One Year in Korea

My official one year mark in Korea has passed - while I knew, and was told by many that it would go by fast, I'm still shocked by how it really did. To celebrate, my co-workers and I went out for dinner at the same restaurant I went to on my first night here, which has become one of my favourite spots to eat at. I am happy to still be in Korea despite the fact that I think it would be more fulfilling to be at a different school. I continually feel amazed at how I got myself to this point and feel blessed for all of the things I have been able to do and experience. On a less sentimental note, I am impressed with myself for how well I packed for one year! Some questioned my choices of certain items, like my favourite bottle of lotion which I am still using! I have only recently run out of my favourite toothpaste, but teaser, I found some in Malaysia! I now have six and a half months left on my contract. I am still not sure of what my plan is, where I will go from here, what I will do ... or if I'll stay. This is something that I will (have to) explore in the upcoming months. While I do have some ideas, my logic and my passion are colliding.

One picture from MudFest that wasn't around for my last post! This was at the beginning of the day, we were covered head to toe later on. L-R: Noelia, me, Scott, Maynah, Tatiana, Mel & Chris

There has been a few changes this last month with my class. I got a new student - Joe! Then I got another "new" student. She actually went to LCI last year, but did not return for the new school year. But she has returned - Zooey! After having her in my class for about a month, she was moved to another class because the two girls in my class currently are very close and Zooey was feeling lonely. That doesn't interrupt class dynamics at all .... Then just before summer vacation I had to change classrooms as the parents of the six year old class felt that their kids were in a classroom that was too far away from the teacher's room. So alas, I had to change classrooms with that class. This meant taking everything off the walls, moving everything out of the class and then reorganizing in the new room. More recently, this past week, I got another new student - Sungmin! Changes, changes, changes. Last year my class consisted of mostly girls (aside from one boy) and this year my class is mostly boys (aside from two girls) which has definitely had it's own set of challenges but it's been great experiencing both.  

Meet Joe, Zooey and Sungmin! 

 

We have also had two field trips in this past bit. The first one was to the fire station as safety has been a huge focus since the ferry accident. It was actually a bit awful. The morning of the field trip we were told that along with the trip to the fire station, we would be having a fire drill. Our supervisor proceeds to tell us that when we hear the bell, we will line up and go to the roof of the school. I immediately questioned this as if your building is on fire that is the last place you would want to be as the building could collapse. She did not realize/consider/think of that and her response was that we would go to the roof because "the helicopters would save us." WHAT?! As if there are going to be a bunch of helicopters to get take people off the roof! Why would you not go down and out of the building!? This completely blew all of our minds. They also admitted to not knowing how to use the fire extinguisher nor did they know where it was located in the school!!!??? HOW ARE YOU IN CHARGE OF A SCHOOL OF CHILDREN! We were also asked if you are supposed to cover your mouth while getting out of the building. So bizarre. The children really enjoyed the fire station though. They had a chance to use the fire hose and see the fire truck.

Roy using the fire hose

L-R: Jae-Hun, Isla, Jenny, Jaden, Roy and the firefighter.. chief?

This past week we went to a place nearby called Artpia. This is the first field trip ever where the children just got to play and have fun, it was amazing. They cut out shapes from glow-in-the-dark clay, played in a bean pit, played in a ball pit, had a picnic outside and got to see a view of the city. FUN! 

Jenny, Isla and Sungmin with their shapes

Everyone working away

Bean pit!

Jae-Hun looking mischievous 

My girls <3

Joe collected every leaf he could find in the pit

Ball pit!

Roy did not like the ball pit for some reason and wouldn't go in, so instead we took pictures and played rock, paper, scissors. 

  

The view from the 4th floor - my neighbourhood! 

Class picture in front of a ... Christmas display?? Sungmin, Joe, Jae-Hun, Roy, Jaden, Jenny, Isla and me! I feel like this picture depicts their personalities well. 

Other tidbits: I sincerely appreciate how the honour system is still used and possible in this country. For example, at the post office if you need to purchase an envelope for instance there is a table where you take one and leave money in a jar for the amount it costs. No till or real transaction, it's so great. 

I was also listening to JRFM as I often do through their online live stream. I thought it would be funny to tweet them to get them to play a song and see if they would give me a shout out on air - and they did!!! He not only responded to my tweet, and wrote back in Korean, they made a shout out to me on air. It absolutely made my day. 

Lastly, this past weekend, I went to the JYP One Mic Concert. I figured I would go see a Kpop (Korean pop) concert while I am here. It was a lot of fun, though probably would have been even more fun had I known more of the songs. It was still great though and the fan girls constant screaming was hilarious.

