Christmas in South Korea

Merry Christmas!
It is our first Christmas in Korea.  It was our first Christmas being teachers and working the Friday before and the Monday after Christmas.  It was our first Christmas where the commercialization of Christmas that happens before Thanksgiving in the Western world barely made a scratch in the world over here.

This is a long one with lots of pictures so settle in.  :-)  



The best news (to us) is that we had a White Christmas, of sorts.  It snowed the day before Christmas Eve and stuck to the ground and was beautiful.  Joseph and I were awake about 1:30am when it began coming down pretty heavily and we decided we had to go walk in it.  We met up with a few friends while we were out walking and taking pictures and stayed out until about 5:30am talking and watching movies It was a great time.

This is parked outside our apartment building everyday.
Miss you Billie Jo!

Our street

Main street by us

Pretty, right? 

Josh, Colin, Joseph and Jeff
Found them while taking pics

Nice-uh!

Snow Kitty  :-) 
He loved  it...

Where is the litter?

Um...chin- cha? 

One of the very few Christmas trees we saw.

Speaks for itself, right? 
Good times!

Part of the river is frozen

The lovely couple

The next day Joseph and I got up and decided we needed to go for a walk.  We took the bus to an area of town we hadn't really explored yet and all along the way is snow covering the ground.  Small piles glittering on the ground.  I made my first snow angel next to Joseph's.  Ate a delicious tuna lunch and met up with our friend Lee Ann.  A few snow piles caught me as Joseph pushed me into a snow drift (as I have never done that before and Joseph didn't want me to miss out) with all of us laughing.  It was awesome and we loved it.  We ended up walking along the river and taking pictures of the ice floating along the surface then going back to our apartment and watching a few Christmas movies and eating delicious Korean BBQ.

My hubby taught me how to make the perfect snowball: ouch!!

We're off to see the wizard!

My [first] Korean snow angel

That was our Christmas Eve day.

The next day we opened our Christmas presents.  There isn't much Christmas here so it was exciting just to see the Christmas wrapping paper!!  Went for a walk to find some food and Joseph took us to this Chinese place to have jah~jahng. It is noodles in a meaty thick sauce and is so delicious. The cool part about this place is they have a noodle man who hand makes these noodles.  That in itself isn't so exciting; it is how he makes them that is the exciting part.  A huge piece of dough that he whips over his head, slams down on the counter and before you know it the dough is 5 feet long and in strands.

Our delicious noodles: Jah-Jahng

Magic!

Next, we walked to a new bus terminal which also sounds way boring but it is the bus terminal that rivals the International Mall in Tampa, Florida. Six floors connected by a over the road walkway to another 5 or 6 story building with book stores a movie theater, high end fashion clothes and accessories, a pet store, E-Mart (think Costco) and the actual bus station on the first floors (both buildings) along with cafes, pharmacies and food eats all on the first floor. The place was packed to the rafters because it was the grand opening.

After that, we met up with Lee Ann, ate Korean BBQ and went back to our place and watched 2 Christmas movies.  A phone call later and we were meeting up with a small group at the pub around the corner from us for a Happy Christmas toast.

Best BBQ cook ever

Korean food is delightful! 

We really miss our family and friends in Florida, Tennessee and Maryland, Chicago, Georgia, California and New York.  We love and miss you so much and wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

*Hugs and love to all of you!*

Merry Christmas!!

Love, Joseph and Elizabeth

Christmas in Reading Town

This year our school and our sister school got together for a dinner to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate each other.  It was lovely.  We went to the Yuseong Spa area to a more Western type restaurant.  We were seated in a great room with just 12 of us.  We were served Maine lobster, flank steak, baked oysters and clams and a salad.  We were also able to go to the mini salad bar down the hall from our room to enjoy the smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes and lettuce with oranges.

Reading Town Teachers  :-)

Joseph and I were told that this had never happened before and we were really glad it did.  There are also 2 foreign teachers at the other campus (Mike and Adam) and they are great guys.  We had a great night with our school(s) and hope we are able to get together again. 


The day before the Christmas weekend our school had a snack party for the students.  It was so much fun!  Students were able to bring a snack and drink and watch a movie after the normal class lessons.  The children enjoyed it very much and so did the teachers! 

This is the Monday after Christmas Katie and Justin!  :-D

the kids took this one

A great parent sent us 2 of these for Christmas, mach-see-guy-yo! 
[means delicious for your English speakers!]

Some of our students

Use the snow feature Elizabeth Teacher!

P.S. eaten with chopsticks

Merry Christmas!!! 

Soju: Traditional Korean Drink

A life in Korea isn't complete without this 13th Century traditional beverage.  

 Soju is very popular at Korean dinner tables all over Korea.  Soju is usually consumed in group gatherings while eating, unmixed and portioned into individual shot glasses. It is against traditional custom in Korea to fill one's own glass. Instead, it must be filled by someone else at the table.  Upon leaving and entering a restaurant you will see multiple bottles of Soju on each table and you will see happy Koreans drinking shots of the clear, vodka like liquid.  Soju [소주] literally means "burned liquor."  It is made from rice but it can also be made from sweet potatoes, tapioca, potatoes, wheat and barley.  It is usually drunk by itself as a shot but can also be mixed with beer [somaek] or any kind of juice such as grape juice or orange juice.

