MY MOMMA AND SISSY ARE HERE! AHHH! They're sleeping in my room right now! Isn't it wonderful?! Heart!
They arrived Sunday evening at Incheon airport. My friend Ben helped me find them. It was an arduous journey to Jochiwon. But once we arrived all was well!
Monday, we went to Magoksa temple in Gongju. We got some gorgeous pictures of the last trees with bright orange fall foliage, and the sun peeking through the leaves. On the way home, kindly monk who spoke almost no English gave us a ride all the way down to the bus terminal in Gongju.
Tuesday, Mom and Erica came to school with me! They met my principal, my co-teacher, my mentor teacher, all my students.. AND my unnis! Man Jun, Myeong Hee, and Min Youn made a sign that said "WELCOME CHARLOTTE'S FAMILY" and gave us a variety of Korean desserts! My mom gave them a big hug afterward and agreed-- I am lucky to have them! They even ate kimabap, bibimbap, ddukbogi, sundubu jjigae, AND ingoppang! And they LOVED the school lunches!
Mom was not too pleased about North Korea's decision to fire at South Korea. I was not and am not worried about the situation, but it's a mother's duty to be concerned!
Wednesday, they ventured to Homeplus and got all sorts of goodies! I am so proud of them! That evening we went shopping in Daejeon, in the underground shopping area and got some home comforts-- McDonald's and California rolls!
Thursday, I gave them directions to the traditional market and they took all sorts of pictures of the cultural oddities residing in Jochiwon! My sister tried to take a picture of a cow's head and got yelled at by some old man!
I have Friday and Monday off from school, and we are heading out for Seoul! Whooo! I cannot wait! Okay, time to go hug my momma while I still can!
So, I have finished my two early classes today and am now ready to post some information about my amazing experience this weekend. My mind is brimming with memories and I would like to jot them down here. Apologies for the length of this post!
I went camping with three families this weekend. The parents are all extremely close and have known each other for 25 years. They all work for KCC, a glass-making company whose company apartments are right across from my school. I am close friends with Man Jun, one of my conference room big sisters or "unni."
They remind me of a family from the American 1950s. Good friends, clear goals, two kids each, mom stays at home, and strong family values. Their life, though I'm only seeing a sliver, looks beautiful. Here is a short video of the 3-family husbands singing at a concert.
Anyway, I went camping with them. They all need to practice their English. They picked me up in Jochiwon at 10, I ate breakfast at their house in Sojeong, then we took off for Jeounju. I played "I Spy"in the car with the kids. Once there, we went to a temple, a museum with portraits of old kings, a magic show, a famous bibimbap restaurant, a hanji (paper) museum and ate ALL sorts of new Korean goodies. Wonderful thing about traveling with children, they always want sweets. And since their parents were trying to impress me, we tried EVERYTHING. There was a walnut cake with custard inside called "hodo", a candy with honey filling and surrounded by a fine string taffy that looked like spider webs called "gul-ta-le", and a sweet korean cookie that tasted like toasted marshmallow called "dal-go-na". And a cinnamon alcoholic beverage called "mokju" that was to die for! Here is Mike and his fresh dal-go-na cookie.
I slept in the car and we got to our camp site, an old-style Korean house "hanok". I played a board game with the kids while the parents started grilling food. And, oh my god the food. They bought me a viable vegetarian feast! Man Jun and my unnis at school are always looking out for me and my pseudo-vegetarianism. Well, Man Jun's husband found (most likely) the ONLY website in Korea that sells soy meats! So I had veggie dogs, veggie sausage, veggie burgers and veggie steak! I was in VEGEMEAT HEAVEN! I was so full I thought I might burst. Then I introduced them to an American delicacy known as S'mores.
The adults all stood around the grill, drinking soju and cooking. They asked how old I was when the soju was brought out, and thus the honorary drinking cheer that night was "TWENTY ONE!" And then Jang Suk brought out a guitar! They began singing Korean songs from the old days and I mumbled along best I could. (We also sang, Yesterday and Edelweiss). There's video of us somewhere. And oh! Korean women do fart. You're going to have to ask about that story though. They all drank until their faces were flushed, (but said they were on their best behavior for me) and we went inside. We played Sam, Yuk, Ku where you go around a circle counting, but clap if a number has a 3, 6 or 9. Then they ate MORE! Ramen this time! Man Jun's husband gave me a (drunken) traditional Korean manicure using flower dye on my pinkies and ring fingers. If the color is still there by the first snow, I will find the man I am going to marry. Oh, Korea..
The next morning. We ate a full breakfast, and I played soccer with the kids. Then we ate some fruit, took group photos and set off for mount Daedun. Hiking is beautiful, but my knee really doesn't allow me to go far. The dads climbed to the mountain top, and while I climbed a little.. I mostly ran around with the kids, and sat at the foot od the mountain eating odeng, kimbap, fried ginseng and more candy. Then we ate "kal-guk-su" or knife noodles. Damn! Koreans like to eat.
The car drive back to Jochiwon was touching. Oh Seong / Mike (Man Jun's son as well as my student) fell asleep on my shoulder. Man Jun said she always wants to help me at school, but has a hard time because of her bad English. (This was parlayed through her husband.) She said that I am a smart and kind young girl, my mother should be very proud, and that when I get married, she wants to come to my wedding.
I would never have had this experience had I not taken a chance and come to Korea. I am so happy to be here.
Every teacher living in Korea will tell you that the lifestyle has it's ups and downs. But chances are, there are more ups than downs and that's what keeps them here!
I'm growing everyday. I can feel it. A feeling of pride, accomplishment, and change for the better. Life here isn't perfect, but it isn't perfect anywhere. The bumps in the road are what give us character.
Also, living so far from home is tough. I miss my friends and family. I miss the familiarity. I miss people who speak English. I miss veggie dogs! But being away from my loved ones and confidants has pushed me to make decisions that are truly my own apart from others' judgments and opinions. It's a good thing. :)
As a preface yet something I cannot adequately state in words, if you have sent me a letter / package in Korea, you are one of the most important and special people in my life. I love you and treasure you more than I can possibly express. ((HUGS))
This week has been by far the busiest week of my Korean work life. Between having my schedule jostled and mixed-up, completing a presentation outlining my teaching methods, finishing an essay for my contract extension, AND preparing my classes for the student festival.. I am spent! I've been working extra hours every day this week. Though I completely didn't expect it, my mentor teacher told me I'd be getting paid overtime for all the extra work I've done this week. She also went out of her way to write me a thank you note about how much she appreciates my effort-- I wonder if she understands how much that meant to me.
So yes, I am planning on extending my contract for additional 6 months. I enjoy it here way too much, and will surely regret passing up the opportunity to revel in my happiness. I know I am missed back home, but I know that my loved ones want what is best for me. =)
To say it was busy is true, but normally my job is quite fun and stress-free. The student festival is tomorrow (Saturday) morning and the parents come to the school-- All the teachers are stressing like crazy over it. My students are under-prepared to say the least. I found out about the festival three weeks ago and was told it was November 13th. Last week, they told me it changed to the 6th. Argh! So my students basically had four classes to prepare the dance to go with Glee's version of "Hello, Goodbye." It's very loosely based off the show choreography, but much simpler. Here's the video I used to inspire them:
