"Where in the World"

'Joshua Teacher'

Jennas replacement, Josh arrived late Thursday night and brought with him three bags the size of my one. They were full of audio equipment as he used to be a music teacher back in the states. Hopefully the experience will come in handy.

His first day at school was hilarious, the kids would just stand and stare or giggle and run off to tell their friends. My first day was a blur so I hardly remember the kids reactions to me. It was funny seeing them act all shy when they have no trouble with being noisy in my class.  

Josh seems to be really nice and gets on with the students very well. Mr Kwak has definitely taken a shine to him as they studied at the same University in Colorado. He keeps giving high fives instead of handshakes and he has already invited him out for a drink, just the two of them. Rather him than me I couldn't think of anything worse. Josh however has seen right through Mr Kwak's 'cool' exterior even without me relaying all the encounters Jenna and I have had with him over the past eight months. Josh said, "he can seem a bit fake," got it in one.

I only have two weeks and two days left at the school and in Korea for that matter. My replacement also from the United States (Peter) arrives 30th June. I will have two days to get to know him before I jet off to meet the girls in Thailand. I’m so excited I have already started packing.   

• Posted by k_millington on 20/06/2007.
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All by myself ...

Yesterday morning I went with Jenna to the airport and met Emily there. First they checked their bags and realising that Jenna had managed to pack 23kg, knowing that her flight to Chang mai at the beginning of July has a weight limit of 15 kg, she was a little confused as to what she'd put in to make it so heavy.

Deciding we were hungry we headed for Burger King, unfortunately they had already transferred their money into USD and so they weren't to pleased when they received their change in won. After a quick meal it was time to board, it still didn't feel like they were going anywhere when I said goodbye to them at the gate. It's only four weeks but it will be weird with them not being around.

Once I'd left them I went and booth and bought a ticket for Wondong, I didn’t realise until about 10 min into my journey that the woman had thought I'd said Wondang. I hadn't had time to double check as she told me to run as my bus was about to go. The driver didn't speak any English and so I couldn't translate that I was lost.

I eventually showed him my address in Korean and he understood and told me to stay on board in so many words. I traveled to the end of the line and back to the airport, this took about two and half hours, joy. I finally managed to get on the right bus at 12.30 and made it back in time to go to school.

When I arrived home I was exhausted as I had been up at 6am so I made some dinner and went to bed. Ignoring the mess in the kitchen, living room and bathroom. Therefore I did not appreciate a phone call at 10 o'clock the following morning from my director asking to come round in 30 min to inspect Jennas room.

I rushed around for the next half an hour tidying everything I could. Jenna had cooked me a lovely meal as she hadn't worked on the Monday but she had managed to use every bowl, plate and utensil in the entire kitchen. I managed to chuck all the rubbish bags in my room and closed the door just before the doorbell rang.

He said Jennas room was fine, but that the flat needed some more cleaning and that I should teach the 28 year old guy that’s coming to replace Jenna how to clean. I know he's a guy but I'm sure at 28 he knows how wash up. I then had to listen to another 10min of him telling me not to say negative things about the school and the area, I think he'll be able to figure it out for himself soon enough. Then just before he left he used the bathroom and had the cheek to leave the toilet seat up!

So the new guy or Joshua as I’ve been told is arriving late Thursday night, not Saturday which I was told last week. He's going to come to school with me in the afternoon for a couple of hours to get familiar and 'start his training' as Mr Kwak calls it. I don't remember being introduced to anyone let alone being trained, we just got thrown into the classroom and expected to make do.

This guy has got it easy, not only does he have every piece of work me and Jenna have ever written at his disposal but he has also got furniture, cutlery, plates, bowls mugs etc. in the house. A concept which Mr Kwak hadn't considered when Jenna moved in. Anyway I’ll keep you posted on what the 'new' guy is like, watch this space.

• Posted by k_millington on 13/06/2007.
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Everland

Seeing as it was Jenna's last weekend in Korea we decided to something fun, that involved getting wet.

