The Honeymoon is Over

 

A quarter of the way into my year abroad, things have started to really slow down.  I’m no longer surprised by the dozens of cars running red lights, the mosh pit style grocery shopping or even motorbikes mounting the sidewalks at every opportunity.  If you couple all of that with North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island last week and it’s enough to make any American homesick around the holidays.

One of the most uplifting parts of my journey initially was the time at school I spent with my students.  Seeing their smiles and hearing all the funny and interesting things they had to say was refreshing.  Well that too has faded into the sunset.  Last week alone I found no fewer then three spots on the walls of my classroom where students had used Korean profanity in direct association with my name.  In one class I asked the kids to list things they like and dislike.  I made it onto two students’ “dislike” list.  Another group of kids had to draw all the people in class including their teacher; my instructions were followed closely by one boy holding up his paper to point at the picture he had drawn of me.  This action was accompanied by him yelling “teacher very very ugly!”

 Coming into this experience I was told by my recruiter that Korean children are “traditionally better behaved than their western counterparts.”  I must have gotten a bad batch.  I may sound filled with discontent but honestly I’m taking it all in stride.  I knew coming into this I would have rough patches, and for all I know this might not even be one of them.  But if there’s one thing my parents taught me it’s that “if you start something, you have to finish it.”  That lesson has served me well up to this point and I imagine it will again.

Anytime life gets stale the best medicine is often a change of scenery.  Luckily my school is taking a nice weeklong break at the end of December and I’m hopping a plane to Beijing.  A 2:00 a.m. bus to Incheaon, and an hour flight to China will certainly make it the most nontraditional Christmas of my life.  I’m there for half the week then I’m heading to beautiful Boracay Island in the Philippines for New Years.  Do me a favor and google image search “Boracay Island.”  Not a bad place to sing auld lang syne.

Change of Scenery

Fall brings some of my favorite things; cooler weather, football season, bonfires and the leaves changing color.  Well it was fall when I arrived and it was still hot, there were no fires, certainly no football and ever single leaf was lush and green.  I began to think Korea was going to deny me the simple but best things of my favorite season.  Well there’s still no sign of football and the last fire I saw was one I started in my kitchen…but November has finally delivered the colder weather and brighter colors.  In a very big way.

The temperature is dropping dramatically and without me even noticing the leaves have transformed to the most vibrant colors imaginable.  The change in my surroundings was compounded last weekend when my school decided to move me to a new apartment.  Doesn’t really seem like a big thing but when you get a new apartment in Korea…you get nothing.  So everything has to move.  The apartment I was living in had accumulated a ton of stuff from previous teachers and it was a bit of task to move it but, with some help from my co-teacher Heather and a HUGE hand from the one and only Josh Doerschuk, I managed to cram everything into a smaller but MUCH cleaner apartment.

To celebrate the successful move Josh and I loaded up and headed to the down town area of Jeonju (Gaeksa) to check out a few sightseeing spots.  We noticed on a map we had of the city that there were a few temples to the south grouped together.  So we went through downtown to get there but stopped at this beautiful church (interestingly enough Christianity is the fastest growing religion in South Korea) to snap a few photos.  We hit the hiking trail pretty hard, thinking that we’d find these temples easily.  They were NOT grouped together nicely (as the map suggested) and it was a miniature adventure finding each one.  The area where the temples were was called Namgosanseong Fortress and it was literally surrounded by a large stone wall on all sides.  The hike was interesting and the view from the peak alone was worth the trip here.

The Scariest Halloween…EVER!!!!

 

As a youngster Halloween was absolutely my favorite holiday.  I started thinking of my costume a year in advance and started putting it together shortly after.  The idea that I could be WHATEVER I wanted for an entire night tickled me pink.  The candy was obviously a nice bonus but the only real draw back was the spookiness involved.  I was quite the wimp as a child (some would say that hasn’t changed) and having people jump out and scare me was not high on my priority list.  It probably ranked somewhere close to eating my vegetables and brushing my teeth.  Well I can honestly say this Halloween takes the cake when it comes to frightfulness.

Monsters, spiders, zombies and mummies are terrifying; don’t get me wrong.  But 40 screaming Korean kids is by far the most bloodcurdling sound on earth.  Last Friday our school put together a Halloween party for the kids which was a lot more work than I anticipated.  Halloween is not nationally recognized here in South Korea but I work at an English academy which means it’s important to participate in holidays that western countries do.  The Korean teachers at the school asked for input on what to do for the party…which turned into us (my co-teacher Heather and me) planning the entire thing.

So we came up with mask making for the little ones and Halloween bingo and mummy wrapping (using toilet paper of course) for the older kids.  That seems simple enough but when you add candy, costumes, glitter and glue to kids who are already hyped up it’s a formula for disaster.  And it was.  In every sense of the word.  I’ll just put it this way; I’m still finding material from the party wedged in small spaces around my classroom.  Now that it’s over I can retire the devil costume (and the horrific facial hair I grew for it) and look forward to a more relaxing, less terrifying, stateside Halloween next year.

Muskies Swim Together

As the cold weather rushes into Jeonju for my first Korean autumn it brings with it a familiar face in a not so familiar place.  My college roommate Josh has finally arrived.  It was Josh and his high school buddy Dan who planted the idea of this trip in my head initially so I have them to thank for most of what happens while I’m here.  It’s great to have some semblance of home in a place that is still so foreign to me and it’s shown me a lot about myself…I’ve actually learned something since landing in September!

It’s fun rolling around town taking Josh to some of my favorite places and discovering new ones.  It’s always nice to have two ears to the ground as well that way nothing gets by.  He hears about things I had idea were going on and I can key him into the events I catch wind of.  We’ve gotten to walk around a bit together which is fun and just hanging out is a good way to pass time although the work from school seems to be mounting with a few classes finishing books and report cards due next week.

 

It’s been well over a week since my last post so I feel like there should be a lot to talk about but really there isn’t.  I’ve gotten more used to the culture, figured out how to hail a taxi and make it home, teaching has become more routine and I received my first package from home.  My girlfriend Caitlin sent me some really great stuff to remind me of home (mostly my favorite candy) as well as some stickers for class.  The kids LOVE them.  This weekend there are a couple of fun events going on in Jeonju and I hope to have a few more interesting things to write about then.  Hope the pictures make up for the severe lack of contest in this post.

View from the top

 

One of my favorite things to do growing up was hiking around in the woods.  I loved the freedom, the adventure and never knowing what you’d find.  For the most part those expeditions were limited to Gantz Park, a sparsely wooded 14 acre plot of land by my childhood home.  At age 16 when an Ohio driver’s license opened new doors for my adolescence, it closed just as many.  Hiking became a casualty of young adulthood and I never gave it a second thought.  This trip has allowed the roles to reverse.

 

I miss the freedom and comforts of driving; the windows rolled down, the sunroof open and the music up loud.  However, seeing the driving habits of the people in this country make me glad I won’t be behind a wheel during my stay.  It’s insane.  So I’ve traded in the car keys to fit back into my hiking boots.  Korea is littered with mountains and most of them have fun hiking trails for beginners all the way up to (let’s say) the NOT faint at heart.  For some reason I thought tackling the tallest mountain in the province would be a good starting point.

 

The other English teacher from my school and another friend decided that we would master the beast.  A 3.5 kilometer hike gets you to the top of Moak-San.  At every check point the road gets narrower and more treacherous.  Not an easy task but the thought of accomplishment kept us going and the reward was well worth it.  The stops along the way were interesting and colorful but the incentive for a successful accent was breath taking.  The view goes on for miles and the mountains never seemed to stop and the rain provided a mist that blanketed the countryside.

I’ve felt a lot of things since I’ve been here, I would describe this one as “humble.”

Wake me up, when September ends

After about a month in Korea I’ve started to get accustomed to the culture, food and general way of life.  I’ve eaten things I would never have imagined, seen 1,000 red lights ignored and even began to learn Hangul (Korean’s written alphabet).  Though the list of things and people I miss in America is lengthy I’ve learned to adapt to my surroundings and start to have fun with things I might not have before.  Initially the red light district was an uncomfortable idea and place, but now I take many comfortable strolls through the area.  It’s amazing how less intimidating hookers, pimps and sleazy motels are with an ice cream cone and renewed attitude.

The most interesting and challenging thing so far (no surprise) is teaching.  I’ve never been entrusted with well being of children (mostly because I’m still a child myself) and it has been a tough task everyday.  They need to be kept in line but they are still children so understanding and gentleness are required as well.  This balancing act can test my patience but it’s hopefully making me a better person and, someday down the road, father.  My parents used to say “I hope you get a child just like you.” Well Mom and Dad rest easy, I’ve got about 65.

 

This place is still strange, but it’s certainly growing on me.  With every new discovery Jeonju feels less like a place and more like a city.  And though it’s far from home it’ll do for 11 more months.  I even found a new favorite lunch spot, they have amazing corn dogs.  And they put ketchup and mayo on it…might be the death of me.

My School, Minsoksagwan Language School

Opening New Doors

Adventure [ad-ven-cher]  noun

participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.

When deciding to come to Korea, adventure was the underlying reason.  For the most part I told people (including myself) that I was doing it to find out who I was.  Korea was my path to self discovery, or at 23 maybe it’s rediscovery.  Deep down though, adventure was the intangible object dangling in front of me, enticing enough to force the leap.  Too often in American society we’re told once college is over, that’s it for the adventure department.  Get your fun in now because adulthood awaits.  I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on exploration so this was going to be my last hurrah.  But to discover adventure you must search for it.

This week we had three days off school.  Tuesday through Thursday I had all to myself to enjoy Chuseok; a Korean holiday centered on time with family, honoring the dead and of course food.  Having no money to travel, and no family to celebrate with I was left to my own devices.  This allowed me to seek out some adventure, albeit on a very small stage.

I have a pretty good sense of direction (thank you mom) so I have no problem just setting out for a stroll with no map or idea of where I’m going.  I ventured into Jeonju during the week, just to see the place.  To take some pictures and to get an idea of where things were.  What I found out was that if you look hard enough, this is a pretty interesting place filled with opportunity.

Party in the city where the heat is on

One of the best things about South Korea is how small the country is and, as a result, accessible most of the cities are.  One such city is Pusan, the second largest metro area of Korea and their beautiful equivalent to Miami.  The only thing more expansive than the sprawling mountains here are the gorgeous beaches and I got to see both this weekend.

Heather, the other English teacher at my school, was headed to Pusan this weekend with some other westerners and asked if I wanted to tag along.  It would be a great way to meet a few more English speakers and also a fun escape from Jeonju.  Despite my tight budget I knew an important part of this trip was to see the country in all its glory, so I accepted.  Saturday morning we loaded up and took the three hour bus drive to Pusan.

The group turned out to be mostly from the UK but they were all great people.  Very accepting of the “new guy” and willing to let me into the group without a second thought.  They had all been there before so I was the puppy following their every step.  We hit a great Mexican restaurant (very hard to find in Korea) and an Indian place that was EXCELLENT!  We spent time at the beaches before diving into the nightlife which, for those of you who know me well, is not my scene.  I am the anti-fun when it comes to drinking, smoking, bar hopping and club going…it just isn’t me.  I am however very aware of its popularity and was all the happier to go where the night took me.

It was a packed day of travel, beaches, shopping and food with a crescendo to a night on the town punctuated with an hour of lying on the beach in complete darkness at 2:00 in the morning.  As I laid in the sand, listening to the calming rhythm of the waves crash, I knew I was in this 100%.  I made the right choice coming here.  I’m putting everything into this trip but that doesn’t mean my heart isn’t half a world away in Athens, Ohio.

A Buckeye born and bred

Those of you who know me well know that I love my shuteye.  When I don’t count enough sheep, well let’s just say I’m less than accommodating.  So why then did I SPRING out of bed at 4:00 A.M. this morning?  I did it for the one thing that will always put me in a good mood…Ohio State football.  For a homesick kid 7,000 miles away from everything I love, football is a welcomed dose of ordinary.

Even though I had to trade in my wings for chopsticks and my uncontrollable screaming for silent fist pumps it felt like home.  The glaring differences between South Korea and the United States seem to be slightly muted this morning hearing the echoes of O-H-I-O and seeing the embarrassingly hilarious Snuggie commercials.  My post game celebration will be a bit different but the facts remain the same, I bleed Scarlet and Gray.  I’m going to turn in for a few hours, let’s hope I don’t have nightmares about Ohio State’s special teams.

There is no education like adversity

After being in South Korea for two days, being sick and unable to really do much I was (let’s go with)  unprepared for my first day in the classroom. A trip like this seemed important for me in my growth as a person and the teaching was really my mechanism to getting over here. I didn’t put a lot of thought into what the job would be like. After a couple days with these kids I can tell THEY will be what gets me through the tough times. Their smiles are infectious, their reaction to meeting a new American is hilarious and my ego can never hear enough of “teacher teacher you are so handsome!”

Some of the classes are more advanced than others, which is to be expected. I enjoy getting through to the younger students but the older ones in my advanced classes are so fun because they want to talk about anything and everything. Interacting with them is rejuvenating AND exhausting. I got zero training and was just thrown into all my classes, and though six hours doesn’t seem like a lot of time to work…it is a lot to teach. I have a new found respect for teachers back in America. Toward the end of my second day when I wasn’t sure if I could go another period, a little boy named Ben (they all pick English names to go by, which they love) came up to me and said “Teacher I make you some food” and handed me a bag of Korean cookies he had made. Melted my heart in a way only a child can.  They're picking up quickly too...look what I already tought them

I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more

Culture shock comes in waves. You get hit with it when you walk off the plane and have no idea what luggage carousel to go to because everything is in another language. Another frustrating dose when you can’t plug anything into the outlets. Buying food, hailing a taxi, just saying hi…all impossible. But it comes with the territory.

South Korea reminds me more of Las Vegas than anywhere else with all the halogen signs and flashing banners. Everyone stares because, well let’s face it, I look different. I was wondering if I’d make it another minute without contact back home but I finally got my computer to work and I was able to Skype with a few people. Seems like something small but it made all the difference. I thought coming into this I had an iron clad stomach and an adventurous spirit that could conquer homesickness in a single bound. Turns out that isn’t the case. I miss my friends, my family, the small comforts of the States…all the things I thought I could do without. This year will test me, but if I come out on the other side alive it’ll be a better me. And I guess that’s the point of taking on an endeavourer like this.

Arrivals and Departures

Port Columbus gate B30 flight 5895, O'Hare gate C11 flight 101, LAX gate 102 flight 201.  18 hours in the air and 4 more on a bus and I'm in Jeonju, South Korea.  Glad it's all done and over with.  This place is so different than America.  I mean duh, yea I knew that but it's so interesting.  The huge buildings with flashing lights all over them with all the commercial splendor of a major city.  Somehow though it feels intimate with the picturesque mountains as a backdrop.  Yet the same question keeps racing through my mind.  WHAT AM I DOING HERE!?  I must have spent every minute of that 13 hour flight from Los Angeles to Seoul trying to convince myself that I'm not crazy for doing this.  Pretty sure I didn't do the job.

I'm staying in a hotel tonight becasue the apartment I will be living in is still occupied with the teacher I'm replacing.  This lovely establishment is a "love hotel" which confused me at first, but it became much clearer when I found all the switches for the colored lights above the bed.  Spenser Miller, welcome to the red light district.

Bildunsroman

- a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist –


On the eve of my year long trip to South Korea I have a mixed bag of feelings. I’m nervous yes, excited sure, but most of all I’m curious. This will be like nothing I’ve ever done before. A side of the globe I’ve only ever dreamed about. The expectations for a journey like this are high but reasonable. Over 12 months I’d love to become proficient in Korean, see the beaches, ski the mountains, taste the cuisine and learn the culture. Most of all, this trip is about finding who I am. Thanks for coming aboard for the ride.