Jeju for the Summer!

After much deliberating we finally decided to got to Jeju island for a few days over the summer vacation. This was quite a tough decision as we've been trying to save as much money as possible since we're going on the Trans-mongolian train in October and that's going to cost us a packet. But weeks of of spending our summer days in air-conditioned rooms made me decide we HAD TO get out ad at least try to spend some time outdoors and see the sun - in a place where we would at least be able to swim to cool down. Plus just getting out of Sangju for a few days would do us a world of good! We were also really lucky in that out friends, James and Barbara, who live and teach on Jeju, offered us their flat for the 4-5 days we were there - this was the final thing which made us decide to go.

Jeju is the largest Korean island - it is the NUMBER ONE holiday destination for almost every Korean person. Most Koreans would probbaly rather visit Jeju than an international destination - it has some 'nicknames' e.g. "The Hawaii of Korea" etc which demonstrate its popularity. It is indeed a beautiful island - but to be fair, one cannot really compare it to Hawaii or other tropical island paradises. It is more tropical than the mainland, has milder winters and a very green and pretty landscape. Jeju has grown into a veritable 'Tourist island' for Koreans - I would hazard a guess that about 80% of the islands' revenue comes from tourism: it is littered with hotels, guesthouses and tourist attractions: some natural but mostly man-made and uniquely suited to Korean tourists: Museums, shows, museums, parks, museums, art galleries, museums, etc etc. You get the idea - the 'places to visit and things to do' list one could make for Jeju would make a fat book.

Jules and I avoided all those commercialised not-so-relaxing options and just CHILLED. The weather helped a lot - we had 3 almost solid days of rain and drizzle which meant we stayed holed up in James and Barbara's apartment reading, watching movies and just chilling. The rainy-beach-holiday kind of vibe that is so good for the soul. We had really hoped to do some diving on Jeju, but alas, the weather was awful and the sea in no state for us to immerse ourselves in it.

We did, however climb Mount Halla - South Korea's highest mountain and an ancient volcanic crater. Climbing Mount Halla (Hallasan in Korean) is a bit of a pilgrimage for most Koreans - living in such a mountainous country, Koreans have a strong, often spiritual, connection to mountains. Mt. Baekdu is the highest mountain in the Korean peninsula but is now pretty much inaccessible to all South Koreans as it is in North Korea, and so they all want to climb Mount Halla - which comes a measly second. It isn't very high at all (1950m) - compared to the 2744 m of Baekdusan, and is easily climbed in a day, as long as one is moderately fit. So, we climbed with with hundreds of other people! The climb up and down took us about 9 hours - it is quite steep, and is about 19km in total. Almost a third of the climb is on boardwalks or stairs which makes it much easier than it would be otherwise. It's an interesting mountain to climb - it has 4 distinct vegetation strata and the geology is very different to all the other mountains we've climbed on the mainland. I really enjoyed the climb - it was quite misty at the top so we couldn't see the sea which one usually can but nonetheless the view was pretty awesome - there is a beautiful clear crater lake in the top of the mountain and the base of the crater is so green!

On our other 'sun-day' we went to a Herb Farm - Jeju Herb Dongsa (yup, one 'tourist' trap which caught us!) where we ate giant plate-sized hamburgers (actually just a giant round ham sandwich) and enjoyed walking around the pretty gardens and taking pictures. In the afternoon we headed down to Pyoseon beach - I was really keen to swim, and I did take a dip, but the lifeguards were overbearing and I was just not ready to srum it in the tiny 'safe swimming' zone into which everyone was jammed so we just lay on the grassy banks above the beach and relaxed.

We also managed to meet up with some friends from the mainland (Joe, Clint and Natalie) and had a meal of traditional Jeju island black pork together - turns out it wasn't 100% good pork as 3 out of 5 of us had an awful bout of food poisoning within 48 hours of consuming the damn pig! Below are some photos of our Jeju holiday. I'm so glad we went - it really was relaxing and great to just have a change of scenery and be on holiday!

We travelled the cheap way to Jeju - by train from Sangju to Mokpo which took about 6 hours, and then another 5 hours by ferry from Mokpo to Jeju. A bit tiring but we had time on our side so it wasn't too bad.

We travelled 'stowage class' on the ferry - all in a big room together!

On the way there we were in a slightly smaller room - 30 people.

The port city of Mokpo

Fish trays in Mokpo

Boats in the afternoon - Mokpo city.

Cicadas in the garden at the herb farm - wow, there were so many of them, and also so many beautiful butterflies!

Chair swing! So Romaaaantic - typical Jeju!

Our black pig dinner...

Seogwipo Harbour on Jeju.