We journeyed South to reach our destination and after two bus rides, totaling three hours we arrived at Everland. There's not a whole lot to say about the place, its a water park like many others you would find. However it was our last weekend in Korea and so I felt the need to blog.

We bought an afternoon pass, headed to the locker rooms only to find a hundred half naked Korean woman of all ages and sizes. I quickly changed and ran outside into the sun. The theme was pirates and so all the pools had their own pirate theme. There was a wave machine, rafting river, tube slides, rubber ring slides and a surf ride, which we only found after it had closed.

It was a lovely hot day so perfect to be in a water park and although it was hot it could have been busier. The only time we really qued for anything was the biggest slides in the park. We thought we were queing for this huge red bob slay slide but it turned out we'd qued for the more tame white tube slide. However tame was not the word I would have used when I came screaming out the other end. The whole slide was pitch black and if that wasn't enough, it started spraying water in my face. After getting a mouthful of water from screaming I closed my eyes, pinched my nose and held my hand over my mouth waiting for it to end. Unfortunately it was rather long so half way down I realised I couldn't hold my breath any longer, opened just in time to get another mouthful of water as I entered the pool.

For anyone that wants to go here are some directions:

Go to Incheon Bus terminal and ask at the ticket counter for a ticket to Everland.

It will cost about 4, 900 won and takes about 2 hours to get there.   One tip if you are going buy a cheap swim hat as you are not allowed to go on any of the slides without one. You can get one from the gift shop for around 6,000 for a plain one. If your feeling more piratey there’s some more suitable headwear but these are upwards of 15,000 won. You are however allowed to wear bangles, belly chains and great big hoop earings. 

• Posted by k_millington on 11/06/2007.
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'i to i' Update

I haven't really blogged about my contract and any dealings with i to i for a while so I thought I would rectify that. Jenna has had a lot more dealings with i to i and various other people that feel mistreated by them. So here is a link to Jenna's blog where she highlighted the latest excuses of i to i's poor performance in finding us a job in a reputable school and providing us with support throughout our time in Korea.

http://www.etribes.com/node/106694 

For anyone that is considering in teaching abroad please do your research, people are crying out for English teachers and you can do it a lot cheaper on your. I would advise through my experience and those of my friends not to use i to i.

• Posted by k_millington on 23/05/2007.
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Temple Stay

With just less than a week to go until Korea and the rest of the Buddhist community celebrate Buddha’s birthday (24th May) we decided to mark the occasion by visiting one of the Buddhist Temple that welcome visitors of any religious background.

The Lotus Lantern International Meditation Center in Ganghwa is a place where foreign monks and nuns are practicing Seon (Jap: Zen) and lay Buddhists from Korea and abroad can experience Korean Buddhism. The center was founded in 1997, due to the vow of the late Venerable Wonmyeong Sunim, who was a disciple of Seon Master Seongcheol.

At the time of its founding, it served only as a Seon practicing ground for foreign monks, but gradually transformed itself into a temple for practice, dharma propagation, and Buddhist cultural experience.The center is an open place for practice where people exhausted by city life can breathe fresh air in the midst of the forest and rest their minds through Seon practice and prayer. These programs are intended to help people understand Buddhism in a short period of time. 

When we first arrived at the centre we were told to put on our trainee monks clothes, which were all grey and included a pair of baggy pants, a t-shirt and a waistcoat. We had arrived early as the information had told us to arrive by 2pm although nothing really got under way till later. This gave us a perfect photo opportunity where we showed off our lotus and yoga posses.

Orientation began at 4pm, which consisted of a short tour of the grounds and the small temple. We were given a brief introduction into Buddhism and some of it's practices. I am a little vague about this because our monk was Russian and unfortunately his Korean was better than his English. 

Dinner was at six o'clock and consisted of rice (what a suprise), yummy potatoes, mushroom and onions and of course kimchi. Buddhists are vegetarian as they believe all animals have a soul and so there was no steak for dinner. Plus we had to wash up in silence although we didn't quite manage it.

