Today is a big day. Today is the 수능, Su Neung Exam ["Soo Nung"]. Below you can find links to videos and interviews of students regarding the exam. If you really want to learn about a unique part of Korean culture, specifically the education culture, browse through this post, ask me questions, do some pondering. Let me know what you think. Keep an open mind as you read on, and make sure your speakers are on so you can check out the videos :)
When I first stepped into Baeyoung High School, where I have now been teaching for 3 months, I quickly caught wind of the exam culture that dominates the Korean education system, for better or worse (depending on what you feel the goals of education are & your level of loyalty to the education system you are familiar with at home). The English teachers at my school do not use text books, starting from the first year of high school, Su Neung exam prep books are used. Test questions for mid-terms and final exams are administered in a style similar to the Su Neung. Also, one time EVERY month, the students take a Su Neung practice exam. All the preparation during their three years of high school still does little to water down the pressure and nervousness seniors students feel come November.
Video ONE, A Korean student explains her perspective on the Su Neung Exam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0VB-MG0_K4&feature=player_embedded
The Su Neung: Korea's national college entrance exam; administered once per year in November. Nearly all students planning to enter a university take the exam -- that's thousands of students taking this test at the same time all over Korea. The score determines not only the students' university, but also their major. Students apply to a specific major at a university, and if accepted into that university the student cannot easily switch majors.
The Su Neung is one of two ways to enter a university in Korea. The second way is for students to apply to a university PRIOR to the Su Neung, and be chosen through grades and an interview, or...not.
Students who do not score high enough to enter the school they want, will often spend the next 365 days preparing again for the exam. There are test prep centers established all over Korea specifically for this customer niche.
In the morning around 7:30am, it is a tradition that the underclass students cheer on examinees walking into the school for the Su Neung. I joined my students outside for an hour to cheer on the nervous seniors from BaeYoung High School. My students were much less enthusiastic than I expected, but I could still tell it was important to them to be around to support their school mates. I took a few of my students out for breakfast after the cheering came to a close.
Video TWO, A past Fulbright ETA, Michael Hurt (his blog), who has been in Korea for about 8 years now made this video, interviewing underclass high school students about the Su Neung Exam. Su Neung test day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OvXf85VF-Q&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
The Su Neung has changed throughout the the years. It first started to be administered in 1993. Korean Universities focus on test scores, and students aim for the top ranked universities in Korea. The name of one's university can make your future prospects golden if you attend what are known as the S.K.Y. Universities. S = Seoul National University; K = Korea University; Y = Yeonsei University. Acceptance into these and other top ranking schools is seen, in general, as essential to securing one's future. In a highly competitive job market and an economy still in the up-swing, pressure is especially high.
Video THREE, A documentary (anti-Su Neung point of view) put together by a foreign professor living in Korea. The narration is a little awkward, but the video and interview responses are insightful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf1wDK_katk
Well, that's all about the Su Neung. There is more to be said, both good and bad, but I hope you at least know a little more than you did before reading/watching.
...and don't forget, teens are still teens no matter where they are in the word (1 min video; not my students): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc-lu-tzfX8
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Reasons why you should come visit me
Please watch this short 3 minute video. Then, promptly buy your plane ticket.
VIDEO: Korea, Inspiring
VIDEO: Korea, Inspiring
The Pumpkin Snatcher!
Time to sum up 21 days: October 23-Nov 13
Week One: Campus friends, just a stone's throw away -- Even in Korea!
I visited Pusan/Busan City for the second time. It is the Southern-most city in Korea & the second largest city; mostly due to its large shipping industry/ports. On this visit I was able to meet up with some fellow Fulbright ETAs and my friend who graduated from U of I as well, Ming. We all hung out on a beach after the annual fireworks festival. The festival was SO crowded. I think there were 100,000+ people there (but my memory is vague...this may be very wrong). Ignoring the exact number, the point is when it ended I was literally standing chest-to-chest with random strangers, barely able/unable to move for 20-30minutes. Our group held hands and tried to stay together once the flood gates broke and people rapidly began leaving. Prior to this craziness though, the fireworks were REALLY enjoyable...
I stayed at Ming's home that night and met his family. It was nice to be welcomed into his home. They were really great! (his dad was out and is thus not pictured):
Continuing with week one...(it was a big week!)
HALLOWEEN!
