A teacher from Gwangju was featured on the latest episode of my favorite NPR Show, This American Life! I wish I could say I know her, as she does an excellent job talking about a beauty lesson she presented at her all-girls high school. Here's the link for all of you to enjoy, and I'm off to stalk the Gwanjgu facebook groups to find her profile and send her a note of admiration... or something like that, but less creepy-sounding.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/483/self-improvement-kick#play
Monday, January 14, 2013
10 Day Meditation
What's it like to wake up to a bell every day at 4:00 a.m., meditate for 10+ hours throughout the day, eat a rationed vegan breakfast and lunch, with no supper, and observe noble silence, with no talking, for 9 1/2 straight days? Oh, and there's also no reading, no writing, no exercise, etc.
And, more curiously, WHY would anyone choose to do it in the first place?!
I'm always excited to share my friends' experiences in Korea, and this story, in particular, caught my attention. The writer, Tyler Priest, was a pastor in Alabama before he and his wife Helen moved to Gwangju last February. We met during the EPIK orientation, and I can't say enough good about these two. Read on to hear about the experience that left Tyler feeling "more peaceful and balanced and creative. Less anxious, less reactive, less selfish". I've embedded two YouTube videos about the documentary he references, but the following is otherwise his.
Thanks, Tyler, for allowing me to pass along your story.
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Here are some of my partially digested, rambling reflections from the most difficult and most rewarding experience of my life thus far.
Before the course
I’ve long been interested in meditation, but until recently I had always felt like the ability to meditate properly was just out of reach. It was either too foreign or abstract for me to understand, or just too frustrating for my wandering mind to grasp. After watching a documentary called Dhamma Brothers back in 2009 (http://www.dhammabrothers.com/) , I became interested in Vipassana meditation. But it remained merely at the level of curiosity. It was an unlikely proposal that I could take off 10 days from my work with a church to go to a “Buddhist” meditation course (I later learned that Vipassana meditation, while practiced within Buddhism, is not particularly Buddhist or in any way sectarian, but universal). And my vacation days were already maxed out. So I never pursued it.
The Dhamma Brothers Trailer
The Dhamma Brothers- 2012 Update
But then I came to Korea a year ago, and I met a fellow intake teacher named Tim W who was not only a practicing meditator, he was practically giving his life to it. He had not only undergone a handful of 10 day courses himself, but he had volunteered in the States and in India facilitating several courses as a “server.” He continues to be a serious meditator. And he tuned me in to the Vipassana center located in Korea. When I realized that a 10-day course would mesh perfectly with my school’s winter break, I jumped on it.
Before that, I read and re-read William Hart’s The Art of Living, which is a great introductory book to the technique, the theory and practice of Vipassana (a Pali word that simply means insight--attaining wisdom from seeing reality as reality is). It is based on the 10-day course lectures given by S.N. Goenka, a charming, saintly Burmese man who experienced the wonders of Vipassana. As a byproduct, the technique cured his chronic headaches, and he went on to devote his life to sharing Vipassana with the world. By the way, at the course, via video recordings, S.N. Goenka gives over 10 hours worth of some of the best sermons/lectures I’ve ever heard. He is a great teacher of beautiful truths. And he’s largely responsible for the spread of Vipassana throughout the world.
Before the course I had also begun to meditate on my own, based upon my readings in The Art of Living. I also had in depth conversations with Tim about the course, about how Vipassana works, about the anxieties I had, about how uncomfortable it was for me to sit cross-legged for more than a few minutes. And he gave me a lot of good, nuanced advice. He warned me it would be very difficult, but that I could do it. So I signed up and went for it.
The course
There’s something about putting yourself in a situation where you are simultaneously being faced with hardships, and being trained in an ancient, tried and true technique in how to mentally deal with those hardships. It’s being in a place that makes you crave and become averse, while teaching you to remain balanced in the face of those cravings and aversions. Like a crucible, it’s a painful but brilliantly transformative place to be stuck in for 10 days. It’s the perfect training for life itself. Vipassana meditation truly teaches you an “Art of Living.”
