PPAP; 1Q84

Fulbright Third Year ETAs

Gyeongju at night

Acronyms are taking over. Pen Pineapple Apple Pen is somehow the hottest track right now. That video is basically all of us English teachers' lives on a daily basis during class... haha.

But anyway, I've been reading this novel, originally split into three separate pieces, titled 1Q84 and written by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. It's really long - just about 1,000 pages in the English translation. It's taken me over a month to read it so far, but I enjoy taking my time. While it gets redundant in some areas, the premise of the story revolves around an alternate reality mixed in with romance, political unrest, and plenty of science-fiction mystery. As you can imagine, it is loosely based on the idea of George Orwell's novel 1984. I'm not terribly good at book reviews, so I'll just leave it at that. It's interesting, but unnecessarily long and over descriptive. This paragraph has virtually nothing to do with the rest of this blog post, I just wanted to write a short excerpt on what I'm currently reading.

Cooking with my friend JaeWon!

Sometimes it feels like I'm living in an alternate universe here in Korea. I had no idea what to expect two and a half years ago before arriving, as I quite literally had no background knowledge on Korea's history, culture, and language save for what I learned about from my Korean-American friends and professors. Most people who know my background in Spanish Education always ask me why I applied for Fulbright KOREA and not a Fulbright grant in a Spanish-speaking country. My answer to that question is that I wanted to explore a part of the world I've never been to before, and most likely would NOT visit otherwise. I knew that the Korean education system was considered 'hardcore and intense', and I was intrigued by what exactly that meant. I knew that Koreans start studying English from a very young age, and I was curious how that influenced their attitudes towards language learning and their functional use of the English language.

Enjoying a night out with friends!

Two and a half years into my Fulbright grant, and I'm able to describe the reasoning behind these curiosities to a decent extent. I've also picked up the Korean language in a fairly small amount of time (as far as language studies go) to an intermediate level, a passion of mine which continues to grow and hope to continue when I return to the States next summer. I've met incredible people both within the Fulbright program as well as my surrounding community. Seoul has been a total 180 from southern, rural life, which has its ups and downs (mostly ups). I think the worst part of living in Seoul (for me) is constantly feeling as if I should be out and about doing SOMETHING rather than allowing myself to just relax in the comfort of my home at times. Especially as an extrovert, I'm quick to feel a tinge of loneliness when hanging out alone in my apartment while listening to the hustle and bustle outside my window. But I'm working on it!

Monster Pizza with fellow Seoulites

To switch gears, my last Fulbright Fall Conference just ended. Gyeongju is a beautiful and historic city, and I didn't want to allow myself to say that it would be my last time visiting there. As a third year, I was ready to take the backseat and just enjoy the scheduled programming (rather than being an active participant in planning/executing workshops). It was awesome. The weather was a bit crummy, but I was content spending time with friends just chatting and catching up, helping each other figure out what the hell we are gonna do when we finish the grant...

I don't have too much else to update for now. School is still going great. I told two of my co-workers about the term "shit-talking", and it's become their new favorite phrase to use every time I see them. Example, my main co-teacher now comes up to me and says, "Hillary! Let's eat lunch together and do some shit-talking!" with the biggest grin on her face. I love it! Haha. Definitely one of my prime teacher moments...

I'm including some random pictures of what I've been up to and songs I'm listening to lately. Enjoy!

A panorama of the night life outside my window

These Days' Mood Playlist (on shuffle):
1. (They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters
2. Me Too - Meghan Trainor
3. Work - Rihanna, Drake
4. Reminiscing - Little River Band
5. 휘파람람 WHISTLE - BLACKPINK
6. Ribbon - Beast
7. Why - TAEYEON
8. Fallin' - Alicia Keys
9. All That She Wants - Ace of Base
10. PPAP - Some YouTube Sensation
11. Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs
12. This Is What You Came For - Calvin Harris, Rihanna
13. Side To Side - Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj
14. Fight For Your Right - Beastie Boys
15. 33 "GOD" - Bon Iver
16. Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
17. Broccoli - D.R.A.M., Lil Yachty
18. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani

By the way, check out Hana's YouTube video from her trip to Korea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jGVEBy0ED0 !!!

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"You Will B Fine"

Chuseok in Gwangyang

Two of my students in after-school class

"You Will B Fine" and "Slow Down and Enjoy the Simple Life" have quickly become the mantras of my third year in S. Korea, thanks to a $15 sweater I bought one chilly, rainy, October evening (the few we've had so far) while out wandering Seoul with friends. September was yet another month of transitioning and settling into a daily routine. The joys of the month were plentiful, and I'll briefly highlight some of them.

Happy Chuseok!