This spectacular holiday is what inspired my blog title. Here's the story: My wonderful mother shipped a package of Halloween decorations and candy to me --enough candy for all of my students! Anyway, in this box of goodies was a foam jack-o-lantern that lights up. This is a new concept for the students. If you think about it, carving pumpkins is a rather strange tradition if you don't have any cultural context in which to place it. So, I was planning to raffle off the jack-o-lantern once I introduced all my classes to Halloween. The first day I was talking about Halloween I showed students the prize. I put it in my classroom behind my desk...and...lo and behold a pumpkin snatcher stole it that night after I left for the day! All that was left of it was the tag lying carelessly thrown on the ground. I know it wasn't MY students -- they would never do that -- so someone went into my room and took it. Haha, honestly, I don't know who it was that stole it...it is still missing. I just hope whoever has it is enjoying it thoroughly.
For my lesson on Halloween the students learned that kids in the US wear in costumes, ring doorbells, say "Trick or treat!," and get free candy. My students did various reading , speaking, and writing games to get down the basics of Halloween. At the end of class I left time for teams of students to compete with each other in this classic Halloween game:
After cleaning up, the 'Exit Ticket' was to show me their notes, say "Trick or treat!," pick some candy, and then they were free to go. They loved me --and my mom -- every class said something along the lines of, "Ooohhh! Canddyyy! We love your mom! Thank you to your mom!"
Weekend Number TWO: Friends, Maple Trees, and coffee in JeongEup City--my stomping grounds!
Friends came to my city, JeongEup, to celebrate the changing of the seasons, because there is an annual Maple Tree and Chrysanthemum Festival here. It was amazing to hang out with everyone; show them the town, grab food, and just enjoy down time. At the festival we saw bull "fighting." Not in the way most people from the West would think about it. This is two bulls actually fighting each other...though, when we were there, they didn't want to fight. They just stood near each other looking confused and sometimes would nuzzle each others faces. It was more cute than a testosterone-driven bloody battle to the death one might initially have expected. In town, we also stumbled upon the best coffee shop I have ever been to in my entire life! The owner speaks great English and he is a barista extraordinaire (he went to Italy to learn about coffee and frequents international coffee shows).
We all shared the cup because (1) the coffee was amazing and (2) it was fun to talk about "sharing the love" with each other. We managed to finish 95% of the coffee and still leave the word "LOVE" at the bottom...
Weekend the THIRD: Enjoying the moment, nostalgia, and making more memories....time not soon to be forgotten
I visited my friend Jeongman in his home town: Gyeongju City. It is a really famous city because 100s of years ago Korea was split into three kingdoms and Gyeongju used to be the capital of the Silla Kingdom. It is my favorite city in Korea. In 2008 I came to Korea and stayed with Jeongman and his parents. When his parents heard I had come back this year they were anxious to see me again. I was supposed to see them back in October, as mentioned in my September 28th blog post, but it didn't work out.
Jeongman traveled three hours from his university, where he is a very busy senior in engineering, to meet me. Upon my arrival to his home his mom greeted me with a kind smile and a hug. Memories from my last visit came back in stops and fits as I settled into his home again. There was a lot of down time where Jeongman and I just chatted, wanting to get updated with everything we have been missing out on from each others quickly changing lives. We hiked to get water from the mountain spring near his home (not that they don't have running water, but Koreans really appreciate the value of "nature's bounty")...the weather was perfect. It was the most relaxing time I have had in Korea thus far -- aside from my time in 2008! We reached the top of the mountain and just yelled and yelled, laughing at each other and listening for our echos...
Weekend the Last: Hiking with the TaiKwonDo crew!
Do you remember the story I mentioned earlier about the TaiKwonDo teacher who I now play my horn with/get free TaiKwonDo lessons from? His name is Jaegwan--I'll just call him Jae. Well, all of his students love me, especially after today. 13 of us piled into Jae's wife's minivan and drove to a famous mountain called Mai Mountain [ sounds like "My"]. We arrived at 10:30am and went hiking until around 2pm. Here's the crew:
With the exception of Jae's daughter --the little spitfire who kept up on the hike with people 5x her age and 2x her height -- the girls were really shy at first because I was a "foreigner." They come from a town even smaller than the one I work/live in. Their English was awesome though, so once they realized I was not going to bite, they actually helped in translating for me and Jae --Jae speaks almost no English; though, we have few problems getting our point across some how. Sometimes that just happens. Some people cannot speak English and I cannot understand what they are trying to tell me very well, but others who speak no English can get their point across clear as day (almost). It's strange, but very interesting...part of me wants to do a formal research project on this...