Etiquette for drinking Soju is not complicated but there are the basic guidelines to follow in a formal setting:

*  In Korean culture, using two hands to offer and accept items is considered an act of respect. If your glass is going to be filled by a superior, one should hold the glass with both hands. Similarly, when pouring soju for an elder, one holds the bottle with both hands.

*  To pour a drink, hold the bottle in the right hand with the left hand touching the right forearm or elbow; this peculiar arm position originated from the practice of holding back the sleeve of the hanbok so that it wouldn't touch the table or the food.

*  Similarly, when receiving a drink, rest the glass in the left palm and hold it with the right hand, perhaps bowing the head slightly to show additional respect. You can also hold the glass using the same hand positions as when pouring.

*  Koreans often say "one shot", a challenge to everyone in the group to down their glass in one gulp.
A glass should not be refilled unless completely empty and should be promptly refilled once empty; it is considered rude to not fill someone else's glass when empty.  It is not obligatory to finish the drink immediately, but it is impolite to place the glass on the table without at least pretending to drink from it.

*  After finishing the entire glass, it should be returned and refilled. It is not necessary to return it immediately, but holding it for a long time is considered rude, as it deprives the giver of his glass.

Do the same rules apply to foreigners, tourists and/or expats?  If you are at a work function with your Korean co-workers, yes.  If you are at a work function or social function you must drink at least one shot if you are given it by a coworker.  If you are strictly a non drinker, it is okay.  Just tell the person you don't drink due to health or religious reasons.  Any other reason and you will be told that there is no reason not to and your glass will be filled anyway and you must drink a little if you are poured a glass--speaking from experience.  What if you are at a social function with your Korean coworkers or friends, a more relaxed version of these rules apply.  If you are with your friends (even a few Korean friends) the rules are relaxed a bit but it is still polite to observe some if not all, of the etiquette above.  

Cheers!!  건배 !!  [gun-bae!] 

**Note: If you choose to drink Soju, drink responsibly.  It sneaks up on you.

The South Korean Flag

What images and colors are on the South Korean flag?  What do they mean?

South Korea's flag pictures a red and blue Yin-Yang symbol, red (yang) on top, blue (yin) on the bottom, in the center of a white field. Four groups of three long and short black bars (called kwae) surround the central circle. This ratio of the height to the width of the flag is 2:3. South Korea's flag was adopted on January 25, 1950; the flag is called Taegukki (which means, "Great Extremes").
The white in this philosophical flag represents peace and purity. Symbolically, the Yin-Yang symbol represents opposites; it is the belief that all things in the universe have two, opposite aspects that cannot exist without the other. The kwae trigrams are from the I Ching; the broken bars symbolize yin (dark and cold) and the unbroken bars symbolize yang (bright and hot). The four Kwae represent: heaven (three unbroken bars), the Earth (three broken bars), water (one unbroken line between two broken bars), and fire (one broken bar between two unbroken bars). The Kwai trigrams are placed in such a way that they balance one another, heaven is placed opposite Earth, and fire is placed opposite water.

What about before 1950?  What did the flag look like then and why did it change?
Below is a picture timeline of the Korean flag and how it has changed based on the sources I was able to find online [http://flagspot.net/flags/kr_hist.html].

Pre 1905

This is the old flag of Korea before it was occupied by Japan in 1905. Korea ceased to exist until 1947.  The 'old Korean flag' differs in several respects from the present South Korean flag:

1. The 4 I-ching signs are arranged differently
2. They are colored blue in stead of black.
3. The Yin-Yang - sign is much more intricate. 

Flag of the Japanese Resident General of Korea
1905-1910

This flag represents the occupation of Korea by Japan forces.  It was used while Korea was a protectorate of Japan and discontinued in use in 1910 when Japanese Governor General of Korea (Chosen-Sotoku) was established.

The Korean flag was first hoisted August 22, 1882 when the first ambassadors were sent to Japan, and adopted officially January 27, 1883. Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 and annexed on August 22, 1910. After the liberation the country was divided along the 38th degree of latitude. The Republic of Korea was established in the southern (American) zone on 15 August 1948, which readopted the flag in the same year when the colours and shape were established by law. On January 25, 1950 the flag was adopted officially when the kwae were revised slightly. In 1984 the lay-out was again slightly changed.


Below is a collection of previous versions of the flag. Note the eight trigrams instead of the modern four. It is interesting to see the change in number of trigrams, color, and yin-yang alignment. The flag on the bottom right is supposedly what was flown during the filming of M*A*S*H.

Many flags of Korea

The Korean Army

To be more exact, the South Korean army.  Before North Korea's dictator died, a few of our students and I had a conversation about the Korean Army.  Joseph and I did a lot of research before coming here on this specificially because if we had a baby while living in Korea we wondered about the child being required to join the army when it was old enough even if it was a US citizen and/or had dual citizenship.  All of the research pointed to the child's nationality versus simply being born in Korea. 

