Our week off for Summer vacation finally arrived and 7 of us took a train to a beach city called Busan, which in Korea. We rode a train that goes almost 300 mph so it only took 3 hours to get here. Beaches in Korea are definitely a lot different than beaches back home! It is a beautiful area, but the whole concept of being at the beach is completely different. Since Koreans try their hardest to maintain pale skin, umbrellas are set up ALL over the beach...literally in rows with about 5 feet in between each one. It almost makes a huge tent on the beach and you can't even see the ocean because the umbrellas block the view! You have to pay to get a spot at an umbrella, and there is no beach space otherwise, so we just rent an umbrella space and put the umbrella down...we want the sun!
Although some Koreans wear only a bathing suit, a lot of them wear their clothes in the ocean to avoid the sun...not a tradition we are following. The guys at the beach seem to think speedo swimsuits are the only acceptable beach attire. Girls all wear their bikinis with stiletto heels, obviously trying to be fashionable at the beach. It was also funny to see couples and friends walking around everywhere in matching outfits. Kinda cute the FIRST tiime we saw it, but matching with friends and or your significant other is very popular in Busan. Needless to say, we had to try our hardest to get over the fashion nighmares! haha It is only Monday and so far we are having a wonderful time! There are four girls and three guys and everyone is so much fun. We spend our days at the beach and nights out on the town.
We are in a very touristy beach now, with tons of people and things to do. It is called Haeundae Beach, and is part of Busan. The streets are filled with vendors...mainly three types actually. There are games where you have to hit balloons with darts, henna tattoo booths, and people selling alcoholic drinks. How many of the same booth can you fit in one town?? Also, we are pretty much celebrities here. I guess Busan isn't used to all of the foreigners, and everyone we pass wants to talk to us, as much as they can in English, and find out where we are from etc. It's pretty funny!
I am feeling so much better...almost back to normal and it is wonderful! The town we are in has the beach, and you can also see mountains in the background...it's gorgeous! If you're interested, look up Busan online and you can see pictures. I will post my pictures and write more soon. Love you and miss you all!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Loving Korea!
Last week was a pretty good week. I was still in some pain recovering from surgery, but the week was fairly easy at school because the kids had level tests and spelling bees which take the place of a lot of teaching. Also, it was our directors last week and one of the teachers at our school left to go home as well (he is coming back in 6 weeks to teach for another year). Thursday night we had a big going away dinner for Sue, our director. I had to live vicariously through other teachers who went on our last staff event, which was a day long picnic at the beach that included a lot of food, so-ju (korean liquor made from rice), and karaoke, because I had my surgery that day. It sounded like so much fun with all of the teachers, Korean staff, lunch ladies and bus drivers. In total there are about 35 people that work at our school. I was so sad I had to miss the picnic! However, our dinner out was quite an event and just as much fun as the picnic so I hear!
The school took us to a really nice Korean BBQ restaurant, where you sit on the floor and cook really good meat and veggies on a coal fired grill in the middle of the table. They paid for all the food and drinks we wanted. So soon after surgery I couldn't drink, but just about everyone else did and I have never had quite the same bonding experience with co-workers in my life! Koreans are known for drinking quite a bit and people definitely had a hard time waking up for work the next morning! Needless to say, we got to know each other in a different light...and way better! Luckily the next day was Friday, and people just had to get through one day of work before crashing! It was pretty funny when the Korean staff brought in a whole case of these small liquid drinks that are meant to cure hangovers. They had fun too and everyone was struggling the next day! Talk about being thoughtful!
After work on Friday we had a pizza party for Julian, the teacher that is going back to Canada for 6 weeks. It wasn't quite as exciting as the night before, but still fun! It was also pretty exciting because it was the last day of work before our week long summer vacation. 7 of us from LCI (my school) had a trip planned for the week and we were all so ready for the time off!
