Random Things

Here are some random stories that have happened over the last couple of days.

1. Yesterday, I had a break after lunch, when my co-teacher, Mr. Kim, came into my room. I turned around and he was holding a huge black and white bird in his hands. At first, I thought it was fake, but the closer I got to it, the more real it got. His English is somewhat limited, but he said that the bird had been "causing trouble" somewhere in the school. I'm not really sure what that means. I wanted to take a picture but he left to fast. Then, I was looking out my window and Mr. Kim had attracted attention from a bunch of 7th graders down in the courtyard. I grabbed my camera, and snapped a picture real quick. I'll post it soon.

2. At the gym yesterday, I got on the eliptical. I was quickly shooed off by the trainer, who sat me down and went over my BMI, strength results test, and other health related things. Let's just say I scored in the middle for everything. He walked me over to the treadmill after and said "slow, slow today." He had the treadmill turned all the way down to 1- which is slower than I normally walk. He wanted me to walk for 30 minutes like that. Well, I had just spent a half hour on the bus, and there was no way I was going to walk that slow! So after he left, I cranked it up to 7.5 and broke a sweat. It seems that I have a workout plan for each day I come, and next time I go we will work on my shoulders. I wasn't really expecting a workout plan, but maybe that will be a good thing.

3. After the gym, I was walking back to my apartment and passed a few shops. While I was waiting at the cross walk, a young boy stood next to me. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and wondered, "Is he one of my students?" I work with 525+ students a week, and I don't know many names. And they all look somewhat similar. The boy caught me looking at him, and jumped a few feet in the air and said "Seonsaengnim!! I... uh ...mean... Mara Teacher!" We chatted for a little while we waited for the light. His English was good, so I decided he must be in an advanced class. He told me that he was coming back from his music academy (he's been playing violin for 4 years). He has gone everyday for the last 4 years and absolutely hates the violin. His parents make him play. He said "it's really boring!"

Later, at the grocery store (it's pretty small), I was approached by another student! I was trying to decide on a marinade for some pork, and asked for her advice. Unfortunately, since she's only 7th grade, her mom still cooks for her. Guess I forgot what it's like to be 14. Wasn't much help, but I think I figured it out anyhow.

4. Students at lunch do not sit across from each other. When the kids are done getting their food, they will sit down next to each other in a line. It is strange to see literally one SIDE of the table full with the other seats across from them empty. I haven't quite figured out why that is, but it's interesting.

5. The other day I saw some live octopus in front of a store. They were really creepy and slimy looking. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stomach eating one live...

6. I crave Kimchi. Our region has a Kimchi Festival, and I'm praying it is not cancelled because of Swine Flu. Lots of festivals country-wide have been cancelled. I think it would be tons of fun to check out because there is such a wide variety. Sometimes when I'm sitting in my office, I really just want to eat Kimchi for a snack.

I think those were the some of the things I wanted to post about this week. I'm really excited for Halloween, and it sounds like I'll be hosting the party for my friends at my place. My coteachers are really excited for it too because we are talking about culture in unit 8 after midterms. They keep on asking about it and what they think we should do.

Things are still going well here, except I'm not getting many emails! If you haven't emailed- you should! I'd love to hear from you! :)

I joined a gym

Yep, that's right. It took me a while to find the gym that Alie and Alex had joined, but finally I found it.

The gym is pretty good sized with new equipment. There is a separate room for the pilates, yoga, abs, and stretch classes. It seemed to be a good gym, so I decided to get a 3 month plan. The way buildings keep sprouting up in my neighborhood, perhaps come December there will be one closer to me.

One thing I thought was strange was after I payed, I had to do a physical fitness test. Everyone at the gym wears the gym's clothes to work out in, which is convienient. I changed in the locker room and met the trainer outside. I didn't know what to expect, and his very limited English and my non-existent Korean made it difficult to communicate. We started off by getting weighed (I've lost 6 pounds since coming here!), measured ALL over, skin fold and BMI test. I couldn't read the machine of course, but I asked him if it was good and he said yes.

Next were the timed tests. How many sit ups, push ups, and squats can I do in a minute? I stopped counting after 10. I didn't even look at what he wrote down on the clip board. I also had to do a flexibility test and a long jump. I almost wish he would have take my temperature to make sure I don't have the Swine Flu, but no such luck :)

For some reason, I wasn't allowed to start working out tonight, I'm not sure why. He just kept saying "tomorrow," so I'll be back then. I'm excited to get in shape, and I'll keep you posted about any other strange happenings at the gym.

Corporal Punishment

It is very common for teachers here to do corporal punishments. Most teachers carry a paddle or bamboo stick. I've heard of other teachers at different schools carrying around wire sticks with a frayed end. Some of the punishments I've seen at my school are:

~50 squats
~Making students stand with their hands up in the air for an extended period in the cafeteria
~Cleaning of the classroom
~Whacks on the back of the head
~Students sitting outside in the hall on their knees for a class period.
~Students getting their cheeks pinched and butts kicked simultaneously.

I know that this list will continue to grow over the next year. My friend Brian has an all boys middle school where he is encouraged to punish the kids. Some of the punishments he has seen are:

~Hitting kids on the head with a closed fist
~Students standing in the corner
~Students being hit anywhere with a wire swatch
~Students doing lunges/pushups/squats/calf raises etc.

Sometimes after the bell rings and class is supposed to start, some of my students are still missing. It happened today. So I asked where the rest of the class was. They mimicked getting hit by the teachers. I was like, "oh." I have a friend that works in a Hagwon (private school) and the other day she asked her students if they had ever been hit by a teacher. Almost every student raised their hands. They also mentioned that when you are hit by a teacher for the first time, then boys and girls are equal. When we are hanging out as a group, we talk about these sorts of punishments and all the things we see. I know I'm missing some of the punishments, but I will add to the list as I come across more kinds of punishments.

Lotte Mart, Suwan, Gwangju

Today was the big day. Everyone has been talking about it at school for the last month. Lotte Mart had it's Grand Opening today, September 24, 2009. This may not be that big of a deal for many of you, but for the residents of Suwan, this is BIG NEWS. The development of Lotte Mart is bringing a lot of businesses to the area. Suwan, which is my neighborhood, is the home of the first-ever Toys-R-Us in Korea! We are also getting Baskin Robbins, a new coffee shop, and Nike, Puma, Fila, and Adidas shops. I know this because I see the signs for them on my walk to school.


So I decided to check out the Grand Opening tonight. I'm glad I went, but I'll never go to a Grand Opening again. It was worse than the mall the day after Thanksgiving. Lotte Mart is a very short walk for me. It is about 4 blocks, or 15 minutes. It is very, very close. Usually, on a Thursday night, the area is very quiet and you are lucky if you see a few people walking around. Tonight was a different story.


There were police directing traffic at the intersection, and guards directing traffic into the 4-story parking garage. People were milling about everywhere, and the cars were double parked.

I didn't spend too much time looking around because it was way to packed. I know there are 4 stories of outlet shops, and a grocery store on the other half. Since I knew I needed some basics, I headed towards the grocery area. I saw tons of crazy things- mushrooms for 129,000 won (about $100), lots of seaweed, fresh fish, rice, and of course, fresh kimchi. I didn't even know where to begin. I had to ask for help to get a basket because I didn't know where they were located, but luckily there were clerks at EVERY end cap, just like all the other Lotte and E-Marts.

I just picked up the basics- rice, seaweed, body lotion, mozzarella, tomatoes, italian dressing, and hair gel. I decided to get organic rice because 1) it was the smallest/cheapest bag 2) I know I'm going to be here a year, but do I really need 20 kilos of rice? 3) I didn't feel like lugging 20 kilos of rice home! And the seaweed, well, when in Rome! And, its pretty tasty! I'm really looking forward to the mozzarella!

I saw a lot of crazy things, but I think the most interesting things are the people. There must have been some pretty good sales going on. I saw a person with 11 packages of 24 rolls of toilet paper. It was taller than him. Not kidding, here's a picture!

It wasn't until I saw him on the other side of the checkout that I realized/counted 14 packages! Really, how much TP does a person NEED??

In all, it was a very exciting experience, and I'll definitely be going back sometime soon, probably to see the Toys-R-Us!

Kia Tigers- 6, LG Twins- 1

Friday after school I hopped on a bus as quickly as I could to get down to Mudeung Stadium for the Kia Tigers home game against the LG Twins. It was really easy for me to get there, but the traffic is always bad. I got there a little later than I had planned.

I saw a friend Mechele outside, and she told me to go up to one of the little old ladies selling water to get a ticket. I did and was suprised how easy it was. Before we went in, Gabe and I bought some deep-fried chicken, beer, and Soju.

Our seats were pretty good, right off third plate. But we realized in the first inning that we should have sat on first base. That must have been the student section because they were so loud! Every player has a specific cheer/song that they do, and there are tons of "Go Team, Go" chants. The crowd also has noise makers, so it was always really really loud. I had heard that Koreans like their baseball, but had no idea that it was going to be this much fun!

Gabe and I had to get our picture together:

My coteacher Mihey was at the game, so I went and found her around the 7th inning. They had pretty decents in the outfield, and we did some of the cheers together. It was a lot of fun. Mihey and her friends joined our group of 7 for some Soju downtown after the game. Too look at all my pictures from the game, check out:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=37335477&id=59501140&saved#/album.php?page=4&aid=2202874&id=59501140

The A-Team does Incheon/Seoul

I may not have mentioned this before, but I'm happy to say I belong to the EPIK A-Team. Our team consists of Joe, Evan, Patrick, Carmine, Gabe, Sophia, and myself. The group is changing often, with other members being Tony, Robin, and Ryan.



Well, Gabe and I headed up to Incheon Friday night to meet up with the A-Team again. Unfortunately, it's just Gabe and I down in Gwangju, but we like to say we have our own Gwangju A-Team (Emily, Brian, Allie, Alex, Gabe, and I). We took the bus for just under 4 hours for 17,000 won. Pretty good deal, and comfortable bus. We did stop for a break halfway through.

We arrived at Incheon's main bus/subway terminal just before 11, and Evan, Patrick, Joe, and Sophia met us. We headed straight downtown with our luggage because it was late. We stopped by Chicken and Beer to see everyone. (Chris, Steph, Tony, and others) We had some chicken and drank some beer for a bit.

Someone had an idea to go on the virtual rollercoaster ride on the main plaza. Normally, I'm not big on virtual rides, but this was pretty sweet. And cheap! We got to choose from over 16 different coasters, and my friends do it so often, they knew the best one. I really thought I was going to get sick because it was SO REAL feeling! But it was a ton of fun.

Next, we walked a few doors down to Club Vanilla. We had to pay a cover, but it wasn't much. We didn't drink much, but danced like crazy!



The next day, we met at 5pm to go to Seoul. Our group was Sophia, Gabe, Patrick, myself, Joe, Evan, Tony, and Ryan. We met on the train platforms, and the ride only took about a half hour. Pretty efficient. We went right to the 63 tower. After we got our tickets, we went to the top and enjoyed the view:



The sun was just setting, as you can see. It was so pretty. And huge! We had a lot of fun, and even had dip-n-dots at the top.



After, we went to the city hall area of town. That was fun. We happened to catch a live big-band concert. They played some Beatles tunes, and the theme song to James Bond. I even took a video for my brother, and will attempt to post that. The guys really liked it and played with their guns for a bit.



We were all starving by this point, so we started to walk. I found a Korean BBQ place, and had a delicious meal:

I'm sad to say we spent the next two and a half hours on the subway. Our group wanted to make it to Club Eden to celebrate Alice's birthday, but we couldn't get there in time to not pay the 30,000 won entrance fee. So we skipped that. We happened to meet up with a ton of EPIK-Incheon people along the way, and our group grew to about 30 in the subway. People couldn't agreee on where to go/what to do/how to get there, so by the time we got anywhere, it was nearly 12 pm. Gabe and I just went with the flow since we'd never been to Seoul. I just Wikipediaed Seoul, and it is had 24 million people in the metropolitan area, making it the world's second largest.



We finally cut our group size down, and made it to where the bars were (name unknown). It was strange because we didn't stick out at all, there were plenty of expats. We first went to Freebird, where there was loud live music and plenty of tequilla shots. Our A-team wasn't enjoying it that much, so we walked around and went into Ho bar. Evan came later, and appologized, but he brought the crowd that we'd "forgotten" at Freebird. But we ended up having a great time and sang loudly to "I'm on a boat."



