Yesterday I went on a biking trip out to the Daegu wetlands with 30 students and 3 other teachers. We started at 9 am, biked across the city, arriving at the wetlands around 11:00 AM. We ate some taste bud-tantalizing box lunches sitting under a bridge and continued on to bike through the wetlands. This was the first time I have ever biked through tall grass and over rocky terrain which was certainly a different type of experience.
Many of the students on the trip were low-level English speaking students. In class these are the students that don't want to be there and I have had trouble getting through to. However, since this outdoor activity was more up their alley, I found them much more willing to speak English with me to the best of their ability, albeit low.
I hope that this enthusiasm translates into the classroom. I only wish that this type of opportunity came in more abundance and was available to me earlier.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Naju/Gwangju
This past weekend I went to visit the Naju and Gwangju. Given how much I've traveled during my grant year, it's surprising that this was my first trip to the west side of the peninsula. Gwangju was just like most of the other large cities. It was spread out for the most part and there were a lot of name brand stores and restaurants.
Naju on the other hand, was a special place. Not quite as small as Goesan, where our orientation took place, but definitely not considered a city, Naju was quaint but depressing at the same time. (Sorry, Jim!)
My friends and I decided to pay Jim a visit since he's traveled to Daegu so many times for us. A few weeks back when we started to think about this trip, I looked up the sites to see in Naju in a guidebook. There was only one, the Naju Pear Museum. I didn't think you could make a whole museum dedicated to pears, but on Saturday afternoon there we were, standing in front of it. Once inside, the receptionist had to power up the place for us. I guess they don't get a lot of visitors.
Naju on the other hand, was a special place. Not quite as small as Goesan, where our orientation took place, but definitely not considered a city, Naju was quaint but depressing at the same time. (Sorry, Jim!)
My friends and I decided to pay Jim a visit since he's traveled to Daegu so many times for us. A few weeks back when we started to think about this trip, I looked up the sites to see in Naju in a guidebook. There was only one, the Naju Pear Museum. I didn't think you could make a whole museum dedicated to pears, but on Saturday afternoon there we were, standing in front of it. Once inside, the receptionist had to power up the place for us. I guess they don't get a lot of visitors.
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| Pears fermenting |
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| These pear mascots are everywhere in Naju, city of pears |
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| Not sure what I'm standing in front of here |
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| In front of an exhibit about a pear harvesting |
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Speech contest
Last Sunday one of my best students was in a Daegu speech contest. I had been working with her everyday during lunch for a few weeks and I was really proud of how hard she worked. If all my students were as dedicated and polite as her my job would be very very easy.
When the competition was all said and done, my student took home 4th prize. Although she was happy, she was a little frustrated because she didn't think the top 3 speeches were any better than hers. She thought the grading was arbitrary. I was very proud of her anyway and on Monday she brought me a bag of goodies accompanied by this note.
Again, if all my students were this awesome, I wouldn't be able to leave Korea!
When the competition was all said and done, my student took home 4th prize. Although she was happy, she was a little frustrated because she didn't think the top 3 speeches were any better than hers. She thought the grading was arbitrary. I was very proud of her anyway and on Monday she brought me a bag of goodies accompanied by this note.
Again, if all my students were this awesome, I wouldn't be able to leave Korea!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Mother's Day
Due to Children's Day, Buddha's Birthday, a few days off, and midterms I had quite a few days off to spend with my Mom. On Children's Day she came to Daegu with her younger sister to meet my host family. It seemed like everyone got along, which I expected. I think that both of my families (biological and host) felt closer after finally meeting face to face.
We went to a "fusion" restaurant. I'm not sure which cuisines were fused together, but the restaurant did have large cloth napkins which confused my host brothers. They didn't understand what to do with them since in Korea most napkins are extremely small, thin and largely useless. Apparently they had never seen large cloth napkins.
Even my Mom, who is a pretty picky eater, enjoyed the food which I know is something that initially worried my host Mom. Although the conversation was 90% in Korean, I was able to follow most of it as my Mom recounted stories from when I was a baby and my host Mom told stories about me acting like a fool. Great...