I went on a rollercoaster ride through heaven, hell, and several levels of purgatory in those 10 days. It was baptism by fire. I had to wrestle with myself more than I ever have. I found out what my mind was made of. It was weak, it was stubborn, it was bit childish and terrifyingly crazy. It’s like an untrained wild animal being corralled for the first time. But slowly, patiently, and gently, the technique started to train this savage thing I refer to as my mind.
I won’t go into that great of detail about the technique, or how Siddhartha Gautama discovered it and shared it with India, and later, the world. Other sources like the aforementioned book will do that much better. I’ll simply share some of what I experienced, what I realized, and how I believe it is altering my future trajectory.
The Vipassana technique
But first, here are a few things I will say about the Vipassana technique. It is the purest for of Siddhartha Gautama’s meditation teachings maintained for 2500 years, with no religion, doctrine or dogma attached. It’s not premised on belief, but experience that leads to belief.
Vipassana is not merely a meditation technique, but one that is couched in a way of life. The code of conduct during the course is a holistic one, and a reasonable one—touching every part of life, from diet to sex to relationships. For instance, the beginning of the code of conduct states “I will not kill another being.” Easy enough, right? Well this, of course, went beyond the act of murder. It applied to our vegetarian meals, and even the flies and gnats and ladybugs at the course site. I kid you not, after trying to shoo one away from my lunch, I actually pet the wings of this house fly in the dining hall. It had been allowed to stick around for a while. There is a regard for all beings. And that kind of conduct facilitates deeper meditation.
The 10 day course, which is designed as a mini-monastic experience, leads the meditator through a gradual progression of steps that train the mind to focus on the sensations within the body (sensations which I had never felt before the course, but have been there all along—my senses were too dull to realize them). You begin by focusing on natural breathing—not controlled breathing—but breathing as it already is. And you simply remain aware of your breath. Then you focus on the actual sensations of that breath—the places you feel it around your nostrils. Your mind begins to sharpen. Then after some time, you narrow that field of natural breath sensation to the area of the upper lip. Then you begin to move that narrow field of sensation away from breathing to focus to other parts of the body and you begin to “feel” your body. Then you go deeper and deeper with these sensations, and you allow negative sensations to arise, and you observe them with detached balance and equanimity, and this slowly begins to destroys the roots of deep-seated aversions. You allow positive sensations to arise, and again you observe them with detached balance and equanimity, and this slowly destroys the roots of deep-seated cravings. You continue and continue to do this, going deeper, going further, learning more and more about yourself and this wonderful technique. And it slowly destroys the cause of suffering: craving and aversion. (By the way, Vipassana has helped addicts of all kinds to come out of their addictions. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re all addicts with just different kinds of addictions.)
Vipassana teaches through this experience that everything is changing, arising and passing away. So nothing is worth clinging to, or avoiding. It just is, and eventually it all goes away. My pain, my frustration, my discontent no longer has to be mine. I can just look at it, sort of smile at it but refuse to claim it, and it goes away. Once during a 1 hour meditation block, a running injury in my knee was on fire. I viewed it objectively, it was as if the pain was melted into mere vibrations and evaporated into thin air within a minute.
It’s nothing weird. It’s not even religious or metaphysical, although Buddhism (apart from Siddhartha Gautama’s desire) was a product of adherents to this amazing technique. Beautiful in simplicity, Vipassana all takes place within the framework of the body. It is all based on what the meditator has experienced. It’s nothing outside. It’s all happening inside. It’s not theory driven—it’s practice driven. It’s not belief based or metaphysical, but actual hard reality based. It’s scientific, in a sense.
