Another four years?

In two months, I'll have lived in another country for two years. Jacob, Icarus, and I are waiting to see if we'll be here another four. Jacob is trying to get into Kaist University. Kaist University was ranked the 90th best overall college in the world - 27th in Engineering and IT (the fields Jacob is interested in). If he gets into this school, it'd be a dream come true for all of us.

I've been contemplating the idea of living here for another four years versus going back to America. So I decided to write up a blog to help organize my thoughts.

- Health care. Going to the doctor in Korea doesn't result in living in poverty for a month whilst you attempt to pay off the bill. It's cheap, efficient, and always available. 

- Education. Education is valued in Korea. Parents work 12-15 hour days just to pay for their kids to go to tutoring classes after school. I know kids who can speak 2-3 languages, play piano/violin/guitar, and take extra math/history/language arts classes. This is good and bad. The kids have little time to actually be kids. But they stay busy, are bettering themselves, and aren't roaming the streets getting in trouble. 
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-  Food. In America, you can get anything anytime you want it. If you want grapes in winter - no problem. Strawberries in September? You got it! You pay a little more but it isn't horribly over priced. Here, if the fruit isn't in season you are going to paaaaaaaay for it (if you can find it). Even the fruit in season is more expensive than in the states (unless you find a special) - watermelon is currently around $10 for a good sized one (got one yesterday for $6! Jacob dropped it on the floor D: ). That's low! But the fruit/vegetables have great flavor, garden quality.

- Transportation. Having owned a car with payments, paid full coverage (because you can't have payments on a car without having full coverage), and did the whole maintenance thing to make sure I wouldn't be stranded in the middle of nowhere with a dead car - I love Korea's transportation system. Yes, I miss driving - I love driving. But there is something to be said about safe, affordable public transportation. 

 - Family. Friends. I miss them. A lot.

- Frozen. Some days, I feel like I'm frozen in time. I'm not moving forward in the sense that my fellow KSU graduates are. They are decorating classrooms, acquiring a status within their school system, and continuing their teacher's education. Sure, I'm teaching. I am continuing my education in the respect of learning more about classroom management and activities. However, there is a lot more behind teaching. Theories that I am beginning to forget, standards that aren't required in my subject, reasoning skills, laws that aren't implemented here, and a complete lack of paperwork. I can pick a kid up and swing them around if I want. I give kisses and hugs all day long. These are things that won't fly in the states. I have very little paperwork and almost zero lesson planning. Sometimes I feel like this experience is going to bite me in the butt one day. I also miss talking to kids...kids that understand everything I say. Kids that I can relate to.

- People. The people here are wonderful. Jacob has lost his phone and tablet multiple times on the subway/bus and has always gotten it back. People seem more honest. I can leave my purse at an empty table and it'll still be there when I come back. Koreans have respect for themselves as well as others. Now there is a negative, the older generation can be a bit harsh when it comes to women smoking, putting your shoes on seats, and not moving so an elder person can sit in your seat on public transportation. Also, who knows if the younger generation will have this same sense of respect. Five years from now...who knows what might happen.

- Language barrier. This is more my fault. I can read hangul (Korean) fairly well. I mean, I can get by. I can order drinks, food, direct a taxi, talk about Jacob, give orders to a class, etc. But for having lived in a country for two years, my Korean isn't nearly as good as it should be. If we end up staying, I've made it a mission to become near fluent.

- Hobbies. More specifically, running. During the course of my seven year relationship with Jacob, I've never really developed a hobby. Sure, I would run on and off - it always ended up with an injury. My first venture into unknown territory (where Jacob wasn't interested), was when one of my best friends Tiffany asked me to work her at her wine bar. I spent hours washing dishes and cleaning tables but...it was great. I met new people and got to hang with my best friend and I loved it. That was the first real thing I did without Jacob (aside from go to school). When we got to Korea, I continued this branching out. I started reading about places to go in Korea, things to do. We went on random trips with unknown people, we hung out with newbies all the time, I ran my first race! This year, I vowed to finally train and finish a marathon. I have the time. I spent winter weight lifting to get strong so I wouldn't injure myself when running. I'm up to 15 miles now with two months left until my marathon. I don't think I ever would have done this in the states.

In conclusion, I feel that staying here until Jacob graduates would be beneficial to our little family. I know I'll miss everyone terribly and I hate being away for so long but...we have to do what will help us the most in the future now. If we end up staying, we will visit. I also hope that some of our loved ones will come visit us. ^_^

Drinking Culture of Korea

I feel that it's important for me to touch upon the subject of drinking in Korea.  Too many times I have heard that all Jacob I do is drink and party - which is only partly true. Allow me to explain alcohol consumption in Korea...