Kids playing, yes, really PLAYING, in a small tidal pool in Seogwipo.

We weren't the only ones hiking to the top of Mount Halla!

The crater lake on Hallasan. So pretty!

Hallasan!

Some mossy forest - this bit was very moist with water oozing out of the ground.

Drier pine forests lower down the mountain.

Our route up the mountain - as everything in Korea is - very controlled and orderly. No alternate routes, just straight to the top!

Strange conifers near the top of the mountain.

Broad-leaf forest similar to that which we see a lot of on the Korean mainland.

On the way down.

Hallasan Nabi!
(Nabi=Butterfly in Korean)

Let's build a jungle gym!

Sometime during our stay in Korea, Jules and I decided to start collecting money for a good cause.
This came about as a result of us hosting a number of braais in Sangju for other foreigners and friends, and we realised that this could be a good way for us to raise money - and all the effort that went into organising a braai for 20+ people would be extra rewarding. I think here credit to Julian is due - he is the 'ideas man' in this team!

So we've had two successful fundraiser braais in the last 6 months, and one successful pancake fundraiser. To keep track of our progress and let people 'see where their money is going' we've started a blog, so have a look at http://www.buildajunglegym.blogspot.com/ for more details.

gatvol.

My attitude towards Korea stinks. This has been bothering me for a few weeks now.

When I go back to school after the vacation I will have less than two months left - there will be many people asking "will you miss Korea?" "are you sad about leaving?" "Will you come back to Korea?" etc. This started before the vacation and even then I was finding it hard not to be too honest: I don't think I will miss Korea. I will miss some individual people I have met and built friendships with (Koreans and fellow foreigners). I will miss some of my more special students and the feeling of affection and warmth I feel from many of them. I will miss the financial and travel freedom and safety I have felt whilst here. But I won't miss Korea. And now, when the questions start I think I am just going to be honest. "I am ready to go home". "I am tired of being a foreigner in another country." "I probably won't miss Korea very much." "In fact...I can't wait to leave!!!" urgh. They won't like hearing that. Koreans themselves are good at sugar-coating the truth, beating around the bush, not being direct and honest. The harsh truth might be a shock to them. They will likely feel offended. But I have had enough.

I can't even seem to get myself to enjoy Korean food anymore: I avoid Korean restaurants. More and more we eat Pizza rather than healthier, cheaper Korean food which is more readily available. More and more, Korean people annoy me. Little things, big things. Spitting snorting, sucking teeth to clean them whilst sitting on a train, staring at me, staring at us, staring at our food, asking 'what are you eating?', bumping into me, pushing in front of me in a queue, old people pushing young people around and so on and so on. I am just in a downward spiral of seeing only the negative.


Also the negatives in society in general: women obsessed with their appearance and constantly checking their make up in hand mirrors: in restaurants, on trains, on busses, waiting for trains, waiting for busses, on top of Mountains: after hiking all the way to the top of Mt. Halla, Korea's highest, for goodness sake!

The way the Korean government is pushing ahead with the hugely destructive "4 rivers project": it's clothed in words like 'ecological restoration' but in fact it is a huge, economically-driven project to deepen Korea's 4 biggest rivers to enable more ship transport across the country. Trucks are working 24 hours a day to dredge as much sand out of the rivers before environmental groups or cival society realise what's going on. Urgh. I have walked past some of the construction trucks parked in Sangju, and for the first time in my life been genuinely tempted to sabotage something: it would be so easy to shove a kitchen knife into the tyres. It would slow down the destruction a tiny bit and annoy them project managers quite a bit more...

The way kids just have to study study study. The way mothers just have to take care of their families an have no time to relax. Who does one see when out at night eating and drinking? Korean men. No women. Women have no time to relax and eat and drink they are too busy keeping the home fires burning.

The way some of the brightest and forward thinking students I have met will likely not make it into the leadership positions they deserve and would hold so well. A young girl student of mine writes brilliant, insightful, analytical even critical essays about the Korean government and society, she should become a lawyer and a judge. But she grew up in the countryside and her English is no match for the youth who grew up in Seoul and whose parents have the right money and contacts to get them into the right universities. Sorin will likely not achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer: not because she doesn't have the ability or the drive, but because she was born the wrong sex in the wrong place. Such inequality happens all over the world, but for a country as developed and economically successful as Korea is, such inequalities should not be. For a country that prides itself so much in its success, as a member of the OECD etc.
Then of course there are the old issues of cruelty to animals and gender inequality... Don't get me started!

So feeling so bitter about being here does not sit well with me. I feel I am walking around with a scowl on my face. I am intolerant to any small impolite social interactions which are quite normal: bumping into people in a busy train station, people spitting on the pavement in front of me, men honking loudly and clearing the phlegm from their throats. I am starting to speak English to taxi drivers even though I can converse with them in basic Korean.