Much later, we went to Club Cocoon. I'd never really been to a club before, but this was how I always imagined it! Loud music, lots of dancing. Drinks were pricy, so I only had my 1 free beer. When I looked at my watch, it was 3:15. We ended the night by taking a taxi for 6 people to Incheon.



Sunday, Patrick and I met Gabe and Sophia at the bus terminal. We got a bus ticket quickly, and the ride was only 3 hours back. But boy were we tired after only sleeping 8 hours in 2 days! Hoping to go back to Seoul soon!

Korean Bowling

Let me start out my saying that I am a horrible bowler. I'm lucky if I break 50. I'm really bad.

Today Mihey told me some teachers from Suwan MS were getting together to go bowling. I did not want to turn down the invite, and I didn't have anything else to do, so I went along.

Me and 4 other teachers left school around 5 and went to a bowling alley nearby. The bowling alley was pretty similar to something you would see back in the states, and the prices were almost the same. It had been a really, really long time since I went bowling, but I thought I could pick it up right away. Boy, was I wrong!

We played 2 games, 3 teachers to an alley. 6 teachers total. I was the worst out of the 6 of us. I scored so low, I won't even tell you what it was! The second game, we made teams to even out the skill level, haha. I was with the best bowler :) We decided that whichever team had the lowest score would pay for the games. So, I bowled really really well! Well, I did a granny bowl for EVERY SINGLE frame. No joke. But I scored high! My score for the second game was 102. So since I was using 2 hands, that figures out to be 51 per hand. Still, I was pretty pleased.

Koreans seem to get really excited when you do well, but also are supportive when you do poorly, like me. There were lots of high 5's. Basicallly, I got a high 5 after every time I bowled. They were doing lots of cheering and clapping too, though not necessarily for me. I felt like an idiot for doing the granny bowl, but they had never heard of it! At least I did it well. Our side didn't have to pay for the game, thanks to my amazing contribution.

After, we went out to dinner together to a noodle restaurant. The first course was radish and cabbage New Kimchi and sticky rice. One of the noodle bowls was noodles with a red bean sauce. It was pretty good and tasted exactly like a red bean. The other dish was noodles with clams. The exact same thing that I had at the beach this weekend. It wasn't as good though!

It was a fun night, but no will I not only be remembered for singing the ABC's, but also for doing the Granny Bowl!

Byeonsan Peninsula National Park

Sunday my 5 closest Gwangju friends (Brian, Emily, Alex, Alli, and Gabe) and I went to Byeonsan Peninsula National Park. We've been talking about going to the coast for a while, so we were able to actually make it happen.

We decided to meet at the bus terminal at 10, and decide where/how to get there. Luckily, Emily was prepared, and she had asked her co-teacher for some of the best beaches in the area. We decided to go to Byeonsan because it had nice beaches and was relatively close.

Our bus ticket cost only 6,600 won. Thats about $5 for an hour and a half ride on a coach bus. Some of us were tired from the night before, but we didn't sleep on the bus because we were too busy talking and goofing around. We got to Buan without a problem, and from there the ticket man took us to the local bus stop where we boarded another bus to the beach. This ride was much shorter, I saw a sign that said 15 km.

We got to the beach, and the tide was out. The sand seem to stretch for ages. There were thousands of shells and rocks to look at, and we had fun with a jellyfish type creature.

We layed around the beach for a while until we realized the tide was coming in. Alex and Brian tossed around a frisbee and the girls took a walk around town. It was a very sleepy, quiet town, but we were the only tourists. That was okay with us.

Around 3, we started to get hungry. Luckily, we had spotted a restaurant up by the main road. They were serving FRESH seafood. It took us about 10 minutes to order. We didn't have a phrasebook (thanks, Gabe), and the little old owner didn't speak any English. Finally, Alex was able to communicate to her what we wanted (fresh clams). We were just praying that we were going to have enough food for the 6 of us.

The food came out, and our first though was, "I need a beer!" Don't get me wrong, the food looked great, but it was going to take a little bit of liquid courage to get through it. The food just kept coming!