First you have to understand that drinking is more than just a part of dinner or an activity to do late at night. It is more than going out with friends on Saturday night and getting wasted at a club. For Koreans, drinking is part of their culture. Soju isn't just watered down vodka - soju is an ancient drink that's been around since the 13th century. There is a specific way to drink it that is used as a way to show your respect to others (especially your elders or those who hold a higher position). To get a sense of how important alcohol is to Koreans it helps to know some of the background.

What is soju? Soju is a liquor typically made from rice (although there are been times when rice was scarce so potatoes or other starch foods were used instead). It's been around since the 13th century and requires a certain etiquette when being consumed. So you have two people at the table, each person has a shot glass. The youngest person fills the glass of the oldest person, the oldest person drinks and hands the glass back, fills it for the young one and the young person drinks. This is the short version of what happens - there are lots of rules that some Koreans follow like the young person isn't allowed to face the older person when they drink and must turn away.

Makkoli is another form of alcohol Koreans make and drink. It's a slightly sweet rice wine that looks milky. This beverage dates back waaaaay before soju, some believe it to have been created around the 1st to 2nd century. From what I've observed, it's usually served in a bowl like cup. Apparently not uncommon to drink for breakfast either...

OB (Oriental Brewery) is the main beer manufacturer here. OB produces Cass and Cafri along with OB using rice instead of malted barley (as we're used to in our beers). A brewery started in Korea, by Koreans, and only recently sold to a larger corporation. My personal favorite Korean beer! Better than Cass (remove the C and it tastes like _____) and Hite (add an S and it tastes like _____). hahaha

The most popular alcoholic beverages in Korea are the ones produced by Koreans. Koreans are proud of their culture, this includes alcohol (they even make their own wine!). Nationalism at its' best. ^_^

So alcohol is more than just drinking some liquor and trying to get booty or forgetting a hard day. Here, alcohol is tradition.

Everland

Whilst attempting to search for information on Everland, I found that not many people had discussed it online SO here is my Everland post!

First off, directions. Getting to Everland from Munsan is difficult. I had read that taking a taxi from Suwon to Everland is 12,000 won - BOY WAS THAT WRONG. It's 30,000 won to get from Suwon Station to Everland. The fastest way (that my friends & I could figure) is getting to Seoul Station, transferring to Line 1, and taking a taxi from Suwon to Everland. Even taking this route, it still took roughly 3 hours each way. But it was totally worth it!

We managed to go on a Wednesday as it was a holiday for some people (election day!). Normally, Everland would have been packed on a holiday but the weather woman said it was going to rain most of the day. Lucky for us, we decided to give a the rain the finger and went ahead to the amusement park. Thankfully - it didn't rain an ounce! But, because everyone thought it was going to rain, there were hardly any people. I had heard horror stories of 2-3 hour long wait times for rides but we didn't wait over 30 minutes for any ride. It was glorious!

This is us before we go in line for the T-Express. The T-Express is South Korea's first wooden roller coaster. It is currently the worlds steepest wooden roller coaster (77 degrees). I have to admit, it was quite the thrill ride. We left the train with tears in our eyes (more so from the cold but still!).

"I'm too young to die!"

Upon exiting the ride, Jacob took one look at this picture and shouted "How much?!". Apparently, my face is just that funny. At this very moment I was probably contemplating my decision to ride this horrific ride and praying to the gods that I would not end up being that one-in-a-million statistic.

Lions and tigers and bears - OH MY!

Safari World was another highlight of the day. We saw...lions and tigers and bears (one liger!) - Oh my! It was a great adventure. You get to sit in a cozy bus that takes you through the animal environments. The lions, tigers, liger, and hyenas were pretty interesting but I have to admit that the bears put on the best show. The drivers throw treats to the bears so they come right up to the bus and, man, I've never realized how massive bears actually are. They are enormous! It was humbling to see such gigantic creatures of nature.

I think one of my favorite rides had to have been the bumper cars. It was awesome to be able to drive again! lol! The Koreans tend to be a little more polite with the bumper cars than the westerners. As we stood in line, we watched the Koreans ram into each other and apologize quickly then move on. Mostly they seemed to just drive around (reminded me of how Georgia used to always drive with go-karts and bumper cars, so nicely!). When the four of us hopped in our cars, I knew it was going to be a wonderfully tragic time for the Koreans. We smashed into everyone with no apologies! It was grand and everyone seemed to have a marvelous time .

Throughout the day, Jacob was able to cram four ice creams into his tummy. A feat that was approved by our resident Ice Cream Addict - Miss Alison Maxwell. The caramel popcorn was tasty, the burgers not-so-fantastic, the chicken burger disgusting, cotton candy was good, and beer decently priced (Cass!). Everland has no variety of foods - it is different venues and the same treats everywhere you look. But the food is priced well so I'm not complaining about the lack of choices. Another good point is that you can bring in food and drinks if you don't care to eat at the park.

