School Festival

Korean schools work their students hard. Over the course of one week, my students will have studied twelve different subjects, participated in eight after school classes, and some will put in up to eighteen hours of extra study through a private night time academy. Then after all of this, my students are still expected to complete their homework for all of the classes mentioned above. However, for two days of the year students can leave their uniforms and textbooks at home. Last week, one of these days came around and the entire staff and student body of Dae-Sung Middle School joined together for the school’s festival.





School festivals are commonplace and a big deal in Korean schools. While each school may have a different agenda, the jist of the festival is generally the same. My school festival was comprised of class performances, art shows, a yard sale, a quiz show, and club activities. The day started off with an opening ceremony and class performances. The first half of my day was comprised of twenty one performances in which each class put together an assortment of dances, cheers, and/or acting bits. I happily watched on as my students proudly performed bits from High School Musical, Grease, and the latest pop dances. After the top five performances were selected, we broke for lunch. During that time students, teachers, and parents were able to wander the art displays and shop for nick-nacks at the yard sale. Even though there was an impressive display of books and accessories, I found the headbands, bracelets, and magazines a little too young and small for me; I left empty handed.



After a filling lunch, which was provided by the students’ parents (woohoo!), I returned once more to gym. This time it was my turn to be on stage. I wrote and emceed the English portion of the quiz show. As a surprise to my girls I borrowed a hanbok, a traditional Korean dress, and wore it during my portion. The students and teachers went wild when I walked out on stage and I gave them the best traditional bow and greeting I could muster, which I’m fairly certain was horrendous. After the quiz show, the various clubs of the school were able to perform any performances they had put together. I watched as the anime club put on a anime fashion show, the sign language club sign a song, music club put on a flute and violin performances, and the dance class put on ballet and jazz performances. By day’s end the top five from the morning session performed their routines one last time and a winner was ultimately announced. The winning class received new notebooks, for classroom use I’m sure. So while we all distracted ourselves with good food and fun dance routines, we left for the day knowing Monday would bring us back to our routine of books, notes, and after school classes.

Winter Arrives Early

Winter has officially arrived in Gwangju this week and yes it is still only October…ugh! So far autumn has provided us with crisp fall weather; nothing a cardigan during the day and jacket at night can’t handle. However, this week temperatures dropped below freezing during the night time and we reached a high in the 40s during the daytime. What makes all of this the more fun is my school has not turned on the heat yet. So you can find me bundled in my wool winter coat, scarf, and blanket at my desk in my office. Because of this sudden cold snap, it seems as if I’ll miss the changing trees of autumn. The cold has made the leaves fall off the trees while they are still green. Bummer! I’d write more, but I can’t feel my fingers. Until next time.

Fish n' Chips?

Hello devoted readers, long time no blog! I promise I have a good excuse for my absence lately (though Eric does not!). A few weeks back I had to have surgery on my wrist, making typing nearly impossible without splitting a stitch or opening the wound. Too much information sorry! But after two weeks filled with doctor’s visits, after school classes, and a few coffee dates I’m back. The stitches are out; the wrist is almost fully functional so I am back in business.

First, I owe a big thanks to Eric. He is the reason I haven’t reeked of B.O. for the last two weeks. Because I was unable to get my right hand/wrist wet for two weeks, he washed my hair, my face, and helped me around the house. You can guarantee I milked this situation for all it was worth, but he stepped up to the plate and was a stud. How many boys do you know who would be willing to pluck your eyebrows?

This past weekend was the first time I was off all my meds, so it was the first happening weekend for me in a few weeks. On Sunday, we and our friends decided to travel north to Jeonju for the afternoon. The purpose of our visit was food and charity related. We heard of the fish n’ chip fundraising event from friends from the area. The event converted a local Jeonju bar, Radiostar, into an English pub for a day and was serving up fish n’ chips for charity. All of the money made from the event would go toward buying Christmas presents for the kids at the local orphanage. Since I love fish n’ chips and Christmas it seemed like a no-brainer to me.

