Holiday

Experience at 2 weeks...

Its been 2 weeks since i first arrived and so much has transpired. I think i have finally had that "oh lawd..." moment of realizing that i am literally on the other side of the world with a commitment layed out in front of me for the next year. It happened when i was in the subway on the green line somewhere under the bustling streets of Seoul. I had set out from the comfort of my apartment that afternoon at around 1:30. I left with about $30 in my pocket, a backpack, and a vaugue idea of the direction i wanted to head in. Knowing only what bus i was suppose to get on i hopped on the 1113. about 25 min later i looked around wondering where i was suppose to exit. I noticed everybody stood up as we approaced a group of busses so that is where i departed. The crowd found its way to a central building located some 300 feet away. This was the trasfer point for the green line into seoul.

Translating the ticket booth was a sinch, as well as finding the train and direction i wanted to go. For the first 10 min i was glued to the window, eyes wide and nose pressed hard against the glass taking in all the scenery as i looked on my first world class foreign city since leaving florence over 3 years earlier. I could not believe it, I was on the other side of the globe in a train and in a city where no one know my name or nationality; twas an eerie feeling at first coupled with a sense of excitement.

Experience after one Month...

a month has passed and i have settled in. Sinse then i have experienced a large amount of korean culture; I have been in awe, been excited, confused, lost, found, elated, angry, and pleased. sometimes all at once. Korea is starting to feel like home and my quaint city is starting to warn a place in my heart. My school although fun and simple sometimes manages to piss me off more than i care to admit.

One of my favorite things about my school is the view. Half way up a mountain it gives you a spectacular view of the city if you manage to catch a glance out the main hallway on a day when the sun is not chocked by "hexus" from fern gully. Even the korean children( the ones that i can remember) have earned a special place in my heart.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, Last week the americans (and a canadian) organized a small thanksgiving meal. The meal turned out to be quite a success complete with Stuffing, home made mashed potatoes, pecan pie, and Duk Galbi. With people gathered from all over the world to celebrate the holiday it was a great thanksgiving.

The next couple of weeks are going to fly by, Next week our school is going to be having an "English Festival" All the kids from the school are going to come to the classroom and play english games, eat snacks and have "Dialogues" with the english teachers. In the Midst of all this i am in the process of planning a trip to Busan, Big Gwangju, and trying to figure out what i am going tpo do for new years.

more to come...

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I have arrived!

The trip went smoothly from start to finish. I arrived at Incheon airport at around 8:00 P.m. After strolling through customs and exchanging some money, I walked outside and met Mr. Kim who escorted me to my apartment. The drive through Seoul was exhilarating, i could hardly believe that after all the work I put into this endevor that it had finally arrived. After zipping through the city we arrived in the foothills of the mountains and finally to my humble city of Gwangju. A fellow teacher of mine (mark from New Zealand) met me and helped me get my things oriented. Mark also informed me on some burning questions that i had about my living situation. Thankfully he knew where to find the school in the morning. I was also informed that i cantdrink the water! its like in in a foreign country or something. rude. ill just have a coke.

Well the weekend flew by and it now monday afternoon. I have finished all of my lessons for the day so i will have some time to type. My school is pearched on top of what appears to be the highest point in the city. It sits about 3/4 of the way to the top on a rather steep mountain. The view is spectacular out of the frondt doors, but it is hard to get a good view of the city below due to the smog. My hike takes about 15 min and can best be desctribed as the cowpath that ran between frekendorf and beinenburg in switzerland. At least i know i will get a little bit of a workout every morning.

The best way i can describe my working situation is like a TV set. There are about 6 rooms all connected that have different themes and are decorated appropriatly. There is a "house" Airport, Restaurant, hotel, library etc. My job is to develop dialogues that will appropriatly suit each situation. for instance if the class will be in the "food stall" today then i will come up with a simple conversating that might take place between a merchant and someone wanting to buy some bananas. Its simple and only a few hours a day. I was under the impression that i was going to be in a classroom, with a co-teacher and would be developing lesson plans. That is not the case, there are 2 other teachers that do that; but i cannot complain, i think i will enjoy my classes even more, as i get to plan then and dont have to worry too much abut curriculem.

I do not know my complete schedule yet, but i do know that on monday i have 1 class, and the rest of the week i have an average of 2 hours of lessons per day. but next semester will be different and things may change.

Jet lag continues to be a problem. On a regular basis i will wake up at arounf 3 am and be completely incapable of falling back to sleep, so i get up and bustle around until 8am arrives and i make my way to class.

I think the hardest thing to to get used to is the way the sun shines here. Since landing in Tokyo and then in seoul i have not felt the warm rays of the sun. The amount os smog makes it seem like the sun is in a constant state of setting, but not the bright glorius setting accompanies by dozens of colors. Its a color that seems to be a cross between a pale yellow and a dirty orange. It leaves quite a bit to be desired.

FOOD! oh my Lord, What can i say about the food... I have made a regularbreakfast of either Pringles, soda, an egg, potato, or fish patties. GROSS GROSS GROSS! But thankfully my co-teachers will be taking me to the E-mart today where i can do some shopping. Other than that it has been quite interesting. Each day the school brings in a big cart filled with food for the teachers. Today i had a lunch of raddish soup with beef tips, anchovie babies fried with peanuts, some sort of brown mush in medalion shapes (i dont want to know what they were, but i ate them to not be rude) Kimchi, and rice. Friday it was pretty much the same only with octopus soup with pickled alphalpha sprouts.... hmmm this is going to be an adventure.

Well i will get an update to everyone soon but right now i am going to poke around the school for a bit.

peace from the far east!
and as the koreans say

"YES BETA TEACHER"

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A Prologue

Monday morning at around 12:30 in the afternoon i departed from Harrisonburg! For 5 years i called this city my home, I experienced some of the best times of my life, and also some pretty crappy ones. I Made the best friends i have ever had at EMU and i will never forget them.

My time here has expired though. it is time for me to pass from the wonderful world of the EMU community to a world far separated from it. In one weeks time i will be departing to leave for South Korea. For one full year i will spend abroad, Teaching English to children ranging from 5 years old to 10 years old. What experiences the world has in store for me i do not know. But i do know that i will approach them with an open mind and a persevering attitude.

until then i leave you with these words::

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Peace from the far east,

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