I feel like this is long enough, if anyone has any questions about Everland feel free to leave a comment. Later gators!

Hagwon vs Public

I've been teaching in a hagwon now for 4 months. I feel that this is long enough to be able to properly compare and contrast it to the Korean public school. This only applies to my hagwon and previous public school as others are different.

For the record, a hagwon is often referred to as an "academy". An "academy" is essentially a private school, usually a high school. My hagwon is a preschool/kindergarten in the morning so, in a sense, it is a private school. However, the afternoon classes are elementary students who come in after school to be tutored on various subjects. There are hagwons for everything - learning to play the guitar, piano, learning English, Chinese, Japanese, brushing up on math, science, history, and even some for learning magic tricks (I had a student who went to a hagwon for magic and he was really good!).

Similarities:

• I have students who really could care less about learning and those that seem to enjoy being in my class. 
• Co-workers are very friendly and willing to help with anything/everything.
• I enjoy teaching.
• Books. In public school, we taught out of the books but we incorporated more games and activities into our lessons. The hagwon has books/workbooks, we are allowed to do extra activities, but it feels more mindless. For both schools, I am required to finish the workbook as parents want to see the workbook completed. Even if I do worksheets that have the same general idea, I have to complete the workbook pages.

Differences:

• Class size. I went from having over 35 (public) in each class to under ten - most classes have around 6. I have to say, I like having less than ten kids per class.
• Food. Public school had some pretty great lunches (and some pretty awful ones but overall good) while I have yet to have a decent lunch at my hagwon.  The students are fed lunch and it seems as though we get the leftovers. Typically, lunch is cold and pretty flavorless.  However, since we are here around dinner time the co-teachers order random things like pizza, chicken, and cake (we eat a lot of cake). So it isn't all bad. 
• I am able to use more English in the hagwon. The students, for the most part, know a good bit of English. I am able to converse with the majority of them - something I miss about teaching kids who speak English as a first language. Most of the Korean teachers who work there speak a good amount of English as well. 
• The days are longer in the hagwon. I had more vacation days in public school as well as time to plan fun activities for my after school classes. My hagwon days are pretty packed.
• I have more extra work in the hagwon. In public school, I created my own curriculum for several after school classes as well as for winter/summer camps. For the hagwon, I have several things every month I have to do - role playing scripts and activities, calling the kids at their home once a month, preparing for a talent show, etc.
• The students are given "English names". We don't refer to them by their real names, we call them by their English names. This. This I don't like. I don't feel like the students respond as well to their English names as they would to their actual name. I feel stupid calling them an English name around their parents or other Korean teachers - only the native English teachers use these names. I do understand the idea - it creates a more English environment and, to be honest, some of the Korean names are difficult to pronounce and the students get angry when you can't say it correctly. I go by "Taylor" because they pronounce "Brooke" as "Bah-ru-kah".
 

I think that's about all. In the end, both have their advantages and faults. I see why hagwons get a bad wrap as things are often sprung on you last minute and getting paid seems to always be a battle. But, given the new contract for public schools, I think I'd rather go with a hagwon.

Home Trip

I was fortunate enough to be able to go home for three weeks before starting my new contract at Wonderland.

As I stepped off my plane and leisurely made my way to baggage claim at the Atlanta airport, I briefly thought to myself "It'd be nice if someone was waiting for me...". Low and behold, my buddy John Michael Bryan was standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for me to arrive. After gathering my luggage, we promptly headed to a bar to drink some good ol' beer.

My time in Atlanta was mostly spent in a whirl wind of drinking, eating, and hanging out with my awesome friends. Time well spent, time too short but definitely worth it.

PCB was epic. I brought loads of soju and other assorted South/North Korean alcoholic beverages. I went cave exploring, played pirate golf, swam in the ocean and chilled on the beach, attempted paddle boarding, saw a great 3D movie "SHARK NIGHT", made Christmas cookies complete with Christmas movies and a tree (Christmas in September!), did loads of shopping, and spent glorious time with my mumsies, daddio, and the little rats. 

Houston. I was greeted with mexican food and a margarita - I know, my family is pretty awesome. I went on a great hike with my moo-moo,  introduced her to Thai, played games with the kids, talked and chilled with Todd and family, had a margarita/nacho date with my Moo-Moo, went to the ER (what visit would be complete without one hospital trip?), baked cookies, and just had a nice relaxing time complete with Target, Old Navy, and Jamba Juice (good times!).

