I'm kicking it in Seoul instead of in Geumchon, but I can relate to almost every reference they make in this video. This makes me LAUGH OUT LOUD!!!! TOO FUNNY... Enjoy!
A few weeks ago a young man working as an English teacher in Seoul was left badly burnt by a fire that broke out in his apartment. Seventy percent of his body was covered with third degree burns. His girlfriend died in the fire. He died a week later despite the best efforts of the local hospital. Their apartment did not have a smoke alarm or a second fire escape. What makes this story even more sad is that this English teacher did not have medical insurance. He was working part time and thus did not apply for the Korean medical insurance. His hospital bills are upwards of $60,000.
Hearing the tragic story of William Kapoun and his girlfriend has really hit me. This could have been me. It could have been one of my friends. Up until this past Tuesday Jeff and I did not have a smoke detector in our apartment. There are no sprinklers in our ceiling, and there are bars on all our windows. We have one fire escape - the front door. This is the case of many buildings in Seoul (and I would imagine Korea). After the Korean war houses were built quickly in order to accommodate the large number of people without housing. Fire escapes were not really considered. This deep tragedy has caused the foreign community in Seoul to examine their own living situations and to look into getting a smoke alarm and medical insurance. It has also pulled the community together as people have donated thousands of dollars to help Bill's family pay for the hospital bills.
It's hard to lose someone unexpectedly. Especially someone so young, and with so much of their life ahead of them. In his writings Bill said: "I believe hope is a fundamental aspect of humanity; perhaps to lose hope, is to lose ones humanity." How true, yet how difficult for his family and friends to not lose hope in such a difficult situation.
____________________________________
Another story that has crossed my "desk" these days is that of Randy Pausch. My brother-in-law sent Jeff and I a clip from a recent Oprah show that had Randy Paush delivering a bit of his last lecture. Randy is a 46 year old man from the US who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has a few months to live. He gave his Last Lecture at the university where he teaches. He didn't talk about death, or about his family... he talked about fulfilling his childhood dreams and about the importance of dreaming. His story is so touching - a man, knowing that he is going to die, and yet still trying to live his life to the fullest. He seems to have fire in his belly - something driving him to keep going instead of just giving up. It's really inspirational, I hope that if I were ever in that situation that I would react in the same way.
I've spent much of the past two weeks decorating my classroom. I've put up pictures of the weather, designed a cool calendar, and renamed the groups. Our groups used to be called: one, two, three... six. My co-teacher and I decided that something a little more exciting and fun would be a nice change for this new term. So we decided on county names - one country from each continent.
We now have Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, and Uganda. I made signs with names and flags and hung them from the ceiling over each table group.
When I went in to teach my grade fives today I was shocked and dumbfounded to find out that some of them did not want to sit at the Uganda table. They kind of whined and moaned a bit when they were assigned to that group.
After class, my other co-teacher (not the one that made up the group names with me, but the new one... ) said (in her slightly broken English) that maybe the students didn't want to sit at the Uganda table. She seemed to indicate that perhaps we should change the name (at least that's what I was expecting her to say). She said that "maybe students don't like Uganda because it's a black country, it's in Africa". Well... my mouth just dropped. I had nothing to say to her... I was in complete and utter shock. Did she actually just say that?!! I got defensive, and mentioned that I had lived in Uganda for a year, and that it was a great country (I wanted to say that the people were much friendlier than they are in Korea... I was SO MAD!!!) I think she noticed my reaction because she then suggested that we teach the students a bit about Uganda because they don't know anything about it. She said that she couldn't tell the students anything about the country (hence her decision not to call them on their rude remarks and reactions to being seated at the Uganda table...) so I could do that.
Just thinking about the remark and that conversation make my blood boil. The Korean school system doesn't seem to teach multicultural education (I base this partly on the fact that I get pointed at and called foreigner by some of the younger students at the school - how inappropriate!!!) I know that Korea is still a fairly new country in terms of its independence, and that there are not a lot of foreigners here, but I am still shocked by the racism that exists, even in the teaching staff. It makes me so mad.
