Korea Day 10

Today was our first day off. Joann and I decided not to set the alarms and relax. It felt great. I was in bed reading until about 10am.

We had breakfast and we had already made plans to go hiking in the mountains. There are mountains to the north of Seoul and the base is accessible by subway. We packed some water and snacks and headed off. The subway was a bit unusual as we reached a stop that was a few stops away from our destination. The subway worker came up to us and said "Get off." We have learned that Koreans don't add any pleasantries when they speak but they are not trying to be rude. He told us that the train didn't go any further. We asked someone by showing our subway map and he mimed where to go (quite well) and we were off. The guide book said to follow the well dressed hikers from the subway to the mountain. It really was that easy. It was funny though, Koreans get all geared up for a hike. They wear long gortex pants and shirts, hiking boots, gloves, hats or huge sunvisors, and carry metal poles to help them walk. We were quite the spectacle in our shorts, t-shirts and runners! All along the way to the national park (where the trails are) there were stores selling hiking gear. It was incredible.

The trails were great, wide and often with steps made out of rock. There was a little stream that ran through the park beside the path we took. Our intention was to get to one of the peak's to see the view of Seoul. Unfortunately, with the heat (we started around noon) and my lack of physical fitness, we walked about 2.2km up the mountain but stopped 0.9km from the peak. It was great to be outside though and we had a great day.

We came back home soaking wet (yes there was some sweating going on) and happily exhausted. We showered and rested and then went out for dinner. We went to a place called 'The Bonnie House'. It said it had fusion cuisine but we were not sure what the fusion choices were. One of the entrees was fried rice with spaghetti on top and another was fried rice with pizza on top. This might make you think that the fusion was Korean/Italian but our food had no Italian flare to it. I was quite happy with my meal - fried rice and beef - because it came with green peppers and onions and a salad!! In Korean meals, they don't seem to cook the vegetables, they just throw them in raw at the end. I was still happy with raw onion and green pepper. The meal was a bit unusual in its presentation. The whole meal came on one place. It consisted of fried rice, beef and veggies, salad, a bun and 2 slices of fruit with whipped cream! We also got a few pieces of fresh fruit given to us at the end of the meal. Koreans also go with the 'tomato is a fruit' and serve it with any fruit dish. We were given some apple, kiwi and cherry tomatoes.

After dinner, we went for a short walk, bought some yogurt for breakfast, came back here to do some school work and then Joann helped my get caught up on my blog. She has been keeping a journal and it was up to date.

It is now 10:40pm and I am quite tired. I will try to upload a few photos before I go to bed.

Korea Day 9

We are getting excited about tomorrow as it will be our first day off after 8 straight days of work. The day went by quite quickly.

We received the first part of our pay, 300 000 won!! Don't get too excited, this is equivalent to $300 Canadian. It did feel nice to have such a wad of cash!

We all went home and got ready for the evening. We met for dinner at 7pm and some of the Korean staff came with us. We went to the same chicken place where Joann and I had eaten a few nights ago. This time we had fried chicken from a 'thirty year old family restaurant'. It was also delightful. We had our regular Cass beer but we also tried Soju. This is a local drink, I think it is make from rice. I have heard it compared to paint thinner. It was fun to try it though. It is actually better when added to the beer. We all were enjoying ourselves and there was even birthday cake for Hailey! She is another teacher who is here for 6 months from Australia. The cake was delicious. It was, however, green. We think it was green tea. It had nice whip cream icing and strawberries.

We had planned to meet the teachers from the other camp (4 of them and the camp is called Gaepo) for drinks. We went to an area around another university - there seem to be tons on universities here in Seoul! It was bustling!! There were tons of shops, restaurants, bars and people everywhere. We went to the "Ho Bar" for a drink. I had beer but some of the other teachers ordered vodka to share. They actually got a full bottle of vodka, some mix and a plate of fruit for about $80. They went wild doing vodka shooters and having drinks as well. Most of them were feeling pretty good by the time we left. The bar gave us free french fries and they lasted about 3 minutes at the table!

A few of us decided to come back home and the others were going to continue partying. Joe, one of the Korean staff, suggested that we go home on the bus. He said it would be shorter and we wouldn't have to transfer, as we did on the subway. The bus arrived immediately so we all got on. The bus was soooo crowded and the ride was very jolting. It was also harder to determine when to get off as there were no signs. On the subway there are signs in Korean and English. We did make it home and got to bed by about 1:30am.

Korea Day 8

We are starting to settle into work. This was our third new class. We had a small schedule change and had 'English Olympics' instead of speech class. The students were happy - we played Boggle and Guess Who and it was great to see the students participate, even the quiet ones! I was amazed to see how many English words students could make with the 16 letters we gave them. It was funny - I didn't give them the letter 'e' and my students were begging, "Please teacher, use an e!!"

Most of the teaching group went out for sushi. Molly, Joann and I had Indian food instead. This made Joann very happy. I have to say that the food was very good.

Being thoroughly exhausted, we had another early night.

Korea Day 7

Today again, we are repeating the lessons from yesterday so things went quite smoothly. The students are very cute although they are not as quiet and 'fragile' as we had been led to believe! Joann did have a student who was taken to the hospital on the first day because he was so upset as he was left waiting for the bus for 45 minutes (a mix-up by the bus driver). Korea has a medical system where people pay for medical services but parents are still very quick to take their children to the hospital. People here also wear bandaids on any wound, often about 4 inches by 4 inches! I have also never seen so many bandaids on people's faces.

