S-Line

After we returned back from Japan we only had a few weeks in Korea. One week was spent hanging out in our apartment. One week was spent dest warming at school with a little teaching here and there and the last week was spent cleaning and packing. The last two weeks was the end of the semester for the school. So the kids came from a monthlong winter break and then had about one week to finish the rest of their semester. I heard that week was mainly used for teachers to complete paper work like report cards. It was nice, I got a lot of my Masters homework done.

During those last few weeks we spent a lot of time saying goodbye to friends. We made a lot of new friends and it is hard to say good bye. I went out to many lunch and dinners with my school. One Chief teacher (after a few shots) said that her and I are the same. She is 20 years older than me. She said we have the same smile, same personality and same S-line. I thought, huh, what does she mean by S-line and I looked it up. In Korea they point out the differences we have. My nose goes up and my chin comes to a point. Things I didn’t discover about myself until I came to Korea. There’s a little joke some people say, “get some plastic surgery as a souvenir from Korea.” It’s cheaper here and many Koreans desire a “western look”. So I stumbled upon the codes they use for surgery. Take a look.

http://www.asianplasticsurgeryguide.com

S-Line - Ample breasts and buttocks when viewed from the side
V-Line - A slim and oval face narrowing towards the chin
V-Line (second use) - The line in-between the breasts
W-Line - Breasts viewed from the front
X-Line - Long legs and arms connected by a narrow waist
U-Line - Exposed lower back in low cut clothing
M-Line - A "six pack" of abdominal muscles on men
D-Line - A pregnant (or pregnant-appearing) abdomen
B-Line - Big breasts, big abdomen
O-Line - Generalized obesity


Tokyo

Holy Moly there’s a lot of people in Tokyo. We stayed in Shibuya and when the lights are red and traffic stops completely then pedestrians surge into the intersection from all sides. It was crazy. We couchsurfed with a local, so we were in a really great location. Couchsurfing is supposed to be free, but this guy quit his job and opens his home to travelers. It was still cheaper than staying in a Hotel. There was a guy from Australia staying there and a girl from Germany, so it was fun talking with them and they gave us good tips on places to go.

The first day we went to Asakusa which is “technology land” This is an area dedicated to Nintendo, computers, MP3s, anything and everything techno. They were giving away free anime things. People were in line for it. So, I caved and bought a new ipod touch. It was pretty much the same price I would pay online, but I needed to replace my stolen one. Next we traveled to find a traditional Japanese park a friend suggested. Instead we found the Ueno zoo. We were mainly excited to see a Giant Panda. The advertisements were everywhere for it, but guess what, once we got inside, no Panda. We were really sad. But, we still enjoyed walking around with local Japanese families, sometimes we were looked at as if we were a caged animal. Oh well. We ended the day with some tasty street food.

The next day we went to Disneyland. It was fun comparing it to California. The park is basically the same except everything is in Japanese. When we rode Pirates of the Caribbean the Pirate at the end speaks in Japanese and so does the robot in Star Tours. So funny. It was really cold, it even snowed. So, one of the shops had all you can drink coffee, so we took about a 2 hour break. We used fastpasses and went on many rides. It was a fun day. Once we got back to Shibuya we went out for Sushi. We are not big sushi fans, but we were in Japan and had to try it. It was great. We saw the men make it right in front of us. We just grabbed a plate of whatever looked good. Each plate cost about $3 and had 2 pieces on it. We tried sake too. I was scared, but after a year of Korean soju the sake went down smooth.

After Tokyo we used the rest of our JR pass and spent a whole day traveling to back to Fukuoka. We saw Mt. Fuji on the way and it snowed for awhile. It was a nice train ride. In Fukuoka we finished up souvenir shopping and ate our last little bits of Japanese food. Fukuoka was a wonderful way to end our trip. Nice little city with great shopping. We also visited the biggest wooden Buddha.

We are so happy we traveled to Japan. It was a little expensive, but we had a great time!

Kyoto and Osaka

We stayed in a Hotel in Osaka, but traveled to Kyoto too. We stayed right in the heart of downtown. It was hard to find the hotel because we had a map, but we arrived at night and there were so many people rushing the streets. We were total tourist looking at a map and asking random people where to go. At one point we felt as if we were at a loss. We were guessing to cross the street because it kind of looked right. Finally after waiting for a crosswalk I look up and what do I see….Our tiny Hotel stuck in between buildings. Yay, I was ready to throw our stuff down and get some grub.