So, this is just a rant. I don't think that all Koreans are racist, and I am happy that my co-teacher is willing to help me teach the kids about Africa, but I am still in utter shock that this happened....
~Jen
I have to tell you about my new computer (which, incidentally, has STILL not arrived, more than two weeks after ordering!!). Mostly because I'm lazy, I'm going to tell this story in point form.
As a preface (what good story is complete without a preface?), I'd like to point out that yes, we did make it harder than we really needed to, but it wouldn't have been nearly as fun otherwise. Now with that being said, onwards!!!
- old computer died
- cost to replace display = $1000
- cost of new computer = $1100
- cost of new computer that I'd rather have = $1400
- end result = Jeff gets a new computer
- have to call Apple or order online if I want the educational discount
- no time to order a new one while visiting at home in Canada
- plan to buy one in Korea
- problem!!
- can't speak or read Korean to order from Apple Korea
- don't have a Korean credit card to order online
- ah, but there's a solution
- our friend Laina speaks Korean
- our friend Vanessa has a Korean credit card
- here's how it played out
- Laina called Apple Korea when we couldn't figure out something from the online Apple Korea website
- she told the operator my name (since I was the one purchasing it)
- when asked where to send it, Jen gave Laina the address of her school since her co-workers apparently always get personal items shipped to the school and I didn't have my school's address easily at hand
- result = Laina told the operator to address the package to Jen
- when asked about payment, Laina gave the operator Vanessa's credit card
- when asked for an email address, Laina gave her own so that she could read the Korean email
How many foreigners does it take to order a new computer in Korea? Four.
I think we broke the operator's brain.
Having completely neglected this thing called a blog for weeks upon weeks, I thought it might do some good to let everyone know that we're still alive.
So much has happened since our last post. That was us on our way home. And now we've returned from the cozy comforts of our childhood homes, back to a land so foreign from our own... yet still somehow familiar.
Is it crazy that we've grown accustomed to such quirky customs that makes this land so strange? Not that I've necessarily missed these things, but they just feel normal now - optional stop lights, cars driving along the sidewalks, getting packages of pickles alongside your pizza order, seeing old men gather for soju and cards in the middle of the subway station during the midafternoon bustle, and watching old grandmothers text away madly on their cell phones, while sitting next to a young couple who are not holding hands, but rather huddling together so that they can both see the screen of their cell phone-sized TV, which is broadcasting their favourite Korean romance. Yes, this is our home.
There's a lot to catch up on. I'll try to be brief, though we all know that this is a fight I can never win. Our time at home was awesome. We did the requisite family and friends stuff - it was awesome seeing as many people as we did, though of course, we would have loved to have seen more. Our schedule was so busy seeing people that even though Jen and I did virtually everything together, I still felt like I didn't see her at all.
Let me elaborate. Jen and I had lived together before we arrived in Korea, but there was always lots of other people around too. Though we have lots of great friends here in Korea, they are all so far flung from us that it is relatively uncommon for us to see them outside of weekends. As a result, Jen and I are stuck with each other. We see each other and no one but each other all week long. And being surrounded at work all day by people who rarely speak to us because so few of our colleagues can speak English... well, we've grown quite close together to stave off the isolation of our schools!
So, while back in Canada, we were both so busy catching up with our friends and families, we had little time for ourselves. It wasn't until we got back on the plane to Korea that I had a chance to slow down and realize how much I felt I had missed Jen. To go from having hours together every day to the bustle of our visit home was a bit of a shock. It was such an odd feeling having spent so much time together and yet still having missed her. Weird.
Anyway, I digress.
This thing's getting too long though. We'll provide some details of Erica's wedding when I'm not too lazy to post some pretty pictures to go along with a post. Suffice it to say it was a great trip home and an even better wedding - jetlagged and all, we still managed to shut down the party!!
Jen and I really enjoy our life here in Korea. We have a lot of great friends, we have good working environments, there's a lot to do and see around here, and we've enjoyed learning about the Korean language and culture.
