Ahn nyeong from... Seoul!

I recently re-read my last post and laughed at my certainty for leaving Korea. The yearning for change was met with a giant whirlwind that swiftly picked me up and has yet to spit me out. But did I leave Korea? No. Well at least not yet.

I am not settled and for a long while, nor was I grounded. But luckily, after a much needed, restful Sunday filled with a whole lot of reflecting and introspection, I seem to have found something strong and sturdy to hang onto. It comes from within myself and despite this crazy vortex that is life, I have regained some stability, something that can be difficult to grasp when you are not settled.

So what's been going on lately? Here are some highlights!

Last month, I celebrated my last day of two years teaching at a public school in Anyang City. Some 900 students at this school will remain in my heart forever. 

Literally that same day, I moved from Anyang City to Sangdo, Seoul to teach university students at Chungang University. 

This is my old apartment. Empty. 

This is the neighborhood surrounding Chungang University. Feels wonderful experiencing campus life again, especially with a different perspective. 

Cake on the roof at my friend, Barbie's, brunch party.

I celebrated Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) by making Songpyeon, a traditional Korean rice cake. 

Welcoming Fall with a bike ride along the Han River. 

HI Seoul Festival- The neon is people hanging from the City Hall building while fireworks are released from the roof. Only in Korea, I tell ya... and I mean that in the best of ways. 

Ridge Climbing at Bukhan Mountain. Feeling pretty tough! 

I met Shannon in Gangreung City for some Gangreung (not to be confused with Gangnam) style type action. Not pictured- belting our hearts out to 90's music, including Alanis Morisette, at a singing room. We documented it with sound clips not pictures and if you're lucky, we sent you one! 

Hiking at Dobong Mountain- Fall is my favorite time in the states and also my favorite time in Korea. But in the two places, the season is completely different. Here, it's marked by bright blue skies, perfectly seen from the top of Seoul's mountains. 

My current status in Seoul is temporary and I have big news to share about the future! But it's getting late, so I'll have to come back for another post later. Til' then, byebye bloggie world. 

Still Alive!

Who’s the worst blogger in the world? ::Raises hand:: This girl! Time in Korea is a funny concept in that it moves really fast. In fact, everything in Korea happens at super speed- driving, eating, walking, grocery store lines (I like this one), etc. Well, I feel like it’s been moving even faster than usual lately and I think it’s because spring brought wonderful weather and now summer is bringing even more. Talk about being spoiled…

I’m also within the final stretch of my 2 years teaching in Korea. I’m finding myself worrying that each hike I take, each food I eat, each person I see…down to every last action that make up my days, weeks and months, could be the last. But realistically, I know this isn’t the case. Sure I have just 2 months left until the end of my contract and I leave the country, but it won’t be a final goodbye. It can’t be.  I won’t let it be. When exactly I will return, I do not know, but indeed it will happen. Korea embraced me and in return, I made it my second home. Someday I will return. But at the moment, I need change and it's a yearning that I can feel all the way to the core. Change, inspiration and growth. 

For now, I’m going to make the most of what little time remains before my departure. And while I’m crazy excited for the return to my first home (like really, really, crazy excited), I’m not going to let that get in the way of experiencing every last thing Korea throws at me this summer.

I promise for some spring and summer adventure updates in the near (let's hope) future, but for now I leave you with a great tune by The Head and the Heart and some amazing comics by my fabulous students.

A Student's Can of Beer

Today one of my students had a giant plastic Hite beer (Korean Brand) sitting on his desk. At first I thought it was a pencil case because sometimes they can be a little out there, but it wasn’t. Just a giant plastic can of Hite… I couldn’t help but crack up upon first noticing it. I had walked into the room and he raised it as high as possible. Nobody, not even my co-teacher, thought anything of it.