A few more interesting things about life in Korea: Everyone is VERY obsessed with being small, and parents implant it in the kids from an early age. Kids at school make comments all the time about junk food and being skinny, which is kinda wierd coming from 5 and 6 year olds. Also, Koreans do not waste ANYTHING. There are special colored trash bags for everything. Food goes in yellow bags, trash goes in pink bags, and recycling goes in a separate bag. Even at McDonalds there are separate places to put your straw, drink lid, cup and so forth. The no-waste thing goes a little far. There are no paper towels at the school or in most public places. Instead, there is a community towel that you try your hands on after you wash them. That was something we had to get used to! Kids are also very affectionate. Sometimes they think it's funny and it goes too far. They love to grab behinds and boobs...which we definitely have to teach them NOT to do!
Hope everyone is doing well!
The school took us to a really nice Korean BBQ restaurant, where you sit on the floor and cook really good meat and veggies on a coal fired grill in the middle of the table. They paid for all the food and drinks we wanted. So soon after surgery I couldn't drink, but just about everyone else did and I have never had quite the same bonding experience with co-workers in my life! Koreans are known for drinking quite a bit and people definitely had a hard time waking up for work the next morning! Needless to say, we got to know each other in a different light...and way better! Luckily the next day was Friday, and people just had to get through one day of work before crashing! It was pretty funny when the Korean staff brought in a whole case of these small liquid drinks that are meant to cure hangovers. They had fun too and everyone was struggling the next day! Talk about being thoughtful!
After work on Friday we had a pizza party for Julian, the teacher that is going back to Canada for 6 weeks. It wasn't quite as exciting as the night before, but still fun! It was also pretty exciting because it was the last day of work before our week long summer vacation. 7 of us from LCI (my school) had a trip planned for the week and we were all so ready for the time off!
A few more interesting things about life in Korea: Everyone is VERY obsessed with being small, and parents implant it in the kids from an early age. Kids at school make comments all the time about junk food and being skinny, which is kinda wierd coming from 5 and 6 year olds. Also, Koreans do not waste ANYTHING. There are special colored trash bags for everything. Food goes in yellow bags, trash goes in pink bags, and recycling goes in a separate bag. Even at McDonalds there are separate places to put your straw, drink lid, cup and so forth. The no-waste thing goes a little far. There are no paper towels at the school or in most public places. Instead, there is a community towel that you try your hands on after you wash them. That was something we had to get used to! Kids are also very affectionate. Sometimes they think it's funny and it goes too far. They love to grab behinds and boobs...which we definitely have to teach them NOT to do!
Hope everyone is doing well!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
I'm alive!
So it's been a rough few days. Friday morning at work I got the worst pains in my abdomen. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced and can't even describe how it felt. One of the Korean teachers at my school took me to a female clinic where they did several tests and finally diagnosed me with PID (Pelvic Inflamatory Disease). This can be pretty serious with some long term effects so I was pretty scared. I was told to rest for several days and given a lot of different medications to take. She also told me that if I was feeling considerably better by that night to go to the hospital. Unfortunately the pain didn't lesson so at about 10:00 on Friday night I had to call the assistant director, Geenie, at my school to come take me to the hospital. Si came as well and both of them stayed there with me all night while they ran several tests and finally re-diagnosed me with apendicitis...pretty far off from the initial diagnosis!
I was in surgery by 10:00 Saturday morning to have my appendix removed, and Si and Geenie were still with me. Also, the owner of the school, Mr. Kim, came to make sure everything was ok. After I got out of the recovery room, I was put in a room with 8 people...not much privacy! Mr. Kim worked wonders and paid to have me put in a private room with only two beds. Everyone was so great! We had a huge staff picnic on Saturday, which I obviously had to miss, and felt awful for Geenie and Mr. Kim missing it as well. They stayed with me for awhile, and finally left me to rest. Si stayed until Sunday night, which was wonderful. Unfortunately Saturday was his birthday and not so great celebrated in the hospital with me! Geenie brought him a birthday cake and we had a small celebration anyways!
The frist 24 hours after surgery were pretty rough. I couldn't have anything to eat or drink and my mouth and throat were so dry I couldn't talk. The surgeon said my appendix was twice as big as it should have been and I was lucky to have come in when I did to avoid having it rupture which can be a LOT worse. I was in the hospital from Friday night until Tuesday afternoon. People from school came to visit several times and Si was there as much as possible.