After dinner we entered the temple to pray and chant. The chanting was all in Korean and although I couldn't understand a word of it I found it very soothing. The bow according to the Korean Buddhist tradition was to kneel down, touch your forehead to the floor and rest your hands, palms up, on the ground.

The bowing in parts were difficult and after a while it began to hurt. In the space of a few minutes we had completed half a dozen bows and I was beginning to feel it in my toes. A few others seemed to have the same problem as I heard them crash into the wall from loosing their balance. The first part of the bow is a half bow, followed by kneeling down and pressing your forehead to the ground. The final part is turning your palms skyward.

When the moktak (a wooden percussion instrument used to signal the next movement) sounded we rose back onto our knees and then attempted to get up without letting your hands touch the floor. Try it it's quite hard.

Video (Bowing) - http://www.mediamax.com/katrinaleanne/Hosted/Bowing.MPG

Around 8pm we made our way to the mediation room where our second monk introduced himself. He was from Switzerland and spoke a lot better English. He told us the brief history of Buddhism and about Buddha's life. This was really interesting as it helped me understand more about the religion.

Quick history:

Prince Siddharta Gautama was born some 2,500 years ago as a prince in what is now called Lumbini in Nepal. At his birth, many special signs appeared. His father asked a sage living in his kingdom for advice on his son. The sage predicted that Gautama would become either a great King or a great spiritual teacher.

The King wanted his son to be his successor and tried to keep him far away from all matters of life that could incline him to a spiritual life. Gautama usually spent his life in his father's palace, surrounded by all the possible luxuries of the time. He proved to be a special child, being quite intelligent as well as an excellent sportsman. He married to a beautiful woman he loved, and they had a son.

When Gautama was 29 years old, he discovered there was much suffering in the world around him. Traditionally it is explained that he suddenly recognised the problems of sickness, old age and death when visiting the city. Being shocked by the suffering of all living beings, he decided to search for way to end it. He left his wife and child, the palace and even his royal clothes, and started out on a spiritual quest.

Gautama studied under various teachers and followed their practices until he mastered them all. The most extreme was ascetic practices until in the end, Gautama nearly died of starvation. He then sat down in a place now called Bodhgaya (North India) under a Bodhi-tree and decided not to get up until he discovered the truth. Just a short time later, he became a fully enlightened Buddha. This means that he actualised all positive potentials of a sentient being and rid himself of all negative qualities. With this, he realized the true nature of existence and suffering (emptiness), and how suffering can be ended - http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/buddha.html

  
'Chelsea flower show here we come'

Finally we packed up our bags, cleaned our rooms and had a last round of tea in the garden, before we thanked our hosts and headed out of the village to main road to hopefully catch a passing bus. We had a really good weekend. It was nice to experience something like this in its natural and traditional settings. If anything it was a chance to escape from the noise of the traffic and flashing neon lights.

For contact information and itenerary for Lotus Lantern International Meditation Centre click here and for directions click here

• Posted by k_millington on 18/05/2007.
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The beginning of the end

A couple of weeks ago we had a very eventful week at the school. Jenna finally handed her notice on Monday 7th May after months of worrying how it would be accepted. It came as a great surprise to our director, which in turn surprised us as the last couple of months have not been easy.

Tension had been rising between us and a particular staff member (Henry) and after all the complaints we had made to them I honestly thought he would see it coming. Following her resignation she also gave him Section 2, article 27 of the Labour Standards Act. Which states that, An employer shall not enter into any contract by which a penalty or indemnity for possible damages incurred from nonobservance of a labor contract is predetermined. 

Since then he has assured Jenna that she will receive her full pay minus bills. We haven't got that long to wait till we find out whether he will come through on this promise.

When I arrived at 2pm I was called straight into his office, which I had expected but I didn't realise this would be a regular occurrence throughout the week. He told me he was very shocked and subtle asked whether Jenna would be changing her mind. I acted dumb and said that I heard about the job offer but hadn't realised she had taken it until earlier that morning. 

From this meeting things began to spiral. I had originally planned to hand my notice in 2 weeks before I left in July (as that's the notice stated in my contract). But this changed as I realised that it would be better for everyone if I handed in my notice as early as possible.

