From Fall to Winter in a Jiffy!

Wow, the weather sure has chilled since my last post. In fact, Gwangyang experienced its first snowfall of the season yesterday - on the first day of December. None of it stuck, but it was fascinating to see all of my boys react and stare longingly out the windows of their classrooms.

My walk to school

With the weather cooling down, leaves falling on the ground, and the holiday season rolling around, I admit that I am feeling a bit homesick. Last week I taught my boys about Thanksgiving, which they were all eyes and ears (probably because of all the food pictures). Here in Korea they don't celebrate Thanksgiving (obviously), but it was nice being able to Skype with my parents and family before heading off to school on Thanksgiving day. Luckily, I was able to get a taste from home when we had our foreigner Thanksgiving dinner in Gwangyang this past Friday evening. We even had a turkey!! I was so happy to eat some dark meat, alongside some pastas, casseroles, and homemade desserts. The dinner rolls were clutch (always my favorite part of Thanksgiving meal).

Enjoying some new Korean cuisine

Many of my friends will be traveling back home for two weeks, and a part of me is envious. However, I know that I will enjoy my first Christmas holiday away from home because other foreigners, some coworkers, and I will be celebrating together (without all the gift-giving). Plus, my parents are coming to visit me in February, so I count that as my Christmas gift! I am very excited to show them around Korea and what my life is like here.

Pig skin and pig intestines

Aside from Thanksgiving celebrations and the first snowfall, I have been staying busy with my teaching and new responsibilities as the web editor for Fulbright's Infusion Magazine, as well as getting the ball rolling on creating an Alumni Newsletter for Fulbright Korea. My host family is great, and last week we celebrated our 100 days of being together! Last night they took me to eat 곱창, which is cow or pork intestines, along with 돼지 껍데기, otherwise known as pig skin! I know, I know, it sounds absolutely disgusting as first, and I thought so too. But, I gave it a go and it is so tender and so delicious! It is considered a delicacy to eat this in Korea, and it is quite expensive. My host family said that we should celebrate the first snowfall by going out to eat, and I am certainly glad they introduced me to one of my new favorite foods of Korea.

Pretty fall colors on the walk to school

My boys and I have been having a lot of fun in class. A couple weeks ago, we took a couple class periods to learn how to play rugby, and then attempted to start our own game (no tackling, of course). I tried to do two-hand touch, but it ended up getting pretty physical anyway. Luckily, no one was hurt. But the boys loved it! I also did a trial run-through of making the chicken pot pie. I will be making a massive amount of that stuff during finals, so I wanted to make sure I had the proper ingredients here in Korea to do so. All went well, and the boys are ready! It makes for a hearty winter meal, too.

Rowdy boys playing rugby

My winter break begins on Christmas Eve, so I am plugging away until then. I am feeling a bit worn out, but my boys have final exams next week, and I get to cook chicken pot pie for them, and that makes me happy! They have worked so hard this semester, and I am very proud of them. It is hard to believe I have already been teaching them for four months, so I consider this a nice celebration and end of the year party for us.

Chicken pot pie!

I will be gearing up for some winter break traveling, too! I am planning to visit Hong Kong, Thailand, and Cambodia with one of my Fulbright friends during January. Then, my parents will be here shortly afterward in February! I will go back to teach a new semester come March. Until then, enjoy the winter months everybody - Gwangyang is much warmer than what I am used to (although today it dropped into the low 20s).

Happy December!

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Fall Favorites

The past few weeks have reminded me of my favorite things about the fall season, the first being the crisp, cool air. I love stepping outside and breathing in the fresh air as I walk to school - it is the perfect temperature where I don't feel like I am freezing to death, but I am also not too hot wearing a heavy coat. There are so many colors in the fall, from the changing colors of the leaves to wardrobe changes of the people I see around town. It is a pleasant change going from flat prairie land to being surrounded by mountains - it has been neat to document all of the trees changing from green to red or yellow or orange.

Hanging with the clowns

My medal!