Now that we are living in Korea we wanted to do more research about the army.  Joseph and I began asking our students about the army and how it works.  Some students didn't know and some just didn't want to talk about it.  Other students did give us some information but the real information came from a discussion 2 weeks ago between myself, 3 students (2 boys and 1 girl) and our school's director (vice principal [man]).


It is easier to do this in a list rather than paragraph form:

2009 Armed Forces Day

 * only men are mandated to join the Korean army -- women may join but they have to specifically sign up and be accepted into the army

* there is a Korean law that says men must join the Korean army and serve a mandatory stay of 2 years until the age of 20 (or 22)

* men are not paid much while in the Korean army during the first 2 years: approximately $200 USD per month.  Women, are paid almost 10 times this amount for volunteering to be in the army.  That was the only reasons for the pay difference we discovered

* there is a high rate of death in the Korean army due to training: live ammunition is apparently the only type used

* men have been known to hurt their knees or their teeth to be excused from joining. This is no longer accepted as an excuse

* if an army recruit dies during their 2 years their families are not compensated because it is seen as a duty to their country

* if an army recruit decides to remain in the army after their 2 years they are paid more of a normal salary (approximately $2500 USD per month) and if they die during combat or training their families are more likely to receive compensation only from a combat death

* suicide is high during the first two years because a lot of Korean men do not want to serve in the army

S.K. combat exercise

* if there is a combat situation any man age 40 or under is required by law to report at the closest army base.  This is true for any South Korean living overseas as well whether visiting, going to school, working, living, etc.  For example, a South Korean man could be age 35 living in California working as a bank CEO at Bank of America.  South Korea goes into a 'situation' with whoever and that man, by Korean law, has to return to South Korea despite living and working in America.  If he does not return to South Korea he is in violation of the Korean law and will have severe consequences.  We were not able to discover what these consequences were to be, but from the looks on their faces it was scary.

S.K. winter exercise

Interesting information isn't it?  The opinions of the three students during this discussion was that they did not wish to join the army because they did not want to die.  When asked about the duty to their country they stated that while they love South Korea they do not want to join because of the first 2 years of training.  When speaking to our director who served his 2 years more than a decade ago said that he did not like being in the army and that he had a few friends die because of being shot while training and he had other people in his section that hung themselves because they did not want to be there.  He did say he was glad he was over the age of 40 because now he can breathe a little easier no longer being required to fight. 

Apparently a lot of the information we found before moving to Korea about serving in the Korean army was misleading.  The most we found before we moved here was persons were required to serve 2 years.  There was no distinction about age, sex or location. 
Does this have any bearing on if we have a child while living in South Korea?  No.  Simply put, we are both American and our child would be American if we have our way about it.

South Korean Flag

Sick in Korea

Good News!  Being sick in South Korea means you still have to go to work.  What are sick days?  Never heard of 'em.
 
Joseph and I have been going back and forth with being sick for about a week now.  Nothing serious, a cold/light flu.  Back home we might have taken a day off or two at the beginning to just rest and sleep it off and hopefully wake up the next day rested and feeling a bit revived.  Welcome to Korea...the land where this doesn't happen.


Korean's do not take days off for being sick.  If a Korean gets sick (or expat alike) they go to the hospital/doctor office (interchangable in most Korean cities).  What is a doctors office like in Korea?  It is the same as back home except much less crowded and there is not much of a wait time.  If you are waiting it is because the computer is running slow and they need to put in your ARC number.  While you are waiting it is customary to take your blood pressure and perhaps weigh in [in front of everyone].  All of this done in the waiting room.  Next you see the doctor in his or her office.  You sit in a chair and the doctor is at their desk in front of a computer.  You tell them your symptoms and they type them in and decide what you have.  Something I felt was really strange was how the doctor checked your mouth:  he had two stainless steel cylenders with stainless steel tongue depressers in them.  One holding used and one holding new ones.  Interesting.  Next, temperature and breathing are checked and then I was asked if I wanted a shot or pills (pills please as my director was in the room as well translating and I somehow didn't think he'd be asked to leave the room) and then a spray of stuff up each nostril that made me want to chuck him out of the window. 
After this a few steps out of his office to a UV machine that I was told to put on my nose to get rid of the germs.  Um...doesn't that defeat the purpose when I am holding that within an inch of my nose and it hasn't been cleaned?  Maybe that is just my OCD kicking in but I would think it would be sanatized after each use? 
I digress...left the doctors office and went downstairs to the pharmacy for my pills.  5 pills each day for 3 days, 3x a day for less than $2.50.  Name brands as well.  Not too shabby.  Days total expense? Approximately $10. 
We really, really miss our sick days from back home but this isn't too bad because as the doctors and our teachers at school continue to tell us: Korean's don't like to take off work so everything needs to be done faster and better as far as doctors and being sick is concerned.  We were also told that it is so rare for Korean's to take a day of for being sick that if they (or foreigners) take a day off the president/principal will come to your apartment and see if you are okay and acutally take you to the hospital/doctor's office.

Still miss those sick days though.

Land of Vanity

Korea is the land of beauty and vanity.  Women walking around with an eye patch covering one eye is the norm.  Women and men alike carrying the latest designer or faux designer purse or satchel.  Most of the commercials on Korea TV are of beauty or fashion products.