Later that day Mr Kwak came to me and asked me whether I would be prepared to stay until February 2008 and take over kindy after Jenna leaves. I definitely didn't see that one coming, I thought he couldn't wait to get rid of me. It made sense as the kindy kids are to young to really understand people coming and going but there was no way I could except that knowing I was leaving. So the following day I told him that I couldn't be away from home that long, little does he know that, that’s when I'm actually planning on going home.

He said he understood and invited me out to dinner that Friday with the staff. Ever since Jenna has resigned he has been particularly nice, telling me not to worry that he will find the right person to replace Jenna and that he wants me to be happy. Well unfortunately its a little too late to start being nice.

I spent the rest of the week implying I was going to be unhappy when Jenna leaves, that there aren't many westerners in our area and I don't know if I want to stay. I wanted it to make it look like I had spent a few days thinking about it carefully.

On Thursday I walked in unexpectedly calm considering I had been worrying about it all week. I asked to have a word with him and when I handed him the letter I could tell he had been expecting it. I told him I was not prepared to stay once Jenna had left and handed him two months notice, with my last working day being the 6th July.

I felt so relieved once I left his office that I just wanted to scream. I couldn't keep the smile off my face that I had finally done it, that I didn't have to worry about it anymore and that this part of my trip is nearly over. It's not long now before I get to begin the second part of it.

• Posted by k_millington on 14/05/2007.
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The first Sunday in May

At the UNESCO designated site of Jongmyo (Changdeokgung Palace), Jongmyo Daeje is celebrated on the first Sunday of May every year. It is a solemn national ritual that represents the 500 year history and spirit of the Joseon Dynasty. This only happens once a year so we thought we would take advantage of that and drop in to see what was going on.

When we first arrived at the main coutyard where the peformances were taking place there were so many people that you couldn't find a seat. They began to push the people down in front so the ones at the back could see. After some pushing and shoving we managed to find a space enough to see what was happening.

After about five minutes we had ajimas (old women) poking us and prodding us, so we would move out of the way. It got extremly frustrating as we couldn't move forward, or backwards or even have enough room to sit on the floor. At one point Emily turned round to me and said "if they push one more time I'm going to hit them," go Emily! 

 
Palilmu Dancers

The dancers peformed in Jongmyo  Daeje are called Ilmu or Palilmu. Pal means eight and they therfore stand in rows of eight, totalling a number of 84 dancers. Ilmu consists of two types of dance, Munmu and Mumu. Munmu is danced to the music of Botaepyeong, with Yak (a three-holed bamboo flute) in the left hand and Jeok (a pheasnat-feather tasseled wooden bar) in the right hand. It is a dance of civilian tates. Mumu is a military dance, with those in the front four rows holding wooden swords and the rear four rows wooden spears. It involves fast forcible moves.

Video (Palilmu Dancers) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV03271.flv

The peformance was good and plenty of information was provided in English so that we could understand the ceromony. But after a while it got to hot sitting in the sun so we moved away from the main courtyard back to the entrance where we found staff handing out plastic vissas. We couldn't resist and so below is a picture of us doing our 'ajima' impressions.

• Posted by k_millington on 08/05/2007.
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Tol, The first milestone

On the weekend of the 28th April we had been invited to Mr Kwak's (my director) son's first birthday. Reaching the age of one is a momentous occasion in Korea as up until a few years ago many children didn't live longer than the first year. In the past, due to a lack of medical information, Korea's seasonal temperature differences, and many childhood related diseases, the death rate for children was extremely high. Many children died before their first birthday.

The second phase of the celebrations involves dressing the child in the tol-bok which are colourful, dressy clothes that seem to resemble a smaller version of the hanbok. However a lot of superstitions connected with these clothes for instance buttons are not used to protect the child’s longevity.