Our hotel was in the middle of a busy shopping/restaurant area. So, there we many places to eat, but we were on a mission for Shabu Shabu. We found a restaurant and sat down. The waitress spoke a little English, but there were picture to point to. She brought us our boiling water and said, “60 minutes.” We thought, “huh, 60 mins till the food’s ready or is that when we need to exit the building?” We figured out that was how long we had to eat. All you can cook and eat for 60 minutes. It was like a dream come true for Jayson. We cleared 2 plates of meat, it was delicious.

The next night we found a restaurant that had all you can drink for 2 hours. We said, “score!” and went in. Well, the menu wasn’t in English and they didn’t speak very much English. We know we ordered something pork with something vegetables. All of a sudden a big boiling pot full of veggies and meat comes out. It looked great, but we didn’t know what to do it. We showed the waitress we were confused and she continually came over and stirred the pot and each time she would say, “wait.” She said wait about 10 times. It was funny, but we were happy because we were drinking all we could drink. The mysterious boiling pot was delicious, of course.

In Kyoto we went to Gion which is known as the Geisha district, but we didn’t see any Geishas. We went to Kinkakuji which is a beautiful Golden Pavilion. The area surrounding the temple was so peaceful and beautiful. There are so many places in Japan where you could sit down and find peace and quiet. It was great. We went to Chion-in Temple. This temple is known for its massive gate. There were many stairs to climb up before we reached the temple. This temple is known for the place where Henon fasted to death. We witnessed a Monk ceremony. We had to take our shoes off, sit on our knees and be very quite. It was an interesting ceremony with Monks humming and bowing. Very Cool!

Other than eating delicious food in Osaka, we spent a day at a natural hot spring. It was a trek to get out there, but worth it. We took the subway, bus, and tram to get there, but we traveled up beautiful mountains. We checked in and were given a bathing outfit. This outfit was to walk to and from the different bath houses, but then we split up and went into our gender’s bathroom. From there, take it off and jump in. Well, not really! We were the only white people there, so I felt a little awkward, but after 5 minutes I was in Zen mode. It was very relaxing and I felt so refreshed after. I recommend this experience to anyone visiting Japan. Just do as the locals do!

Hiroshima

Busan, Korea to Hiroshima, Japan

I think we should change our Blog name to Adventures in Asia. I never imagined we would travel this much. We are so fortunate. And, every time we travel to another Asian country we are surprised how each country is so different. We heard so many stories about Japan before we went there, but nothing anybody said could prepare us for the experience we had. We heard Japan is quiet, peaceful, clean and kind. These statements were all true and then some. I swear, rolling my travel suitcase through Hiroshima at 4pm was the loudest thing I heard on the street. People will more out of your way and they are very helpful. On the subway you can’t talk on your cell phone. Actually, nobody talks on the subway. We were smushed between Japanese people and everyone was standing in silence waiting for their next stop.

We took the hydrofoil ferry from Busan, Korea to Fukuoka, Japan. It took 3 hours and the boat has a front fin that lifts the boat above water when jets are on. We purchased the Japan Rail (JR) pass for one week for $350 each. We were able to take the JR many times and saved a ton of money because individual tickets are expensive. Our first trip we took the JR from Fukuoka to Hiroshima. It was 6pm by the time we got there are we were ready to try our first Japanese meal. The hotel suggested a local restaurant. We ordered Okonomiyaki which is a Japanese pizza with noodles, cabbage, veggies, egg, and bacon all fried and crispy topped with teriyaki sauce. We could watch the restaurant cook right in front of us. We fell in love with this dish and had it 3 other times during our trip.

Hiroshima is the world’s center for peace. The city is spotless, quiet and the people are kind. We visited the Peace Memorial Park. The museum had artifacts from the time when the A-Bomb exploded. I can’t really describe in words how amazing this place is. The park really moved me. They suffered so much, so now they try to spread peace around the world. Paper cranes are sent from people around the world to represent their promise to peace. They continue to ask countries to stop developing atomic bombs. This was a great way to start our trip in Japan. Our pictures explain more about our experience.