This was one of my highlights from the hike. I saw this old, OLD OOLLLD guy and burst out laughing...he is proof that English can just be a trendy thing, and sometimes people have no idea what they are wearing (well, I assume that's the case here).
Pics from the hike:
Well -- I am sure that was plenty of news for you. Glad you are keeping up with my travels! Leave me some feedback below. I hope you enjoy Thanksgiving! It's right around the corner!
Week One: Campus friends, just a stone's throw away -- Even in Korea!
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| Fellow Bio major from UIUC! Ming Jeong |
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| The one non-blurry picture! |
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| One of Busan's many famous beaches. It was a little rainy --clearly we didn't mind! |
I stayed at Ming's home that night and met his family. It was nice to be welcomed into his home. They were really great! (his dad was out and is thus not pictured):
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| Note how Ming is still supporting U of I --even in Korea. Way to be loyal! :) |
This spectacular holiday is what inspired my blog title. Here's the story: My wonderful mother shipped a package of Halloween decorations and candy to me --enough candy for all of my students! Anyway, in this box of goodies was a foam jack-o-lantern that lights up. This is a new concept for the students. If you think about it, carving pumpkins is a rather strange tradition if you don't have any cultural context in which to place it. So, I was planning to raffle off the jack-o-lantern once I introduced all my classes to Halloween. The first day I was talking about Halloween I showed students the prize. I put it in my classroom behind my desk...and...lo and behold a pumpkin snatcher stole it that night after I left for the day! All that was left of it was the tag lying carelessly thrown on the ground. I know it wasn't MY students -- they would never do that -- so someone went into my room and took it. Haha, honestly, I don't know who it was that stole it...it is still missing. I just hope whoever has it is enjoying it thoroughly.
For my lesson on Halloween the students learned that kids in the US wear in costumes, ring doorbells, say "Trick or treat!," and get free candy. My students did various reading , speaking, and writing games to get down the basics of Halloween. At the end of class I left time for teams of students to compete with each other in this classic Halloween game:
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| Mummy! |
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| Some teams did better than others... |
Weekend Number TWO: Friends, Maple Trees, and coffee in JeongEup City--my stomping grounds!
Friends came to my city, JeongEup, to celebrate the changing of the seasons, because there is an annual Maple Tree and Chrysanthemum Festival here. It was amazing to hang out with everyone; show them the town, grab food, and just enjoy down time. At the festival we saw bull "fighting." Not in the way most people from the West would think about it. This is two bulls actually fighting each other...though, when we were there, they didn't want to fight. They just stood near each other looking confused and sometimes would nuzzle each others faces. It was more cute than a testosterone-driven bloody battle to the death one might initially have expected. In town, we also stumbled upon the best coffee shop I have ever been to in my entire life! The owner speaks great English and he is a barista extraordinaire (he went to Italy to learn about coffee and frequents international coffee shows).
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| The Bulls |
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| COMPLIMENTS of the owner -- Free cup of LOVE for the foreigners! |
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| Sam, Em, Becky, and Sarah (L-R): The four lovely ladies who stayed over at my host family's place. The host fam kindly invited them over. We happily enjoyed cereal in the morning -Thanks again, MOM! Cereal: One of the many treats in that package! Did I mention my mom is wonderful...oh right. I forgot. |
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| Me: Day Two at the coffee shop :) |
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| Jeong-man and I; Train Station in Gyeongju City |
Jeongman traveled three hours from his university, where he is a very busy senior in engineering, to meet me. Upon my arrival to his home his mom greeted me with a kind smile and a hug. Memories from my last visit came back in stops and fits as I settled into his home again. There was a lot of down time where Jeongman and I just chatted, wanting to get updated with everything we have been missing out on from each others quickly changing lives. We hiked to get water from the mountain spring near his home (not that they don't have running water, but Koreans really appreciate the value of "nature's bounty")...the weather was perfect. It was the most relaxing time I have had in Korea thus far -- aside from my time in 2008! We reached the top of the mountain and just yelled and yelled, laughing at each other and listening for our echos...
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| One stop on our way to collect water |
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| Jeongman and I |
Do you remember the story I mentioned earlier about the TaiKwonDo teacher who I now play my horn with/get free TaiKwonDo lessons from? His name is Jaegwan--I'll just call him Jae. Well, all of his students love me, especially after today. 13 of us piled into Jae's wife's minivan and drove to a famous mountain called Mai Mountain [ sounds like "My"]. We arrived at 10:30am and went hiking until around 2pm. Here's the crew:
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| Jaegwan, his son and daughter |
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| Me and the kids! |
This was one of my highlights from the hike. I saw this old, OLD OOLLLD guy and burst out laughing...he is proof that English can just be a trendy thing, and sometimes people have no idea what they are wearing (well, I assume that's the case here).