One of Korea's most important holidays, Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), took place in the middle of September. Although this is typically a time to relax with friends and family, a part of me felt apprehensive due to the fact that at this time last year was when I acquired my near-fatal blister-turned-MRSA... so I decided that I would NOT be doing any hiking this time around. I followed the traditional Korean way of heading back to one's hometown, so I headed to Gwangyang of course. While there, I visited my home stay family, plenty of friends, and ran into a few co-workers. It was really exciting to be back, seemingly picking up right where I left off with familiar venues, streets, and faces.

Soccer Game with Fulbrighters

I have been keeping busy in Seoul, of course. My typical work day is from 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. I wake up around 4:00 a.m. and hit the gym, shower, get ready, eat some breakfast, and am on the subway towards school by 6:50 a.m. I have about a 30-minute commute from my apartment to school, which isn't horrible for Seoul. It's about 15 minutes on the subway and then a 10-15 minute walk from there. After school, I am busy taking Korean lessons and I also teach an after school class two days a week. I teach 4 course hours every day (out of 7), totaling 20 course hours plus 2 additional hours for the after school class. My work load is a bit more hefty in Seoul than it was in Gwangyang, but I am enjoying it, and the students and co-workers make it worthwhile. By the end of the day, I'm usually wiped out, so I spend my time cooking a light dinner, throwing on my pajamas, and reading in bed until I pass out (anywhere between 8:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.).

Co-workers from Gwangyang!

In the free time that I DO have, I am spending it with friends! We have gotten to explore various areas of Seoul, such as walking along the River Han, going to some museums and book stores, cheering for Seoul's soccer club, and of course pleasing our taste buds with all kinds of delicious food.

Joe arrived!

This past week I had the pleasure of hosting TWO American friends and showing them around Seoul and doing all kinds of fun things together! Hana, whom I met at Jane's wedding just this past summer, was traveling to Korea for the first time, so I wanted to meet up with her and have some fun together. She and I decided to go hiking one morning at Bukhansan mountain, planning to do a fairly easy/intermediate course. Some way or another, we ended up following two ajussis (older Korean men) and trekked an advanced/expert course to the peak of the mountain. It was one of the most difficult courses I've hiked, second to the course I hiked in Jirisan during my first year here. Although it was strenuous, the views are always worth it, and we celebrated with snacks, beer, and plum wine. It was delicious! We headed back down, showered and rested, before meeting up for a friend's birthday party and then picking up my other American friend at the airport.

Field trip with the club class

Joseph arrived later that night!!! It was super late by the time we got home, so we crashed and slept in late the next morning. The next day was Sunday, so we joined Hana and her friends for church and then enjoyed a delicious lunch. After lunch, we were ready to get our SPA on and hit up the public bath house to soak in the water, get some body scrubs, and sweat it out in the saunas. It was so relaxing and it was a perfect way to spend Sunday afternoon. The next day I didn't have to go to school because of a different Korean holiday, so we decided to grab dinner and hit up karaoke! We stayed out pretty late enjoying ourselves, and then everyone crashed in my (tiny) apartment. It was a snug fit, but we made it work, as seen by the picture:

Sleeping Beauties

The view from outside my classroom

At school, the students are busy preparing for midterm exams, so the energy levels have been falling. I'm continuing to implement games and fun activities to keep their spirits high and help them to relieve at least a little bit of stress. I will be heading to the Fulbright Fall Conference in Gyeongju for the third year in just over a week. There have been earthquakes over that way (eastern part of Korea), so some teachers are concerned for the safety of everyone, but I think all will be okay.

That's about it for now... stay tuned!

The view from on top of Bukhan Mountain

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Rocky Road to Renewal

By now, you all must be wondering, "Hillary's been in Korea two years already and I haven't seen anything on social media about what's happening next... where did she go!?!?"

Nah, just kidding, you probably aren't wondering about me at all, but I just don't know what to write about in my blog right now. But for those interested, I am writing this post to explain the next phase and how I got to that decision.

Earlier during the grant year, most of you know that I endured a severe injury in my Achilles tendon, thus causing me to miss nearly four months of school and vacation. After experiencing an injury to that extent (nonetheless in a foreign country and questioning the quality of the healthcare throughout the majority of it), I think that normal people would have felt they've had enough in this country and would feel eager to get back into the comfort of their motherland. Me, on the other hand, somehow got it inside my brain that, "Wow, I missed four months of my second year in Korea... welp, I guess that means I'll just have to make up for it by staying one more year!" even after all the shit that happened.

Don't get me wrong, I thought long and hard about the decision to stay - especially BECAUSE of the circumstances that have happened so far this year. But my heart just kept telling me that I wasn't ready to leave Korea yet. However, I AM ready to be in a much larger city, with more access to Westernized things (such as healthcare... but mostly food options LOL). So, for my third and FINAL year (yes, mark my words now, the third year WILL be my final year in Korea... at this phase of my life at least... hehe), I decided I will move to Seoul for a big change. And feel comfortable about going to the hospital where the doctor will actually examine me before immediately trying to chop my foot off...