A group of seven of us made it to the “pub” by mid afternoon. It was relatively busy, about 2/3 of the tables were full. However, prep for the food was still being done and we knew we were in for a long wait for the fish n’ chips we’d been waiting all week for. Grabbing a few beers, we all passed the time easy enough. However, once the food had arrived we realized the expectations we’d set for the food before was far too high. The portions were extremely small: one small piece of fish and a few soggy chips, especially for what we paid for them. Despite the slight bitterness and disappointment which infected the table, we all knew our money went to a good cause and couldn’t be too upset. Instead, I opted to fill the remaining empty parts of my stomach with beer! Maybe not the classiest of moves at 3:30pm on a Sunday afternoon, but something had to be done. Once we all finished (which took a while because nearly 40 minutes passed from when the first and last person received their food) we decided we were still hungry, despite the beers, so we decided to trek towards the McDonalds our cab passed on the way to the pub. There we topped off on various menu items; I and the girls opted for Oreo McFlurrys and the boys went the multiple hamburger route. From there we made our way back to the bus terminal and ultimately back to Gwangju.

We came home about 8:30 pm, a little too late for me to start any work, but just in time for Eric to catch the Rangers vs. Celtics soccer match. Even though my craving for fish n’ chips, or pub food in general, was not satisfied I enjoyed the time we spent with our friends. It was nice to get out of the city for a day and do something different, even if it didn’t turn out the way we’d hoped.

International Community Day

This past Saturday (October 2) marked Gwangju’s 16th annual International Community Day. Hosted at the Kim Dae Jung Convention Center, the event was a platform for the international community of Gwangju to meet up, hang out, and indulge in the foods of our home nations. Members from thirteen different countries/ethnicities banded together to serve the remaining, less culinary inclined, international community. Foods from Greece, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, China, Nigeria, USA, Mexico, Indonesia, Russia, and Vietnam were prepared and sold throughout the day.

Food was sold for 500-3,000 won (that’s roughly .50-3.00 USD) and Eric and I took full advantage of this cost efficient lunch. Together, we ate our way through the black olive hummus of Greece, the Pierogies of America (yes, I know these aren’t an American food but it was at the American stall), the tacos and quesadillas of Mexico, and the various curries of Nepal. It is sufficient to say we stuffed ourselves with food we know we are not likely to encounter again until we return stateside.

As a bonus, we each received a free entrance ticket to the current international food fair inside the convention center. While I was too full to eat any more, Eric and his bottomless pit of a stomach, enjoyed samples of barbequed sausage and free cups Czech beer and liquor. Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous fall day filled with food, foreigners, and friends.

Isn't it Winter Already?

This week is midterm week at my school. This translates to me working only half-days, Wed-Fri, and having absolutely no responsibilities except to entertain myself for those four hours. This can be easily done when there are lesson plans to write, emails to send, and papers to organize. Rather I find myself staring at my computer screen, hopping from one trashy celebrity site to another dreaming of ways to make winter break arrive faster.

I dream of winter’s arrival for many reasons. While winter will signify the end of my year here, that is not at the top of my list. Eric and I are still enjoying the work we’re doing, our weekend explorations, and the company of the friends we’ve made here. However, I want winter to arrive quickly because I am excited for the Christmas season, and all that goes along with it, and I am very excited for our winter vacation. This week, after hunting for good deals on flight and accommodation I can say that we have booked our winter-time travels. Eric and I will be spending a lovely seventeen days in Prague, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria. We are excited to see snowy streets, lots of art, and we are most excited for the food and drink which await us. I cannot express accurately how badly I want to drink a proper pint, not a small mug, of beer, more specifically a dark beer…yum. I also cannot wait to eat proper sandwiches, sausages, and other hearty central European fare. Also, because we are staying for a reasonable amount of time we are hoping to make a few day trips while we are there.

So despite my hardest efforts to focus this week at work and get the rest of my lesson plans and supplementary materials written, printed and filed I day dream about the adventures which winter has in store for us. Christmas should prove an interesting challenge and experience. We’ll see what kind of Christmas dinner a no-oven, two-burner stovetop, one pot, one pan, and a microwave can create. Take out anyone?

Chuseok!

Last week Eric and I had Tues-Fri (21-24) off of work for Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving holiday. Chuseok is one of the most important holidays in Korean culture; second only to New Year’s Day. Chuseok is a time when families travel to their relatives’ house and eat traditional foods such as: bulgogi, galbi, and songpyon (a special type of rice cake). This meal of meat, vegetables and rice cake is usually eaten for breakfast. After breakfast, families travel to the graves of relatives who have passed away to deliver gifts and to maintain the grounds. Upon arrival at the grave site, the first order of business is to clean up the grounds; this includes; weeding, cutting crashing, and cleaning the tombstone. Once this is done, offerings of food, drink, and flowers are placed on the grave and the family bows down in respect to honor their relatives’ memory.

While the rest of Korea was eating traditional food and honoring their relatives, Eric and were eating a super-sized Big Mac meal from McDonalds. The reason for this was twofold: 1. we had a strong craving for a burger and fries and 2. McDonalds proved to be one of the few things open during the holiday. After filling our stomachs, and arteries, we treated ourselves to a few days of relaxation and movies. However, at the end of the week we met up with our friend Jimmy, Rachel, Matt, and Chantel and headed to Busan for the weekend. This marked all of our second trip to Busan and we were determined to relax. This time our agenda did not include running all over the city taking in the various sites and landmarks of the city. Rather, we all staked a small spot on Haeundae and on both Friday and Saturday took in the sun’s rays and a good book. I am happy to say when our beach time was over, I not only gained a small sunburn but I finished my book as well.





Once the sun went down, we would grab dinner and then ultimately drinks at a few bars not too far off the beach. However, on Saturday night we were invited by our hosts, Jae Hee and Chan, to join them and our fellow guest for chips and salsa, cheesecake, Makoli (traditional rice wine), soju, and beer. It proved to be quite a potent mixture of food and drink, but I really enjoyed hearing the funny anecdotes of our new friends. Once the food and Makoli was gone, we (as a large group) headed to a pub nearby to finish the night of with a beer and some popcorn. It was superb! However, in my slightly altered state Rachel and I were convinced to wake up early to go on a walk with our hosts. Now, I like walking as much as the next person, but getting up early to go on a walk after a night of eating and drinking is not ideal. Regardless, Rachel and I set an alarm, got up, and made sure to fill our stomachs with as much coffee, toast, and eggs as possible before our journey. When all was said and done, the walk proved to be quite beautiful; it was along the cliffs which overlooked Haeundae beach.





When our walk was finished, we all packed our bags and made our way back to Gwangju. We made sure to grab a greasy lunch of McDonald’s before we left (yes, I had McDonalds 3 times within a 5 day period) and then settled in our bus for the three hour ride home. Eric and I had so much fun relaxing and reading. We don’t do that enough here. It is really easy to get caught up in exploring everywhere because we want to see as much as possible. In hindsight, I am really glad we just sat on a beach for two days.

The Joys of Public Transportation in Korea

After months of bottled up frustration and using an excessive amount of English swear words, I have made peace with Korean Public Transportation. I still roll my eyes, a lot, but for the most part it stops there. In fact, I even find myself laughing at some of the eccentricities I encounter each day.

Case and point: yesterday’s morning ride to work. As usual I catch my bus around 7:35, I shuffle in line behind the five elderly ladies in front of me, and I assume my position at the very back of the bus (I sit in the back because the seats in the front and middle of the bus are taken up by the bags of lettuce, cabbage, and other produce which belong to the said five elderly ladies). I am minding my own business, gazing out the window in a groggy state and BAM! Our bus was just hit by another bus. Before I go on, let me tell you that I and everyone else on the bus is fine. In typical Korean fashion, my bus driver parks our bus where we are, in the very right lane, and puts on the hazard lights. The other bus parks itself, in the center lane. So of the three lanes available for morning traffic my bus and the other bus are blocking two of them. Brilliant! Both bus drivers meet on the sidewalk where my bus driver proceeds to point, shout, and wave our broken mirror in the other driver’s face. Well the other driver just won’t stand for it and the next thing I know these two bus drivers are in a full blown fight; a wrestling, flying fists type of fight. Realizing there is absolutely nothing I can do, I just watch. I am sure this will come back to bite me in the butt later, but what could I do? Meanwhile the five old ladies on my bus have opened their windows, and are screaming at both bus drivers. While I don’t know what they are saying, I’d like to think it is along these lines, “Hey you, other bus driver, you hit us, it’s your fault. Stop fighting we have places to be, things to sell. Stop it!!!!! We are very angry!” I feel bad, but I cannot help but laugh to myself. Sure had this happened when I first moved here I would be terrified, annoyed, and pissed off, but now I can see the ridiculousness of the situation and have a hearty laugh. After ten minutes of brawling and elderly man gets himself involved and the two bus drivers return to their buses and get on their way.

Oh Korean Public Transportation, you never cease to amaze, surprise, or entertain me. Who knows what my next bus ride will have in store!