Classroom etiquette in Korea is different than in the states. This was okay. Running is okay. Wrestling and hitting is okay (as long as no one gets hurt). Wearing an animal hat that covers ones entire face is okay. Telling the teacher she is ugly is okay (not to me, thank God).  Talking about dieing and killing people is okay. I’m not making any sort of assessment; I can’t say whether it’s good or bad. It’s just so different than what I'm accustomed to and there are moments I see or hear something and either a. laugh hysterically or b. think to myself, “Where on earth am I?” 

It reminded me of a time when Shannon and I were working in the summer camps at Garden Home. A camper’s mother accidently packed a beer instead of a coke in his lunch. This, of course, was hilarious, but something the mother was mortified about since even talking about beer around children in the U.S., especially in a place designated for children, is totally taboo.

Then again, when I lived in Oregon City, my brother and I used to walk to the nearby hospital gift shop just to buy bubble gum cigars, but didn't we all?  Hmmm…

Happy Friday in Korea :) 

Lights, Camera, Action: Classroom Turned Hollywood

This week, my school participated in a very special experience. A television game show (gah, can't remember the name, but I will have to find out later) transformed one of our classrooms into a real, live TV set. That's right- big cameras accompanied by professional camera folk, sound systems, and bright lights-the whole shebang!

The premise of the show is to test the English ability of 4th graders at local elementary schools. During a half hour segment centered upon a popular fairy tale or Disney movie, students of the same school compete against one another in a series of true/false, fill in the blank, spelling, listen and color, and comprehension questions. By the end, twenty students have been narrowed down to four and then the four to a single winner. Not the winner? That's okay! All students get to appear on public access TV during the shows once a week time slot. Not too shabby, right?

These are the two show hosts. The girl is Korean
American and speaks both Korean and English
100% fluently. 

My students were totally psyched. I showed up to watch the filming just a little late, but the second I walked in the door, they perked up and I received about five inconspicuous waves and 10 not so inconspicuous giant grins. Over the past year, I've always gone the extra mile to show them how much I care and support them and it's really paid off. They can be in the middle of filming a TV show and still be excited to see me!

Okay, so it was no Hollywood, but they really loved the experience and wow, are they quite the Aladdin geniuses. Today the classroom was back to normal, not a single clue that, for a day, it wasn't a classroom, but the actual set of a TV show. I'll get the link to the show up here after it airs.

For each correct answer, they receive a plastic animal. 

And the winner of the game was....dun, dun, dun...the boy in the red!

A little cheer in a midst of a looooong ass day-

Origami dragon given to me by a 5th grader

Homesick

Apparently I accidentally published this post, which I had meant to remain in edit mode until I decided if I felt comfortable with it being out there in cyberspace for all to read. Since it already went out and I'm feeling pretty damn happy (plus removed from the incident) at the moment, I think I'll let it stay out.

Written 5/31/11


So today I cried at school for the first time. I walked in to get ready for my third grade lesson first thing in the morning and my co-teacher said some things (nothing bad, all very kind) that struck a nerve and I couldn’t hold back the tears. If you know me, you know I don't cry very easily and if I do, I at least do it alone.

So here I am, 2 minutes until class starts with students shuffling in and looking for me to shout their usual: “Oh, hellooo teacha!” or “Hii-eee Rana!!!” They are freaking adorable, but nothing could help in me gaining my composure in just two minutes. My co-teacher, who I appreciate for always being very aware of others, both teachers and students, saw me and took lead while I escaped for a few minutes.

When I returned, my students were dolls. I’m not sure if they saw me cry, but if they did, they didn’t mention it. Except a young boy, who with the best of intentions shared this when discussing likes and dislikes: “I don’t like crying.” It totally surprised me because others were keeping it safe with foods and animals.

Emotionally, it’s been a tough past couple of weeks. Nothing bad has happened, but things that should not cause me such frustration, are. Everything trails back to the fact that I am very, very homesick. I tend to blog only about the positive, but there are definitely difficult times when being an expat in another country. No matter how comfortable I become here, it cannot compare to the comfort I feel when near my friends, family, and…I almost want to cringe for saying this…culture of, yes, The U.S. Or maybe I should be more specific…Oregon. Portland-ish, Oregon.