Okay, this post is going everywhere. Let me refocus and explain. Core details:
- I am staying for a third and final year with the Fulbright Program.
- I will be teaching English at a co-ed high school in Seoul.
- I will have my own apartment.
- I will be home (in Illinois) this summer from July 16 until August 16.

The decision sounds easy, but it really wasn't. To be honest, it's going to be difficult for me to leave Gwangyang. I love my school, co-workers, students, all the friends I've made, the scenery, food, everything, really... Gwangyang will always be considered my "home" in Korea. But I also know that I'm a person of adventure and want to take this opportunity to challenge myself further. I know that staying a third year in Gwangyang may cause me to develop feelings of complacency, so making the change to live in a metropolitan city for the first time in my life is a huge step for me. Originally, I wanted to work at an elementary school in Seoul, to gain experience and utilize my K-12 teaching license to its full potential. However, that is another messy story to be reckoned with. Are you ready for it? Here it goes:

As much as I love teaching high school students, it's just a totally different atmosphere in Korea. For one thing, most of our classes aren't for a grade, which right there decreases motivation for the majority of students. Oh and did I mention that these kids are already forced to study 12+ hours a day in order to pass the Korean equivalent of the SAT (a test on steroids, I may add)? Yeah, so, there's typically not a lot of excitement about this job on paper. Lots of sleepy students, complaining, and yeah, the lack of motivation. Of course, there are students who are intrinsically motivated and will excel in class, but there are days where everyone feels burnt out. On the other hand, there are days where everyone is wild and out of control and overly excited. I love the students both ways, but I've definitely questioned my ability as a teacher, and whether or not I truly entered the right profession. Don't get me wrong, my students are ANGELS and I love them to pieces and I am so proud of their effort and amazing talents and personalities, but I feel ready to experience a different side of teaching in Korea. Therefore, after two years of teaching at a Korean high school, I felt ready to try out an elementary school. And I thought, "Why not? It's on my license that I'm certified to teach K-12, so let's do this!"

And so I submitted my renewal application dead set on 2 things: 1. Seoul. 2. Elementary School.
I thought my odds were good. Only renewees get placed in Seoul, and there are TONS of openings for elementary schools there. Out of our entire Fulbright Program, we only have one high school placement in Seoul. And I wasn't supposed to get it. But I did. And I was NOT happy at first. And here's how and why it happened:

I was enjoying my Tuesday afternoon in the office, free of classes, relaxing and about to pick up a book to read. Suddenly, I received a Kakao Message (texting app in Korea) from our Program Coordinator in the Fulbright Office with an urgent message. "Hillary! Would you be open to teaching at a high school in Seoul?" My heart started racing because I was sure that plenty of other ETAs had requested the only high school placement in Seoul, and I wondered why this was being brought up to me. "We've had some last-minute changes with other ETAs regarding renewal, and I need you to tell me within the next ten minutes if you're okay with ______'s high school placement in Seoul. Please let me know ASAP. Thanks!"

After asking follow-up questions, I found out that I wouldn't be guaranteed another placement in Seoul if I declined this ... "offer"? At the time, I felt trapped. This wasn't what I requested, and why did I have to be the deciding factor? It's not my fault that other ETAs changed their minds, after all. I felt a wave of bitterness and anger move through me that I hadn't experienced before. Why me? After all the shit I've been through already this grant year, I thought that at LEAST the renewal process would be a smooth transition. But it looked as if the end of my second year leading into a potential third year was not shaping up how I envisioned.

I took the ten minutes (plus some more) to call the current ETA at the school to ask questions. Luckily for me, this person is already one of my close friends in the Fulbright Program, so I was thankful for the honesty and straightforward answers. After deliberating with the current ETA, I didn't feel ready to make such an important decision. But I didn't have a choice. Again, I felt trapped. What do I do? If I don't accept this offer, then I'm not guaranteed a placement for next year. On the other hand, I don't feel ready to transition into life back Stateside yet. Should I quit Fulbright and pursue other options in Korea? Should I move to another country? All of a sudden, so many thoughts, feelings, ideas, frustrations, uncertainties, and everything else in between rushed into my brain and I was overloaded.

While my gut wasn't excited to hear about this placement option, for some reason I said "yes". After that, the official email offer was sent out, and I wasn't confident. Unfortunately, I only had two days to officially decide about my renewal decision. Now that I was "stuck" with this school, I contemplated quitting and going home, or sticking it out for a third year. So I took those two days to talk with my family, close friends, and colleagues. I needed advice. Over those two days, my decisions constantly changed. My mind said one thing, my heart said another, and my gut had no idea what to do. They were never on the same page. I took the time to try and sort out the pros and cons of every single hypothetical situation, when it suddenly dawned on me: why am suddenly I freaking out? I had been so confident about my decision to stay before I learned about the school placement.