Stay tuned for my posts about Malaysia!! <3

After Burn, Kayaking & Mudfest

Post Korea Burn, my sunburn got incredibly worse. I can officially say that was the worst sunburn I have experienced in my life. Monday morning I awoke to pain and part of my forehead being swollen. I wasn't too concerned and went on with the day. That night the swelling started to drain, leaving part of my eye a bit swollen, only to wake up in the morning with my entire face being swollen and unable to open my eyes. I did not go to work that morning, rather was taken to see a dermatologist who gave me shots in the butt (Korea's specialty), several pills for the next few days and hydrocortisone cream. Thankfully by the afternoon the swelling had gone down quite a bit. I went into work feeling really down but tried to take it as an opportunity to educate my students of the importance of sunscreen, despite the fact that I haven't learned it myself. I can say though since that experience I have lathered it on in every instance, although with much displeasure. I think what made it so bad this time is that I was literally sunburnt everywhere, I'm pretty sure my body was in shock :(

Pre-swollen photo 

I don't think I mentioned it in my last post, but the weekend before Korea Burn, I had the chance to see an old friend! Paul, whom I travelled with in China was in Korea for a week on his way back to China to get married to his other half, Cathy. Congratulations again to the two of them! We spent the day catching up and exploring Seoul together. A good portion of the time was spent at World Cup Park, but we also walked through another park, had lunch at Craftworks and some drinks at Rocky Mountain Tavern. 

Paul and I being lazy taking the trolly up the to the top of the park 

We walked through these painful clay balls barefoot, it's supposed to be good for you? Only made it half way!

World Cup Stadium in Seoul 

The following weekend, Mel and I had signed up to go kayaking through a MeetUp group that I used to do a lot of events with when I first arrived in Korea. We were up nice and early to head to the meeting spot then off we were to the Hongcheon River. Given the ferry incident that happened this year, safety measures have been increased, therefore we were required to wear both lifejackets and helmets while kayaking, despite the fact that the river was rarely more than knee deep due to the lack of rain in July. Some points in the river were so low that we had to get out and carry our kayak for a bit. All in all it was fun though and so nice to be back on the water. We took a brief stop to swim and again later for lunch. It still amazes me that most Koreans do not know how to swim. Some pictures from the day, some from Mel's phone that was in a waterproof case so they are a bit blurry and some from Harry Yoon, the organizer:

A bunch of us from the trip!

Mudfest was also in July! I did not know about this festival until shortly before departing for Korea. Lisa told me about this festival and insisted I had to go since when she was travelling in SE Asia, she met tons of people who talked about it. Last year, I arrived the weekend after my co-workers had gone so I was happy to be able to go this year. Unfortunately, due to the fact that it was a mud festival, there are few pictures to show for, and the few that were taken I have yet to see surface. Mudfest takes place in Boryeong which is know for its mineral mud. Every summer people gather to have mud fights, go down mud slides, get painted by mud, then swim in the ocean to wash off. I would recommend doing a quick Google search to get an idea of what it's like. 

The trip started off a bit rocky which was unfortunate. Mel, Noelia, Tatiana, Maynah, Chris, Scott, Michael and I all arrived at the pick up spot and awaited the bus. It came and we found out that there was not enough spots on the bus for all of us (poor planning and organization on Seoul Hiking Group's part, which isn't uncommon). This meant that some of us had to sit in the aisle on the ground between the seats and/or sit on someone's lap. So I sat on Noelia's lap for a good 2-3 hours down to Boryeong. Not only that, Noelia had booked for her and a few of the other girls months prior yet they did not have a room reserved for them, despite constant emailing from Noelia to try to figure out what was going on, only to not get responses from the organizer. Thankfully while driving down they were able to get a room set up for them. 

Chris and I in the water swimming and getting the mud off

Fireworks later in the night, it was quite foggy? smoggy? The whole sky lit up as one colour.

The rest of Saturday night was spent listening to music off the main stage and then going from different spots along the main strip for drinks and dancing. It was a memorable night, some poured drinks for others, some danced and sometimes fell off of chairs, we all met a ton of cool people and listened to great music. 

Relaxing on the beach Sunday before heading back to Seoul

July was packed with awesome weekends and to finish it off we had our summer vacation which I spent in Malaysia! More to come on that and a school update soon!

<3

Korea Burn 2014

I was so incredibly happy to be able to take part in Korea Burn again during my time here. The first one I went to last year still tops as one of the best weekends I've had in Korea. Again, Korea Burn is based on the principles from Burning Man in Nevada - Korea Burn is just a much smaller scale. It was located on the same beach this year which made things even more welcoming and familiar. Last year I went with Emmalee who I had only met a few weeks prior. This year I went with Emmalee again, but also, Tina, Mel, Tatiana, Maynah, Noelia, Martin and Scott. As a result, I bought a tent this year which meant bringing much more than I did the previous year.