My favorite thing to do during the fall season is run. As I mentioned, the crisp air feels fresh as it enters my lungs, and I feel like I could run for miles without getting tired. I ran in the Suncheon 10K last week, and I had a blast. It was my first race in Korea, and I will definitely be signing up for more. My friend Mary and I participated together. We arrived, checked our bags, and walked around to warm up before the race. This place was bumping! They had clowns, live entertainment, food and drinks, and a group-wide warmup stretch before starting. It was pretty hilarious. A lot of locals came up to Mary and I asking where we were from, and we met two 87 year-old men who were still kicking it! They were my motivation for the day. In the 10K race, there were 400 women who participated, and I placed 22nd out of those 400 with a time of 53:36. I was happy with my result because I hadn't been training too much beforehand, as I was overcoming a nasty sinus infection the week prior.

Warming up

While at the race, I ran into some of my students and a couple co-workers who were also participating in the races. Two of my students were running the 10K, and I caught up with them towards the end of the race. I ended up finishing together with one of the boys, which felt really neat. He tried to give me a high five as I was in the middle of blowing my nose on my sleeve, and he still smiled and laughed as snot was dripping down my face. It was a great moment... haha!

The 87 year-old rockstars

Another one of my fall favorites is Thanksgiving - a time to be with friends and family in a warm environment. Although this year I cannot be with my immediate and extended family back in the United States, my fellow Fulbrighters and I have bonded and have become each other's family and support while abroad. Our program coordinator and our program director were so kind in organizing a Fulbright Korea Thanksgiving dinner, which took place in Seoul this past weekend. 

The dinner was held at the National Folk Museum of Korea, right in the heart of Seoul. We had the whole place to ourselves - there were about 100 of us who attended. We had a private tour of the museum, and we ate our meal with some important ambassadors and foreign service officers in the area. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, jell-o, fruit, green beans, apple pie, pumpkin pie... you name it, it was there. It really did feel like a taste of home, and it was absolutely delicious! I wish I had brought TupperWare containers to bring home some leftovers. Unfortunately, I was so gosh darn hungry that I didn't snap a picture of our feast... I guess that is what happens when 100 hungry Americans who have been eating too much rice and kimchi for the past four months all come together. Haha!

Some of my students and I before the race

Fall is also a great season for new beginnings and getting involved. I spent the last month applying for some positions within our Fulbright program, and am happy to say that I am now a part of the Fulbright Korea Alumni Association Committee, as well as the Web Manager for Fulbright Korea's literary magazine, titled The Fulbright Korea Infusion. The Alumni Association is a brand new feature of Fulbright Korea, so our efforts this year will focus on data mining, as well as producing the first E-Newsletter for Alumni. With the Infusion magazine, I will be working as the webmaster and social media coordinator to produce online content. Web editing is a recent hobby that I have developed, in which I discovered while working as the webmaster for my university's Spanish Honor Society during my last two years at Illinois State (shout out to you, SDP crew!).

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

It feels good to be busy in the fall, but to also have time to relax, go for a jog outside, and enjoy the scenery. Winter is quickly approaching (my favorite season!), which means deadlines, exams, and breaking out the winter jacket. Hopefully snow will be somewhere in the mix there, too, although I am unsure if it snows down south here in Gwangyang. Pretty soon, winter break will be upon us and we won't know what to do with ourselves! Until then, focus on all that is happening now, and be grateful for the opportunities that we have to enjoy this life. Talk to you soon!

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One-third of the way through

... Or am I? Today marks four months of living in Korea - wow! I have eight more to go, but possibly more. I am thoroughly enjoying my experience here so far, and the consideration of renewing my contract for a second year has crossed my mind. I have not made any set decisions yet, however, and most likely will not do so until March or April - so hang tight!

