i'm actually teaching

So I write on here all about my travels and life in Seoul and what I do in my free time, so it could seem to some that I don't even teach! Well, it is true.... for some reason I was given authority over several hundred middle school students. I get to subject them to an hour a week of my awesome teaching skills...

I teach first grade and third grade, which is for middle school age, so I don't know exactly how that translates to schools in the US, and I don't actually know how old they are.... I think my first graders are 13 (??) and my third graders are already little adults, so maybe 15 or 16 (??).

I have a much better time with the little ones. They don't fully understand at that age how to be manipulative and disrespectful... they still look up to their teachers a little bit. But those third graders... whew... I better be on their good side or they let me know. Class is so much more about keeping all 35 of them under control and keeping their attention fully focused than it is about hammering home grammar and vocabulary. Being super strict is essential in this line of work, which took me a couple months to really learn, but I have it down now.

I teach 22 classes per week, each about 45 minutes in length. I spend the rest of my hours planning lessons and copying worksheets, making powerpoint presentations, watching lots of boring videos on youtube to find that perfect one to show class, and well... some personal interneting as well.  Communication is at an all time low in this country so I usually keep my headphones in and work in solitude.

The first few weeks were so new, full of nervousness and insecurity as a teacher. Now it's easy. I am used to it, I am familiar with the students, and I know how to get through to them, so I don't stress too much anymore. This week I am testing my first graders with a one on one speaking test, they are so cute! And so damn nervous that I almost feel guilty for having them do this...

I love 4:30 in the afternoon like I have never loved it before, in fact it used to be the time I went to work, for so many years, and now I am off.... I leave school each afternoon with a skip in my step, and a good beat on my ipod. Leaving is freedom again for a half a day! And how I love that freedom. Josh and I have settled into a really nice routine with our evenings, which involves cooking and playing chess or go-stop (a rad korean card game), watching movies or reading, and to bed so early! This job is not done easily hung over or tired, unlike all those years slinging wings and drinks (I think it was easier hung over?).....

Aren't my students so cute?

Love, n

highlights of Seoul

Summer is here, in full swing and it is HOT! And it is only going to get hotter, and more humid. For the first time in my life I have air conditioning and I am glad for that. We live on the third and top floor of our apartment building and, well that will be nice in the winter, but it's already like an oven in there. So to try and beat the heat the other day we rented bicycles and headed to the river. At Jamsil station, between exits 1 and 2 there is a shop that rents bicycles for free for the whole day! It was super easy, and somewhat conveniently easy to get to from our neighborhood. So we got our rickety cruisers, both too small for us, and dangerously made our way through Seoul traffic before reaching the amazing bike path that lines either side of the enormous Han river.

  

the path was far removed from the traffic of the city as we rode about six kilometers on one side, and under maybe eight bridges before crossing the river and heading back along the other side. There were lots of other cyclists and fishermen posted up in the shade under most of the bridges. Some kids were beating the heat by playing in a huge water fountain and we even found a rose garden in full bloom. It felt like a slice of Portland when I spotted a bum under the bridge. We stopped frequently to cool off in some shade or to have our simple lunch of kimbap and ramen at a mini mart. We saw some cool things along the way so I'll give you a glimpse into our sights, and I'll add a few other photos from our daily adventures around Seoul. 

a floating buddhist temple

Namsan tower and the Iteawon neighborhood, from across the river.

this is the Ttukseom bridge and overpass. This is massive! As with, well... most things in this city. I think that the combination of the huge loop and the odd building, with the apartment high rises in the back it looks like something out of a science fiction movie.

this is one of the main temples in Seoul, takes a few weeks ago when we were out walking around in the northern part of the city. 

taken at the war museum, we went on a random monday off and they were closed but we were able to roam around the grounds, free of many other people. There were scores of aircraft carriers and tanks and statues created to remember the many wars that Korea has been in over it's history. 

In the Hongdae neighborhood. This is some street art that Josh captured at an old abandoned home. They are doing some crazy demolition along a few blocks to make a new and fancy subway station. This too will soon be gone. 

Also in the Hongdae neighborhood, a bright window into a cafe..

  

(above) this is in our neighborhood, we often use this subway station, and the street is one of the busiest in Seoul. Traffic is so crazy on this road. The buildings that line the street have cool design, ahh... the concrete jungle! 

this is my new shirt that I got for about four bucks on the side of the street. I read it and I just had to get it, because it makes NO SENSE! This kind of messed up english is found everywhere.
It reads: "on a nice holyday 'divas CUTE' 'when I happened is everything ok' LOOKED elevator looks nearly killed me. getting sociated." 