For more information on the tol-bok and the differences between boys and girls tol-boks click here 

 
Mr Kwack's wife, Amy and Mr Kwack's son

I wanted a picture of Mr Kwak's son dressed up in the tol-bok but he didn't seem to want to put it on so his mother posed with him and their first child Amy who is currently taught by Jenna in kindergarten. As you can see the birthday boy wasn't very happy about having his picture taken. For some reason people in Korea tend not to smile in pictures hence why none of them are smiling.

The third stage and probably the most fun for most is presents time. Traditionally a child is presented with a gold ring, this is not for the child to wear but to be used later to pay for the child's education and other needs. A ring was given by the teachers but Jenna and I had no idea whether we were supposed to bring a gift or not so I don't we were included in that group gift.

The table at the far end was set up like a shrine with offerings of fruit and tradtionally 12 different kins of ddeok (rice cake). But the most important part of this stage is the Toljabee which is when the child is given a series of objects that could determine his or her future. The items include a large bundle of thread, a brush, a Korean calligraphy set, pencil, book, money (10,000 won bills), bow and arrow (needle, scissors, and ruler for girls). These are then arranged in front of the child and the child is encouraged to pick one up, each items carry's a different prediction. From talking to Anne (one of my Korean co-teachers) I discovered that the pencil represents intelligence, the money represents wealth and the bundle of thread represents good health and long life. After doing some research I found what the items predict.

Bow and arrow: the child will become a warrior
Needle and thread: the child will live long
Jujube: the child will have many descendants
Book, pencil, or related items: the child will become a successful scholar
Rice or rice cake: the child will become rich (some resources say choosing a rice cake means the child is not smart)
Ruler, needle, scissors: the child will be talented with his/her hands
Knife: the child will be a good cook   

The birthday boy picked up the pencil everyone cheered and began to eat, talk and mingle again, whilst the family had there pictures taken. What struck me and Jenna as strange was that through out the entire event people were constantly coming and going. Either arriving late of leaving early and there were many empty tables during the event.  The closest thing we could associate this with would be a christening, the difference is I wouldn't call this a party and no one gets drunk claiming their wetting the babies head.

 
The birthday surrounded by gifts

As we left we were given a cactus plant and a box of rice cake as a thankyou for coming. It was good to be invited to something you dont generally get to experience when your in Korea, and to see our boss acting like a human being i.e. smiling. He doesn't do it very often and although we assumed we were simply their to be shown off I actually felt very welcome.

• Posted by k_millington on 08/05/2007.
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Korea House

A taste of charm, beauty, history and tradition, is the inviting welcome used by Korea House. Situated in Chungmuro, Seoul it is hard to believe that in this area there is a tranquil gardens that will take you back to a time where Korea was at a cultural high.

Some history:

Korea House is a comprehensive cultural complex representing the traditional Korea culture. Kore House not only shows off the exquistie beauty of traditional Korean architecture but also presents traditional Korean food, music, dance, craftwork, weddings etc. to its visitors. The complex building was designed and built by Shin Ung-su, a designated important intangible cultural property for large-scale carpentry.

The complex, sizing up to a total of 2,500 pyeong(approximately 8,265 square meters)was built exactly in the traditional Korean style consisting of tall gates, a detached house. main building, servants' quarters, and a back yard. Zelkovas, maples, pine trees, yews, Chinese quineces, royal azaleas grow in the beautiful grove with a narrow path paved with stones.

The Korea House introduces traditional court cuisine to visitors from abroad and home and stage traditional Korean art including traditional music, dance, plays, ceremonies, and games. You can also enjoy your time watching or listening to performing arts such as the Gainjeonmokdan, Bongsan Mask Dance, Salpuli dance,Fan dance, Pansori, Ganggangsulae, Shinawi ensemble, Samulnori, and the drum dance.

As Emily's parents had traveled over to see her we decided to do the tourist bit and inject some culture into our lives. Once we'd arrived and said our hello's we took a short walk around the gardens before the peformance started. They were beautifully sculpted and house some of the outer buildings that once served as Kimchi and rice houses.

 
A view of the tranquil gardens 

The small concert hall was set up like a cinema with a small stage at the front and extremely confortable seats. They even had a small screen that translated what each act was, in several languages including English and Chinese. 