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| Exhibit A: Old Man in Hat at a rest stop |
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| These kids are AWESOME! |
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| Jaegwan and I -- One of Mai Mountain's two peaks. It's higher than it looks here. We are actually at the edge of a cliff... |
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| There is this little village pressed between two small mountains. It's awesome. Check out all the stone-pile pillars in the background! |
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| Post-Hiking ;-) This only lasted for about 30 minutes before everyone in the car was awake again and bursting with energy! |
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| Scenery on the drive back home. Jaegwan's home town |
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| Scenery on the way back: Beautiful Sunset |
Friday, October 22, 2010
A Day in the Life...and other notes
Here is a day in my life!
Wake up between 6 and 6:30am --Mountains in the not-so-far distance...this is the view from my bedroom window:
I shower and get ready, and then enjoy breakfast with the host-fam. Breakfast is normally a combination of cereal, pancakes, eggs, fruit or toast, and rice, kimchi, seaweed soup, fish, or some other meat (spam, pork, or sometimes beef). Breakfast is my most eclectic meal of the day to be sure!
I am at school from 7:50am-4pm Mon-Wed and 7:50-2pm Thurs/Friday! I spend most of my time in the teachers' giant office:
My desk & computer are on the far left in the corner. The chair pictured here is in front of my Co-T's desk (next to mine). Most of the teachers sit in rows like this.
...or when not in the teachers' office I am in my classroom. It is a really great place and the English teachers have their own private office in the back (which I don't often go into because I feel like a hermit when I hang around the English room by myself for half the day).:
There are often hours of down time...it's no wonder the other teachers are at school past 6pm...During the lunch hour I try to hang out with the students. There are a few teachers who coach basketball or other sports for the students during this time.
One high-light of the day is my ride home every day. Not the destination, so much as the ride. I clamber up into this old truck and bounce my way back to my apartment while attempting to hold a conversation in Korean with the office staff who kindly drives me. We see each other everyday and have no idea what to say. It is a lot of fun despite the awkward situation. I cannot help but just laugh some days! Here is the infamous truck and my driver:
I generally rest for a little while after getting back by watching DVDs, napping, reading/writing, or just thinking...I try to get to the gym at least by 5pm though. After the gym/health club, this week I started going to the TaeKwonDo gym to play my horn with the gym master! It is a lot of fun. I finally found my musical outlet in the most random of places. Here's the story: As I was standing in front of the health club last Friday I suddenly heard a trumpet being played. I of course was determined to track down the source of the music and upon further investigation I wound up standing in front of this TaeKwonDo gym. I peeked in the door and saw a room full of 12-year-old kids doing TaeKwonDo (kicking, punching...) AND the gym master --Mr. Sawl -- playing a trumpet. Long story short, this past Monday he and I started practicing together. I'm on horn and he's on trumpet/guitar/he sings. Also, he gave me a Nike brand TaeKwonDo uniform and started asking me to join in during part of the class! I have started a little archery, jump kicking, and sparring. Whew! It's great.
Since dinner is usually around 6:30pm this week I missed eating with the host family in order to spend time at the TKD gym. It isn't great missing out on that time with the h-fam, but nonetheless I am enjoying myself. The TKD teacher has really taken me under his wing.
A few weeks back I tried my hand at cooking and made spaghetti for the host family! I attempted to find the closest thing to Italian Sausage as I could and had to settle for pork-pepper sausage. It actually worked out well! I also made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Y.U.M.
At some point in the evening I start to prep for school, answer emails, etc....I generally sleep after midnight o...this should change, because it's been getting pretty tiring.
Well....That's a day in the life of "Mr. C" (as my students call me)!!!
More things you don't want to miss out on:
(2) Student Class Project:
-Part ONE: "Make your own Dream High School!"
-Part TWO: Vote to decide "The Best Dream School"
There were many great ideas, such as "Astronomy High School" that starts at 8pm and ends at 4am to ensure optimal star gazing time; the menu includes "Space food" and not to forget Kimchi as well :) ....but then of course I am at an ALL BOYS high school. So there were other ideas too...like this. I thought you would enjoy taking a gander:
During the voting process slips of paper were used as ballots. While tallying I found this very nice message written to me by a student...I still am not exactly sure who wrote it. But...I saved the message :)
Wake up between 6 and 6:30am --Mountains in the not-so-far distance...this is the view from my bedroom window:
I shower and get ready, and then enjoy breakfast with the host-fam. Breakfast is normally a combination of cereal, pancakes, eggs, fruit or toast, and rice, kimchi, seaweed soup, fish, or some other meat (spam, pork, or sometimes beef). Breakfast is my most eclectic meal of the day to be sure!
I am at school from 7:50am-4pm Mon-Wed and 7:50-2pm Thurs/Friday! I spend most of my time in the teachers' giant office:
My desk & computer are on the far left in the corner. The chair pictured here is in front of my Co-T's desk (next to mine). Most of the teachers sit in rows like this.
...or when not in the teachers' office I am in my classroom. It is a really great place and the English teachers have their own private office in the back (which I don't often go into because I feel like a hermit when I hang around the English room by myself for half the day).:
Facing the Front of the room
- Two large-screens hooked up to the teacher's computer so I can use PPT
-Each cluster of tables have monitors that I can control (on/off) from the front of the room
Face the back of my room:
-Note the door on the left leading to the private office for English teachers
-I have no more than 30 students per class (6 students/table)
There are often hours of down time...it's no wonder the other teachers are at school past 6pm...During the lunch hour I try to hang out with the students. There are a few teachers who coach basketball or other sports for the students during this time.
One high-light of the day is my ride home every day. Not the destination, so much as the ride. I clamber up into this old truck and bounce my way back to my apartment while attempting to hold a conversation in Korean with the office staff who kindly drives me. We see each other everyday and have no idea what to say. It is a lot of fun despite the awkward situation. I cannot help but just laugh some days! Here is the infamous truck and my driver:
I generally rest for a little while after getting back by watching DVDs, napping, reading/writing, or just thinking...I try to get to the gym at least by 5pm though. After the gym/health club, this week I started going to the TaeKwonDo gym to play my horn with the gym master! It is a lot of fun. I finally found my musical outlet in the most random of places. Here's the story: As I was standing in front of the health club last Friday I suddenly heard a trumpet being played. I of course was determined to track down the source of the music and upon further investigation I wound up standing in front of this TaeKwonDo gym. I peeked in the door and saw a room full of 12-year-old kids doing TaeKwonDo (kicking, punching...) AND the gym master --Mr. Sawl -- playing a trumpet. Long story short, this past Monday he and I started practicing together. I'm on horn and he's on trumpet/guitar/he sings. Also, he gave me a Nike brand TaeKwonDo uniform and started asking me to join in during part of the class! I have started a little archery, jump kicking, and sparring. Whew! It's great.
Since dinner is usually around 6:30pm this week I missed eating with the host family in order to spend time at the TKD gym. It isn't great missing out on that time with the h-fam, but nonetheless I am enjoying myself. The TKD teacher has really taken me under his wing.
A few weeks back I tried my hand at cooking and made spaghetti for the host family! I attempted to find the closest thing to Italian Sausage as I could and had to settle for pork-pepper sausage. It actually worked out well! I also made chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Y.U.M.
At some point in the evening I start to prep for school, answer emails, etc....I generally sleep after midnight o...this should change, because it's been getting pretty tiring.
Well....That's a day in the life of "Mr. C" (as my students call me)!!!
More things you don't want to miss out on:
(1) Hanging out friends in Jeonju city. It is ~30mins away from JeongEup City (where I live)
-This was taken at TGI Fridays!! I was so happy...everything on the menu wasssss.....mouth-watering.
-This is Mr. Lee, one of the math teachers at my H.S.
More Friends! (MiHyang, Micah, and I)
-Part ONE: "Make your own Dream High School!"
-Part TWO: Vote to decide "The Best Dream School"
There were many great ideas, such as "Astronomy High School" that starts at 8pm and ends at 4am to ensure optimal star gazing time; the menu includes "Space food" and not to forget Kimchi as well :) ....but then of course I am at an ALL BOYS high school. So there were other ideas too...like this. I thought you would enjoy taking a gander:
-We voted in class for the "best school" ...this one won for this class
During the voting process slips of paper were used as ballots. While tallying I found this very nice message written to me by a student...I still am not exactly sure who wrote it. But...I saved the message :)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hiking & Holidays
I survived the hiking trip in case you were wondering. No need to worry about me anymore!
The two day trip included: Me, about seven teachers, and 180 high school boys hiking up Jili Mountain, Korea's second tallest mountain (second only by 35 meters).
Yes, that's me.