Suncheon Seonamsa Temple

The past four months have been a series of transitions, breaking down cultural and language barriers, adjusting to my full-time job as an English teacher at an all-boys high school (it is so different than co-ed schools in America!), establishing new relationships with friends, my home stay family, and co-workers, various trips to the doctor, all amidst traveling and exploring the beauties of Korea - whew! It has been quite busy, but practically anyone who has met me knows that I wouldn't have it any other way. These experiences can be frustrating at times, but I always try to remember how lucky I am to have this opportunity to simultaneously do two things that I love dearly: teach and travel. These two passions challenge me on a daily basis, and motivate me to be the best person that I can be. My boys can be ornery, but their bright smiles, awkward English greetings/phrases, and adorably oversized glasses remind me why I love this profession so much, and the many gifts and hidden joys that teaching brings to me. Travel not only broadens my worldview perspective, it helps me become confident with myself and realize my accountability for my actions, and how those actions affect myself and others. I am blessed to see the beauty of this world, and I am humbled every time I travel somewhere. Every town, every city, every country has amazing things to offer - whether it is the people, the landmarks, the food, or the far and in-betweens. I continue to thank all of my loved ones for their support and encouragement, because I know I never would have made it this far without them. 

With my co-workers

With that said, it is story time! Since my last post, I have been busy at school preparing speaking tests for my first and second grade high school students. They get so nervous and tense when I say those words together - I remember doing the same when I had to do oral tests for Spanish class. I have no doubt that my boys will excel at these tests, though - they are rockstars! I have been building some stronger relationships with my students by creating a "Teacher Facebook" and becoming friends with my boys. It is also a great way for me to get to know them on a more personal level and stay in touch with their goals and interests (I have between 500-600 students, so this is super helpful!). Today after lunch I was able to play basketball with some of my second grade boys and it was a riot! They convinced me to play each one of them in a game of one-on-one, which was a mistake on their part. I am not the greatest player by any means, but they definitely underestimated me as a female basketball player. It was funny to see their reactions when I was playing hard with them! I think they will respect me a lot more after beating the majority of them in one-on-one... haha!

Suncheon Seonamsa Temple

Last week, my co-workers and I took a field trip together to Suncheon and visited Seonamsa Buddhist Temple. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to visit because the leaves were in the midst of changing colors, and the temperature was just right. Here are some pictures! 

This was a great trip because I bonded with some of the younger teachers who I do not normally see on most school days because their offices are separated from mine. One co-worker invited me to spend Saturday together, so we did some more sight-seeing in Suncheon. She took me to Bonghwa Mountain (봉화산) and spent the morning hiking for four hours.

Hiking with my co-worker

After hiking, we went to her home and had lunch with her parents and grandmother (who is 94 years old!) before heading to the Suncheon Gardens (순천만정원). These gardens are beautiful! It features traditional gardens from various countries, such as Thailand, Turkey, Spain, America, Britain, Japan, and more. Some of the gardens were in the midst of dying while we visited, but it was a beautiful park to walk through and learn about gardens all over the world. While we were there, we walked across "Dream Bridge" which has a collection of drawings submitted by elementary students. It was a really neat thing to see. 

Suncheon Gardens

And, how could I forget, Halloween festivities!? After Korean class on Friday night, we all decided to go out for drinks and noraebang (노래방), which is a place for private karaoke singing - also known as the greatest invention ever. There are various types of noraebang - individual (sounds lonely), small group, large group, and uhhh... "couple's" noraebang... I'll leave you to interpret that how you want. We had a large group, so we all piled into a ginormous room with couches along the walls and drank some beer while queuing up our karaoke tunes. It is a great time for friends, family, and strangers to bond over singing and dancing! Unfortunately, I did not wear a costume this year (Halloween isn't really celebrated in Korea, unless you go to Seoul where all the college students who party are at), but it was still a fun night with friends.

Halloween Party

This upcoming weekend is my big race! I am all ready to go for my first race in Korea. I am interested to see what it will be like as compared to races in America. I will be running a 10K with a friend who is in my Korean class - I will be sure to update with results (if they're decent, that is... haha). Stay tuned!

Race gear

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Ongoing October

Hey everyone!

Have you noticed my new blog layout? I also created a new banner/logo for my header... I am feeling pretty professional right now. I love it - I hope you do, too. I think it fits adequately with who I am and captures what this blog is all about.