It all became real to me with that email. I'm actually going to leave Gwangyang. I'm actually going to live in a big city for the first time in my life. And although it's not a place where I expected to be, I was offered it for a reason, and I said yes. I waited until one hour before the deadline to submit my acceptance email. I felt confident about it, but the uncertainty of everything that could happen next year held me back and scared me. Luckily, I found my true self just in time, and with the support of my friends and family, I made the decision to renew for a final year teaching at a high school in Seoul with the Fulbright Program.

As I write this now, I feel so silly to have let my emotions rush through me like that. But I'm only human, after all. And now, I feel confident, ready, and optimistic for the year ahead. I am ready to grow and expand my teaching skills in even more ways. I came to the realization that everything happens for a reason. I'm not going to fret about the elementary school/high school differentiation. Who knows, it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I've also never worked with Korean female students before, so the change will be new and exciting. I'll have a more consistent schedule (I will get to see my students twice a week rather than only once a week like in my current situation). I'm an optimist, and the next year is all about what I make of it.

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100% / Emily's Expedition

My last foot appointment!

Hello, friends all over the world! Hillary here, writing this post with a smile on my face (as I usually am). The weather has been extraordinarily beautiful here lately, even with days of rain scattered here and there. Those days have actually turned out to be some of my favorite days -- especially the mornings after a stormy night. The walks to school reveal a misty fog over the mountains in the distance, the river flowing heavily downstream, with my trail surrounded by bright green grass and trees.

Since my last post two weeks ago, I have received wonderful news: I am officially DONE with foot treatment! I had my last appointment on the 19th of April, and the doctor barely took a look at it before I was walking out the door. We had a bonding moment that day, where we both realized a bit bittersweetly that this would be our last meeting together.

Happy in Boseong

At first he jokingly stated, "I did such a great job! There's not even a scar to be seen!" I whole-heartedly confirmed and congratulated him and his team on doing such a thorough job with my foot and for truly taking care of me. After a moment, though, his smile faded and his voice dropped, saying, "Well... I guess this means I don't need to see you anymore..." and at that moment there was a twinge of sadness inside of me. Even after all that I had overcome with this annoying infection for the last six months, a part of me was actually... sad??? Yes, it was true. My doctor and I had spent so much time communicating with each other the past six months that neither of us ever really thought that it would come to an end. Yet there we were, shaking hands and congratulating each other on the great work we did.

"You heal very well, you did a great job!" He said with a smile on his face.

I looked at him, wondering what he meant exactly. I said, "I'm just lucky that I'm young and healthy..."

He said, "Yes, young and healthy, both physically and mentally. Mental aspect is also important for healing."

His comment will stay with me everywhere I go for the rest of my life. Realizing the importance not only of physical strength, but emotional strength and mental strength as well.

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Hiking with the gang!

Aside from the foot recovery, school has been busy as usual, this time with the midterm exams rolling around the corner. The boys have hit a phase of pure exhaustion, struggling to get through the days without falling asleep in class or feeling the immense pressure to study all day and night. After the political parties unit, I decided to take it easy and settle with some easy-thinking English activities such as Bananagrams and USA Bingo.

The teachers decided to host an English camp in the upcoming month, so I am looking forward to that because we will go to a resort in the mountains for a weekend and hang out and do some fun English stuff.

Other school happenings:
- The Gwangyang spring volleyball tournament is approaching, which means one-hour practices after school three days a week which means my arms are severely swollen and bruised
- Tutoring the principal 1-on-1 once a week and being hoarded with food and gifts after each class together... I'm not complaining!
- Still the outcast at lunch (on days where I have to eat alone) because the new teachers are scared of me (life of the foreign teacher...)

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Boseong Green Tea Plantation

Weekend shenanigans: last weekend, a large group of other Fulbrighters and I headed to Gwangju for an exciting hiking trip followed by a trip to the Boseong green tea plantation. Hiking was a blast and I'm surprised at how well the group stayed together considering there was about ten of us. We did about a 4 hour hike Saturday morning, enjoyed lunch at the base of the mountain, then headed to the bus terminal to get to the tea fields.

Suncheon Gardens

Everything went great until it came time to catch a bus to the green tea plantation. We took a public bus to the city bus terminal, when suddenly Emily realized she left her phone on the bus we had just gotten off of! Half of the group had already gone ahead to get tickets to the tea fields, and the other half of us were waiting with Emily. Emily decided to grab a cab to try and sprint up and catch the bus that had just passed, in hopes of finding her phone and catching up with the group. Buuuuut, an hour and a half went by, members of our group faded, leaving two of us waiting for Emily to come back to the terminal, hopefully having found her phone.