Fall

ops, it’s been over a month almost two since I blogged. I started working on my Masters, so I couldn’t justify writing a blog when I should be writing a paper. So, now I will sum up the last month or so…..

My favorite thing about October was our trip to the Persimmon Wine Tunnel. The wine tunnel is located in Cheongdo about 2 hours away by train and bus. Two hours was worth it. It was so nice to get out of the city and into the beautiful countryside surrounded by traditional Korean homes and persimmon orchards. The wine tunnel was originally a train tunnel built during the Japanese invasion. In 2006, the Cheongdo Gam Wine Company opened it as a wine cellar and café. We enjoyed taking pictures and tasting the wine. It tastes like white wine, but it has a strong alcohol taste. It was good, so we bottled our own wine with our own label. It was a great trip. Check out their website http://gamwine.koreasme.com/

One of Jayson’s favorite things about October was zip lining in Daegu. We went to a small outside amusement park called Herb Hillz to go zip lining. Our friend told us how fun it was and she did the hardest course and it was a little challenging, but fun. So we took her advice. We got a 20 min crash course in Korean about how to hook up and hang on. Then the guy showed us the translation on his iphone. I didn’t seem to worry because I figured I would just watch and learn. Well, it didn’t work that way. He took us to the hard King Kong course and shook his head and walked away. Our first obstacle was climbing a 50 foot wall. That was ok, but then we had to swing between these rope-foot things to get from one 50 foot tree to the next. Jayson glides across. I try, but I don’t have enough upper body strength to hold myself up, so I am just hanging on the rope stuck like a V. So I go back to the platform. I try about 3 times and each time I fail. So now I am stuck on one platform 50 feet high and Jayson is on the other. So, we figure we will wait for the guy to come back. 30 minutes pass and Jayson and I are just hanging out in the trees (funny now that I think about it). Finally we decided to climb back down and do the Tarzan course. I can’t believe they let us go through a hour long course by ourselves. It was still hard but the zip lining part was so fun and we survived!

I celebrated Halloween with my extra class students. It was so much fun, the kids had a blast. Koreans don’t celebrate Halloween, but they sure did have a whole lot of decorations and costumes for sale. The kids dressed up and trick-or-treated in the school. They bobbed for apples and had a mummy wrap competition. It was a nice break from studying hours upon hours. The kids have so much school and are so serious, it was nice to see them let loose. They had a blast.

I also went on a day trip with all of the teachers at my school. We drove out to the countryside and hiked. We enjoyed lunch and dinner together. At school most teachers avoid me or just say hi, but after a few shots of soju everybody was talking to me. It turns out they really do know English. Haha. I think they just are scared to make a mistake. After hours the portable karaoke machine came out. I swear those things are everywhere; children’s arcade, trains, bars and now restaurants. The principal tried to get me to sing, but my co-teacher helped me by saying “She’s a bad singer.” It worked

In November, we celebrated Thanksgiving. The local foreigner bar hosted the event. They had all the traditional Thanksgiving fixins. We played games and enjoyed spending time with foreigner friends. Even some Canadians attended even though their Thanksgiving is not in November.

We are enjoying our last few months in Korea and planning many trips. So much to look forward to!

Adjusting to Teaching in Korea

Adjusting to teaching in Korea has been a long process and continues to change daily. From the beginning we were given the friendly advise “every situation is different.” We were told not to compare our school situation with our friend’s school situation. So, with that in mind I was expecting nothing. I ran into my school with my arms wide open ready to embrace any situation. I am a teacher with experience and was ready to apply my knowledge to the Korean school system. Uh, bad idea.

I am not a teacher in Korea. I am an aid. I co teach. I speak English so the students can repeat after me. At times I feel like a talking robot. I don’t practice any of my classroom management skills because Korea has a different system of punishment. I respect that, even if I don’t agree, I am willing to follow what works. It is very difficult to plan lessons with my co teachers for multiple reasons. I have three co teachers and finding time to plan with them is almost impossible because our schedules conflict. So, we resort to what we know. We use the same routine every time.

The hardest thing for me is to sit back and watch teachers teaching mistakes. Sometimes they will pronounce words incorrectly or have students playing a game before they understand the sentences. I have told my co teacher my thoughts and concerns, but she does not listen. Maybe because she doesn’t understand my English or she simply refuses to try something new.