On Sunday night another Korean girl was put in my room, and a friend was there with her was well. Although they didn't speak any English, they were super nice. After the girl had her surgery she was pretty out of it, but her friend offered me as much help as she offered her friend. They talked to the doctors, helped me change my hospital gown, and took my meal trays away for me. It's good to know there are people out t here who are so caring and helpful, even to strangers!
In Korea, you pretty much go to work unless something is seriously wrong, so I feel pretty bad about having to miss work. Everyone is assuring me it is ok and that I need to rest and get better. Not that I have much choice in the matter, but that's exactly what I have to do! When I was finally allowed food, I was served about 4 different kinds of soup, if you can call it that, at every meal. One was soup made from rice which was the only one I could distinguish. Now I am able to eat semi-normal food. They advised me to eat Korean porriadge until friday, which is like a really thick soup with rice, chicken and some veggies. It's actually pretty good. When someone from the school came to pick me up from the hospital they stopped and got me plenty of the porriadge to last me for a couple days.
The pain is a lot better now. When I am laying down it is pretty much non-exisistent, but when I stand or walk it still hurts pretty bad. The doctor said after a week or so the pain should be completely gone. One down side of recovery is that i can't take showers. I can't get the wound wet, so my friends have been washing my hair for me and i've gotten used to the whole spunge bath thing....not so fun! I finally got home today, which is a lot better than being in the hospital! I'll be out of work for the rest of the week, taking it easy and go back to the hospital on Friday to get my stitches out and make sure everything is healing as it should. Thanks to everyone who helped and who wished me well!
I'm much better now and should be back to normal in a couple weeks. I'll keep you all updated! Si thought it would be cute to take some pictures of me after surgery while I was more than passed out, so I will post them with my pictures for your amusement!
Love you and miss you all!
I was in surgery by 10:00 Saturday morning to have my appendix removed, and Si and Geenie were still with me. Also, the owner of the school, Mr. Kim, came to make sure everything was ok. After I got out of the recovery room, I was put in a room with 8 people...not much privacy! Mr. Kim worked wonders and paid to have me put in a private room with only two beds. Everyone was so great! We had a huge staff picnic on Saturday, which I obviously had to miss, and felt awful for Geenie and Mr. Kim missing it as well. They stayed with me for awhile, and finally left me to rest. Si stayed until Sunday night, which was wonderful. Unfortunately Saturday was his birthday and not so great celebrated in the hospital with me! Geenie brought him a birthday cake and we had a small celebration anyways!
The frist 24 hours after surgery were pretty rough. I couldn't have anything to eat or drink and my mouth and throat were so dry I couldn't talk. The surgeon said my appendix was twice as big as it should have been and I was lucky to have come in when I did to avoid having it rupture which can be a LOT worse. I was in the hospital from Friday night until Tuesday afternoon. People from school came to visit several times and Si was there as much as possible.
On Sunday night another Korean girl was put in my room, and a friend was there with her was well. Although they didn't speak any English, they were super nice. After the girl had her surgery she was pretty out of it, but her friend offered me as much help as she offered her friend. They talked to the doctors, helped me change my hospital gown, and took my meal trays away for me. It's good to know there are people out t here who are so caring and helpful, even to strangers!
In Korea, you pretty much go to work unless something is seriously wrong, so I feel pretty bad about having to miss work. Everyone is assuring me it is ok and that I need to rest and get better. Not that I have much choice in the matter, but that's exactly what I have to do! When I was finally allowed food, I was served about 4 different kinds of soup, if you can call it that, at every meal. One was soup made from rice which was the only one I could distinguish. Now I am able to eat semi-normal food. They advised me to eat Korean porriadge until friday, which is like a really thick soup with rice, chicken and some veggies. It's actually pretty good. When someone from the school came to pick me up from the hospital they stopped and got me plenty of the porriadge to last me for a couple days.
