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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Crazy May, pt. II

Welcome to Crazy May, part II of two. If you missed part one, check it out here.

Buddhist Temple

First off, let me share some good news by saying that I AM RENEWING MY GRANT with Fulbright! I will be staying another year, and I will remain living with my home stay family in Gwangyang and teaching at the all-boys high school. I am looking forward to expanding upon all that I have experienced within my first year in South Korea, and I am excited to find out what more is in store. With that said, I will be traveling back to Illinois this summer to enjoy some much needed quality time with friends, family, my dog, and American food. I will be home from July 19th until August 16th, so I hope to see as many of you as possible during that time.

Local Celebrity

Now, back to the crazy happenings in May. After I became a breakthrough rap artist with my student during the festival, local Gwangyang celebrities hired me to present at Buddha's Birthday Celebration. Not really, but my host father works for the Gwangyang Public Office, and when we went to a temple to have free lunch during Buddha's Birthday Holiday, I was asked to pose for pictures with a famous monk. So, my celeb status is clearly on the rise! Haha. Buddha's Birthday is a special holiday that gets everyone out of school for a day (thanks, Buddha!). It is also super spectacular because if you go to a temple, you get served a free meal! It was nice to spend the day with my host family. Although they aren't religious, and I am not Buddhist, we still felt the love and appreciated the various religious celebrations that are out there.

At the end of May, I made yet another trip to Seoul, where I had a reunion with some fellow Fulbrighters. However, this is a special group because these are the friends that I spent six weeks learning the Korean language with. We met up with one of our Korean professors, who took us to a baseball game! It was my first Korean professional baseball game, and it was super fun! The fans do a lot more chanting and singing than they do in the United States. And everything is CHEAP and you can bring your own booze and food inside the stadium. They also hand out a bunch of free junk, like posters, towels, and food. It was a fun time!

Beginner B Class!

One super duper exciting thing that has been happening during this transition into summer is night time outdoor aerobics classes! Since I usually go for a run late in the evening, by the time I finish up, free, night time aerobic classes have started at a public park where I typically exercise. So, I decided to join in on the fun and improve my aerobics/dance skills. Korean ladies get quite "into it", and they are very talented. I wish I could shake my booty like some of them.

The crew

On the school side of things, a group of four students and I prepared for two months to participate in an English debate competition with ten other Fulbright schools in the area. The conference, called Youth Diplomacy and Activism Conference, is sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and organized by Fulbright English Teaching Assistants. For the debate, we prepared a 5-7 speech about a topic of our choice, and we had to present it to judges (myself and other Fulbrighters). After the speech, students from participating schools had the opportunity to ask questions and simulate a debate. The teams were scored on their content, pronunciation, and ability to respond/defend questions presented to them by other teams. The topics were SO interesting! My boys decided to research the Legalization of Medical Marijuana, while other schools focused on topics like the Treatment of Gay People in South Korea, Traditional Markets, Plastic Surgery, Safety Frigidity, among others. I am happy to say that our boys earned second place at the conference! They were so nervous while we were preparing, but I was confident they would perform well.

Nice work!

Aside from each school presenting their speeches and having time for debate and discussion, the conference also included a "Mock Crisis" scenario, in which the students worked mixed in small groups to come up with a resolution to a hypothetical world crisis situation. Each group has one hour to write a speech to the UN/EU, and acts as South Korea's spokespeople on how SK would react in the circumstance. This was a great activity to get students thinking on the spot, utilizing their critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills, while working with their new friends from other schools. I was very impressed with how the students managed to do all of this within a one hour time frame!

Off-sync at outdoor aerobics

Also, the YDAC students were able to listen to a presentation by two guys who work for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. As many of the students who participate in YDAC are interested in pursuing a future in politics, diplomacy, or other related fields, this was a special opportunity for them to ask questions and learn more about these types of jobs. After the all-day event, the teachers and students all decided to go out to dinner together at TGI Friday's, which was a perfect way to celebrate the conference.

It's hard to believe that it is already the middle of June - exactly one month from today, I will be heading home to the U.S. for a one-month vacation before coming back for another year with Fulbright. At times this grant year has seemed extremely long, but looking back on it, it has all passed so quickly, and I have learned so much. Learned so much about this country, its people, the culture - and also learned a lot about myself. Living abroad for an extended period of time is no easy task, but it is something that I am very grateful for. This is a special opportunity in life, and I often think about how lucky I am to have the opportunity to travel the world and experience new things each and every day.

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