I'm not sure why I am feeling overwhelmed by all these negative thoughts. Maybe it's the summer heat and humidity which seems harder to bear than it did last year. Maybe it's that I just need a break. Maybe it's that I am homesick. Maybe it's that I KNOW I am leaving Korea soon and I can let down my guard i.e. I don't have to try so hard anymore to accept and understand this foreign culture an the people. I don't like feeling so negative. Then I think - what kind of experience of culture has this been, if, when i 'let down my guard' i.e. stop trying to accept and understand, I become overwhelmed by negative thoughts and feelings? Have I been tricking myself into having a good time?

Who knows. This post is a bit rambly, but pretty representative of my state of mind for the last few weeks. I don't mean to offend any Korean people by it. I am just expressing my feelings and trying to understand why I feel like this. Comments are welcome and will likely be helpful :)

Capturing a modern Korean tragedy

Advertising in the subway in Seoul.

Transform yourself.
Become more like a westerner, less like an Asian, less like a Korean.
Bigger eyes, narrower face, gentler brow lines.
The key to success.
Or so it would seem.

Dear Teacher ^^

I have started email correspondence with some of my students. This is an email I received from one of my past students. She's studying in Daegu, our nearest big city now.

This kind of REAL English practice is soooo good for them: they hardly ever have to just 'produce' English: written or verbal, and it is such valuable practice. I think they must find it incredibly dificult, but the fact that they try is such a huge step.

These students are such a joy: they are full of life and so natural. They are also so naive, but I love them for it. I will really miss these interactions with them, and hope to keep up some of these precious email connections.

Here's her latest email - enjoy!

Jessica *^^*

At last u send e-mail, I waited u e-mail .

Now u spend summer vacation ?? 17, July summer vacation start, I heared it.

I spened my summer vacation but I'm going to work at professor office. I want to enjoy my vacation.

My professor's visually impaired but I worked cleaned, make a cup of coffee, use computer word and go with my professor . I give help to my professor because my professor's blind so always I give left my arm. Everyday's happy because I service myself. It is related my major.

These section exam's bad. ㅠ,ㅠ I don't study everyday and not review . I'm unhappy about exam degree.

Today's so hot. > , <>

Theseday I'm learn Jazz dance . *^^* Because I lose weight. I want a standard body weight. So I will wear a bikini. ㅋㅋ

U going to swimming pool?? Next, We r going to swimming pool together. *^^* I already excite .~~

Do you wacth '이끼' movie ?? It's very interest. > , <>

I hope to get another email from you again.*^^*

A muffin

This evening Jules and I went out for dinner to on of our favourite meat restaurants just down the road. We've made a decision to eat a lot less meat this year, and so we haven't been out for a 'meaty dinner' for ages.

The restaurant is quite a popular one, has homely wooden architecture and interior and a nice family vibe. The service is always excellent, as are the samgyeopsal (thick bacon BBQ) and dweji galbi (pork rib BBQ).

Our dinner was yummy as usual, and the service great: the waiter BBQed all the meat for us at our table, and made sure we never ran out of any side dishes: one thing I really appreciate about Korean restaurants. Side dishes are "eat all you can" and in good restaurants your side dishes will never be empty.

The cherry on top, though, was when the owner's daughter came over to our table and brought us a big chocolate muffin! What a darling! She looks about 10 years old, and was a bit shy to speak English (despite her mother and the waiter's encouragement) but bringing us the muffin was brave enough in itself!

Kindness and generosity are two characteristics of Korean people which I will remember for ever. Little incidents like this make me appreciate our experience in Korea all the more, and as we start drawing near to the end of our stay here, I am going to try and make a point of 'capturing' more of them.

Thanks muffin girl!

The sky above and green all around

I've just returned home from one of the nicer walks I've had in a while. Sangju is surrounded by mountains, but alas we seem to take this for granted, and don't spend nearly enough time exploring the forest-clad hills so near to our home.

This afternoon I headed out with the intention of finding a flat-ish portion of the forest and lying down with a book to read.

I found the perfect spot: flat, soft grass and undergrowth and medium-height trees all around. It was just off the path yet also a bit secluded and just beckoned for me to put my blanket down. This I did, and as I lay down on the blanket I realised that I should have done this a long time ago: at eye level I quickly spotted a firefly, a tiny green caterpillar and lots of little orange spider-babies or mites. What a joy!

