We could also see the now-abandoned Checkpoint #3 and the area where two US Army officers were murdered in 1976 over the trimming of a poplar tree.Three days later, the tree was cut down during "Operation Paul Bunyan." The stump was left as a reminder until 1987 when it was replaced by the marker seen here. The photo was taken from the window of the bus when we drove around the area in front of Checkpoint #3.Also from the bus, we had a clear view of the Bridge of No Return, which was used to repatriate prisoners at the end of the Korean War. The Military Demarcation Line is halfway across the bridge.By far, this is one of the most interesting things I've done in the time I've been in Korea. The tour was well run and definitely worth the $44 (roughly 40,000 won). I would highly recommend this tour for anyone living in or visiting Korea. I feel like I have a better understanding of the country that has been my surrogate home for almost two years now. I also feel like I have a better understanding of the US military presence in South Korea, which is often a source of controversy in this country.

My final reflection at the end of the day was that it's really sad that this land, this people has been so hostilely divided for the past 54 years. It's sad that an artificial line on the ground serves as a mostly impenetrable wall between Koreans in the north and Koreans in the south, that you can see mountains in the distance but can't walk there, that you see the guards standing on the North Korean side but you're not allowed to have any communication with them, not even a nod. It's a strange, serious game of chess that's reached a stalemate, but the human pieces, unable to return to the box by themselves, have been left to stand. What does that North Korean soldier think when he looks back across the Military Demarcation Line at me? Does he see me as an enemy? Does he wish he were on my side of the line? He appeared to be about the same age as I am. Neither of us are old enough to have first hand memories of why things are the way they are. The memories that have been passed down to us, the histories that we've been taught keep us frozen on the chessboard. How long will that be? What will happen if the pieces are still standing when no one is left to remember how the game got started?

USO Korea--link to tour information. You'll need to make a reservation about two weeks in advance.

China, yeah!

2007-09-07T23:34:00.000+09:00

Another week has come and gone already. How does that happen? Classes are going well, but they're really keeping me busy. I'm teaching 7-10 classes a day (only 4 on Fridays). I'm working with a lot of the same students, but I also have several new students. It's always exciting to get to know a new group of kids and to see my "old" students continue to grow.

I got my passport back this week with my visa for China. I'm very excited. I'm planning a day of hiking on the Great Wall and possibly a side trip to Xian to see the terracotta soldiers. That will leave me only 3 days to see Beijing. I wish I had more time.

Tomorrow I'm taking a tour of the DMZ with two other teachers from my school, and next weekend I'll be hiking in North Korea. Exciting times!

Remember me?

2007-09-01T20:44:00.000+09:00

Oh my, where does the time go? I can't believe I've been back in Korea for a month and have had absolutely no time to write. Everyday I think about things to write down, but by the time I get home, I'm just too tired to write, too tired to communicate anymore. August was my school's summer intensive course, which meant that we offered more class time to students. Of course, more class time for students meant more teaching time for teachers. Days were long. Kids and staff worked hard. I do see improvement, though, so I'd say the hard work was worthwhile.

This past week was the first week of our new semester. Kids are settling back into their pre-summer-intensive routine. August's monthly progress reports and September's lesson plans have kept me more than busy after the kids have gone for the day. We have two new teachers--one Korean and one Canadian--and several new students. In addition, we rearranged some of the classrooms at school, so now we're all making adjustments. I'm hoping things will settle down this week. A really nasty cold is going around, and I feel like I'm catching it, too.

My distance courses through the University of North Dakota are going well. I love the geology course and am tolerating the calculus course. I don't really know where I'm going with these courses--maybe nowhere--but I wanted to broaden my academic background a little. I was so focused on religion (and related) courses in college that I didn't really explore other subjects that have always interested me like physical sciences. It's not necessarily a career move--just an exploration and a chance to engage my mind in something other than figuring out what people are saying to me.

August was very hot and humid, but September has brought the cool weather with it. Today was drizzly all day and cool. Now the rain has stopped, and I'm thinking about walking up to the artesian well at the base of the mountain to fill my water bottles. Some fresh air would be good after this busy week.

I have big plans for this month. Next weekend I'm taking a tour of the DMZ (demilitarized zone--the area around the border with North Korea) and going to Chloe's middle school's festival. The following weekend I'm going on a hiking trip in North Korea and the following two weekends I'll be in Beijing. Exciting times ahead. Some days I ask myself, "Is this really my life?" Check back for photos.

Sorry

2007-08-13T23:21:00.000+09:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't fallen off the planet. I'm back in Korea and back at work. It's keeping me more than busy. I'm also taking two distance courses through the University of North Dakota: geology and calculus. AARGH. It's a little much on my brain right now, but it's also nice to have a different kind of challenge. It's still rainy season, so it rains everyday and is also hot and humid. It's fun to be back in Korea with my kids and friends again. I'm glad to see the mountains, but I miss my friends and family at home. More sooner or later.

Back to Korea

2007-08-01T23:55:00.000+09:00

I'm on my way back to Korea first thing in the morning after spending five weeks in Chicago with my family. I can't believe the time has gone this quickly. More details and snapshots later--from the other side of the Pacific.

More from the Garden

2007-07-06T21:44:00.000+09:00

I'm going to risk sounding like Grandma Shirley here. What keeps impressing me about being back in the United States is how big the sky is. Maybe it's because the land in northern Illinois is really flat. Maybe it's because there are wide open spaces here. Maybe it's the lack of tall apartment and office buildings. Or all of it put together. In any case, the sky just seems so much bigger to me here than in Korea.Here are some more photos from Mom and Dad's garden.

Happy 231st, U.S.A.!

2007-07-04T22:36:00.000+09:00

It was a beautiful 4th of July here in the Chicago area, despite forecasts of thunderstorms. We had a picnic with my mom's side of the family--17 out of 21 of us were able to make it. I really miss being a part of family events when I'm in Korea, so it was nice to visit with people. It was fun to answer questions about my life in Korea and also hear what's new in my aunts', uncles', and cousins' lives.

We ate (a lot), talked (a lot), and played a family game of whiffle ball. Actually, they played. My aunt, two littlest cousins, and I watched. Everyone headed home in the early evening, and my parents and I went to the community fireworks display. Here are some photos of the day.

In the Garden

2007-07-03T21:32:00.000+09:00

Here are some photos I've taken the past couple days in my parents' garden. Not too bad for a camera without macro capabilities and only a so-so zoom.

Lilies Hydrangeas (Look carefully for the Daddy Long Legs! There are two of them in the second photo.)Cone flowersDahlias A daisy
A fancy begoniaI don't know what these are called, but the humming birds really like them. If I sit down near the flowers and hold still, the humming birds will fly within 3 feet of me, but I haven't been able to get a good photo of them . . . yet.A deer wandered into the yard the other day. I wish I had better than a 3x zoom to get a clearer shot, but I guess this one is okay.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

2007-07-01T20:42:00.000+09:00

To celebrate my parents' 30th wedding anniversary on July 2nd, my Mom, Dad, sister, and I all went to see The Color Purple at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago. We all enjoyed the show. I'd recommend it, but I think I would have had a hard time following it if I hadn't read the book and/or seen the movie.We went to a matinée performance. It was a beautiful day in Chicago--sunny, windy (it is the Windy City, after all), and 69 degrees--so when the play was over, we went for a walk to the restaurant for dinner. Here we are on one of the bridges over the Chicago River.I'm happy to be home with my family. Happy 30th Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I wish you many, many more healthy and happy years!

Herrick Lake

2007-06-30T20:08:00.000+09:00

Mom, Dad, and I took a walk around a local park today. The weather is beautiful in the Chicago area these days. The Herrick Lake Forest Preserve has a lake, forest, marsh, and an area of restored Illinois prairie.An old oak treeA sumac treeA butterflyOne of the 17-year cicadas, partying like it's 2007 Herrick Lake itself

From the Land of the Morning Calm to the Land of Lincoln

2007-06-29T21:43:00.000+09:00

I am home! Today is the first day of a five-week vacation with my family in Illinois. It's a more than welcome break. As much as I love Korea, I'm glad to be back in Illinois and very happy to see my family again.

I had two good flights between Seoul and Chicago. I was bumped up to Business Class on my flight from Seoul to Tokyo. My bus to the airport was late, so I arrived with less than the requisite 2-hours-before-your-flight check-in time. The line at the United counter was really long, so I got in, sure that by the time I got to the counter, they would tell me there wasn't enough time and I'd have to take another flight. I stood there in line, starting to worry. An airline employee and tapped me on the shoulder. "Do you have your passport?" he asked. I showed him my passport. "Okay, come with me."

I followed him over to the First Class counter (no line), where he proceeded to check me in and then handed me my boarding pass, not in the usual navy blue folder of Economy Class seats but in the shiny gold folder of Business and First Class seats. A little slow on the uptake, I didn't catch on to the fact that I had been bumped up.

I glanced down at my boarding pass and saw that I was in seat 14B, a middle or an aisle seat, and not 19A, the window seat I had requested. "Excuse me," I said. "Is there any way I can have a window seat?"

"I moved you up to Business Class," he said.

Suddenly I felt very stupid and overly demanding. "You did?! Thank you!" I exclaimed. "No complaints."I am here to report that Business Class rocks. I could stretch my legs all the way out and not touch the seat in front of me!The food is better in Business Class, too.Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed my 2.5 hours in the comfortable seats in the airplane. The Business Class travelers around me probably thought I was a little nuts as I played with all the gadgets and took pictures of my own feet, and giggled at the two forks on my tray, but that didn't bother me. I was flying Business Class. Wow, that guy in the airport is my new favorite person.