 
Chang go ch'um  
 
Chang go ch'um is a traditional drum dance that was originally part of the farmers dance performed at rural festivals. I thorally enjoyed this peformance as the dancers moved to the beat of the drums. They made dancing whilst playing an instrument look so easy and graceful.

 
Buchaechum 

The fan dance was beautiful as they created shapes and moves with fans of which I have never seen before. In Korean it is called Buchaechum and is said to be

Video - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=fandance.flv 

Sinawi is an ensemble of eight traditional musical instruments, Geomungo (a Korean zitherlike instrument with six strings), Gayageum (twelve-stringed Korean harp), Jing (a Korean gong), Ajaeng (a seven-stringed court musical instrument), Haegeum (a Korean fiddle), Piri (a Korean flute), Daegeum (a Korean large transverse bamboo flute), and Janggu (a Korean double-headed drum), and the Samullori.  

Again this was not particularly nice on the ears, in fact it sounded like a load of todlers had got hold of some pots and pans. But it was a great opportunity to see traditional Korean instruments used by masters.

Video (Sinawi) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=music.flv

  
Sangmo Peformaers

The Sam-Kuan Chon dance requires unbelievable concentration as a ribbon was attached to the top of each mans hat. They peformed only to the beat of the drums the four men carried on stage. One of them even peformed moves that were similar to break dancing.

Video (Sam-Kuan) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=longribbon.flv

At one point towards the end of the show the dancers came into the crowd and pulled people from there seat. Jenna had insisted on sitting in the aile seat as it was closest to the toilet and due to her constant need to pee, this was a good idea. Although I think when she was unwillingly dragged from her seat with encouragement from us, she was regretting it. Below is a little taster of Jenna's fantastic uncoordination.

Video (Jenna on stage) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=embarrasedagain.flv

 
Group picture - At the back are the peformers from the show and on the front row (from left to right) is Adam (Emily's dad), Jenna, me, Tracy (Emily's mum) and Emily. 

Current Price List:

The Korea House Folk Peformance 30,000 won

The Korea House Folk Peformance plus Korean court cuisine 60,000 won 

• Posted by k_millington on 30/04/2007.
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Speach Contest

Since I have been at the school there have two speach contests. The first happened when Jenna and I were on our holidays (Japan) from school over new year. The second took place at the very end of March and this time we had the ooportunity to see all are hard work pay off, or in some cases not.

For weeks before we have to practice depending on their level either story book or conversation. This is then drilled for two or three weeks before hand in EVERY single class. As you can imagine we get bored, the kids get bored and everyone is grumpy.   

Below is just a few pictures and video's of some of the students I teach peforming in front of a small audience. I also understand that a lot of this will be meaningless to any readers but in years to come this will bring back good and bad memories of teaching at this school.  

Super Special


Crystal and Alice

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV03009.flv

Amy and Luna 

 
Arnold and William

Kelly and Anna  

Kenny and Kate 

Super Special is one of my favourite classes, it consists of all the best students in the 3rd and 4th grades that attend the school. They are extremely cute and love acting out conversations to me. They are also incredable good at hang man and usually guess it within the first few guesses, which makes it an absolutly usless tool to fill some time.

Because of their level each one was given a short speach as well as their conversation. They all did very well and have made definite improvements since me and Jenna have been teaching them i.e. they don't have american accents, just cute posh british ones. 

Basic Phonics (Sophia)

 

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV02995.flv

This is a relativly new class, since the new term begin they seemed to be a lot less older students and so I was given a few younger classes. These were a bit of a challenge as I now teach kids from ages seven to seventeen. The younger ones to seem to keep me buisier but they are definitly more fun. Although none of my seventeen year olds have had nose bleeds, teath falling out, snot running down their nose etc. So there's good points and bad.

Inter Fantasy (Jinny) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV02998.flv

Basic Fantasy (Alice) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV03003.flv

Basic Junior (Alice) - http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV03031.flv

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s254/katrinaleanne159/?action=view&current=MOV03034.flv

• Posted by k_millington on 24/04/2007.
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