This is from our trip to the east coast a few weeks ago, not sure what it is, or why it sits in solitude on the beautiful beach, but it caught my eye none the less!

a beautiful sunset over the lake. I love these mirror shots! 

  

the beautiful DMZ

In the very NE corner of South Korea, just minutes from the border with the rivals up north, lies a beautiful town, with an incredible coastline. In the area surrounding Sokcho, South Korea are small and rural villages with rice farms and gardens galore. Small shanty-esque dwellings clustered on the hillsides are the foreground of the scores of mountain peaks all around. Everything seemed to be in bloom and the freshness of the sea air was very refreshing. Mixed in with one teeny neighborhood of humble homes and terraced gardens was one very out of place home. A mansion! Nothing about it seemed very Korean at all, except the lack of beds and ample supply of sleeping cushions (super comfortable, actually). The house had a really big open layout, half a dozen bedrooms and and bathrooms, really nice front and back porches with tables and benches lining them. Sixteen people all together were the inhabitants of this home for three days. What a blast it was. We all pitched in and did one large grocery shopping trip and ate like queens and kings every meal, with leftovers! There was a BBQ and a Mexican food feast and brunches that rival the Portland restaurant scene.

When we were not eating or relaxing around our little yard we were pretty much at the beach. The ocean was the most beautiful tropical sea blue color and the vast open beach was nearly empty.... it isn't "beach season" in Korea yet and it would be too outside the social norms to hit the sand before it was "normal". That was just fine with us, we managed to get a massive wiffle ball game going, and  played lots of frisbee. It was hot and sunny, the water was....um....refreshing (read: cold!). Everyone got a sunburn, I mean everyone. No matter how much sunscreen we were continually applying. The sun was so intense for our pasty white winter skin. I was happy as could be swimming in the water for hours while losing feeling in my limbs from the coldness.... it is hard for me to leave the water!

One of the most dangerous and heavily guarded borders in the world happens to be very beautiful and calm, creating an interesting contrast of thoughts and ideas. We took one morning off from our beach duty and drove the really short drive to the DMZ. It was a strange and cool experience. After a somewhat long process of registering our cars and all the passengers and paying a small fee we proceeded to the gate where heavily armed soldiers were checking the cars and paperwork before admitting anyone to the border. As we drove on past the check point the scenery became very desolate and tall barbed wire fences were just everywhere we looked. The beautiful untouched beach to our east and the menacing isolated enemy to our north. We walked up to an observation deck and there it was! North Korea, but it was hard to see much. There is a five kilometer DMZ in between the countries, no one lives there, no one goes there, nothing is seen there, except a big road with no cars on it and an empty train track and some empty buildings and of course the beautiful beach and lots of barbed wire.

At the border there was a North Korean market, not sure how they got that up and running, I think it is something that was grandfathered in from about forty years ago, when relations between the two countries were more stable. They were selling various foods and alcohol products and trinkets. There was a major demand for the rumored delicious North Korean beer. Sure enough it was killer! Beats any Korean beer I've had so far, but then again, this country is notorious for having bad brews. Along with a market and a few places to eat there is a cool park with a giant white buddha statue and some artifacts from the Korean War.... which my Grandfather fought in! We hung around enjoying our beer, the scenery, our friends, and especially being on the free side of the border! 

We made the most of our time and pushed it until the final time we had to leave! Of course it is hard to leave vacation, especially at such a beautiful, remote place, knowing that work is looming so close in the morning. And of course we are tired and dragging a little today, but it's worth it for sure! June and July will be a little busy here at school.... lots of exams and projects to work on. Then Vietnam in August! I miss my people back home! Take care of yourselves. 

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."

— HENRY DAVID THOREAU 

love love love

spring has sprung

In the spirit of all things blooming, I would like to share my joy that it is not longer bitterly cold, and actually it's warming up fast! The flowers are ALL beginning to bud and bloom, in this concrete jungle it was hard to imagine so much color popping up everywhere, but not even the strongest concrete can harness the spring, waiting all year to burst with so much life! I really love every season for some reason, but there is so much comfort in spring, things are alive again, ready to grow. I can relate to these flowers right now, as in the winter I felt some grey clouds, now I feel the energy of new things, new growth, and some good ol' vitamin D! Happy Spring everyone, I hope it is a time of growth and beauty for you.....