My coworker Chuck was also going, so the two of us got ready after work on Friday and headed out to get dinner and drinks in Jeongja (where we would be picked up) at The Harp (an Irish bar) before the bus would be picking us up. It just so happened that it was Independence Day that day, so The Harp had beer pong set up and we played a few close games.

We all gathered in Jeongja at 11pm well stocked with Soju and tonic for the ride down to Cheongpo Island. To date, that was the most fun a bus ride has ever been. No one stayed in their seats, everyone was standing, mingling, playing games, sharing drinks, just overall really a great atmosphere. A funny moment from the ride down was that we had to make an emergency bathroom break on the side of the highway. There was some bushes along the side but after being terrified by the spiders everywhere, this led to a line of girls squatting along the side of the highway. Definitely an odd sight for anyone driving past.

Martin, Naomi, Mel and I 

We arrived on the island between 2-3am. Emmalee had arrived earlier so we connected and she brought us to the spot where she had put up her tent. After everything was set up, we went down to the beach where there was a DJ playing and people dancing around a bonfire. We stayed awake all night long and watched the sunrise. It was really cool because Emmalee and I ran into Blessing, whom we met at last year's burn, so it was cool to reconnect.

Tent City (taken in the morning by Scott or Tina?)

Tatiana, myself, Mel and Maynah

Hula hooping while giving Scott a high five

I did finally take a nap around 9am and spent the rest of the day checking out the different camps set up. Two of my favourite ones were the Relaxation Tent and Rooted Camp. At the relaxation tent you could get face paint done, your tarot cards read or just simply sleep and relax on the masses of pillows and blankets they had. I took a nap here later in the day as well. Rooted Camp put on a series of Yoga Classes throughout the weekend but did something special at their camp as well. They had everyone write their motto or what you want to leave behind in the world on scratch paper (black paper, and you write on it with a stick that scratches away the black to leave a mutli-coloured backdrop) which they would then create a book later on with. After doing this, they took your picture with a polaroid camera and you attached your picture to the fabric tree they created. There was also a Bucaneers camp that did scavenger hunts, a camp that cooked bacon for everyone all weekend, another camp that was spaced themed that put mini trampolines into the ground.

Mel and I napping in the relaxation tent 

Rooted Camp!

Emmalee and I doing the scavenger hunt and we can't find the token

Found the token!

I didn't eat much during the day but by the time "dinner" rolled around, I was craving the ramen I brought and did not want anything else. But there was one problem, I had no way to make hot water. But Tatiana and Maynah had asked a guy earlier to help them out with opening bottles and they figured he could boil water for me. So we found him and he was kind enough to do it! We sat down with him as he boiled the water and later were joined by two of his friends. So many incredible stories, him and his friend have been all over and have experienced the coolest things. That is one thing that I love about Korea Burn, the truly incredible people that you meet. He even made us coffee which tasted like the best thing in the world in that moment. So wherever you are - Thank you Eli!

By the time evening came, I realized how burnt I had got despite it being cloudy all day long. (I know, I know, you can still get burnt.) So I was on a desperate hunt for pants in order to be covered up for the rest of the day and for Sunday. Of everyone I knew, the only person who had pants was Greg. I literally went up to him, he was wearing pants, asked if I could have his pants and he got up changed and handed them over due to my need. Could you be kinder? Honestly, he was a lifesaver - thank you Greg!! Had I not had those pants I would have gotten burnt even worse - and it was already worse than I thought. (Fast forward to Monday and Tuesday when my whole face became swollen due to my burns.)

That night they had an incredible fire show and burned the Burning Man - incredible.

Sunday was spent packing, and trying to stay cool and out of the sun as much as possible, but still very relaxing.

I loved this year's Korea Burn. I cannot say which year was better because both were different and both were great. This year's overall vibe - in my opinion - was focussed more on relaxation, whereas I found last year there was a lot more to do and experience. Like I said, both years were different but equally awesome. I am so glad to have been able to go, share the experience with new friends and share the experience with Emmalee again at our second Korea Burn together!

Other highlights:

Our second Korea Burn together!

             

Got to hang out with Glenn (pictured) and Luke again who we met at last year's burn

Another cool camp, you were supposed to write something you wanted to let go of on wooden pieces and put them up in the installation. 

Awesome performers who made life size puppets that they later walked around in

<3