On Friday my Mom and I met in Seoul where we would spend the next few days. The weather was humid with intermittent rain showers so it was hard to plan anything outdoors. On Mother's Day we got enough sunshine to spend time in Yeouido Park and visit the War Museum. Those were two of the more memorable sights that I've seen in Korea, let alone in Seoul. Being Mother's Day and all, spending it with my Mom in Korea of all places, just added to the special factor.
Throughout our time in Seoul, my Mom and I had a good time and I was afforded the opportunity to connect with many of my relatives that I would not have reached out to otherwise. While she was in Korea, I met aunts, uncles and cousins two, three times removed. Part of the reason I came to Korea was to discover a part of my heritage, or even just parts of myself that I did not know and would not know otherwise. Having my Mom here certainly expedited that. I shied away from it at first because I thought my Korean wasn't proficient enough, but in reality it was and it turned out to be a terrific experience. I'm looking forward to going to Seoul again and meeting my cousins a second time, even without my Mom there as a buffer.
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| At the restaurant |
Even my Mom, who is a pretty picky eater, enjoyed the food which I know is something that initially worried my host Mom. Although the conversation was 90% in Korean, I was able to follow most of it as my Mom recounted stories from when I was a baby and my host Mom told stories about me acting like a fool. Great...
On Friday my Mom and I met in Seoul where we would spend the next few days. The weather was humid with intermittent rain showers so it was hard to plan anything outdoors. On Mother's Day we got enough sunshine to spend time in Yeouido Park and visit the War Museum. Those were two of the more memorable sights that I've seen in Korea, let alone in Seoul. Being Mother's Day and all, spending it with my Mom in Korea of all places, just added to the special factor.
Throughout our time in Seoul, my Mom and I had a good time and I was afforded the opportunity to connect with many of my relatives that I would not have reached out to otherwise. While she was in Korea, I met aunts, uncles and cousins two, three times removed. Part of the reason I came to Korea was to discover a part of my heritage, or even just parts of myself that I did not know and would not know otherwise. Having my Mom here certainly expedited that. I shied away from it at first because I thought my Korean wasn't proficient enough, but in reality it was and it turned out to be a terrific experience. I'm looking forward to going to Seoul again and meeting my cousins a second time, even without my Mom there as a buffer.
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| Mother's Day at the War Museum |
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| Mother's Day at the War Museum |
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| Mother's Day in 여의도 공원 |
Namhae
On Saturday I took a trip to Namhae, the third largest island in Korea after Jeju and Koje. I went with my Mom, older Uncle, Aunt and Aunt's husband. Unfortunately I was under the weather so after (an amazing) dinner everyone else went to the spa and I went to bed.
The next day, everyone again went to the spa and I wallowed in my own misery between hacking coughs. On the way back to civilization we stopped for lunch at a fish market on the coast. There we had raw octopus, sea cucumber and sea squirt. While I can't say I was particularly fond of any of it, my two uncles loved it, being male and all. In Korea, eating living things is just one of the many "stamina boosting" foods. I tried the raw octopus and sea squirt for the experience. Eating something that is still wriggling isn't all that pleasant since it puts up a fight. The octopus kept latching on to the roof of my mouth, much like peanut butter but without the sweet taste.
The next day, everyone again went to the spa and I wallowed in my own misery between hacking coughs. On the way back to civilization we stopped for lunch at a fish market on the coast. There we had raw octopus, sea cucumber and sea squirt. While I can't say I was particularly fond of any of it, my two uncles loved it, being male and all. In Korea, eating living things is just one of the many "stamina boosting" foods. I tried the raw octopus and sea squirt for the experience. Eating something that is still wriggling isn't all that pleasant since it puts up a fight. The octopus kept latching on to the roof of my mouth, much like peanut butter but without the sweet taste.
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| Namhae in the rain |
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| On the balcony of our hotel room |
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| At dinner |
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| Just the first of many wonderful buffet plates |
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| The small dish with the gray food is the raw octopus, the larger plate has sea squirt (orange) and sea cucumber (dark gray) |
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| Fighting with the octopus |
Thursday, April 28, 2011
My first birthday in Korea
In Korea, when a child has his/her first birthday, it's a very special and grand celebration. Since this is my first birthday that I'm spending in Korea, it's only fitting that it happened in a similar fashion. Most people that know me, know that I'm not one for birthday celebrations. It's an awkward moment that carries a lot of responsibility. Everyone expects you to know where to go, what to do and how to pull it all together. Not liking large groups all that much, it's just not something I like doing. Compounding this is the issue that it often involves mixing groups of friends that may not normally mesh together, which only makes everything more awkward. In fact, I would rather spend my birthday alone than have to choose one group of friends or family to spend it with.