Suncheon Gardens

Unfortunately, she came back with no phone. We decided to go ahead and get tickets to the tea plantation and meet up with the rest of the group, defeated that we had lost her phone. In fact, right when Emily had given up all hope, I reminded her of how we were able to retrieve her lost wallet after a New Years party last year. "That was pure luck; there's no way we can get that lucky again..." she sighed.

"I'm going to keep calling anyway - I'm sure someone will pick up eventually." I stated.

"You should just wipe your phone NOW," Kevin urged.

The three of us had completely different mindsets. Which one of us would prevail? Kevin, taking the cautious route? Emily, taking the luck-worn-out route? Or myself, taking the too-optimistic-but-let's-try-to-get-lucky-again route? Take a moment to pick your choice NOW: __________________________


Ok. Here's what happened:

Low and behold, just seconds after our exchange, a strange voice PICKED UP THE PHONE! We were in a sudden dilemma - we were already on the bus to Boseong, but we had magically gotten ahold of the person with Emily's phone!!!!!!! We made the sporadic decision to jump off the bus (to the bus driver's confusion), sprinted to the public bus stop, and followed it aaaallllll the way to the end of the line (over a one hour bus ride). We reached the public bus transportation center, retrieved the phone, feeling relieved. Emily got her picture taken at the terminal with the phone in hand as a memento. You can see it here:

After successful retrieval of the cell phone

But now what? It was far too late to join the others at Boseong, so the three of us decided to head to Gwangyang and crash at my place. We showered, ordered late night chicken, and passed out early. I think we would all call that day a success.

Suncheon Gardens

The next day we decided we would make up for lost time and head to the tea plantation, which ended up being a great decision. It was absolutely beautiful - we enjoyed row after row of green tea fields in the mountains, while eating delicious green tea soft serve ice cream, green tea flavored noodles, and green tea flavored ddeokkbokki (rice cake with fish cake). In the afternoon, Emily and I parted ways with Kevin (who headed back to his city), and we went to the Suncheon gardens with our other friend, Abby. The gardens are absolutely huge, and they have a world garden expo. We explored sample gardens from around the world, walked around, and enjoyed the sunlight. We were pooped by late afternoon after a full weekend, so we went back and crashed early again.

It was a spontaneous, crazy, and exciting month of April, and it's only going to get even busier. Stay tuned for an upcoming story about my not-so-perfect start to the month of May!

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Justice of Korea

Cherry blossoms

Walk to school

Spring is here, which in Korea means that one always has to keep their eyes peeled for the first sighting of the cherry blossoms! These beautifully-colored flowers descend from Japan and are only in full bloom for two weeks or less (especially if it rains, as it often does during the Korean spring season). Luckily for me, I get to walk by rows upon rows of the cherry blossom trees everyday on my way to and from school, so I had no chance in missing out on them! Just like last year, I was stunned at how beautiful Gwangyang truly is. The river flows alongside the mountain scenery, and the cherry blossom trees shade the walking path, guiding the way to wherever you go. I am not sure if I will ever experience anything like this again in my life, so I am soaking it in during these last few months of my second grant year.

Along the river

Made it to the top

Along with enjoying the spring weather, I have been traveling during my weekends to maximize my time. During the last weekend in March, a couple friends and I made the spontaneous decision to travel to Geoje, and island off the south-eastern part of the peninsula. We headed there without any plans, but made sure to make the best of it. We ended up hiking a mountain called Gyeryongsan during the day, showering up, and headed to enjoy the nightlife on Saturday night... which turned out to be creepy. This area is filled with middle-aged men due to the proximity of ship ports and trading. So, we found that most bars were filled with older gentlemen and, unfortunately, women hired for escort services. Although Saturday evening was a bit of a flop, Easter Sunday redeemed the weekend (fitting, right?). My friends and I traveled back to Suncheon to enjoy an afternoon picnic with other foreigner friends at a park. It was a lovely time filled with food and shared laughter.

Hiking Gyeryongsan!