The pain is a lot better now. When I am laying down it is pretty much non-exisistent, but when I stand or walk it still hurts pretty bad. The doctor said after a week or so the pain should be completely gone. One down side of recovery is that i can't take showers. I can't get the wound wet, so my friends have been washing my hair for me and i've gotten used to the whole spunge bath thing....not so fun! I finally got home today, which is a lot better than being in the hospital! I'll be out of work for the rest of the week, taking it easy and go back to the hospital on Friday to get my stitches out and make sure everything is healing as it should. Thanks to everyone who helped and who wished me well!
I'm much better now and should be back to normal in a couple weeks. I'll keep you all updated! Si thought it would be cute to take some pictures of me after surgery while I was more than passed out, so I will post them with my pictures for your amusement!
Love you and miss you all!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Staying busy!
Things are still great and as busy as ever. We are in the beginning of monsoon season which means it rains ALOT. Korea doesn't get it as bad as other surrounding countries, but still enough to be a burden! We all thought it would rain every day all day for the 2 month rainy season but thankfully we were mistaken. It will rain for a couple days and then it is very hot and humid for a couple days. The cycle continues like that, with more rainy days towards the end of July and beginning of August. It's not too bad since I live so close to the school, but it's surprising how wet you can get from a two minute walk! Last night I went to see Harry Potter with a couple teachers from my school. The theater is a little over a mile away and we usually walk to that area. When we got out of the theater it was absolutely pouring down rain, and thundering and lightening. There were a lot of taxis, but unfortunately at night or in the rain, the taxis will only pick up people who are going to Seoul, which is a 20 minute drive. We were stuck walking home in the storm and I was drenched from head to toe by the time I got home. It was pretty funny, and my first experience getting caught in the rain. Luckily I bought a new umbrella right before the movie, which helped keep my purse dry but that's about it! The movie was worth it though!
Last weekend I went with Si and several teachers from my school to an area in Seoul called Itaewon. It's very western, and filled with Americans in the military and other teachers. You can get a lot of western products there that they don't sell anywhere else, and there are vendors selling things all over the streets. It's so much fun, especially if you love shopping like me! I'm kind of embarassed to admit I spent $4 on a can of Dr. Pepper...but they don't sell it anywhere and it was a taste of home! We had lunch at a restaurant that actually sold things like hamburgers and mozerella sticks and then walked around for awhile. I bought a used cell phone, which is a good thing to do in Itaewon. The teachers from my school left after a couple of hours but me and Si stayed to walk around more and do some shopping. They have tons of replica purses and clothes with designer names that are obviously fake, but still fun to have. I got a couple purses, and some necessities like calling cards and books in English. We were looking for a DVD player for me, and a CD player for Si, which we heard would be cheaper there. In Bundang, where I live, the cheapest DVD player is about $100 and the cheapest CD player is about $70. A military guy on the street told us about a huge electronic market that had cheap items, so we tooki a cab there. It was a huge building with 6 floors of all electronics. Needless to say, we found what we were looking for. Si's birthday is on Saturday so I bought him a CD player which he is very excited about.
I still love teaching and am becoming closer to all of the teachers and students. We found out this week that the director of our school is leaving which was a big shock to everyone. She was supposed to leave two years ago but they asked her to stay on because they moved into a new building and really needed her. The new director will start coming by next week and will work with our director until August and then take over. The director pretty much makes all decisions about the school, and although the Korean staff promise us they will try to have things run the same, there is no telling how the new director will want to do things. It's kinda scary to think about everything being switched around right after I have finally gotten used to how things are done. We'll just have to wait and see!
This weekend we have an employee picnic in a big park in Seoul. All of the staff from our school will go, and we have heard many stories about how picnics have been in the past. It will be a long day, but they provide all of the food and drinks (alcohol of course). We will play football and other games, and we've been told that throughout the day, people begin to feel the effects of alcohol. Drinking is really big in Korea. Anyways, the day takes a turn and everyone starts singing Karaoke and having a great time. I'm pretty excited and it should be a really fun day!
