Author: Megan Rainey

Time flies by when you’re having fun!  I didn’t even realize I missed a month of blogging!  So what have I been up to?  Well, almost every weekend has been a little getaway to a new corner of Korea.  And for the holiday weekend in May, I went with a few friends to Tokyo, Japan, to Disneyland and DisneySea.  And when I say we did Disney, we DID Disney!  We all bought matching t-shirts and hats, and planned our day efficiently so that we were able to ride every ride we wanted to.  DisneySea is one of the best Disney parks I have been too.  It caters more to adults in that they serve alcohol, and the atmosphere is created by the details in the decor of the park so that you feel like you are in another world, but not necessarily Mickey’s world.  I was surprised by how different Japan felt from Korea.  I felt more at home because Japan is a more developed nation, but I felt out of place because I couldn’t read ANYTHING!  I learned that Japanese has 3 alphabets and that even Japanese people find it hard to read.  It’s funny how quickly Hangul (the Korean alphabet) has become comfortable for me to see and read.  We really only went to the Disney parks while we were there, so I am definitely going to have to go back to experience more of Japan.

Me at Tokyo Disneyland

 

In Agrabah at DisneySea (yes, my hair is in the shape of Minnie Mouse ears. :p)

 

Bike lane in Tokyo

I also did a solo trip to Seoul last month, which is now one of my favorite cities that I have ever visited! I got to see Seoul Tower, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Cheonggyecheon stream that runs through the middle of the city, and Namdaemun Market.  But the highlight of the trip was the tour to the DMZ.  What an eerily peaceful place that is!  The videos at the museums talk about what a wonderful wildlife preserve it is, abundant with plant and animal life.  Yeah, that’s because there isn’t much human activity there because there are still mines that they are trying to find buried on the land!  I was even able to see over into North Korea and see their flag waving in the wind!  It was really surreal.

Ribbons for the families separated by the DMZ 

Getting ready to go down into the 3rd Tunnel that the North dug to the South

Me with a DMZ soldier at the Dora Observatory, where I was able to see over into North Korea

Seoul Tower (aka Namsan Tower)

Part of Gyeongbokgung Palace

The pavillions at Gyeongbokgung

Just outside the gates of Gyeongbokgung

And last weekend I went to Pohang, a little city on the beach about an hour away from Daegu, to do some sunbathing.  I overdid it on the tanning though, and ended up getting some pretty bad sunburn, something which Koreans are not really accustomed to seeing, as they wear sunscreen at the slightest chance of being exposed to the sun.  So I got some stares, laughs, gasps and comments from many people.  But despite the sunburn, I was able to go out on Friday night to one of the best hangouts in Pohang, Tilt Bar.  The foreigner community there was absolutely AWESOME!  Such a good group of people. I can’t wait to go back for some beach volleyball this summer.  🙂

I am still loving teaching here.  I love the variety that this job offers.  Even though I might be teaching the same lesson, each class reacts to it differently.  And I love that when I’m not ready to teach at 8:30 A.M., I am greeted by, “Oh, good morning teacher!” with such wide smiles and bright eyes, that I can’t help but get excited about being there.  It brightens my day immediately and completely.  They have such positive attitudes!  We started speaking tests this week, and my students even told my co-teacher that they had FUN preparing and doing the speaking test!!  It doesn’t get much better than that!

We also had Sports Day last week, where the students got a whole day off of school to participate in fun events on the track and field.  And as I walked around, I felt like a celebrity because all the students, with their smartphones, would shout, “Oh teacher! Picture!!”  I now know what it feels like to live in Hollywood. 😉

I have one more month until summer break starts.  And then I will have a 13 day vacation!!  I can’t wait to start planning my next itinerary.

Until then,

Erin

So many experiences, so many adventures, so many EMOTIONS in such a short amount of time.

First of all, LOVE:

I LOVE the school I work at!  My co-workers are the friendliest people, my co-teachers are the kindest, my principal is the nicest man, and my students are the sweetest girls you will ever meet!  My students make my day 10x brighter when I walk down the halls and there is a chorus of “Hello’s” with bright smiles attached.  They make me forget the stress I feel about wanting my lessons to be perfect.  It’s really all about learning to communicate with each other.

One co-worker who deserves special mention is my Korean mother.  My second day at school, I was adopted by the dance teacher, my new “Korean mother,” as she insists I call her.  She has given me so much in this first month that I will forever be grateful that she came into my life.  She is the most selfless woman, always giving me gifts, without accepting anything back.  She won’t take no for an answer, so I’ve learned to just accept her multitudes of kindness and enjoy them.  She has taken me to amazing places as well: 동화사(대구) (Donghwasa Temple), a modern and a traditional Korean wedding (yes, I’ve already been to 2 weddings!), delicious restaurants all around town, a “secret society” meeting that I am now an honorary member of, 팔공산 (Palgongsan mountain), 수성구 (Suseong district), fruit markets, coffee shops, where she always has at least one friend who works there, stores downtown, etc.  Her kindness is never ending.  I feel VERY lucky to have met her.  The funniest part though, is that she speaks VERY little English, and I speak almost no Korean.  Yet we are able to have full conversations via the few words we know and body language.  As she says, “Englishy no, Korean no, motiony very good!  Haha!”  It really is a special relationship.