A cloudy view of Geoje

At school, you may recall that my students have been working on creating their own political parties and discussing their stance on five separate issues. After three weeks of preparation, it has finally come down to the presentation period! After just a couple classes' worth of presentations so far, I am already thoroughly impressed with what my students have come up with, especially in using a second language. Their thoughts and arguments are well-articulated, and many of them also show respect for differing opinions from other groups. I am so happy that this unit went well and allowed the students to express deeper thoughts in the English-language. Many of the students understand that English is considered THE global language, and it's amazing to see them taking the steps to recognize that and utilize the language in effective ways. Below are some examples of student work (used with permission):

Enjoying Jeju

Enjoying Jeju

Aside from all of this, Fulbright hosts our annual Spring Conference on Jeju Island! Another trip added to the workload, but well worth it. Unfortunately, our conference this year was shortened due to budget concerns, but we still made the most of it! During this conference, all of the English Teachers meet together with Fulbright's Junior Researchers as well. Throughout the weekend, we have small group discussions about teaching methodology, demographics, staying healthy and supporting one another during the grant year, among other talks. It is a great way to discuss with other ETAs in different placements and add more tools to the teaching repertoire. We also have the chance to listen to presentations by the researchers, who presented on a wide array of topics such as the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Metabolic Syndrome in Korea, North Korean Defector Programs, among others. Of course, aside from all this "hard work" we had to do, we found time to enjoy ourselves during the evening.

Wandering around the hotel in Jeju

So, it turns out April is showing to be another busy and productive month. I finally feel like I am back to 100% health after the foot injury, sinus infections, and random colds. I am set for my very last foot checkup next week, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for good news. It has been a long journey back to recovery, but I am grateful to have been in good condition for the majority of it. I am a little bit scared about going back to running, but once I have the A-OK, I am willing to give it a shot. Here's to hoping I'll be back on the road logging miles in no time.

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Sleeping Lion's Booger

Enjoying time with friends

Hello, everyone! I hope the month of March is treating you all well. I have been suffering with a nasty sinus infection since returning from vacation, so that's been fun to deal with on top of getting back in the swing of things at school.

Birthday package from America!

Besides losing my voice and coughing and snotting up mucous for the past two weeks, school has been going splendidly! I always enjoy the start of the spring semester because it's the start of a new school year for Korea, which typically means a lot of change. The new freshmen students arrived and they seem like a fun group of boys to joke around with. On top of that, my now second-year students are still as lively as ever and I'm happy to see them comfortable in the classroom. I haven't taught them since October, so I think they are happy to have the native English teacher back as a nice break from the torture of their regular schedules throughout the week. I decided to get more in-depth on my lessons this spring, so I planned a 5-week unit on political parties, primaries, and the upcoming presidential election. A lot of my co-workers and Korean friends have shown interest in all that is happening in America related to politics, so I thought it would be a good topic to introduce to my students as well! I also want to give them a unique view on what is going on on the other side of the world from a native's perspective. The first week of the unit just came to a close, and it's starting off well.

The students were broken into their own "political parties" where they came up with party names and a party symbol. They were inspired by creating names and symbols after showing them the donkey and elephant symbols that are so prominent in America. In Korea, political parties don't use symbols as propaganda and whatnot as much as we do in America, so they had a blast coming up with it. Here are a few of my personal favorite political party names and symbols:

"Sometimes~" with the party symbol being a Koala.

"Justice of Korea (JOK)" with the party symbol being an Eagle

"Sleeping Lion's Booger" with the party symbol being exactly as it sounds (lol!)

"Panty" with the party symbol being... boxers

"U.C," with the party symbol being four peas in a pod

"Macho Men Party" with the party symbol being a macho man wearing a halo and angel's wings

Alongside creating political party names and symbols, throughout this week the students will create their opinions on five different political issues such as Immigration, Education, Economy, Human Rights, Environment, International Relations etc. (they will choose from a list of topics). I am intrigued by what they will come up with! Even though they are high school boys, a lot of their opinions and beliefs seem more thought-out and considerate than some of America's very own Presidential Candidates for 2016. On the flip side, because they ARE high school boys, I'm also allowing them to choose two issues of their own that can be serious or more light-hearted (i.e. mandatory school uniforms, removing the school principal, food stuff, other random ideas). I will be sure to post the ideas they come up with, and I am positive that there will be some hilarious ideas as well as some inappropriate ones alongside (boys will be boys).

St. Patty's Festival

Other new things this semester include being moved to a new office. The first day of school I walked into my old office and saw that the entire room had been destroyed with much of my shit lying everywhere. I was not a happy camper, but eventually was told that I was moved upstairs. It turns out the whole school had been restructured and everyone had to change offices, and the students were moved to different floors as well. That made me feel a little bit better, knowing that everyone else had to go through the pain of moving everything too.

The new school year accounts for a long line of new teachers that have been transferred to our school from other cities. Korea does this every year to ensure equality and just to mix things up because they can. Typically, a teacher will stay at a school for 2-3 years and then rotate. This meant that I had a fresh batch of English teachers except for my main co-teacher and a few others. Our school has 10 English teachers, four of which are new this semester (and four from last year transferred/on maternity leave). The four new English teachers seem nice, and two of them are young which makes me really happy to see some young blood wandering around the hallways. I am looking forward to getting to know them more throughout the semester.