One thing that Korea doesn't do quite so well yet is market itself. Its tourism industry is very much underdeveloped. There is, as I've already said, lots to see and do, but it's just not well advertised. Through a lot of word of mouth and a lot of exploring, we and our friends have all kept busy schedules here in Korea.
When we had originally thought about moving abroad and had suggested Japan as a possible destination, almost everyone we told was so excited for us and wanted to come and visit. But after a long series of events that saw us ending up in Korea, it seems as if our final destination wasn't nearly as exciting. And I guess we fell folly to the same marketing as well. We thought Japan would be a great place to be (and not having yet visited, we don't have any first hand experience to draw upon to verify or refute that), but after having spent the past 6 months here in Seoul, we can't imagine being anywhere else.
Why is it that everyone loves Japan? Why do they want so much to visit Japan? What makes it so special? A lot of people have visited the small island country and brought home many positive experiences. Indeed, that is one of the primary goals of the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) program that Jen and I had originally applied to - to learn about Japan and to spread it's culture around the world once we returned home. Japan is a known quantity. Lots of visitors and a lots of good stories that inspire others to want to visit. Importantly, Japan also has a very well developed tourist industry and makes traveling there easy.
So, if we were in Japan, would we actually have more visitors than we have here in Korea? Incidentally, we haven't yet had anyone visit us, and I think that it will remain that way for our entire stay. It's such a far distance and costs so much that it's not an easy trip to manage. But I digress... Back to the question. More visitors in Japan than Korea? I don't know. Japan is still a costly and time consuming trip. I think that people were just more excited about Japan and made grand plans with their small talk like most people are apt to do when they are excited.
Whether or not our home makes a difference as to how many visitors we get doesn't really matter though. It's purely theoretical. We're here in Korea and not in Japan. I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that although many people wouldn't consider Korea as a top travel destination, it definitely has it's hidden gems.
Life's been good and we're both glad that we had the opportunity to live here.
Now, is anyone going to come and visit us when we're in Dubai...
Today the computer technician in our school came and asked me to come to her office to help her with something. I had no idea what to expect, but I decided to see if I could help her out.
I arrived at her office and she sat me down at her desk. She then presented me with a single spaced, one page English essay that she had written. She is applying for a working holiday in Canada. I pulled up the paper and began the task of gently correcting poor English. It's not that this woman has bad English, she has very good English, but it's hard to write in a language that is not your own. She usually had the gist of what she wanted to say but just needed me to help clean it up.
What I found most interesting was the fact that she spent four weeks in January taking a TESOL course when she was visiting Canada. I knew that she had been in Vancouver but I didn't realise that she had spent that time studying English. I did notice that her English was better, but had just attributed that to her having spent four weeks in an English speaking country.
At one point in her essay she talks about her experience in the Canadian school system (she spent one week doing a practicum). She was amazed that the other teachers spoke to her and didn't make her feel like an outsider just because she was Korean. She spoke about how great it was that Canada was a multi-racial society. The other point that she made was how different the school systems in Korea and Canada are. She said that Canadians focus on process, whilst Koreans focus on the product. She loved the Canadian system because it doesn't focus as much on tests... it focuses on students learning at their own pace. Although this may not be entirely the case, it is a pretty fair assessment of the two education systems, at least from my limited exposure to both.
My current situation gives me 40 minutes twice a week with each of my ten classes. My classes have at least 32 students, sometimes 35. All of my students are at different levels. Some of them can speak amazing English, others struggle to answer the question "How are you?" I find this to be a challenging job. I long to spend more time with my students, whatever level they're at, to help them along the process of learning English. For now, I will have to work with what I've got, to try my best to help my students become excited about learning English. I am excited to hear a Korean teacher talk about how much she enjoys the process education system. It gives me hope that one day Koreans will put less stress on getting good grades, and more stress on the process of learning.
So last weekend we hit up one of the local aquariums. And by local, I mean an hour subway ride away. But hey, it's still in Seoul. Anyway, this place was truly unique. I'll start off by saying that this aquarium also had an artistic side to it and not only was it showcasing the sea life itself, but also some of the, well, containers of that sea life.