I’ll be home late July and I can’t wait to hear English all around me, go to the library, drink amazing beer/coffee/margaritas, play with my friends and family, hike some luscious green forests, go to the beach, and even do absolutely nothing, but in the safety of my mom’s apartment with my cats by my side. This serves as a very condensed and vague list of the things I want to do when I get home because, ever since I booked my flight, “to dos” are constantly popping into my head at an anxiety-inducing pace. I’ll sometimes be in the middle of a lesson either explaining something or writing it on the whiteboard, and something from the U.S. will take over my brain. It’s totally distracting!

And what I am most excited about for my trip back home is just being a "normal" human being; not being constantly put under a looking glass. I want to go places and not have my every move being watched. I want to just relax knowing people aren't watching to see whether I can use chopsticks, if I like a food, how I will react to anything and everything. I want to have conversations where never once is my appearance of topic...my having blond hair, my looking tired, my eyes being green, there being pimples on my face. Now I know these come from innocent intentions, but they are so very, very difficult to grow accustom to.

Anyway, I don’t mean for it to sound like I am unhappy, but perhaps more accurate would be to say that I am having unhappy moments resulting home homesickness. Still, I am keeping busy and enjoying the fabulous spring that Korea has to offer.

P.S.

(During a later class)

Me: What do you like?

Student:I like skeleton soldier.

Me: What’s a skeleton solder?

Student: (Stands up) RWWAAAAARRRR!!!

Me: Oh, yes, THOSE!


(During planning period inside my office)

Student: Lana likes me and I like her (Shouting in Korean from the hallway).

Roses are in bloom all throughout Anyang.

The Grand Palace of South Korea

Written: 1/22/11
My day started just like any other school day. I woke up, got ready, rushed to school and was, of course, five minutes late because I am always 5 minutes late. The school year just recently ended and the new year does not start until next week. This means a week of teacher work days. Cool, I have a lot of planning to do. This also means I should be able to dress casually, right? WRONG.

Today I wore jeans and a hoodie, totally acceptable on any other day but today. About an hour into the day and without having realized the dressy attire of the other teachers, my co-teacher tells me that the school staff will be attending a lunch for the principal's last day before retirement. We've had lunch gatherings about three other times: once for the teachers leaving this year, once to celebrate winter break/the holiday, and the last just for the heck of it. They are slightly awkward for me because the few that speak some English are generally afraid to give it a try and those that speak more fluently feel forced to keep me company (at least I think). Anyway, they are uncomfortable, still kind of fun, but one thing they are not is formal. Except for this one.

Myself and three girls I arrive with ride the elevator up to a place called the Grand Palace. In the midst of their Korean conversations in the car, I had heard the name numerous times, but figured they were talking about Thailand's Grant Palace. Ehhhg, wrong. "OK," I think, "So it's a restaurant called the Grand Palace. Sounds neat? Influenced by Thailand?" When in the middle of such Korean conversations, my head is constantly spinning. I'm trying to gather what little clues I have and piece them together to form any sort of logical idea of what is being discussed. My thoughts take a 180 turn for the worse when I walk into what appears to be a ballroom of a palace; chandeliers hang from the ceiling, a fancy buffet lines a wall, and fancy circular tables are scattered throughout the enormous and intimidating room. "Why am I wearing jeans and a hoodie and why was I told of this event the morning of?" I think to myself. Sigh...important information somehow never seems to make it my direction.



"What have I just walked into?" My thoughts of escape were suddenly interrupted by the room full of people standing up and turning their bodies to the Korean flag. My right hand finds my heart just before the Korean national anthem begins. "Whew!" What happened for the next hour and a half is quite a blur. I understood some, but very little as speakers took the podium and the crowd clapped. I tried to look calm and collected, but am certain the discomfort showed on my face. Being the only foreigner in a crowded place is not new to me, but still, this experience somehow was. Oh, maybe it was the presence of the cities senator or the fact that I had hardly a clue what the different parts of the traditional ceremony signified. Or, MAYBE, it was the fact that I was the only person not dressed up and certainly the only person wearing jeans. Everyone look at the unclassy American!