St. Patty's Festival

Outside of school, this semester will be busy with many extracurricular commitments. I am still one of the leaders for Fulbright Korea's Alumni Relations Committee, and we have a lot of events planned. I am also taking Korean lessons with a private tutor two nights a week and I am a part of a public speaking club on Thursday nights (ToastMasters), so most of my weeknights are pretty packed! Of course, I'm balancing all of this while trying to maintain a social life and get back on track with my exercising after the foot injury. It's been a busy, busy month so far, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have already made a few trips to Seoul for appointments and visiting friends, and our Fulbright Spring Conference will be coming up in just a few weeks. We will spend the conference on Jeju Island, and I am hoping that the weather will be much more enjoyable than last year (we were stuck with rain, wind, and thunderstorms). I can't believe there are only four months left of my second grant year - this year has gone by so quickly (perhaps because I've spent half of it dealing with a foot injury...). Here's to hoping that everyone remains in good health this spring!

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Three Months Later

Gwangyang HS at AYLP!

Greetings from South Korea, everyone! After five weeks Stateside, I've returned to South Korea. More importantly, I'm back in my Korean hometown of Gwangyang - it's been three months since I have been here! November was spent in the hospital in Seoul, December was spent recovering in Seoul and at home, and January was spent at home and the last week of January was my return to Korea.

I'm back in Korea feeling well-rested, refreshed, and ready to take on the last six months of my second grant year. Towards the end of my time at home, I was able to get back to exercising consistently and building up my walking distance. I am still not back to running (I'm not in any rush to start again - want to make sure I'm fully healthy), but I am working my way there. I was happy to spend my time at home with close friends and family, who revitalized me and kept me optimistic for the second half of the year!

Welcome to AYLP

Once back in Korea, I stayed in Seoul because I participated in a youth development program with some of my students. The program is called the Alumni-Youth Leadership Program, where 6 schools from the Fulbright Program are selected to bring five of our students (30 Korean students total), who will then meet up with 15 American students. Also, the ETAs (such as myself) and Korean mentors serve as team leaders throughout the one-week camp. The program is run by the U.S. Embassy, and they scheduled a bunch of really awesome activities, tours, and other extracurriculars that we might not have otherwise had the opportunity to participate in.

Team One is the best

We arrived to a Youth Hostel in central Seoul on Monday. After settling in and introductions, we made new teams for the week, which included mixing up students from the schools and pairing an ETA with a Korean co-leader to manage the teams. I was placed on Team One, and I may be biased in saying that we were truly the best team. After breaking up into our teams, we had our first dinner together and called it a night.

Tuesday morning I had to dip out for my (almost) *last* foot appointment at Severance! I didn't even have to get my foot cleaned because the hole was all healed up. He looked at it for a few minutes, I asked him some questions, and he schedule one follow-up appointment for early April. I was so relieved to hear that the healing process is finally finishing up, and I am just about as good as new. There is still just a little bit of drainage surrounding the wound, and that should slowly drain out within a few months. Tuesday afternoon we headed to the Korean Contemporary Museum. All of the Korean visitors got to participate in a fancy guided tour, while the English speakers were stuck with audio guides that were so technologically advanced, none of us could figure out how to use it. Haha! We didn't get much time to explore, so the ETAs and I gave up and just got a coffee instead while we waited for the tour to finish. Tuesday night was ~bowling~ time! I was surprised that many of the students and leaders had never been bowling before. I ended up with the high score of the night, 104. Not too shabby for having a weak foot. We ended the night by walking around Myeongdong shopping streets, enjoying the lights and street food!

We love MyeongDong

Wednesday was my favorite day of the week! In the morning we headed to 3M Manufacturing Company (the people who make Scotch Tape and Post-It Notes). We had an awesome tour of the facility and got to see a bunch of neat products. Even though it was all in Korean, it was cool to see how everything is made and expands into other countries. Globalization can be a pretty sweet thing. We had a delicious buffet at 3M before heading to the Seoul Arts Center. at SAC we saw the National Geographic and Steve Jobs exhibits. The Nat Geo was my FAVORITE not only because I freaking love everything about them but also because photography is amazing and seeing the pictures up close and personal was exciting. There were various themes like "underwater", "nature", "animals", "space", etc. Of course, the exhibit had super fancy and cool-sounding names for the themes rather than my generic naming, but I don't remember any of them. The Steve Jobs exhibit was underwhelming for me; mostly a bunch of quotes plastered on the walls surrounded by pictures. Haha! The funniest part was getting "squad" pictures by the "Stay foolish, stay hungry" quote outside of the exhibit. Good times.