Joseph and I have been told and also witnessed this for ourselves that a lot of women really want "Western eyes."  They do not want the eyes they were born with, hence the eye patches.  It is a common present for high school students and recent college graduates to have this simple eye correction surgery.  In addition, contact lenses making women's eyes resemble the dewy fawn look are increasingly popular from news anchors to your local gimbap shop patrons. 

Have Joseph and I joined this movement of beauty and vanity?  We have not, but we are considering several options when the time is right.

Why not wait until we are back home?  Well this is something South Korea does very well.  They have it down to an exact science from start time to heal time (on any procedure).  Everything is done faster and arguably better.  Did I mention most of these procedures from hair removal to surgeries are done at a mere fraction  of the U.S. prices?  For example, a procedure to remove all of the hair from your legs (male or female) is on average, about $200-$300 USD from start to finish.  In the United States this procedure would have varying costs from male to female as well as be on average, $400 USD per person per area. 

South Korea is not a third world country.  Any procedure from dental work, acupuncture, surgery and/or hair removal are all taking place in top notch facilities with well trained doctors and staff doing their best.  A chemical peel is done so quickly and effectively that the patients are back at work the next day.  As one doctor put it, "Koreans work hard [6 and even 7 days each week] and play even harder.  Anything done has to be done better and faster so they aren't out of work."   English speaking facilities is a definite challenge, but you shop around to find the place that works for you. 

Works for us!

Goals for Korea

No, we didn't just pick up and move out of the country and happen to fall in South Korea.  It was a carefully planned and thought out idea that grew into something both of us said, "why not?" instead of, "why?"


Our reasons for moving to South Korea vary but we decided to make some goals for while we are here:

1. Travel around Korea--both North and South.  Yes, there are a few tours taking brave persons North of the border.  We are brave.
One such tour takes you to a city in North Korea called Kaesong City.  It is a day trip and you have to be very careeful about the pictures you take.  At the return crossing back into South Korea the officers check the pictures you have taken on your camera and if you have pictures you should not it could be a troublesome situation.

2. Travel to Japan.  This can be a day trip amazingly enough.  Or at least a weekend trip. We are able to take a ferry from Pusan to 3 local areas in Japan.  We are saving money for this as it can get expensive.  The Lunar New Year is looking like a distinct possiblility for this trip.  We have also learned that expacts jump onto this ferry if they need to leave the country for a few hours for their Visa's to be extended or other similar reasons.

3. Visit China.  Specifically Shangahi (The Orient Express, of course).  It is also possible to take a ferry to China as well althrough it is more ideal as a long weekend adventure.  We are looking forward to going to see many aspects of China from eating scorpions (a friend said they taste like chicken, but crunchy) to walking on the Great Wall to sitting in the Orient Express. 

4. Travel to as many places in the Orient and in Asia as we are able.

We have such a great opportunity living here.  We want to make sure we do as much as we can and see as many places and experience as many cultures as we can.

We love to travel and being here allows us to do just that.  There are other goals we have as well, but they are better off not being published on such a public forum.

Facts about Jrock

Facts About Elizabeth
[Joseph is next]

1. I love my husband
2. I'm in love with him, too.
3. Yes, there's a difference
4. I don't like being wrong
5. But I will be the first person to admit it when I am
6. I don't think being wrong is bad, I just don't like it
7. I love my family.
8.I am a happy person: I see the glass half full


9. I like feeling pretty
10. I love being married
11. I didn't think I would

12. I want to be a stay at home mom/wife
13. I'm smart
14. And intelligent
15. Yes, there's a difference
16. I love teaching
17. I am a great teacher
18. It really bothers me I didn't get my National Board's Certification but there wasn't any point because it wasn't going to be acknowledged by Florida anymore.  Thanks, Rick Scott.
19. I missed my National Board Certification by 5 points. 
20. That makes me mad
21. I love goals
22. I need a new goal
23. I am a list person. If it isn't written on a list I have no idea what I'm doing
24. Research says successful women use lists.
25. I am a successful woman
26. I am not hard to figure out
27. I am passionate
28. Sometimes that isn't a good thing
29. If I am upset with you or don't like you, I will tell you.
30. If I tell you I am not upset, I'm not upset.
31. My dad is a genius
32. So is my mom
33. I love my grandmommy--she's 91 and fabulous
34. Don't make fun of me saying 'grandmommy;' so would you if she was as awesome as mine.
35. Most influential male role model is my dad
36. My parents taught me what not to do. The rest is a piece of cake.
37. Life isn't hard for me to figure out.
38. It's the details that screw me up
39. That, and the unanswered questions
40. I have to ask questions; specifically, "why" and "show me the research"
41. I am a good person
42. I will give you anything I can
43. I will help you with anything you need
44. Until you screw me over
45. I'm not sure if I'm forgiving
46. It depends on the situation
47. I don't use the word 'hate' --I think it is too powerful
48. I prefer the word 'dislike'
49. I don't hate anyone
50. I greatly enjoy my life and the people in my life
51. School and learning are fun for me
52. I have no secrets
53. Unless you don't really know me
54. I will answer [truthfully] anything you ask me
55. Make sure you ask the right question
56. No, I don't think that is evasive
57. Or lying
58. I can't be summed up in a list.
59. I'm worth more than that.
60. There is much more to me than what is on this list (I couldn't end on an odd number)

Day trip to Busan (11-13-11)

We were asked Friday by our co-worker if we wanted to go to Busan on Sunday with her and her husband.  Hmmm.  Chin-cha?  Interesting and why Busan?
There was to be an educational conference, of sorts, taking place at a Foreign Language College.  Of course we had to go.


