September Shenanigans

"Fighting!" with the Jeollanamdo Performers

The boys hard at work on their projects

Hi everyone! It's been just over two weeks since my last update, and to be honest, not too much is different than it was before (in a good way). At school, I have been busy prepping the students for their speaking tests, which they will start this week! I am looking forward to their presentations. The first grade students are working in small groups, making powerpoint presentations about different ways to be eco-friendly, while the second grade students are doing individual presentations about their dream jobs. The advanced first grade level students are making role plays, and they have been practicing for the past two weeks and they are ADORABLE. I am definitely going to take video of their presentations so that you all can see them.

Buchaechum Traditional Dance

During an afternoon one day, we had an official entertainment group from Jeollanam-do come to our school and perform traditional Korean song, dance, and musical instruments. It was so interesting for me because I had never seen anything like this before! I was also lucky that my coworkers could explain to me what the meaning behind much of these performances were. It was really neat, and I was surprised to see that the boys were really into it as well! The first photo I have is from a traditional dance called buchaechum, in which a group of female dancers use fans to represent different symbols (birds, flowers, butterflies, and waves). It was beautiful! One of my favorite performances was called pungmul, a Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dancing, and singing. Most performances are outside, with dozens of players, all in constant motion. Pungmul is rooted in thedure (collective labor) farming culture. It was originally played as part of farm work, on rural holidays, at other village community-building events, and to accompany shamanistic rituals, mask dance dramas, and other types of performance. It was a very exciting, intense dance, and I was even dragged on stage to try it out. Haha!

Buchaechum Traditional Dance

When not teaching, I have been taking the time to get to know my coworkers more this year! Last year I think I was a bit timid/shy about asking my coworkers to hang out outside of school, but I realized that they're just as curious about me as I am about them. So, I decided to ask a bunch of the younger coworkers if they'd like to go out for bowling. Turns out, they wanted to, so we met up after school one day for dinner and headed off to go bowling. I am a very poor bowler, but my coworkers were convinced that I would be very good just because I am a generally athletic person. I ensured them how poor my performance was, and I didn't let them down. They also heavily underestimated their own abilities. While I felt good about bowling a 120, my coworkers were bowling 150+! Needless to say, I was the big loser of the group, which was totally fine with me. Haha!

Pungmul Traditional Dance

Outside of school, I am continuing my half marathon training and enjoying my social life with friends in Gwangyang and Suncheon. A couple weekends ago, I met up with my friend EJ and we traveled to the Suncheon Gardens for an expo that was going on. Suncheon Gardens was to be named Korea's number one garden, which is a big deal! Apparently, they wanted foreigners there to get good publicity, so EJ and I ended up being recruited to a fancy dinner with the governor/mayor of Suncheon, along with other important ambassadors. While standing in line for the buffet, I ended up meeting the ambassador of Paraguay because I overheard him speaking in Spanish with someone else. I felt like practicing some Spanish, so I struck up a conversation, having not the slightest idea that he was the ambassador of Paraguay. Anyway, we had a delightful conversation, and I walked away with his business card. I may send him an email and ask him about any teaching opportunities over there. Who knows what could happen!? After the dinner, there was a K-Pop concert, despite the downpour of rain. It was an unexpectedly fun day, which are the best kinds of days.

Some of us got to try it out!

On another weekend, I was meeting up with some friends for dinner and drinks, and I just happened to notice a wall full of T.O.P. (a very, very handsome K-Pop star) posters. My friends could tell that I just couldn't stop staring, and I admitted that I wanted to take one. While I was trying to concoct a top-secret way to steal a poster, my Korean friend simply asked the owner whether or not I could have one, and he happily agreed (who would've thought it was that simple!?). On the plus side, the owner gave me some coozies too.

The T.O.P. poster

One of my favorite things about Korean culture are the baseball games! The atmosphere is so different than American baseball games - much more lively and interactive. Last weekend, I met up with Fulbrighters in my area and we traveled to Gwangju to cheer on our K-League baseball team, the Kia Tigers. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a rainy day, but it was still enjoyable to watch the game, cheer with the fans, and watch the Tigers win! The downside was that the middle-aged Korean men behind us were whining the entire time because we had our umbrellas open (but so did everyone else in attendance). I'm convinced they were whining just because we are foreigners, and they even tried to call security to get us to leave. Good thing for us is that we are collectively solid at speaking Korean, so we could explain ourselves. The security guard was on our side anyway, but that is one of my pet peeves about Korea: the middle-aged men, which in Korean we call them ajusshis. After the game, I headed back to Suncheon with my friends and we ended up drinking for a long time. Actually, a group of Koreans came over and hung out with us because they wanted to learn more about us and where we're from (this is pretty common in Korea). So, we hung out with them for the night, went to noraebang (karaoke room) and were singing until four in the morning!

Having a good time!

This past week I came down with a bit of a cold (probably from staying out so late!), and I was preparing for the Fulbright Korea Alumni Relations Committee, which I am one of the leaders of this year. Almost every day after school was spent interviewing candidates for the committee. I am very excited to have the opportunity to be a leader this year, and I am looking forward to connecting more with other Fulbrighters and alumni of the program.

Enjoying the baseball game!

The upcoming weeks will be much of the same - half marathon training, staying busy with school, and traveling a bit. Next weekend marks the beginning of the Korean Thanksgiving celebration, called chuseok. I will be heading up to the northeast part of S. Korea, to a city called Sokcho. I will travel there with my friend Emily, and we are planning to go hiking at a national park called Seoraksan. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures and post them! Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the last week and a half of September!