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