Wake up at 3:30am.  Dress and catch a taxi to the train station.  Arrive a little after 4am.  Wonder why we are here this early when the train doesn't leave until 5...looking around for a coffee place to be open and then remember--too late--that the world of Korea coffee doesn't open until 10am.  Dang it.
We meet up with our coworker and her hubby and board the train.  They wisely arrive about 10 minutes before the train left.  Things run on time here in Korea (I know, right?). 
We board the train and try and sleep most of the way there of the 3 hours. 
Arrive bleary eyed and a little less sleepy and take the taxi to the college.  We have to admit here that we were not expecting a great conference.  We have been to our share of conferences back in the United States and most are great while others are sorely lacking.  This one was surprisingly okay and actually informative.  We had coffee, snacks, etc. as a breakfast and we were given a coupon for lunch (and reminded not to lose our coupon several times during the morning). Cambridge Press, Harcourt and eFuture were there along with Costco giving out coupons, cookies and discounts on memberships.  There were maybe 200 people there to attend and there were 6 presenters speaking about how to better teach English Language Learners.
This is all information Joseph and I have learned and mastered in our State side trainings and teachings; however, it was lovely to get a foreigner view on how to use these strategies to our advantage in Korea.
After the conference was over we took all of our goodies and decided to go to the world famous fish market.  It was awesome.  A street filled on all sides with fish vendors and most of those vendors having a shack in the back nibble that vendors speciality.  We walked around and settled on one of the vendors for dinner. Six whole fish and a plethora of refillable sides (the usual) for less than $30 USD for four adults.  Okay.  We left soon after with bellies full of fish and wandered across the incrediably busy street to Busan Film Festival Street and Food Street where tons of people go nightly to sample the goodness of food and film.  The night we were there (Sunday) was no different.  Packed and crowded as sardines in cans we wandered around and slightly wished we hadn't eaten because there were several things we all wanted to try.   
The train ride back was interesting.  Joseph and I had standing room only tickets which means that we play musical chairs all the way back to Daejeon.  We stand until there is an available seat then we sit until that person comes to claim their purchased seat.  Then we stand and repeat.  Picture a crowded cattle car (without the smell) and you have an idea what the train looked like on our way back.  We actually got a permanent seat about an hour left of our journey and were able to sit the rest of the way without changing.  Nice.  Got home about 1am and crashed.  Awesome day in Busan!

Carmen...the Opera 10-29-11

Opera.  Some hate it, some love it, some don't know what it is and most don't care.  What is Opera?   It is an artform in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score usually in a theatrical setting.  There are elaborate costumes and sets and is part of the Western classical music tradition.  Most Operas, though certainly not all, are performed in the Italian, French, German, and Russian languages.  Opera was first brought about in Italy at the end of the 16th Century.


Another great performance in Daejeon this past weekend with Joseph and I and 2 good friends.  We were fortunate to see the opera, Carmen in all of it's eleborate goodness.  The performance was wonderful--the performers doing a splendid job.  The entire opera was performed in it's original language, French, and the Korean actors did well.  There were suptitles in Korean on either side of the stage for the audience to be able to know more of what was going on. 

The performers were accompanied by a full orchestra and they did a very nice job as well except for ONE french horn player who was so flat--he must have been tone deaf not to hear himself and I can't believe no one around him told him about himself--at least he was 3rd or 4th french horn.  Lee Ann and I winced each time he played and we were in completle sympathy about Hannibal Lecter eating the flat Flutist in the movie, Red Dragon (great movie).  It made us giggle.  Our seats were in the second balcony on middle stage right and still had an excellent view and were able to hear everything we needed to hear.  Wondeful performance (except you, flat frenchy--you were terrible). 

If you are not familiar with Carmen, you may read about it here.

Audience performance etiquite. You know, don't get up while the performance is going on, don't talk, turn your cell phone off, etc.  All of us should know these basic fundamential guidelines to performance etiquite.  I have to say the Korean's do a great job at these "rules" in the more expensive seats.  If you are fortunate enough to sit in the upper balcony you may not have the same set of guidelines to follow.  The opera was almost 3 and half hours long.  That's a long time to sit still in the dark.  I must say that I am impressed that the Korean people do a great job of turning their cell phones to the silent position.  No vibrating or ringing--not even once.  I wish American's did that.  There were several children of all ages above 6 (younger than 6 are not allowed) that did wonderfully during the performance.  There is not an announcement before the performance saying to turn off cell phones, but there is a reminder that children 6 and younger need to be in the play area and not in the hall.