I feel inspired to re-appreciate nature by the book I am currently reading, it's the German biography of a significant French entomologist, Jean-Henri Faber: "Ich aber erforsche das Leben" (But I will study life). I am so enjoying reading it and the accompanying realisation of how much I, too, love nature and observing it!

I lay on the blanket for about an hour, reading, and looking up at the blue sky, the trees and shrubs all around and just enjoying the stillness of the forest, interrupted only by the odd bird call. If there is a place called heaven, and it is as idyllic as it is made out to be, my section of heaven would be just that: lying on a blanket, reading a book with blue sky above and living nature all around.

Spring fun with my students

Spring is a big deal in Korea.

And rightly so: the winter here is terribly long. Long, cold, ugly and grey. When spring finally arrives it certainly is time to celebrate life!

This year we had a particularly long and cold winter, as did most of the northern hemisphere, with record snow falls in many parts of the country. But no amount of pretty snow can help improve matters when winter started in November and Spring only comes in April, that is 6 months, HALF THE YEAR in winter! Argh, I will NOT miss Korea's weather!

So, when spring finally made its appearance, and this was confirmed by the cherry blossoms showing off, I decided to take my students out to enjoy it. What a good idea! I am not bound by curriculums or textbooks I have to finish teaching, so at times it is nice to be able to give the students a break from their incredibly intense schedules.

Fortunately I seem to have earned some respect at my high school, where Mr. Kang, my bestest estest co-teacher is the head of English, and the vice principal likes me (he even greets me with 'Good Morning' which is a big thing for a non-English 'teacher'). Anyway, so I managed to get permission to take my classes out to enjoy the cherry blossoms and take photos. The students loved it, my co-teachers loved it, I loved it, and all in all I think it was a very apt way of celebrating spring. Who wouldn't be happy about 12 lessons outdoors in amongst the flowers!

Enjoy the photos and my darling girls!

with Mr. Kang!

I bribed these girls with ice-creams to come up into the tree for a photo!

I love my MOM and DAD!

Families group photo (+ David) at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul.

IT'S OFFICIAL: I have the most wonderful parents ever. I mean, they came all the way to KOREA to visit me! They could have gone to the Serengeti, the Amazon, London, any other possibly more 'appealing' destination. But No, they came to Korea! Thank you Mom and Dad, for such a truly generous and loving gesture. I'm so blessed!

Mom and Dad and Gordon and Kay (Julian's parents) came to visit us in South Korea for 2 weeks in March-April.

It was really special to see them again and to show them 'our places'. By the sounds of it, they had a wonderful time. It was a whirlwind trip, and pretty exhausting for Jules and I, as we'd have our normal 8 hour school day and then come home in the evenings to our eagerly waiting parents, bless them! Having them here made me realise all over again how helpless one is when one first arrives in Korea and, actually, how traveller-unfriendly Korea is - well, from a language perspective at least!

Mom and Dad were in Sangju for two weeks, and Gordon and Kay were here for a week and in Seocheon, with Simon for a week. At the weekends we tried to arrange trips for us all to be together. We basically spent our two weekends all together in Seoul, being real tourists. An adventure of note: leading 7 people through the massive metropolis of Seoul!

On Mom and Dad's last weekend here we hired a car, and Jules and I went to Gunsan with them. There is an estuary there which has been proclaimed a sanctuary for migratory birds and we had agreat time bird-watching there and just bumbling along country roads exploring and enjoying the freedom and flexibity of having 'our own wheels.'

I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.

(Mostly my photos and also some from the Barker's camera).

At a 'Sujebi' (dough flakes soup) restaurant in Insadong, Seoul.

The 'gents' reading their newspapers while we waited an hour and a half at the bus terminal in Seoul to catch our bus back to Sangju.

Our fancy car for the weekend in Gunsan. Not bad for a 'first car' eh?

In Buyeo: we had a lovely walk through the forest.

Dad at it: with as many accessories as he could manage around his neck: binoculars, camera, compass, sunglasses....that compass DID come in useful! As did his 'built-in' compass: like the time when the taxi driver took a wrong turn on Seoul and only noticed after Dad had...

Jules 'getting lost' in the VAAAAST reed beds near Seocheon, one of those hyped-up tourist detsinations in Korea which is a huge let down once you get there!

Our picnic breakfast at the reed beds.

Dad cooking up a storm in our apartment. Thanks Dad!

With Mom on a boat cruise on the Han River. Mom made me feel so very loved on this trip: just always telling me how wonderful to be with us. And just being so relaxed about everything. Thanks Mom, for being such a gracious guest!

Dinner with the Barkers and Julian's co-teachers.

All of us at Incheon International Airport.

Birdwatching at the Geum estuary in Gunsan.

Missing INGI! The three of us at Gyeongbokgung Palace.