After months of struggling with this system, I have stopped. Now, I just sit back and stay out of the way. I don’t want to make enemies, so I will try to make suggestions while keeping mind they may not be used. I don’t feel like a teacher and the students don’t view me as a teacher. So, now I will enjoy the students. I will teach them as much as I can about my culture. My goal is to make them comfortable when talking to a foreigner. And it’s working. I am much happier with this method. Maybe I am not a classroom teacher, but I am still teaching the kids confidence and helping them practice their English outside the classroom.

So, through this process I have learned something about myself. Even though I was told not to expect anything I still expected something. In the end I was let down. I am proud of myself for overcoming it even if it took a few months. But, even though I think I understand the school system, I am ready for any possible changes.


Extra Class

During my after school classes is when I feel my biggest achievement. Every day I teach 2 classes of students. One advanced class for one hour and a beginning class for another hour. I do not have a co teacher. The students have to understand my directions in English and my goal is to teach them conversational English. This was a challenging task at first. The students didn’t understand me, they just gave me that lost puppy look. Overtime, the students develop enough English language knowledge to understand me. I also developed a routine that is easy to follow.

Even though this class is an extra two hours of work a day, I look forward to it. I have developed a relationship with these students and I look forward to teaching them everyday. Each day focuses on a different element of English; conversation, reading, writing, and listening. I stick to the same routine so students know what is expected of them each day. I put a lot of effort into my lessons. I want the students to be engaged and have fun. This means a lot of visual aids and games. I know I have said this before but, youtube and powerpoint are my best friends.

During the day I am a teacher’s aid and in the evening I am a real teacher. In both cases I have learned so much in the process. I have a lot of tools to bring to my classroom in California. In the past I have had a handful of English Language Learners in my class. ELL students are very challenging for teachers. But now, I understand the process of learning a foreign language as a child. I understand what helps them learn. I also completely understand what it’s like to live in a foreign country.

I have about 4 more months to learn more techniques and grow. I am learning so much about myself as well as teaching tools to use in the classroom.

Lotte Giants

It was the Lotte Giants vs. the Samsung Lions. The game started at 5pm. Jayson and I didn’t have tickets, but we decided to buy some there. Actually, there were some nice young chaps selling on the street on the way there. How nice of them, not. We were suckers and bought tickets for $13. Wow, these tickets were in the front section. So, we found our seats, which is mighty difficulty because there are 10 B sections, you just have to find the correct number. So, we did and about 10 minutes later here comes a guy with the same ticket as mine, huh that’s weird. So, we move to another empty seat. I was scared to be kicked out. Jayson thinks it’s funny has no problem moving from seat to seat as people arrive late to the game. I am so embarrassed. I needed a beer, but I couldn’t because we just got Lasek and couldn’t drink for a month.

Finally we landed in some seats that were open and it was half way into the game and we figured nobody would come to the game this late. Once I could finally relax, I had a great time. We sat next to a guy who spoke English and he walked us through the game. He taught us that one of the Lotte Giants players holds the most homerun record. There was also an American and a Mexican on the team. The Mexican’s name was Garcia and the Korean fans loved him and they would chant songs to his name Korean style “Gar a see ya!”

Lotte Giants fans are compared to Red Sox fans because of their loyalty and team spirit. Boy did these fans have spirit. There was a song/cheer for everything. They even had a stage with 5 cheerleaders, a mascot and an announcer. It was a performance. We did the wave, there were people roaming the aisles selling hot dogs, ice cream and kimbab. No popcorn, peanuts or red vines though. We did find a “New York” hot dog stand and enjoyed 2 hot dogs for 5 bucks. You could also stop buy the market around the corner and bring in as much snacks and beer as you wanted.

Near the end of the game they pass out orange trash bags so everyone can help clean up. Well, the fans use these bags to show their spirit. Everybody blows air into the bag and ties the bag on top of their head. I heard about this and couldn’t wait to join the fun. It was fun, but I couldn’t see around the people. Oh well.

The game went into extra innings, but the Lotte Giants won. I am happy we found some seats. Even though Jayson still thinks to this day we read the ticket wrong, I will never buy a ticket off the street again.