All this is fine, except that this year my birthday seemed to last an entire week and I still couldn't fit in everyone. It started on Friday night in Daegu, combined with Jing's birthday and moved on to Saturday night in Busan, which is one of my favorite cities in Korea. Then on Wednesday, my actual birthday, the English teachers bought me a cake during lunch. It was a very nice guesture considering I tried not to tell anyone when my birthday was, except that my Mom let the cat out of the bag during her visit. During school I also received calls from my Mom, Aunt and Uncle. After lunch, students began coming to the teacher's office to give me candy. Again, I'm not sure how the word spread but it surely wasn't a secret anymore. In fact, in one of my classes, the students asked if it was really my birthday, and whe I said yes they broke out into a surprisingly harmonious rendition of "Happy Birthday" in English.
After school, I had plans with 절식, 한진, 도환, 진일 and 해정. This scenario of a female joining a group of males is somewhat uncommon in Korea from what I'm told. It seems to be almost taboo for men and women to interact as friends without there being a stigma attached to it as well. Men and women, when together are assumed to be dating. To summarize, we went for chicken, beer, and jambong (a spicy chinese food dish),
After wrapping up, I went home and was surprised by another cake, flowers, a handmade fan and a pair of awesome cufflinks by my host family.
To summarize, over the course of my birthday festivities, I took part in 5 different cakes and I'm not even a huge fan of sweets to begin with. My first birthday in Korea was certainly a memorable one. Thank you to everyone that took part in making it awesome!
All this is fine, except that this year my birthday seemed to last an entire week and I still couldn't fit in everyone. It started on Friday night in Daegu, combined with Jing's birthday and moved on to Saturday night in Busan, which is one of my favorite cities in Korea. Then on Wednesday, my actual birthday, the English teachers bought me a cake during lunch. It was a very nice guesture considering I tried not to tell anyone when my birthday was, except that my Mom let the cat out of the bag during her visit. During school I also received calls from my Mom, Aunt and Uncle. After lunch, students began coming to the teacher's office to give me candy. Again, I'm not sure how the word spread but it surely wasn't a secret anymore. In fact, in one of my classes, the students asked if it was really my birthday, and whe I said yes they broke out into a surprisingly harmonious rendition of "Happy Birthday" in English.
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| Daegu |
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| Busan |
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| At school. I'm trying to blow out the candles, not drink the juice... |
After school, I had plans with 절식, 한진, 도환, 진일 and 해정. This scenario of a female joining a group of males is somewhat uncommon in Korea from what I'm told. It seems to be almost taboo for men and women to interact as friends without there being a stigma attached to it as well. Men and women, when together are assumed to be dating. To summarize, we went for chicken, beer, and jambong (a spicy chinese food dish),
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| At the first restaurant |
After wrapping up, I went home and was surprised by another cake, flowers, a handmade fan and a pair of awesome cufflinks by my host family.
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| My Korean homestay family! |
To summarize, over the course of my birthday festivities, I took part in 5 different cakes and I'm not even a huge fan of sweets to begin with. My first birthday in Korea was certainly a memorable one. Thank you to everyone that took part in making it awesome!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Mom's visit to Jukjun Middle School
Today my Mom came to visit my school. Even though I repeatedly told my students that my Mom is Korean, I guess they didn't believe me because they went wild when they met her.
There isn't really much to report except that most of the talking to the other teachers went on in Korean so I was only able to follow bits and pieces.
Normally I wouldn't think to bring my Mom to my place of work but being that she's Korean, all the other teachers were excited to meet her so I obliged. It was a successful trip.
There isn't really much to report except that most of the talking to the other teachers went on in Korean so I was only able to follow bits and pieces.
Normally I wouldn't think to bring my Mom to my place of work but being that she's Korean, all the other teachers were excited to meet her so I obliged. It was a successful trip.
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