The ceremony ended with a cheers that included some Korean-brand of Sprite. This I could do! Food followed and the tense mood started to settled. We chowed down on the most delicious buffet of Chinese, American, Japanese, and Korean food. And the best part- a chocolate fountain! After talking to some teachers sitting nearby, I realized that others, for different reasons than myself, felt a bit uncomfortable as well.

Sure I wish I had been given a heads up about the ceremony/lunch and sure it was the most uncomfortable I think I have ever felt in Korea, but I can happily say that it was very unique experience that I am glad to have been a part of. The respect teachers and the education administration have for one another, along with the traditional method in which they express such pride is truly something special about South Korea.

Winter Camp: The tale of the the oozing Canapé

A lot of people strongly dislike winter camp, but I love it. I'm lucky enough to be at a school that is allowing myself and one of my co-teachers a lot of freedom in planning. With a small class that we get to see every day, this means a whole lot of fun. Planning/preparation was intense to say the least, but it was more than worth it to see the students as excited as they have been thus far.

What is winter camp you ask? School is out and it is now officially winter break here in South Korea. Winter camp is a little something extra, often for students falling behind in English class. They come to school for 3.5 hours/day for a week and participate in (for my camp), daily story line activities. Ex. cooks at the schools restaurant, the organizers of a garage sale, etc. It being only 3.5 hours long and everything having already been planned and prepared means I am working half days for two weeks. Perfect! Because I have some winter break planning to attend to... Departing for...drum roll...

...
...
...
Chiang Mai, Thailand on the 14th of January. Compare Chiang Mai's 85 F and sunny to Anyang's current 13-26 F and snowy and you might understand my excitement. For two weeks, I will be volunteering at an orphanage with Friends for Asia. Of course, there will also be some zip-lining, climbing, exploring, traveling, and massaging throughout and afterward.


The Tale of the Oozing Canapé, brought to you by my 3rd grade students:

Anyang Flurry

There must be something magical about snow. There just has to be because from the second I walked out of my apartment and into the flurry and through the rest of the day, wonderful things, one after the other, just kept popping up. Or perhaps spotting a grand moment first thing in the morning helped me take notice throughout the rest of the day. Or maybe the calming effect activated by the slowly falling, fluffy, little flakes help us slow down and relax enough to appreciate our surroundings. Whatever it was, it wasn't just me that the snow positively affected, but my entire school. I loved the students bright eyes and smiles as they shouted at me: "It's going to be a white Christmas!" I don't know where they learned the phrase, but it was precious.

It has not been sticking very well, but my co-teacher said forecasters predict 14cm by tomorrow. I can't even imagine my neighborhood with the eerie silence that accompanies snow days in Oregon and California. Wouldn't it be amazing?

And how great is this? Tomorrow, the mailboxes will be mine.

I'D DO ME

Today I heard a group of my 5th graders teasing one another in English. Top insults:

• "Her name is...." in reference to someone that is a boy and vise versa. 
• "She/He is my grandmother/grandfather." 
• "She/He is my baby." 

I could not help but crack up. In fact, I couldn't stop my laughing and had to move away so that I was not supporting their bickering/sluggish work progress. But seriously, at least they were using English in English class. Quite creative if you ask me...

And then I read shirts such as this on a daily basis; shirts that the students nor the teachers understand. Just me. How on earth am I supposed to keep my composure? 

4th grader. 

I've added the tag "English Shirts" because I'm certain I must start documenting these on a regular basis. 

Anyang Market: Scarves, squash, and oranges.

