Autumn in Korea

Well, where do I begin??

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Last weekend (Saturday, November 8th) I experienced my first Cirque du Soleil production. The show was titled "Alegria." After a little research I've come to understand that the production has something to do with the misuse of power, whether by kings, tyrants or dictators - but it is also about hope and perseverance. While these themes were, for the most part, hidden from me during the performance, the experience was nonetheless powerful, moving and extremely beautiful.

As you might guess, audience members were not allowed to use photography during the performance. Still, I found this short video on Youtube that covers most of the highlights of the show. Check it out!! :-D



In conclusion, would I recommend this show?? You betcha. Will I be attending another Cirque du Soleil production the very next chance I get? Yes indeed.

P.S. I think my favorite part was the "Aerial High Bar Act"...

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This past week was relatively normal... However, November 11th (11/11) was some sort of Holiday known in Korea as "Pepero Day." A Pepero is a candy stick dipped in chocolate. The day was chosen as Pepero Day because "11/11" sort of looks like 4 Peperos. Hehe... it's quite a gimmick, but it's a very successful one. I received Peperos from nearly every child I know in Korea. I would post a picture but alas, I ate all of them!! Hehe...


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Friday was our monthly fieldtrip. We took the children to the farm.... again. I wasn't overly excited to visit the farm yet again, however the short trip was much more enjoyable than I had expected!

The kids picked what were referred to as "turnips." However, I assure you these were not turnips. I believe they were picking some kind of Lettuce or Cabbage. These "turnips" were so big that each one filled up an entire backpack. Hehe... How cute it must've been for the parents to open up their little bags and find these enormous "turnips" stuffed inside. I was only able to capture a few shots before my camera died.

<--- This is is my favorite pic of Hyu and Daniel!


After "turnip-picking" we made little beaded bracelets with the kids. Did this have anything to do with the farm or with turnips?? I don't think so... but, oh well. The kids really enjoyed it, and, thankfully, none of MY kids' bracelets fell apart throughout the day. Whew!!


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Friday night I attended a DJ show for the underground giant known as "DJ Shadow." I never thought I would enjoy DJ shows until I came here and it's really almost the only quality music I can find in Korea. It all began in the spring at the World DJ Festival held annualy in Seoul. Last month I also saw Benny Benassi. It's a completely different experience and I've really enjoyed this so far!! Many artists I would otherwise like to see will give shows in Japan or Australia but will rarely stop in Korea. The most interesting thing about DJ Shadow in Korea is that he performed 3 shows solely in Korea. I'm not sure why, but I won't complain. The show was incredible and I had soooo much fun!!


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Hopefully I've covered all the major highlights of the past few weeks. There is much more to look forward to! I can hardly believe that in barely a month Jason will be here!!! Then Cory and I will go to the Philippines for Christmas/New Years... and then it will be less than 2 months before it's time for me to head home!! My remaining time here is passing me by so quickly and picking up speed with every moment. I am at once, excited, frightened, saddened, happy, anxious... and a whole load of other emotions. In short, the realization that my time here is rapidly coming to an end is bittersweet.

Yet for now, I must enjoy what is around me. For now, I am surrounded by Autumn's incomprehensible splendor. Perhaps it is that the reds and yellows and golden browns of the leaves remind me of home, but until now, I have never realized how much I truly love and adore Fall. It is of course impossible to fully capture its beauty in a photo but here is a lovely picture of Autumn in Korea taken by a friend of mine.

This is Korea

I was recently shown the following two music videos. Why I had not heard of or discovered them before now remains an utter mystery. The reason I say this is because, when viewed together, these videos completely epitomize life in Korea.

The songs are performed by a group called the EV Boyz. They are quite popular among expats in Korea, maybe even with some Koreans as well. I just found out about them so I really can't say.

Anyway, these videos are absolutely amazing. They are so dead-on and therefore speak volumes about the expat experience here.

If you've ever wondered what it's like for me, "kickin it" in Korea, this 1st video will give you a pretty decent idea...