4D Movie

The days are flying by here in Korea - hard to believe that October is already coming to a close. I had a nice week-long break in the middle of October, which I spent traveling of course! The first stop I headed to was Mokpo, alongside my friends Jeremy and Riki. We went to Mokpo's Natural History Museum, and while we were there we went on a 4D Dino Adventure (movie theater!). It was pretty fun to experience a short film in 4D - your seat shakes, water gets sprayed at you, 3D, everything! After the museum, we met up with some friends who live in Mokpo for dinner and drinks.

This past week I had the pleasure of meeting up with all 115 Fulbright Korea ETAs in Gyeongju for four days. We all met at a hotel for professional development workshops, and our Fulbright Korea director also spent the four days with us. In addition to our workshops, the first-year ETAs attended an all-day tour of Gyeongju on Sunday. It was an AWESOME trip!

Our group! So pretty

Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) which ruled about two-thirds of the Korean Peninsula between the 7th and 9th centuries. Gyeongju is often referred to as "the museum without walls" because of its historical treasures; Seokguram grotto, Bulguksa temple, Gyeongju Historic Areas and Yangdong Folk Village are some of the tourist destinations our group visited.

Beautiful lights by the lake walkway near our hotel

Hanging out in Gyeongju

Anapji Pond

Anapji Pond (안압지) used to be a garden to commemorate the unification of the Korean peninsula under the Silla Dynasty. Today it is a common park where a lot of couples use to take wedding photos. From June to early August, the ground is covered with blossoms - I was a bit sad that we missed that, but still a beautiful site to visit.

Outside of the National Museum

Daereungwon - ancient tombs

Daereungwon (대릉원) is a site where you can see twenty-three ancient tombs of songs and noblemen from the Silla Dynasty. The tombs look like massive hills - and underneath is the buried body. One of tombs is open for the public to see many artifacts such as weaponry, jewelry, and ornaments.

Bulguksa Temple

Bulguksa Temple (불국사) is the crowning glory of Silla architecture. The excellence of its carpentry, the skill of its painters, and the subtlety of its landscape all contribute to its magnificence.

Seokguram Grotto (석굴암) is a stone temple made of granite, hidden in the mountains about Bulguksa. Construction began in the year 751 and took 24 years to complete. It is a statue of Buddha surrounded by over three-dozen guardians and lesser deities. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed at this site, so I cannot show you. Sorry - it was quite an enormous Buddha, though.

Gyeongju National Musuem is newly renovated! This is where I was able to learn all about the Silla Dynasty in Gyeonju, which was the capital of their dynasty.

An ancient crown

The week after conference was a bit difficult to adjust to after being on a week-long break, but it felt great getting back to work and seeing all of my boys again! This upcoming week I will have a Halloween lesson for them, which I am quite looking forward to. It will be about survival during a "Zombie Apocalypse" and they have to strategize to find their way out.

Persimmon farm

Inside of a ripe persimmon - delicious!

One thing that was really exciting for me this week was working on my host dad's parents' farm. They own a persimmon farm, which is a very popular fruit in Korea (not so popular in the USA!). The ripest ones are a deep red color, and very juicy and sweet in the middle. It has quickly become one of my favorite snacks or after-meal delicacies! I spent an afternoon with my host mom picking persimmons from the trees and boxing them up for selling. It was tedious work, but it was amazing to see how many boxes we gathered.

Boxing up all of the persimmons we picked

Yesterday (Saturday), my host family took me to an island called Namhae, which is about an hour and a half away from Gwangyang. We went there to go hiking and see the view of many islands surrounding Namhae, which was beautiful! The sky and the water were so clear and so blue, it could not have been a more perfect day to visit. After we went hiking up a mountain, we went to sea level and walked on some cliffs near the water. I felt like I was in Portugal all over again - the atmosphere felt very similar. It was a beautiful trip, and I definitely want to go back in the future.

This week is Halloween week, which means my students will be going CRAZY for candy! Thus, a trip to the grocery store is necessary. I will be sure to snap some pictures and update how my hopefully awesome Zombie Apocalypse lesson goes - stay tuned!

On a cliff in Namhae

Namhae

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