Exhibit A. Ok, it's a little hard to see the actual fish in this photo, but trust me, they are there, swimming right next to Ariel and Sebastian (the characters from The Little Mermaid). So the aquarium had a little section that wanted to challenge the notion that fish should be kept in conventional fish bowls. Certainly not all of the aquarium's wildlife were kept in such unique structures (most, in fact were in the usual mundane aquariums that we expect to see). But there were some who had different homes. In the end, I don't think that the inhabitants really would know the difference, so... why not? At times it seemed a little off-kilter and bizarre, but since then I've come to appreciate this section of the aquarium more and it is quickly becoming one of my favourite parts of the visit. It's something distinct that really sets it apart from the rest of the aquariums that I've seen. Oh, I should also point out, if it wasn't enough that these fish are housed in a vending machine "fish bowl," that this vending machine is, indeed, a functioning vending machine that guests can use to purchase beverages. Yes... yes, we're in Korea, folks.
Is that shortbread?
Can someone tell me why there are fake cookies glued to the wall of an aquarium?
Thanks for posing, Vanessa!!
So unlike the vending machine, you can actually see the inhabitant of this display (well, sort of). I hope, also unlike the vending machine, that this is not a functioning house for this little crab!!
See the little ducky. That's where the water is.
Here is Jen being a tour guide again. I think she's got a new career ahead of her - well, unless her customers start catching on that she's just making everything up!! Notice the expression on Sue's face. She has that are-you-crazy-what-are-you-talking-about kinda look. Jen, it doesn't look good. Remember, she was a tour guide herself in the past. She knows when you're making things up! Alison is busy taking pictures of Jen's so-called evolution fish!
Not sure if bats are typical at an aquarium... but I wasn't complaining. They were cool.
And of course, what outing isn't complete without the random crazy photo of Jen and myself. "The shark's eating us!!!!"
There you have it. Hope you enjoyed it.
The Coex Aquarium.
No, there is no earthquake, do not worry! It is just the title of the Carol King song that I am currently listening to - I felt it was somewhat appropriate for some reason....
As I sit here in my office thinking about what I am going to post about this time I cannot help but think about the fact that our time in Korea has almost hit the six month point. We have almost spent six months living here, working here, and exploring here. We have spent six months as a married couple. During this time I have had the opportunity to learn more about myself (I always find that this happens when I travel because I become so much more aware of my own culture when I am faced with things that do not always mesh with my own culture). Jeff and I have discussed our future (and by future I mean what we will be doing in September) and we have talked about where we will end up (when we finish traveling).
Our next adventure will take place during the week of the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year or Tet if you are Vietnamese! - February 2nd - 9th) We are heading off to China - Beijing. A three day tour begins our adventure followed by 3 days of us staying in a hostel (very close to Tiennamen Square) and exploring the city on our own. I am very exited.
A week after we return from China we are heading home to Canada. As the 16th approaches I am getting more and more excited about going home for a short visit. I am looking forward to eating some foods that I miss and seeing friends and family. It will be an EXTREMELY busy and hectic trip, but I am excited. I am also quite excited that we get to fly into the Waterloo airport!
February is a travel month for us, it is also the month that marks our halfway point in Korea. I cannot believe that the time has passed by so quickly!!
~Jen
P.S. For some reason whenever I try to put an apostrophe in this post the website directs me to a find box. You will notice that there are no apostrophes in this blog - it was quite a feat!
Jumping on the Wonder Girls posting bandwagon, I thought that I would share with you this Korean music video.
The Wonder Girls are the latest rage in Korea. Quoting Sara "Spend 10 minutes in any type of clothing store and you will hear it. All of my students have it programmed on their cell phones."
So, without further ado, I present to you a Korean phenomenon - The Wonder Girls!
On another note, please read Kelly's most recent post about "the hearts". She has some great pictures of us and an explanation of where "the heart" came from. And to think, I was always under the impression that it was a Chinese thing!
RSS Feed