Late-night Ramen party with some students and my co-teacher (Co-T)!!!
The hardest part was the length. The hike never felt dangerous --except when students were jumping/running full speed down the side of the mountain. Boys will be boys. It was a total of 10 hours of hiking. That takes stamina! Another teacher in his 50s went the following weekend with a few buddies of his and did the hike in ONE DAY! I was impressed.
The View from the Top (1)
TVT (2) --I counted about 16 "layers" of consecutive mountains, one behind another...incredible view!
TVT (3)
Fortunately we had great weather! Clear skies day and night, with brisk weather in the morning that warmed up as the day went on. Also, the stream water was in fact "Mountain Fresh!" and the blisters I got from soccer before hiking were not an issue. Thank you Boy Scouts for teaching me how to properly wrap using gauze.
The students were awesome! They had a lot of fun, I think, despite all their complaining. I was amazed by the energy level of some students. After hiking they still ran around crazily chasing each other and tackling each other. Some could not finish the hike and so they turned around the morning after we stayed in the cabin. According to my Co-T many students are prone to getting hurt these days on excursions like this since all they do is study for exams; there is no time for sports and physical education is definitely second as a priority in school.
The week following the Jili Mountain hike was short. I taught one class on Monday, had a holiday break Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and taught again on Friday.
What, you may ask, was the holiday? It's Chuseok [Choo-sawk]! It is a national holiday in Korea that allocates three days a year for Koreans to stop their busy lives and gather with family in order to pay respect to those family members who have passed away. Many people here say it is similar to the American Thanksgiving, but I fail to see much overlap. There are specific foods eaten on Chuseok, one being Songpyeon, and Thanksgiving also has regular foods (turkey being just one). Chuseok, though, has an array of special ceremonies that go along with the holiday. I unfortunately did not get to see any of them. I highly recommend reading my friend, and fellow Fulbright Grantee, Josh's blog if you want another perspective and a few more details on the holiday. It's a great read, please check it out!!
Anyway, my holiday time was split between Seoul and a SMALLLL farming villiage called Hampyeong [Hahm...similar to speaking with a British accent & saying "ham"...okay?...so, Hahm-pyawng]. In Seoul I had an a GREAT time because I was fortunate enough to meet with my friend from U of I. He currently lives in the east coast in the U.S., but he came home for Chuseok to see his family (he is Korean). I spent one night visiting with him and his parents, while enjoying life in the big city for about 36 hours. It is nice to see a familiar face every now and again while abroad!
Jinyoung and his parents. The kindest people! It was a very rejuvinating break from my day-in, day-out life here!
After Seoul I took a train back to my dwellings in JeongEup City where I met up with my host family. We drove together to Hampyeong where the host mom is from. It was such a small town, and the contrast was emphasized after coming from Seoul. It was great though. There were rice fields (dry...not paddies) and farms all around. I was able to meet the host mom's family. I met her mom, dad, sister, two brothers, and her nephews/neice. It was a blast walking around her neighborhood, petting cows, seeing her parents' gardens and rice fields, and hanging out with her family. We ate some food (squid, songpyeong, rice...), had a few drinks (mulberry wine), and sang a little Karaoke (the host mom's dad owns a karaoke machine...that's right folks! It was epic to see the 80ish-year-old man break into song).
I went to work the next day ready to take on any challenge the students may have thrown my way (there ended up being no challenges...they were all so wiped from their vacations).
The host mom, me, nephew & neice (they are siblings), the host brother, and the little guy with a shocked look on his face (due to the passing train) is another nephew:
The Karaoke King himself (the host mom's father):
Well, this week I have big plans again. On Thursday I will be heading up to Seoul again, but this time I am attending a Roots and Shoots lecture. Jane Goodall is in Korea right now, so I am making sure to attend one of her lectures. I was co-president of Roots and Shoots at U of I, so it's great to have another familiarity find me here in Korea. Luckily I do not have to rush back for work after the lecture either....I will not be working on Friday due to a Fulbright conference being held in my favorite city in Korea: Gyeongju. It is a very historical city. One of my close friends lives there, so I'll be visiting his parents this weekend. I last saw them in 2008 when I first came to Korea...they were my WONDERFUL hosts at the time. I am extremely excited to see them again!!
Have a great week and thanks for keeping up with my travels!
The two day trip included: Me, about seven teachers, and 180 high school boys hiking up Jili Mountain, Korea's second tallest mountain (second only by 35 meters).
Yes, that's me.