I had a 4.5 hour layover in Tokyo. I really like the Tokyo-Narita Airport, so I was able to keep myself moderately entertained before boarding my next plane. Here is my airplane at the gate in Tokyo.I had a window seat, but since I was in the Economy Plus section (five extra inches of legroom, baby!), I was directly over the wing. There was still a great view of the sunrise, somewhere over the Pacific, just south of Alaska.After a total 13.5 hours of air travel (and 6 hours of sitting at airports), I looked down and saw a very welcome sight . . . northern Illinois! I'm home.

Sometimes Korea Makes Me Laugh

2007-06-23T08:26:00.000+09:00

These ads are on the Seoul subway system. They're for dandruff shampoo with natural ingredients like pine needles and cacti. They make me laugh. I think I'd rather have dandruff than cacti or pine needles coming from my head.

Petting Zoo

2007-06-22T21:17:00.000+09:00

The preschool was supposed to take a field trip to a zoo today, but since the weather forecast was bad, they changed plans and brought animals to the school instead. The kids had a great time, and I ended up with a snake around my neck. Oh no!

Mountains and Temples

2007-06-17T23:46:00.000+09:00

Here's another post on one of my favorite themes: mountains and temples. Fortunately for me, in Korea, the two always seem to go together. Today I hiked to the top of the mountain that flanks my town. I hadn't been up there in a really long time, and I could feel how out-of-shape I've become as I was huffing and puffing my way to the top. I really enjoyed the hike, despite the exertion, and it made me wonder why I don't go more often. Laziness is my only excuse.

This is the view of my town from the top of the mountain. It's hard to believe that I can look at that mess of concrete and see a place that's become a second (third, fourth, fifth . . . actually, I think I'm up to 14th) home to me.On my way down the mountain, I ran into the family of two of my students. They were surprised to see me out of my usual environment, i.e., the classroom. The little boys had significantly more energy than I had and were running uphill. Good grief. I'm officially going to try to go there more often and get back to the hiking/jogging routine I was pretty disciplined about last summer.

As I continued on my way down, I passed two temples, so I took some time to stroll around the grounds. At the first temple, they had some buried kimchi pots. Most people use special kimchi refrigerators now, especially in cities, so it was kind of exciting to see the pots buried in the ground for refrigeration.There were also a lot of pots that were not buried. I think they're quite pretty in their simplicity.The temple also had its own beehive. This is as close as I was willing to get.The artesian well had these cute little Buddha statues all around it.Here's a shot of the trim of the temple. I love the colors and patterns.They still had some of the lanterns up from Buddha's birthday.Then I continued on my way down the mountain and stopped at another temple.From there it was just a short walk to my apartment. This beautiful park is practically in my backyard. I need to soak in its beauty and tranquility more often.

Super Students

2007-06-14T23:29:00.001+09:00

It's been a busy week here. I'm adjusting to my new apartment. I'm not finished cleaning, and I still haven't put everything away, but I'm making progress. It's been another insanely busy week at school, but my little students always bring me great joy. Here are some photos from Wednesday.We're working on a health unit in a few of my classes. The kids said "My (arm, hand, head, leg, etc.) hurts!" and I made toilet paper bandages for them. The kids thought it was fantastic, and I got pretty good at wrapping arms and wrists, but I don't think a career in pediatrics is in my future. Here are my very cute patients.

Moving Day and My New Roommates

2007-06-10T23:23:00.000+09:00

I moved this weekend! My new apartment is bigger, though it's still one room. I moved down a couple floors, so I'm not quite high enough to see over the other buildings, which is a little disappointing. The apartment was really dirty, so I spent most of the weekend cleaning. I'm still not done, but it's livable for now. Besides the extra space, I'm most excited about my two new roommates . . .

ROOMMATE #1: A full-sized refrigerator (with a freezer!)In my old apartment, I had a small dorm-style refrigerator and no freezer. I'm sitting here drinking a glass of ice water as I type. It's the first time in a year and half that I've had ice in my own home. What a novelty! I also have a box in the freezer, so after the ice has frozen in the trays, I can dump the ice cubes into the box and fill the trays up with water again. The result is that now I have a lot of ice in my freezer. I'm very pleased.

ROOMMATE #2: A washing machine!My old apartment didn't have a washing machine, and there wasn't really a place to put one anyway, so for the past year, I've been taking my laundry downstairs to a dry cleaners every week. They wash it for me and then put it in a plastic bag. When I pick it up in the evening, the wet laundry has been in a plastic bag all day, so it's all wrinkled. Now I can do my laundry anytime, and hang it up as soon as the cycle finishes. Wow!

So I'm very pleased with these two new roommates. I have a third roommate that I'm not quite so pleased about--a very big, brown couch. Right now I'm just kind of tolerating it. I'm hoping I'll warm up to it once I've had a chance to wash the cushions and vacuum it. Right now it just seems a little like a health hazard.