A great night at the opera for less than 10 USD.  I'm sorry, but that would have never happened at home with the same calibar of performance from both the actors and musicians.  After the opera we went to dinner at a resturant not far away where the only item they served (basically) was a "bab" [rice] bowl.  You are given about 20 or so side dishes on your table and each person gets a very hot bowl of rice and a raw egg.  You choose your sides and put the raw egg on top and mix.  The bowl is so hot that it cooks the egg almost instantly.  It is delicious. 

A great night had by all of us and we are looking forward to more.

Turkey Day...Almost

Thanksgiving in Korea?  Who'd of thunk?

As most of us know, Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday in the United States.  Other countries have their variation, but "Thanksgiving" is all U.S.A.

How does one celebrate this United States holiday in Korea?  Take some awesome friends and even a family member and throw in a great dinner and the "whatcha thankful for" speeches and that's about it.

Thanksgiving this year was celebrated in South Korea.  With my husband, sister, and two people who should be part of the family.  The day itself was not celebrated due to us working.  That was strange because at home we have had the entire week off.  Oh, how that is missed!  The weekend came and with it so did my sister and a few friends.  Saturday began with shopping for last minute items to ship back home for Christmas (believe me, that is a blog in itself) and then joining up with Kate, Amy and Lee Ann so we could all finish our shopping.  Joseph met up with us later and we all went for dinner.  Shabu shabu.  Delicious.  It is a bowl of boiling water surrounded by a BBQ grill and then you have Korean [cow] meat and you grill that at your table.  There is a plate of raw veggies: cabbage, carrots, beets, onions, and sprouts.  There is also rice paper that you dip in rose water and add the meat and whatever veggies you like, add sauce and wrap it up.  Think non-fried spring rolls (Billie Jo: Pho' 97).  After your wraps, meet and veggies are gone, noodles are added to the boiling water and then eaten.  After they are gone, if there is any water left in the bowl, rice and an egg are added along with more veggies and stewed until a thick rice type porridge is created.  It is too delicious for words.  A few of us had cameras but neglected to take pictures.  Don't worry, a blog will be dedicated to the stuff Joseph and I normally eat as soon as we have enough pictures to do it.  We sat at the table for a few hours talking and eating and then were kicked out simply because Koreans don't sit at the table and talk.  It isn't their culture.  None of this socializing business.  They go to bars for that.  So we moved our party to Cafe Benne which is a coffee and gelatto shop.  We sat in there for a few more hours and ate gelatto and laughed and then it came around to 'whatcha thankful for?"  Even in Korea, this is one tradition that has to be done.  Every one of us groaned and moaned but then we all put up our best and came up with some pretty awesome things about what we are thankful for.

Without giving specific information we are thankful for...
*the opportunity Korea provides us
*drama free environments and people
*great friends and food

We didn't even miss the traditional American Thanksgiving food--almost.

Korea Rocks.

My Date With Amy

I am a professional musician.  I have not been to a concert of good or great caliber in a long while.  How fitting my next one should be here, in Korea.  Amy and I had the fortunate opportunity to go to the Daejeon Culture and Arts Center to see an International Guitar Festival.  It was a fantastic time. 

To begin with, the Daejeon Culture and Arts Center is comprised of more than just a performance hall.  It is a huge complex incompasing an outside Amphitheater used for traditional Korean plays and dramas in addition to an Ensemble Hall used for smaller more intimate performances.  In short, it is a sight to behold inside and out.  The complex also links up with a grand park and it's surrounding areas (I have not had the pleasure of exploring this part yet so cannot write about it).  This example of fine art is said to have been designed as one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls and equipped with the finest state-of-the art technology and systems in Korea.  Having been to several high quality and varying performances, I have to say I agree.

Upon walking up to the huge building I was reminded of approaching a delightful example of modern architecture of steel and glass.  It is both impressive and welcoming.  Once stepping through one of the many doors leading into the very large lobby you are greeted with a feeling of "this is nice."  There are two imposing box offices on either side of the entrance catering to the needs of anyone, Korean or not.  There is also a coffee shop set to the far right and the smell of delicious coffee waifs in every direction up to the top of this large building.  There are marble steps on either side of the lobby gently sloping up to the two balcony areas of the main hall. On this particular evening we were not to make our way up to either of these balconies as our seats were as close to the sweet spot of the hall as possible.  We were seated on the main floor in the front of the room about 15 rows from the stage just off of center.  Delightful.  We were able to hear the best of the sound and get the full view we required off of this performance.  We were lucky our tickets were complimentary for this particular concert as the price for these seats was out of our price range.
 
This concert was to be 4 seperate guitar duos backed by the Daejeon Orchestra.  The pieces were mainly more modern pieces for guitar such as Concierto de Aranjuez, "Oyun" for Four Guitars op. 93, and Concierto Andaluz for Four Guitars and Orchestra and finally, L'Italiana in Algeri.  These pieces were played to perfection.  The performers were all professional and played their best.  The orchestra was one of the best I have seen live.  There was an encore performance where one guitarist sat and began a piece then a few bars in two of the other guitarists joined in on the same guitar then a few bars after that the other two guitarists joined in as well so all 5 guitarists were playing the same guitar for this particular song.  It was a lovely and talented performance by all.  There will definitely be repeat performances attended in the future.