Nat Geo Exhibit

Unfortunately, Thursday didn't start off as sweetly as Wednesday. At breakfast, I overheard two girls talking about not going to sleep until three in the morning. Upon inquiry, I learned that at least a few students had snuck out past curfew to go to noraebang (karaoke) the prior night. I was NOT a happy team leader in that moment. I let it slide, but quickly consulted with the other ETAs to put our heads together and crack the mystery. If students actually had left the hostel past curfew, then that is grounds to be sent home early. one positive side of Thursday morning was that the American students joined us! They were with us from Thursday-Saturday. Anyway, while investigating the issue throughout the day, we headed to KBS studio, a broadcasting company in Korea. The native English speakers had a tour of the center first, while the Koreans listened to a lecture from an employee. The tour was super fun! We got to see the green rooms, special sets for dramas and talk shows, and even pretended we were on a news broadcast. In the afternoon, we headed to the National Assembly, which is similar to where Congress meets and holds meetings. Korea has a 300-member unicameral national legislature. Although the tour was conducted in Korean, I understood bits and pieces and generally enjoyed the atmosphere of the place.

SQUAD

Thursday afternoon was the "fun time" where we had designated team time to hang out, have fun, and also work on our team projects that we would present on Saturday (will explain more later). For our fun time, we headed to a board game cafe, had snacks and drinks, and played games! The kids had a blast and the leaders did too. We teamed up with another group to make it even more fun.  Having board game cafes just proves that board games are always fun, no matter how old you are. It is a really neat idea too! America should adopt that... you pay by the hour and you can play as many games as you want. After board games, we had some dinner at a restaurant, then headed to what's called a multi-room. Multi-rooms are places where you can play video games, watch movies, play board games, and sing karaoke all in ONE room! We all had fun playing Mario Kart, Just Dance, and singing karaoke. We headed back and worked on team projects for a bit, then the ETAs met up and tried to investigate the trouble-making situation once more...

Board Game Café

Friday morning, everything was put together. We found out that ten Korean students snuck out of the hostel after curfew. We were not happy. We had to approach the director about it, and he was even more not happy. We had a meeting with the students and agreed on punishments. The situation was settled and I hope the students felt sorry for what they did... ANYWAY. Friday was another fun day because we had a private tour to the DMZ! This was my third time visiting, but I still enjoyed it. The military men who work there are super sexy, so it was more eye candy for me. Nice! We got to physically stand in North Korea, and for a moment I wondered if this counts as one more country I've visited... haha! I should get a passport stamp for that. The tour took most of the day, and by the time we got home we were ready for dinner. We ate dinner, changed clothes, and reconvened to finish up our project!

DMZ

Our group projects are related to the US-Korean alliance in a globalized world. My team decided to adopt the theme of "Culture Shock". We came up with six different skits related to culture shock that Americans or Koreans would face when visiting each others respective countries. Our six titles were: 1. Greetings 2. Delivery Service 3. Dutch Pay 4. Sharing Food 5. Couple Things/Anniversary and 6. Beauty Standard. After each short skit, we provided an explanation for what is "typical" in each culture. We summed it up by sharing that even though we have various cultural differences, we can learn from each other and appreciate the diversity we have! We ended the night by ordering chicken and playing games; the students felt a sense of nostalgia as their last night came to a close...

National Assembly

Saturday morning arrived much too soon. The whole week went by with a lack of sleep and constant exhaustion, but we made it. We awoke, ate breakfast, and prepared for each team's special project. Each team presented for 15-20 minutes, and we all had different themes. Some groups did a presentation, others did skits, and one group used a Prezi. Woohoo! We all had great topics such as how media can bridge the gap of cultural differences, technology and entertainment globalization, addressing stereotypes, and more. Each group did a phenomenal job, and I was impressed by the students' intellect and maturity regarding many of these issues. Alas, the camp came to a close, and we were passed out on buses and trains before we knew it.

Back in Gwangyang <3

I was eager to get back to Gwangyang because I haven' been here in THREE WHOLE MONTHS. I was so happy to step foot in my Korean hometown, and I had a pleasant conversation with my taxi driver on the way to my apartment (disclaimer: NOT a taxi ride from Seoul to Gwangyang... LOL). It was a short 5-minute taxi ride from the Gwangyang Bus Terminal to my apartment. Much more affordable. Haha! I spent Saturday night and Sunday recuperating at home, running errands, and just chilling. It feels good to be back.

The following weeks will be more vacation, as I don't start classes again until March. Much of that time will be spent job-searching for the future, lesson planning for the upcoming semester, and taking a 9-day vacation to Boracay, Philippines at the end of the month to celebrate the end of winter and my birthday! I'll be heading there with five awesome friends, and I am so excited to relax on a beach and feel warm weather on my skin. I deserve it after all I've been through with my foot, right? Haha!

Until next time, everyone. Thanks for tuning in!

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