Today I'm feeling much better after a very sickly weekend. Mondays are always rough because I can never seem to wake my brain up in time for my body's arrival at school, but it caught up soon enough. Mondays can also be difficult because I have three 6th grade periods. Quite frankly, 6th graders are not always easy to motivate, but when we reach success, it is also the most rewarding out of all grade levels.Today happened to be a day where I was able to excite them with a pretty nifty speaking/bingo activity. What caught me off guard, though, wasn't that the 6th graders were enthusiastic for once, but that in the midst of everyone going gung-ho over trying to be the first winner, one student approached me and began sharing his aspirations to travel to America. As we continued talking, it was clear to me that his decision was anything but a childish fantasy- he will travel to America. When I was in 6th grade, I didn't even know where South Korea was and here I am now. I guess the point that I am trying to make is that so many of my students and even adults that I have encountered here in Korea are on a straight-lined path, there goal being visible to them from the starting point. It amazes me. I can't really say if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but just that it's different from what I see the America. Certainly it is respectable to make goals reality with the amount of hard work that I see surrounding me.

After a good end to the school day, I later found myself at the traditional Anyang Market, one of my favorite places in Anyang. Even before the beautiful scarves and ripe oranges that I have been craving since my arrival, my favorite sighting was the giant pumpkin-looking squash. With fall here, I'm seriously wanting to be on a pumkin patch. The one on Sauvies Island would be just perfect. But I'm pretty sure these squash will be the closest that I will get

Ranaa, you're bootiful!

Beomgye Neighborhood

I feel like the luckiest person alive to be granted an experience such as this. Sure, there are moments of frustration, especially when communication boundaries prevent myself and others from expressing ourselves, but more often I find myself taking in the deepest of breathes, trying to inhale every ounce of each new encounter.

I taught for a total of four days last week during which my co-teachers, vice principal, principal, and students welcomed me with open arms. Many staff at my school do not speak English, but are certain to show their gratitude by other means (food, body language, etc.). My students are hilarious and swarm me each time I walk the halls. They all pronounce my name "Ranaa" and call me "bootiful." I say: "You are beautiful" and we high five, hold hands, bow, smile, or do any combination of the greetings. I think a lot of people in Western cultures might have an image of students in South Korea as being serious, quiet and subdued when at school (I thought this prior to my arrival). True, they are serious about learning, but the way they run through the halls in mobs, shout out answers, and constantly chat in and outside of class is hardly quiet nor subdued. This is my kind of school environment. Students can learn socially and have fun while learning. It is so much more meaningful than the experience in the many silent classrooms in the states.

HELP ME

This week, I have the entire week off of school, as Koreans are celebrating Chuseok Holiday, which is similar to Thanksgiving. During this time, Koreans celebrate with family, so many are leaving the town of Anyang and it is looking a bit barer than usual. My co-teacher invited me the coastal city of Yosu to celebrate with her family, but I had to decline. I have not yet unpacked nor have I made my apartment "home" and this week will give me the time I need to do this. And although I can finally explore the city without getting lost, there are also so many things around here that I want to see and do. First on my list is to find a bathing house and sauna!

Traditional Sam Gye Tang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)
with the co-teacher.  

My friend Jake (who is also teaching in Anyang) and I have been exploring quite a bit and I have also been spending some time with my co-teacher, who took me to Seoul on the subway to get my alien registration card (necessary before I can get a bank account, my own internet, etc.). Some of my favorite times, though, are when I head out on my own and just walk and walk until I cannot walk anymore. I found out that my Native Korean friend that provided me with an internet password works at the coffee shop below my building. Yesterday, when I was waiting out front to meet my co-teacher for our Seoul trip, he ran into me outside of the coffee shop. He was on his way to my apartment to bring me the coffee I have been ordering lately and some Songpyeog. Very sweet.

As for all the other Korean food that I have been eating, I love it all! I have yet to eat a dish I do not like. In fact, the only food that I have not liked since my arrival was the "American" pizza side dishes my principal ordered for lunch last week.

Today, my home becomes home!  And I will upload a video of my apartment afterward :)

Anyang Underpass

At Roller Rink

Outside Happidus Bar

P.S. I do miss good Portland beer and strong Portland coffee.