Outside

the Lobby

People we met outside who wanted to be in our picture :)

Our Date

After that remarkable performance we continued our date to dinner of delicious sushi.  Eel and smoked salmon with freshly made miso soup and ginger salad.  Yummy.  Talking and meeting up with another friend until the wee hours in the morning with good coffee where we made plans to see the opera, Carmen. 

It was a great date.  Thanks Amy!
I hope we have another one soon!

School Information

A few people have been asking about how our school works and what a typical day is like. 
In teaching there aren't really any typical days, just normal crazy days with a few toned down days in between.  This particular post will be continuing on various topics of interest and if anyone has anything specific you are curious about please email or comment on here. 



1.  The school's name is Reading Town English Institute
2.  The school is located in Daejeon, South Korea (there are many independently owned branches around the world) it is on the 4th floor about a 5 minute walking distance from our apartment.  On the same floor is a piano private school, a math private school and our school.  There are 8 classrooms, a teachers room, an office of sorts and a reception area. It is "U" shaped.
3.  The grades we teach are the equivalent of kindergarten through middle school--the highest reading level is a Lexile of 5.0.  The comprehension level is a bit lower, around 3.2.  Fluency is definitely a lot higher than the comprehension level. 
4.  Joseph and I each have about 40 students and the school has approximately 150.  It is a smaller branch with 2 foreign teachers (us), 3 Korean speaking teachers, a director (assistant principal) and the owner.  Something interesting is that parents send their children to these private English academies to be specifically taught by the English speaking teachers.  That's why they want native English speakers and it is why Korean's pay so much for their native English speaking teachers.
5.  We teach Speaking, Writing and Reading.  The Korean teachers speak Listening and Comprehension.
6.  The students read in English but they often translate within the books to better understand the context and vocabulary

7.
A typical day is us arriving at 1pm and we begin teaching at 2:10.  Think of this type of school as an academy or private school like back home and you have the general idea--just very small.  We have 7-8 classes each day with no more than 10 students in each class.  Joseph has one class with only one student--how nice!  Our classes are each 50 minutes long.  In that time we speak English with the students about topics that are in the curriculum and also topics the students bring up in addition to the school curriculum.  We can talk about anything appropriate and we are encouraged to do so.  At the end of 50 minutes the students either stay in the classroom, go to break (5 minutes) or leave for the day.  The teachers switch to another classroom within that 5 minute break and are back in another classroom after that 5 minutes. 
Again, each school is independently run even if it is a branch.  They are each owned by a specific owner or one owner will own several schools. 

Our school is run through a New York based company.  Our day ends on M-W-F at 9:25 PM and on Tues-Th at 8:35 PM.  Back in Florida, Joseph and I used to wake up at 4am and be at our respective schools by 6:30am and home by about 6PM so this is a bit different.

Each school is different on the requirements for the teachers.  Our school requires us to do weekly and monthly lesson plans and mid-terms/finals in addition to bi-weekly vocabulary word tests.  Joseph and I are do-ers and find it hard to only do that so we when we inquired about the school library we were given the privilege to revamp it and just recently are talking with our school about writing a more effective writing curriculum.   

Something interesting we learned is that students here are not staffed.  For anything.  That is slowly changing but we have been learning that if a child is somehow learning disabled, EH, ADD, etc. the parents don't want their children tested.  From what we understand it is a non-issue at most public schools.  They just don't do that kind of thing here (in my mind this sounds a bit off so I will further research this topic and write about it at a later date).  If it is something severe, the child is usually not mainstreamed and is put somewhere else either kept at home and taught or another type of school.  From what we are learning it is rare for a special needs child (from either end of the spectrum) to be in a "public school" but we would like to do more research on this topic.  I find it interesting and a bit bizarre to simply let it go at that.  IEP's [Individual Education Plan] (or their Korean counterpart) have never been heard of here.  Can you imagine that back home?  My mind goes straight to the court cases for ESE and ESOL. 

We will have another blog with pictures and perhaps a video of our students and school.  :-) 

Further topics to research: *Korean ESE students, *ESOL standards?, *Private school funding
Any other ideas?

Rugby World Cup 10-23-11

Ah...sports. 

I am not the most avid sports fan.  I love Gator football of course, and I like the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Dolphins, The Red Sox and even kinda sorta, the USF Bulls.  I enjoy being at those games more than watching them on TV but who doesn't?  I have found a sport I like watching just as much as being a part of the crowd.  RUGBY.  It's spectacular.  Something about the energy on the field while the players are waging battle against each other is really exciting.  I think it is truly fun to watch and I can imagine being a part of the crowd is even better. 


This past Sunday (yesterday), Joseph and I got together with some friends and about 150 of their friends to watch the Rugby World Cup.  For some history of the sport click here. I think of it as being similar to American football, only without pads and with a higher caliber man playing it.  Not a better man, just very well built for as physical as the game is. I know I'm off on that description but [as a girl] I get the right to say that.  Not to mention the players are amazingly...athletic.  Not an ounce of fat on them and they move like machines across the field and plow right into each other from yards away.  

I don't really know enough about the sport to have a favorite team but that doesn't stop me from having one.  My favorite is New Zealand.  The men who play this dangerous yet extremely exhilarating and energetic game are fantastic at it.    