The rain here seems to come out of nowhere, pours for a short while and then it's gone. Unfortunately, it arrived as we were leaving work to go home!! Joann and I had both left our umbrellas at home.

Joann and I went to a neighbourhood called Insadong. It is supposed to be one of the traditional areas left in Seoul. The area sounded very interesting with a temple and a palace to see. When we arrived, we wandered around and then tried to find a place to eat. We finally found a place where Joann would eat (she won't eat mystery meat) and had Spicy Chili chicken. It was similar to last night's meal but it was served with kimchi and some raw cabbage. It was very tasty and, again, we had some Cass.

By this time, it was too late to visit the temple or palace so we wandered around. The streets were more narrow here and the area was quite interesting. There were tons of street vendors with little booths set up and some very interesting stores. We saw an older gentleman painting fans so I took his picture. We have some photos of this night for you to see. Unfortunately, the night scenes do not come out well but the streets look like Time Square or Vegas with all the lights.

It was amusing, we ran into one of the other teachers on the subway - this made us feel like Seoul natives!

Korea Day 6

Today we had our first western breakfast in our kitchen. The kitchen is quite large and bright.

We started over with the class from Monday so it was more hectic than yesterday. The day seemed to go well. There is a photographer, Mr. Salmon, who comes around to classes and takes photos and videos to upload to the camp's website. It is a bit distracting but I understand why it is necessary. I might try to post the link but I will have to give directions as the website is in Korean.

Joann and I had an early dinner. We went to a place just up the street from our accommodations. It smelled delicious each time we passed it. We had what is called 'seasoned chicken'. This is chicken in a sauce, like BBQ sauce, but spicier. Again, it came with a few potato wedges and we ordered some rice to go with it. We had a beer, we've determined that Cass is the best of a bad lot of Korean beer.

We had a little walk, Joann had ice cream (Baskin and Robbins), we did a bit of school work and had our first early night.

Korea Day 5

Today is a repeat of yesterday with a new class of students. As a result, things went quite smoothly. We had breakfast at the university cafeteria. They really do eat rice for breakfast! I had a small bowl of rice and beans and a banana.

We had dumplings for dinner and they were delicious. Joann didn't come for dinner with us - she's scared of dumplings!! We are finding that the Korean diet is mainly rice, noodles and meat. We are all craving vegetables and fruit. We do get a banana each day with lunch.

After dinner we went to Lotte Mart (a big store with some clothes and household items and food - a bit like a Korean Walmart). We got some fruit, yogurt, bread, juice and jam so we can have western breakfasts. The place where we are staying has a kitchen on the 7th floor - conveniently on the same floor as my room!

Korea Day 4 (first day of classes)

For the first day of classes we had to wear our camp t-shirts. They are white and very plain. We also could not wear shorts and had to have closed in shoes. Apparently this is more socially accepted here.

We were assigned locations from which to great the students. Joann and I were in the auditorium helping the students find their seats. It was fun to say hi to everyone and hear their English names. Everyone here has a Korean name that is given to them and they choose an English name for English classes. It is cute as they choose names that they have heard but do not know how to spell so I have a Sindy and a Jammy (he pronounces it as Jamie).

The teachers did their little intro to the class, we had class photos taken and we took our students to class. There was an altered schedule due to the morning welcoming so the morning went by quickly. Here are photos of one of my classes and one of Joann's.

We take the students to a university cafeteria for lunch and the food has been quite good. The six daily classes are listed below:

1. We start the day with "Diary Masters". Students are given a topic to write about each day as part of their homework. We give them a little activity to do while we correct the diaries. I then have a few students read their diaries for that day.

2. The second class is Intensive ESL where we read and answer questions and learn new vocabulary. There are sections in the book with topics like Lizards, parts of speech and we do one topic each day.

3. Reading circle is the third class of the day. We read a book with our class and go over new words. We have a CD of the book so we can play it and then discuss the book. My book is a really condensed and modernized (in language) version of "The Merchant of Venice" and Joann has a similarly condensed version of "Treasure Island".

4. We have lunch at 12:30, after these three classes. As I said earlier, the food is good. Sadly, we kept the students outside for a bit after lunch to let them run around (they range in age from about 7 - 14) and play a bit. The Korean leaders at the camp told us that parents pay a lot of money to send their children to English camp and want them learning, not playing. It is also interesting that Korean children are 1 year old at birth so they are (by numerical value) a year older than children from Canada.

The afternoon is called 'Western School' where we are to simulate classes in a Western school.

5. Western School 1 - Wteach a lesson and do questions with the students. Some topics are math literacy, money sense, animal habitats, and the human body.

6. Western School 2 - We teach what skills are needed to give a good speech, we listen to famous speeches (Martin Luther King Jr. - I have a Dream, for example) and teach students how to speak appropriately when giving a speech.

7. Western School 3 - We teach debating skills from choosing a side of a topic to giving a rebuttal for an oponent's comments. On the last day of camp, the parents will come in and watch our class' debate so it needs to be good.

At the end of the day, we got our first allotment of money for meals and we were on our own for dinner. Molly, arrived two weeks before the camp started so she knew some good restaurants. We went for Vietnamese food. It was delicious. It is interesting here, space is at such a premium that buildings are tall and narrow. As a result, a restaurant can be on any floor. This restaurant was on the second floor and I don't think I would have noticed it if we were not taken there!

Joann and I are trying to walk a bit each day so we went for a little walk around our neighbourhood before returning home for the night.