Late-night Ramen party with some students and my co-teacher (Co-T)!!!
The hardest part was the length. The hike never felt dangerous --except when students were jumping/running full speed down the side of the mountain. Boys will be boys. It was a total of 10 hours of hiking. That takes stamina! Another teacher in his 50s went the following weekend with a few buddies of his and did the hike in ONE DAY! I was impressed.
The View from the Top (1)
TVT (2) --I counted about 16 "layers" of consecutive mountains, one behind another...incredible view!
TVT (3)
Fortunately we had great weather! Clear skies day and night, with brisk weather in the morning that warmed up as the day went on. Also, the stream water was in fact "Mountain Fresh!" and the blisters I got from soccer before hiking were not an issue. Thank you Boy Scouts for teaching me how to properly wrap using gauze.
The students were awesome! They had a lot of fun, I think, despite all their complaining. I was amazed by the energy level of some students. After hiking they still ran around crazily chasing each other and tackling each other. Some could not finish the hike and so they turned around the morning after we stayed in the cabin. According to my Co-T many students are prone to getting hurt these days on excursions like this since all they do is study for exams; there is no time for sports and physical education is definitely second as a priority in school.
The week following the Jili Mountain hike was short. I taught one class on Monday, had a holiday break Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and taught again on Friday.
What, you may ask, was the holiday? It's Chuseok [Choo-sawk]! It is a national holiday in Korea that allocates three days a year for Koreans to stop their busy lives and gather with family in order to pay respect to those family members who have passed away. Many people here say it is similar to the American Thanksgiving, but I fail to see much overlap. There are specific foods eaten on Chuseok, one being Songpyeon, and Thanksgiving also has regular foods (turkey being just one). Chuseok, though, has an array of special ceremonies that go along with the holiday. I unfortunately did not get to see any of them. I highly recommend reading my friend, and fellow Fulbright Grantee, Josh's blog if you want another perspective and a few more details on the holiday. It's a great read, please check it out!!
Anyway, my holiday time was split between Seoul and a SMALLLL farming villiage called Hampyeong [Hahm...similar to speaking with a British accent & saying "ham"...okay?...so, Hahm-pyawng]. In Seoul I had an a GREAT time because I was fortunate enough to meet with my friend from U of I. He currently lives in the east coast in the U.S., but he came home for Chuseok to see his family (he is Korean). I spent one night visiting with him and his parents, while enjoying life in the big city for about 36 hours. It is nice to see a familiar face every now and again while abroad!
Jinyoung and his parents. The kindest people! It was a very rejuvinating break from my day-in, day-out life here!
After Seoul I took a train back to my dwellings in JeongEup City where I met up with my host family. We drove together to Hampyeong where the host mom is from. It was such a small town, and the contrast was emphasized after coming from Seoul. It was great though. There were rice fields (dry...not paddies) and farms all around. I was able to meet the host mom's family. I met her mom, dad, sister, two brothers, and her nephews/neice. It was a blast walking around her neighborhood, petting cows, seeing her parents' gardens and rice fields, and hanging out with her family. We ate some food (squid, songpyeong, rice...), had a few drinks (mulberry wine), and sang a little Karaoke (the host mom's dad owns a karaoke machine...that's right folks! It was epic to see the 80ish-year-old man break into song).
I went to work the next day ready to take on any challenge the students may have thrown my way (there ended up being no challenges...they were all so wiped from their vacations).
The host mom, me, nephew & neice (they are siblings), the host brother, and the little guy with a shocked look on his face (due to the passing train) is another nephew:
The Karaoke King himself (the host mom's father):
Well, this week I have big plans again. On Thursday I will be heading up to Seoul again, but this time I am attending a Roots and Shoots lecture. Jane Goodall is in Korea right now, so I am making sure to attend one of her lectures. I was co-president of Roots and Shoots at U of I, so it's great to have another familiarity find me here in Korea. Luckily I do not have to rush back for work after the lecture either....I will not be working on Friday due to a Fulbright conference being held in my favorite city in Korea: Gyeongju. It is a very historical city. One of my close friends lives there, so I'll be visiting his parents this weekend. I last saw them in 2008 when I first came to Korea...they were my WONDERFUL hosts at the time. I am extremely excited to see them again!!