I posted a lot of new pictures but I have been slack on posting my blog. I will try to do a better job with it! I hope everyone is doing well and I will talk to you all soon! Love you and miss you all!
Last weekend I went with Si and several teachers from my school to an area in Seoul called Itaewon. It's very western, and filled with Americans in the military and other teachers. You can get a lot of western products there that they don't sell anywhere else, and there are vendors selling things all over the streets. It's so much fun, especially if you love shopping like me! I'm kind of embarassed to admit I spent $4 on a can of Dr. Pepper...but they don't sell it anywhere and it was a taste of home! We had lunch at a restaurant that actually sold things like hamburgers and mozerella sticks and then walked around for awhile. I bought a used cell phone, which is a good thing to do in Itaewon. The teachers from my school left after a couple of hours but me and Si stayed to walk around more and do some shopping. They have tons of replica purses and clothes with designer names that are obviously fake, but still fun to have. I got a couple purses, and some necessities like calling cards and books in English. We were looking for a DVD player for me, and a CD player for Si, which we heard would be cheaper there. In Bundang, where I live, the cheapest DVD player is about $100 and the cheapest CD player is about $70. A military guy on the street told us about a huge electronic market that had cheap items, so we tooki a cab there. It was a huge building with 6 floors of all electronics. Needless to say, we found what we were looking for. Si's birthday is on Saturday so I bought him a CD player which he is very excited about.
I still love teaching and am becoming closer to all of the teachers and students. We found out this week that the director of our school is leaving which was a big shock to everyone. She was supposed to leave two years ago but they asked her to stay on because they moved into a new building and really needed her. The new director will start coming by next week and will work with our director until August and then take over. The director pretty much makes all decisions about the school, and although the Korean staff promise us they will try to have things run the same, there is no telling how the new director will want to do things. It's kinda scary to think about everything being switched around right after I have finally gotten used to how things are done. We'll just have to wait and see!
This weekend we have an employee picnic in a big park in Seoul. All of the staff from our school will go, and we have heard many stories about how picnics have been in the past. It will be a long day, but they provide all of the food and drinks (alcohol of course). We will play football and other games, and we've been told that throughout the day, people begin to feel the effects of alcohol. Drinking is really big in Korea. Anyways, the day takes a turn and everyone starts singing Karaoke and having a great time. I'm pretty excited and it should be a really fun day!
I posted a lot of new pictures but I have been slack on posting my blog. I will try to do a better job with it! I hope everyone is doing well and I will talk to you all soon! Love you and miss you all!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Good and not so good!
Unfortunately a terrible cold, or something like it has been going around our school. Several teachers have been really sick and of course I got it too! Last weekend and the first couple days of this week it was all I could do to wake up and get through the day at school. Luckily i'm feeling a lot better now and can actually concentrate on teaching! Also, the rainy season as officially started. Supposedly it downpours every day for two months, and for the past week that's exactly what it's done. I live so close to the school but am still soaking wet by the time I get there, even carrying an umbrella! The natives are used to it but i'm sure not...it's going to take some getting used to!
Enough bad news! Everything else is great. I still love my school and my kids, and all of the teachers at my school get along really well. It's nice to have them around to talk to and go out with, and they can relate to exactly what you are going through. Teaching has fallen into a schedule and is a lot easier now, but the workload is still huge! We only get one break for lunch, and other than that the day is packed full of students and paper work.
Si got here last week and has been settling in. I can say I am officially jealous! While my apartment is barely big enough to stand in, with twin size bed and one wardrobe to put clothes in, his is like a pent house suite that's huge with a queen size bed, a full kitchen and enough room to store three times as many clothes as I brought with me. It is so nice and modern and right in the middle of a plaza...with all the action! There are pluses and minuses to every school...I guess housing is one of my minuses! Si's school is so much smaller than mine. We have ten English teachers and as many Korean staff, and Si's school only has four teachers. In my school, we have the same group of kids, called morning kinder, from 9:30 until almost 2:00, and the afternoon is split into two different classes. Si's school is set up more like a normal middle school or highschool, with about 7 classes that are each an hour long. He has a lot more kids than me and more agegroups. I like my small classes that I have more time with because I feel like I make more of a difference in their education. I've heard that all schools are so different, and again, there are positives and negatives to each one. For example, Si has breaks throughout the day while I don't, but he also has more kids to manage and more material to cover throughout the day. It's cool to hear about other schools and teachers experiences.