My favorite part of the entire game is when New Zealand performs the Haka before the game starts. 

The Haka is a traditional Maori war dance from New Zealand. There are thousands of Haka that are performed by various tribes and cultural groups throughout New Zealand. The best known Haka of them is called "Ka Mate". It has been performed by countless New Zealand teams both locally and internationally. It puts a smile on my face and goosebumps on my arms and legs.  It's really an awe-inspiring couple of minutes.  It certainly gets the crowd revved up and you can see by the players intense faces and their body language it really is a "war dance" for the game.  


Here is a video of yesterday's game of New Zealand performing the Haka.  Notice how France walks toward NZ as if about to challenge them.  Please also look at the facial expressions.  They are great.

"Haka's are challenges and you're basically laying down the gauntlut to the opposite side.  You know, 'let's go to battle' and the winner walks away.  In Rugby, the winner walks away with the points." --Wayne Shelford, All Blacks NZ Rugby Team 1985-90.


The Haka is meant to be powerful and really fearsome.  I think the All Blacks have achieved their goal and they really did walk away with the points yesterday.  

Go New Zealand!  Great game.

Rugby World Cup

France vs. New Zealand

Score: 7-8

October 23, 2011

Weekend Part 1: Yunseong Foot Spa (9-25-11)

Whew!  Another nice weekend in South Korea.  We are saving money and hence not a lot of trips outside of Daejeon yet but we are getting there.  Promise.

On Saturday, Joseph, Amy and myself went to the "tourist area" in Daejeon called Yunseong Special Tourist Zone.  We did not notice anything particularly touristy in this area.  We did pause at the Yuseong Foot Spa which we later discovered was the tourist zone.  This is a natural hot springs that goes as hot as 41 degrees Celsius which in my world is 105.8 F.  We studied the people sitting around the spa with their legs in.  We discovered that their legs were almost beet red from how hot it was.  Surely that cannot be safe?

We were encouraged to try it and after a bit of deliberation we decided to give it a try.  It was HOT.  All of our legs turned red where the water touched them after about 5 minutes and the local patrons had been sitting around this spa for at least an hour or so.  We were told this is healthy for our legs and circulation and known to cure all manner of skin ailments and an effective treatment for neuralgia and related maladies.  I searched for more information about this spa and learned that written accounts of the Yuseong hot springs first appeared more than 1,000 years ago. It was only after the Gyeongbu and Honam railway lines began passenger service in the early 20th century that Yuseong began to attract the public′s interest. After the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Office was relocated from Gongju to Daejeon in 1932, the Yuseong area came to be developed into a tourist resort..  The video below we found on You Tube which will give you a good idea about this foot spa.  It is a smaller area and was filled with older people and some of their younger counterparts the day we went.  A few families would have their feet in the spa then picnic for awhile and then get back in.  Just another social day in Korea!


Spa Here

Not us, a local :-)

Not a very large place but very nice and relaxing

Joseph's new friend

We were regaled with entertainment

Everyone was clapping along

Weekend Part 2: Mountain Fortress (9-26-11)

Chicken Foot Mtn. from the top of the mountain at the Fortress

A few of us here have decided that we would like to further take advantage of Korea's great hiking and scenery that can be found all around us.  Sunday Joseph, Amy, our friend Jessica, and myself set out on a hike to travel up the mountain in our backyard called Mt. Gyejoksan, which is 429 meters in height. Its name means "chicken′s foot mountain," because its ridges extend outward in various directions, like the toes of a chicken′s foot. According to legend, the rain that falls after a dry spell are tears from the mountain.


At one point in our hike we saw a fortress through the trees and decided to hike over there as it didn't look "too far."  Silly us.  What began as a 1 or 2 hour hike became a 5 hour hike to this fortress.  It was amazing and some of the steepest hiking we have ever done.  At one point it was so steep our knees almost reached our faces. 
Atop the mountain, at the fortress, you can see for miles in any direction.  Adjectives such as breathtaking, picturesque and beautiful don't quite describe this view but we hope you get the idea more from the pictures we took.  We saw far away mountains and had an excellent view of some hikers as they made their way to the fortress.  Our walk down from a different direction was less demanding and we ended up on the barefoot walking marathon walking trail on the same mountain.  About 2 or 3miles later we are at the foot of the mountain not exactly sure where we are located.  Are we still in Daejeon?  A friendly local helped us out by calling a taxi for us.  Your hike is really put in perspective when the hike up, down and around a mountain took you about 5 or so hours and the taxi ride to your neighborhood took 18 minutes.  The great day ended with a much needed dinner of dalk galbi.

One of our many spectacular views

This is about the half way mark from the beginning of our hike.
Notice the video camera on the top right of the tower?
Nothing like CCTV in the middle of nowhere on top of a mtn.

Wildflowers on the Mountain
This is for you Mrs. Utke!

sitting on the ledge of the fortress looking down.
In Korea there are no barriers

See the tower at the top in the middle? 
That's about half way from where we began our hike

Mountain Fortress

View from the Fortress
(the lake in the background is the same one J and I hiked to earlier)

Mountain Fortress

A sign we found at the top of the Fortress