Here's a picture of some of the food. It may not look appetizing to you, but it was great. It was the best seafood I ever had. And we had plenty of it, too! We also ordered 2 servings of noodles, and went through 6 large bottles of Hite. By the end of the meal, we were stuffed, but we didn't stop eating until every last clam was gone.

This is our group after the meal. We raved the entire meal about how delicious it was. You can't tell from this picture, but the beach was right behind me. What a pretty view. I took plenty of pictures, and you can click on this link to look at the rest of the pictures in my Facebook album.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2203179&id=59501140&page=2

Overall, it was a great day at the beach. We told other EPIK teachers on Monday that we had gone over the weekend, and now everyone wants to go back before it gets cold. Our group was so happy that we made it there and back without any problems.

Faculty Dinner

Last night I went out to dinner with my co-teachers and all the faculty of Suwan MS. There were about 35 of us all together. We went after our staff meeting where I didn't understand anything. But I was able to successfully say, in Korean, "Hello, my name is Margaret. Nice to meet you. Thank you." I think they liked it. :) Here is a picture of Mihey and I.

We carpooled to the restaurant, which was about a 10 minute drive. Our car got there a little late, and when we arrived, everyone was already seated. There were 3 long tables, and I was at the middle table. The restaurant was really nice. We sat on the floor and I was pretty close to the principal and vice principal. We had duck for dinner. The meat was cooking right in front of us, and we used some seasonings and vegetables to spice it up. We then wrapped it all together in a lettuce leaf. I didn't realize there was more than one course, so I ate a lot. Then, when the second course came, I wished I didn't eat so much. We then had soup and rice which was pretty good.

While we were eating, the principal was going around handing out shots of beer and soju. The proper way to do it is accept the drink with both hands, and turn away from the person who gave it to you and drink it. There was definitely a lot of drinking going on, but not so much at my area of the table.

One thing the Koreans love to do is sing. We had a teacher give an opening toast, which I didn't understand, but everyone started laughing, so I asked what was going on. I was told that the other new science teacher and I were going to be the nights entertainment. We each had to get up in front of EVERYONE in the restaurant and sing a song. I was like, "No way!"

The new science teacher, who is maybe a few years older than me, got up and sang a Korean pop song. Everyone started clapping along to the beat and singing along. Meanwhile, I'm having a heart attack from the nerves. First of all, I don't know many songs, much less any Korean songs! And the songs that I do know would have been inappropriate to sing. Plus, I'm bad at singing without music because I forget the words.

When he was done, I litterally got lifted off the floor by the person who had given the toast. He handed me the empty bottle of Soju that was mimicking a microphone and then I was standing in front of 35 people I barely know. I explained that I couldn't think of a song. Someone shouted out, "Sing the ABC's!!" Well, I know how that song goes. So I start singing the ABC's. No kidding. I was mortified. So embarrassing! Everyone was clapping along to the beat, and after I finished I got applauded of course. I think I was probably still red in the cheeks for a good 20 minutes afterwards!!

A few more people sang and as the teachers drank more, the worse the singing got. It was actually hillarious. Everyone had a really good time. Needless to say, I did not get up to sing another song!!

To see more pictures from dinner, check out my facebook album:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?page=3&aid=2202874&id=59501140

Address

Mihey just told me what my address here is:

Margaret Clarke
광주광역시 광산구 수완동 1529번지 202호
South Korea Airmail

I sure hope this is right! It says something along the lines of:

Gwangju Metropolitian city, my neighborhood, my street and house number, and apartment number.

My mom is going to be sending my IRS forms so I can become Korean Tax exempt. They said the form would take 45 days to process, but it was done quickly so I should get out of having to pay that. More money in my pocket!

Life in Gwangju

It is really hard for me to believe I've been here almost a week! I sometimes wonder where the time goes.

I've gotten out of my neighborhood a fair bit this week. I've been meeting my friends Alex and Allie, Brian and Emily, and Gabe often for dinner, and we use that time to catch up about our apartments, schools, and co-teachers. I think our group is a good mix of personalities, and we get along really well. We typically meet at the YMCA downtown because it is close to everything. When we go out for dinner, the prices are really good. A plate at a restaurant will cost anywhere between 4,000 won to 8,000 won. And the food is delicious!

Going downtown is a lot of fun because there are so many people, sights, and lights. It has a completely different feel than in my corner of town. I just located my neighborhood on Google Maps, but my area is so new that it still looks like green fields, even though it is built up with many high rises now. I tried to do a print screen, but Korean computers are hard to use! Anyway, the narrow pedestrian streets downtown always seem to be busy, even on weeknights. The clothing stores stay open late, and there are many restaurants, bars, and Noribangs (karaoke bars).

To see pictures in my Facebook profile, look here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2202874&id=59501140

This weekend our Gwangju group is getting together Friday evening to go downtown, but I just found out I'm going out to dinner with my co-teachers that night also. Koreans tend to mix business with pleasure a lot. My co-teacher Mihey and I get along great, I know a lot about her, for example, that she just got set up on a blind date and when I asked if she would go, she said "Of course! Why not!" Saturday our group is planning on going to the market, and then going around to each others apartments to check them out. Sunday we'd like to make it down to the coast and islands, hopefully we can figure out how to get there.

Everyone of my friends seem to have similar experiences to mine, yet somehow they are completely different. One of my friends got spit on by her principal and thrown out of her office all the while being screamed at, another friend got asked out by a 4th grader in a love note and is constantly being climbed on by 3rd graders, and someone else learned how to drink Soju properly with his principal (its not actually a shot, you're supposed to sip it!). Everyone in Gwangju has two schools we work at because they are so desperate to learn, and when we talk about our schools it is hard to keep every ones stories and experiences separate.

Gabe from New Zealand and I are going to Incheon next week to visit the other half of our orientation group. We'll see Evan, Patrick, Joe, and Sophia. Not sure what the plan is exactly, we first need to figure out how to get there. Train is cheap, about $25 for a 2 hour ride cross-country. Should be a great weekend.

My landlord brought me dinner again last night (similar to corn dogs), and I told her the Internet was set up but it was really really slow. As in, when I woke up in the morning today, my homepage (CNN) had still not loaded! Definitely slower than the Internet in rural Cambodia. She said she would have someone look at it today. We'll see how that goes!

First Day Teaching

My co-teacher from my visiting school called me on Sunday evening to see if I was able to come in Monday afternoon to meet my principal. My schedule is pretty open, so I said "sure."

I was picked up by her, and we drove a few minutes to school. The visiting school is also brand new, and it is about 25 minutes away walking. I got a brief tour, and was shown the English Only Zone (EOZ), my office, and met some of the coworkers. I was also presented to the vice principal and principal. Neither one speaks English.

During the tour, my co-teacher said that there were still two English classes that afternoon and asked if I was able to teach them. I was not expecting that, but I didn't want to disappoint her, so I said yes.

Luckily, I had prepared my lesson for my center school already. I hadn't run through it, so I figured it would be pretty bumpy. I walked into the classroom, and the kids were SO happy to see me! They knew I would be coming, and they were really excited I was there.

For the lesson, we made nametags with some of their favorite things on them. My main focus this year is getting the 7th graders to speak and listen, so I had them create nametags for their partners. I wrote down the questions they had for me on the board, and told them to take turns asking their partners the same questions. Not all the questions I got asked got put on the board (for example: "Do you have a husband?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Will you marry me?"). Overall, I think the lesson went well, and it allowed me to see what level their English is at. At the visiting school, there are 7 classes of 7th graders. They took a test and were placed at different levels, but there is still a wide range of language ability within the class. I walked around and talked to the students during the activity, and some students were really good at saying whole sentences, while others would just say the answer.

Later on, I attended a faculty meeting. It was about 45 minutes long, and the only word I recgonized that entire time was "Mara." I am having them call me that nickname because I think it is easier to pronounce.

The day went pretty well overall. Because both my schools are 7th grade only, I am going to do the same introduction activity for each class. After I get better with their names, I'll collect the nametags and put them up in the EOZ. I'm really glad to have my own classroom rather than moving from room to room.

I still don't have internet at my apartment, but I will post some of my 300 pictures as soon as I can so you can see what things are like on the other side of the pond.