After watching the 1st video, it is rather imperative to understand that there is a stereotype here for male foreigners to date korean women. I'm not gonna argue against this stereotype, and neither do the EV Boyz. Just be forewarned, everything in this video (sharing dried squid, giggling on the subway, and especially the matching outfits) is true.

Halloween in Korea

Halloween is coming. At SLP it's already here!! :-D

I've been playing "It's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown" to my preschoolers all month. I'm proud to say that after watching it a few times they have finally understood the concept of "rock" and giggle whenever Charlie Brown says "I gotta rock."

I LOVE it!!

<3 <3 <3

October Field Trip!

This past Friday was our October field trip for the preschoolers (Korean age: 6-7yr olds/American age: 4-6yr olds). In the past we have ventured to such exciting places as the farm (hardly a farm, more of a hot-house yet fun for the kids), the swimming pool (actually more of a concrete fountain) and the electric museum (boring even for adults, incomprehensible for preschoolers).



Up until now, the best field trip by far has been to the "swimming pool." Imagine a staff of young teachers playing in 2 feet of water with dozens of preschoolers: adorable and exhilarating. Actually, no matter where the field trip takes place, it is amazingly enjoyable to just be out with your kids in a fun environment where you can really get to know them more. Truly, I always forget little these kids are until we take them out of the school. If I wasn't ready their teacher I wouldn't expect half as much out of one of these young kids as I expect out of a whole class all at once.



Hands down, this months field trip has been my absolute favorite thus far. This month we took the preschoolers to Daemo San (Daemo Mountain). The crisp autumn weather was perfect. And so my eight 4-6year olds and I hiked up a few trails where we then played at the pavilion, collected leaves and acorns and even spotted a squirrel or two. We enjoyed the usual field trip cuisine of "gimbap" (basically a plain sushi-like roll without the sushi part), and whatever various coffees, fruits, candies, sandwiches, teas, etc.. my class has brought for me to enjoy. The gift-giving and thoughtfulness here is incredible. It is not unusual for a teacher to receive much more than he or she can possibly eat or drink at one meal (think: 3 coffees, 2 juices, 2 teas, a sandwich or two, a bag of cherries, various candies, chocolates, gum, chips, etc...).



I have this wonderful video of my kids discovering some kind of hole in the ground. I really love them so much. The are so adorable and clever, it just kills me.

Ninja News

Well, you can see how well I've been doing with these "daily" entries. Oops! I will try to improve!

I have been attending a Hapkido class M-F for just under 2 months now. Last month I earned my first belt - yellow. Yay!! So this past weekend I won my first battle. Actually it was against my unlucky friend who underestimated my ninja powers (sorry Kyle!).

I have been learning the useful skills of kicking, somersaults and nunchuks. And tonight I did something so ridiculous you will never believe it really happened. OK, so I ran up a wall and kicked in the air (what could have been someones face!!) HIYA!!

I feel so awesome right now. :-)

Snack Time

When I first came to Korea, I was bombarded with so many unexpected cultural differences. In some ways I truly expected the differences, but I guess what continuously surprised me was how the differences were often in things and places for which I had never thought to anticipate. The same goes for the similarities. For where I had expected stark contrast, I quite often found congruity.

At first I was a little surprised by the snacks my preschoolers enjoy. These have included: cherry tomatoes, boiled eggs (with salt), sweet garlic bread sticks, and roasted chestnuts. I didn't even realize that I might like roasted chestnuts! Sometimes you can buy them on the street here, and they are actually quite tasty.

I've said this before, and it still holds true; my favorite place in Seoul is Insadong. I adore the .charming little streets with their many art galleries and traditional shopping, the delightful street food and the cultural mix of people milling about the area. And yet, just at the end of this main street is the likeness of downtown new york city (think: neon lights, skyscrapers, high-end shopping and night clubs).

For now, Korea is in such an interesting moment of transition between "tradition" and "westernization." I love that within 5 minutes of my apartment I can eat galbi, sitting on the floor of a traditional restaurant, grab KFC or even some Asian-fusion. I love that just outside of KFC a hajima will sit on the ground selling her her dried herbs and vegetables spread across tarps laid down on the sidewalk. I love that young mothers parading around in stilettos will buy these goods and businessmen huddle around the little claw-game machines at the convenience stores, cheering and hollering like over-excited kids.

A Monday Evening

I've been trying to work on this long extensive blog update describing the events of this past weekend. Yet, right now I'm just as exhausted as I was on Friday!

So as of now, I'm currently battling my monthly cold, talking with Cory and gluing some pictures of flowers to my bureau. I'm sure Anna will read this and think "Ha! How typical of Jessiy!"

Today at school, we had more of the "speech contest" that has been plaguing the school. Basically there is about a billion things to do plus 2 separate rather confusing and vaguely explained speech contests. My Preschoolers, of course, were brilliant (not that I'm biased in anyway...). Yet many of my other classes were struggling. How terrifying it must be for these kids. Many of them can hardly speak a sentence of English in class, and yet they are all required to participate in this competition.

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I think that sometimes I'm just amazed by what is expected out of these kids. Actually, sometimes I'm equally amazed by what is expected out of their teachers... let alone everyone else living in Korea.

For those of you who may not know, Korea is full of wonderful and odd English translations that can be found nearly everywhere. The best of which seem to be found on trendy t-shirts. Some of my past favorites spottings have included shirts reading things like, "I love shoes bags" and "F*ck this music business." Please note that the expletive was actually written in true form. This shirt was worn by a sweet-looking, young school-aged girl.

What was today's favorite shirt quote? Actually this is one that I saw yesterday. The back of the shirt, worn by a fashionable and pretty young mother, said simply in bold print, "Up Yours". Not quite as shocking as the one mentioned just before, yet the two sightings were quite spaced out (by months actually) and so I was quite startled to see it.

Well unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to call it a night for now. Yes, I must say Good Night. As has been suggested by a friend, I will try to post in this everyday.

Until tomorrow, here's a lovely picture from this past spring. At the time, I thought these gorgeous flowers that bloomed literally everywhere where reason enough in themselves to live here.


P.S. It turns out that the 4 seasons in Korea, unlike the "4 seasons" in Indiana, are actually real. Spring is really spring and autumn is really autumn. Sometimes, when I'm walking home (particularly now because Autumn is my FAVORITE), the moment feels so beautiful and surreal that I'm almost positive I'm actually living in some kind of desperately moving art film. :-)

Recuperation

Today is Friday. I'm spending the evening at home. You might be asking yourself, "Why?" I will answer you this- Because I am exhausted.



I love my kids, really. How could I not? They are ridiculously adorable. Here is a pic of a few of them in Hanbok for Chuseok. How couldn't you just fall in love with those faces?!



It's not really just the stress of work though. Don't get me wrong, this job is chaotic and demanding (to put it lightly). Yet the thing is.. since I've been living in Korea, I've sort of become more Korean myself. And by this, I mean that I've filled nearly all of my waking hours with scheduled obligations. I leave my house before 9am M-F and I don't return home until 11pm. Teaching 9-9, Hapkido lessons every night, and then Korean Class on Saturdays... Yet the shocking part of it all is that I'm still not nearly as busy as half of the Korean children I teach. It certainly seems like a bit much at times.

However, I love what I'm doing here. And I've never been happier. But really, sometimes by the end of the week, I am just done!

1st Blog

Welcome to the new JessiKorea! Rather than sending emails and uploading photos to millions of different people and places (perhaps a slight exaggeration), I've finally just given in to the realization that this sort of thing is what Blogs are for.

I will try to update this regularly, and hopefully this won't be the sort of blog that people like to read for the sole purpose of making fun and taking part in shared ridicule. Actually, as a favor.. please don't let me become THAT person!!

Anyway... I'm horrible with introductions.