Sacramento. I haven't seen my brother or nephew in years and I had never met my soon-to-be sister-in-law. I had kept in contact with them thanks to the miracle that is Skype so I wasn't completely out of the loop. I exited the plane and was greeted with a huge smile from a woman I had only ever seen on Skype. We hugged and she whisked me away to cocktails - a girl after my own heart! In the short time that I was there, I did so much. We ran on trails and saw California wildlife such as squirrels, dogs, and the ever elusive Old Person. During our kayak adventure we saw the biggest frog ever! Also came within petting distance of a beaver - granted it was a dead one...but still! Richard made yummy mojitos and bbq. They threw me a Halloween cookie cake surprise birthday party complete with candles and balloons. It was awesome. I was so touched.

All in all, I had a fantastic visit with everyone in my family. I stayed long enough to do everything I wanted to do with everyone but it was definitely not enough time. This next year is going to be a little harder, for sure. But I've got Jacob and Icarus and have made awesome friends here so I'll make it.

I'll have to blog  more this next year!

Almost 10 Months

July 4th marks my 10th month in South Korea. I can hardly believe that I've been away from America, friends, and family for an entire ten months. It's insanity. I've done so much since my last update - I've done so much that I never wrote a blog about. 

Recap:

April 2: Geumchon Olympics. For the second year in a row, the foreigners of the Paju area gathered together and engaged in a series of contests in an effort to determine the best of the best. This year the competition included bowling, an eating challenge (fruit - (1st round) orange, banana, watermelon, (2nd round) kimbab, (3rd round) ice and ice cream, (4th round) 9 marshmallows, 4 slices of bread, large teaspoon of cinnamon (I did the 4th round!)), an hours worth of basketball games, full soccer game, a drinking challenge (a mix of tomato juice, gatorade, chili pepper paste, rice tea, chocolate milk, coke - disgusting!), an American biased pub quiz (rocked that!), pool, and darts. There were even prizes given out to the best in each category as well as the ones who gave the most effort, fair play, etc. I won Best Female Fair Play and Female Drinker. ^_^

May 22: We ran a race called the Paju Love Marathon. However, it wasn't a marathon, it was just a 10k. Before the race we had a group warm up session with the Koreans. Stretches and back massages and the like. It was rather odd. Then they lined us all up and we were off! The path was a great one - beautiful scenery including North Korea. Wait, what? Yea, we ran the race along the line that divides North and South Korea. That alone was pretty awesome. I wanted to run it in under an hour - that was my goal. I managed to run the race in 56:35.57 - 3 and a half minutes under my goal time. Definitely a PR! Jacob ran it in 56:38.98. 

June 4-June 6: Deojeok Island. We had a three day holiday on a small island off the coast of South Korea. The island is surrounded by the icy Yellow Sea. I was not impressed with the freezing ocean however the island was awesome. Over 100 foreigners in one pension with endless booze and loud music - it was like Spring Break in PCB except instead of burgers and oysters we ate kimchi and bulgogi. The beach wasn't bad - doesn't hold a candle to Florida beaches but it was still nice to see sand and smell the ocean. I hope we end up visiting Busan this summer - that's where the gorgeous beaches are supposed to be hidden. 

I'm nearing the end of my contract and looking for a job elsewhere. Apparently, my school is getting phone calls from random elementary schools looking to employ me. Two calls so far! Finding a job isn't the hard part, finding a job that'll make my last year in Korea a relaxing one...that's where the difficulties begin.

Been a while...

Looking at my post history, I am not surprised that I didn't post anything for the entire month of April. The month went by so fast - I hardly noticed it was the end until I looked at the calendar. In five days I'll have been in Korea for eight months with only four to spare. Four more months left in my contract. Time has gone by unpredictably fast. I attribute this to the fast pace lifestyle that I currently lead. There is always something to do, somewhere to go, and events to attend. It's exciting and exhausting (in the best of ways).

Easter was spent in the company of other foreigners. We had a potluck breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, yogurt/marshmallow goodness, muffins, chicken, and assorted candies. We even had a mini egg hunt around the apartment.

Jacob and I signed up for a race with two other foreigners (Laurel and Jameson). We do a 10k on May 22nd. I am pretty excited for several reasons - this will be my first race EVER and it will be in South Korea, near the DMZ. We've been training for the race - trying to get a decent time. Icarus is enjoying the training and I'm loving having him back.

Icarus is my heart. I feel a lot more complete now that he's here with us. Although I've realized something since he's reentered our lives - I miss my family a lot more now. Jacob came back with stories of how everyone is and what they are all up to along with all the awesome things he got to eat and...I have to admit to being a little envious. I'd love to see my family as I do miss all of them. I keep telling myself - soon, soon, soon. The way time has been going as of late, it'll be time for me to hop on that plane before I know it so I'm hellbent on enjoying every day until that time comes.