Second, FEAR:

I worry that I’m not an effective teacher, and that I’m not doing enough for my students to really succeed.  I want to help them as much as I can, to be successful in their future plans, of which I know some of them want to attend college in the States.  I also fear that if I become too serious about their lessons, that they won’t like me anymore.  I fear being caught in the catch-22.  I know that worrying will not make anything better, but this past week has been full of it anyway.  I just have to keep reminding myself of my number one rule in the classroom: “Any English is good English.”  If they speak any English at all, I’ve accomplished something,

Third, LONLINESS:

Although Korea is packed to the brim with people (505 people/sq. km compared to 34 people/sq. km in the U.S.), it can be hard to find someone that I connect with.  Many foreigners are here for a good time, not really serious about teaching or about bettering themselves.  And I can respect their gallivanting, but I can’t relate to it.  However, I have found a good group of people that I can talk with and that I am excited to get to know as we share our time here in South Korea.

But this past week, homesickness really set in.  I really miss my friends from my old job, celebrating surviving “The Flood of 2013,” I missed celebrating my birthday, or “Peanut Butter Day,” and I miss all of the corny jokes that only us lab techs could ever understand.  I miss my friends and the sense of humor that we all share together.  I miss drinking good beer and having deep discussions about life with them.  And I miss my family and being able to see them for the weekend, being able to get the BEST hugs from my baby sister, and being with the people that know me best.  I know now that absence really does make the heart grow fonder (although I was always pretty fond of all of you already ;)).

I know that this roller coaster of emotions will only push me to become stronger, if I let it.  I’m excited for the lessons that I will learn, and the things I will learn about myself as this year continues.

To end on a lighter note, here are a few pictures of springtime in Korea, my favorite thing being the Cherry Blossoms.  The smell is absolutely amazing!

 

Cherry Blossoms on the way to school.

 

 

Selfie with the Cherry Blossoms.

Cherry Blossoms in Duryu Park.

Running with the Cherry Blossoms.

Bike Tour in 경주 (Gyeongju).

Contemplating over the ancient tombs.

Bridge in the Hanok Village.

Best. Photobomb. EVER!

At 안압지 (Anapji Pond).

At 불국사 (Bulguksa Temple).

Monks.

In the field of Rape flowers (yes, that is the correct name.  Where did you think Rapeseed came from?)

 

My orientation roomie, Gin, and I, exploring

I still can’t believe I am here in South Korea! When I walk outside, it seems like I’m in a strange dream where the signs are all jumbled and I am walking around aimlessly, depending on others to help me accomplish everyday tasks.

I arrived in Daegu on Wednesday, where my coteacher, Jessie, picked me up and drove me to the school I will be teaching at: Gyeongdeok All Girls High School!! In the beginning of this journey, my desire was to teach at the high school level, but when I heard that most of the funding was being cut from the high school and middle school programs, I prepared myself to teach elementary school. I was thus excited at orientation when the lesson plan my group was chosen to present was for 4th grade. In all honesty, I was really excited to sing songs! And my group did an AMAZING job with our presentation! So I was feeling prepared and ready to meet these little kiddos I would be teaching. So it was quite a shock when I found out I would be teaching at a HIGH SCHOOL!! I had to sit down and breathe.

Now that the thought that I will be teaching high school has sunk in a little more, I’m getting excited again. I’ve heard that the students are really sweet, so I am thankful for that. And my coteacher is also really sweet, so I am REALLY thankful for that.

After seeing the school and meeting the Vice Principal, Jessie took me to my apartment. It is a cute and cozy studio style apartment, the perfect size for just me. Then she took me shopping for stuff for my new place, went to apply for my foreign ID card, went out for dinner in downtown Daegu, and then went back to my apartment. The whole time, I know I looked like a deer in headlights, wide-eyed at all of the Korean being spoken, and trying to act like this is what everyday life is like. But as soon as I was in my apartment alone, I let the culture shock hit me.

A friend of mine, who is also just starting out here in Korea, told me tonight at dinner that there are two things you need to get through culture shock: 1)Security-You have to feel safe, and 2)Friends-You can NOT go through this alone. And I COMPLETELY agree!

I am so coincidentally lucky that the two girls I coordinated my flight to Korea with, live along the same train line as me, so that we can get to each other in under 30 minutes. I am soooooo thankful for that! Seeing a familiar face, even if just recently familiar (although I do feel like we have known each other for much longer than 2 weeks!) in a sea of new ones, is so calming and comforting. I know that this will be a great year, even though I might still be just a little bit scared!

Here are some pictures of some of the great people I met and places we went during orientation.

Let me just say, everything in Korea is CUTE!

Alice and I in the bamboo forest

Me overlooking Hanok Village

Me in traditional mask dance costumes

AND…they have peanut butter!!! However, it is 7,000 won, roughly $7 a jar!! But it’s good to know it’s here.

This is all really happening.  It’s finally starting to sink in.  I set my resignation date at work months ago in preparation.  And today was my last day.  Now there’s no turning back.  I’M MOVING TO SOUTH KOREA TO TEACH ENGLISH!!!

I’m kind of starting to freak out a little bit, with short spells of hyperventilation sprinkled in throughout my day whenever I think about what I’ve chosen to do.  I know as soon as the plane takes off, I’m seriously going to question my sanity, because this decision is starting to seem crazy!

But what would be crazier than moving halfway around the world? NOT moving halfway around the world.  I’ve wanted to travel the world for forever.  And I’m FINALLY doing it!!  I’m in a perfect place in my life that, both, allows and requires me to step outside of my comfort zone and actually pursue this dream of travel.

I will be leaving Chicago in less than 2 weeks to board my first plane overseas!!

I have to keep pinching myself, because I MUST be dreaming.