Every day I learn more about the culture here. One thing I learned recently is that it is looked down upon to be left handed. If children are born naturally left handed, their parents will make them work with their right hand until it becomes natural. Seems like it would be hard and awkward to accomplish this and it is one of those cultural differences that I don't understand.
For some exciting news, we have three big vacations. We have a week off at the end of July, 6 days off in September (during my birthday), and a week off in December. My friends and I are going to book all of our trips this weekend because everyone has told us that things fill up quickly. As of now, we are planning on going to JeJu Island, which is called the "Hawaii of Korea" for our week in July. We will take a train to the coast of Korea and then a ferry to the island. There are volcanoes and beaches and so many things to see and do. For our trip in September we are planning to go to Bejing, China. Brittany, one of my friends here, has a family friend that owns a condo in Bejing. He is letting us stay there for free and he is going to book all of our tours and activities for us before we go. That will definitely be a once in a lifetime opportunity! We aren't quite sure about our last trip in December, but it is narrowed down to Thailand or Vietnam. We have heard great things about both places so it will be a tough decision!
I have posted pictures of my apartment and Si's apartment as well so you can see them both. Continue to keep in touch and I miss you all!
Enough bad news! Everything else is great. I still love my school and my kids, and all of the teachers at my school get along really well. It's nice to have them around to talk to and go out with, and they can relate to exactly what you are going through. Teaching has fallen into a schedule and is a lot easier now, but the workload is still huge! We only get one break for lunch, and other than that the day is packed full of students and paper work.
Si got here last week and has been settling in. I can say I am officially jealous! While my apartment is barely big enough to stand in, with twin size bed and one wardrobe to put clothes in, his is like a pent house suite that's huge with a queen size bed, a full kitchen and enough room to store three times as many clothes as I brought with me. It is so nice and modern and right in the middle of a plaza...with all the action! There are pluses and minuses to every school...I guess housing is one of my minuses! Si's school is so much smaller than mine. We have ten English teachers and as many Korean staff, and Si's school only has four teachers. In my school, we have the same group of kids, called morning kinder, from 9:30 until almost 2:00, and the afternoon is split into two different classes. Si's school is set up more like a normal middle school or highschool, with about 7 classes that are each an hour long. He has a lot more kids than me and more agegroups. I like my small classes that I have more time with because I feel like I make more of a difference in their education. I've heard that all schools are so different, and again, there are positives and negatives to each one. For example, Si has breaks throughout the day while I don't, but he also has more kids to manage and more material to cover throughout the day. It's cool to hear about other schools and teachers experiences.
Every day I learn more about the culture here. One thing I learned recently is that it is looked down upon to be left handed. If children are born naturally left handed, their parents will make them work with their right hand until it becomes natural. Seems like it would be hard and awkward to accomplish this and it is one of those cultural differences that I don't understand.
For some exciting news, we have three big vacations. We have a week off at the end of July, 6 days off in September (during my birthday), and a week off in December. My friends and I are going to book all of our trips this weekend because everyone has told us that things fill up quickly. As of now, we are planning on going to JeJu Island, which is called the "Hawaii of Korea" for our week in July. We will take a train to the coast of Korea and then a ferry to the island. There are volcanoes and beaches and so many things to see and do. For our trip in September we are planning to go to Bejing, China. Brittany, one of my friends here, has a family friend that owns a condo in Bejing. He is letting us stay there for free and he is going to book all of our tours and activities for us before we go. That will definitely be a once in a lifetime opportunity! We aren't quite sure about our last trip in December, but it is narrowed down to Thailand or Vietnam. We have heard great things about both places so it will be a tough decision!
I have posted pictures of my apartment and Si's apartment as well so you can see them both. Continue to keep in touch and I miss you all!
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