Have a great week and thanks for keeping up with my travels!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Early Weekend
Yes, it's true, right now it's 6pm on a Wednesday, but for me the weekend has started. On Thursday all the students at BaeYoung High School are taking a practice college entrance exam. At my school, the first year high school students take many practice exams. Their whole high school experience is basically one big college exam prep course. A vast majority of their class material is based off the entrance exam, and their classes quiz them using material from past exams as well. There is only one national college entrance exam day. It is no laughing matter in Korea. The exam is in November; more details to come at that time! By the way, there are only three total years of H.S. in the Korean education system, so I do not know if I should say freshman, sophomore, jr, or senior when refering to the students--I'll just say "First Year, "Second Year," and "Third Year." Anyway, the point is I do not have class Thursday :)
So what about Friday? Well.....I am going hiking with the first year students and their home room teachers. This is an annual hike the first year students go on. When I heard they were going, and that I would not have class since I teach only first year students, I asked to go along; not knowing what I was getting myself in to. Apparently we are hiking up the highest mountain in Korea (excluding the mountain on one of Korea's islands). I was not too worried when I heard this, but every time I mention it to other people, they are kind of surprised and they tell me it's a pretty strenuous hike. I have not worked out much since getting to Korea, so I am a little worried about getting shown up by the students, haha! Really, though, I think it'll be tiring, but amazing. We are leaving Friday morning at 8am to drive to the mountain and coming back to town Saturday night (we'll be put up in a cabin for the night). I'll let you know how it goes (and if I get any stomach troubles from drinking the stream water --that's going to be our only source of water during the ~10 hour hike. Oh joy...I heard it's perfectly clean though. So, no worries. Right?)
To back up for a minute, last weekend, that's 9/11-12, I went on my first trip out of JeongEup City since my first arrival in late August here. A large group of fellow Fulbright ETA Grantees (not everyone) met up in a city around one hour away by high speed train from JeongEup. We had a night filled with laughter as we caught up with each others newest life adventures in our cities and schools.
So what about Friday? Well.....I am going hiking with the first year students and their home room teachers. This is an annual hike the first year students go on. When I heard they were going, and that I would not have class since I teach only first year students, I asked to go along; not knowing what I was getting myself in to. Apparently we are hiking up the highest mountain in Korea (excluding the mountain on one of Korea's islands). I was not too worried when I heard this, but every time I mention it to other people, they are kind of surprised and they tell me it's a pretty strenuous hike. I have not worked out much since getting to Korea, so I am a little worried about getting shown up by the students, haha! Really, though, I think it'll be tiring, but amazing. We are leaving Friday morning at 8am to drive to the mountain and coming back to town Saturday night (we'll be put up in a cabin for the night). I'll let you know how it goes (and if I get any stomach troubles from drinking the stream water --that's going to be our only source of water during the ~10 hour hike. Oh joy...I heard it's perfectly clean though. So, no worries. Right?)
To back up for a minute, last weekend, that's 9/11-12, I went on my first trip out of JeongEup City since my first arrival in late August here. A large group of fellow Fulbright ETA Grantees (not everyone) met up in a city around one hour away by high speed train from JeongEup. We had a night filled with laughter as we caught up with each others newest life adventures in our cities and schools.
Friends! (In Daejon City, where we all met up --30 or so people)
More Friends (These are some fellow bloggers, Grace, me, Josh, and Tim at the bottom)
I left the group early Sunday morning, waking up at 6am, to catch a train back to JeungEup City to meet my host family. They had plans to go to a town (a little over an hour away by car), which is known for its apple orchards -- it seems to me that many towns in Korea are 'known' for something: peaches, hot peppers, squid, apples...you name it. We went to the annual "Red Apple Festival." I took a lot of pictures because it was such a beautiful area (AND because my host family let me borrow their digital DSLR camera...it takes great pictures...I just may invest in one while here! If you have any suggestions, let me know your thoughts). Here are some of the pictures from Sunday:
Scenery!
Me and Charlie, the family's son (the apples are not real; though, the grass is!)
Poison Apples, Snow White, & the Seven Dwarves (all made from grass)
The Host Family (Sera, Charlie, and Jason)
After the weekend was over, I began to prepare for teaching. It is amazing how productive we can be...some days I barely get through my classes, let alone tack on "extra-curriculars." Today though (Wednesday), I not only played soccer with one of my classes during the student's lunch hour, but I also practiced my horn at school during a break hour, went out with a group of teachers at night, and still managed to write this blog! Maybe it was just the combination of activities I did today that gave me the extra energy; exercise does the body good! I just hope the blisters I got from running around on the dirt soccer field barefoot won't slow me down too much on Friday and Saturday while hiking!
Post any thoughts/comments your have below-- it's always a plus for me to hear what you think :)
Have a great week!
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