My experience
My current status could easily be written off as merely a sort of church camp high, but I don’t think that’s the case. One, although it can be an emotional rollercoaster of an experience, I slowly learned to view my emotional reactions objectively. So on this side of the 10 day course, I’m not overflowing with excitement. I’m equanimous and peaceful, and there is a gulf between those two. Two, I was given an invaluable tool—the method of Vipassana—that I can take with me anywhere and practice anytime. The challenge is for “old students” (those who have completed a 10-day course) to practice one hour in the mornings and one hour in the evenings for every day for the first year. That's a bit ambitious for me, I think, so I’m starting somewhere around 30-35 minutes twice a day, which is doubling where I had left off before the course. I’ll slowly try to progress from there.
I’ll add that I did experience some pretty intense, vivid and surreal phenomena during the course. In particular, during perhaps the deepest of my meditation, I had a suspended womb-like experience, in which I was free-floating in warmth, my center of gravity askew to the left, my mind in a trance with the sensation of moving back and forth like, as one friend put it, a teacup ride. It was the best thing I think I’ve ever “felt”. But that by-product is not the point of Vipassana. I learned the hard way that focusing on these positive sensations can lead to craving, which can derail the progress I had made, and send me in the opposite direction. So I had to learn to let go of that experience, and not attempt to summon it or recreate it again, and just get back to work.
Insights
Here are a few insights I experienced (some of which may be redundant from above).
- Everything is changing, arising and passing away. The sensations I experienced in my body testify to this. So for instance, I don’t have to “own” my pain. I simply observe it, and it will go away. As I mentioned earlier, on day 5, I was having a lot of sharp pain in my right knee from a running injury. I simply focused my attention on it without reacting in aversion. I observed it “objectively.” It felt like it was on fire, but I didn’t react. I sat there for about a minute. Then I started feeling rapid vibrations in my knee, and it was as if the pain was vaporized. It left and in its place was a pleasant tingling sensation. But this too, I did not become attached to. I did not “own” this pleasant sensation, because I knew that it too would soon be passing away. Ok, so now apply that experienced reality to all of life. When I’m in a difficult situation, I don’t let it get to me. I know it’s impermanent. It will soon be gone. When I have an appetite for something unhealthy, I don’t react to it. I simply let it be, knowing that “this too shall pass.” And it does. It always does without fail. The question is, do I have the patience and the equanimity to allow it to pass away?
- Vipassana is where my dreams come to die. What I mean by this, is that I am learning to detach myself from the ideal futures that I continue to imagine in my mind. This doesn’t mean that I will have no plan moving forward in life. It’s the realization that my dreams will never be fulfilled in the way that I dream them to be. Attaching myself to expectations, dreams, etc, will only leave me with disappointment and suffering. Even dreams themselves are always changing, arising and passing away. So why cling to a particular vision of my future that will never come to pass?
- This state of balance does not leave me like a zombie. Not reacting to anything, and maintaining balance and equanimity, does not leave void of either negative or positive energy and emotion. It actually leaves me with a deep blissful undercurrent. It’s neither high nor low, but it feels as if it’s the way it should feel. I hope that makes sense.
- Vipassana creates some beautiful harmonies with Christian spirituality. The similarities are greater than the differences. Too many to enumerate here.
- The technique will not fail me. I can only fail the technique. “Success” is dependent upon my willingness to stay the course.
- There are apparent paradoxes that can only be experienced to be reconciled. I remember learning about Buddhism back in college. On the outside, I used to say, “If you’re not supposed to have desires, isn’t ‘not desiring to desire’ a desire in itself?” What I experienced was this. I have a craving for dark chocolate. I don’t have a craving to end my craving for dark chocolate. The first craving is obsessive. The second desire is a healthy, balanced one. There were other apparent contradictions that were reconciled during my meditation experience. I thought that waking up at 4:30 would make me continually drowsy such that I couldn’t meditate—the schedule was counterintuitive. But by the end of the course, I was experiencing otherwise. I thought that fewer calories wouldn’t be enough to sustain me. I experienced otherwise. The course has a logic that I didn’t trust on the outside, but learned to trust through experience.
- You cannot fully learn this technique outside of a 10 day course. And for that matter, you can’t even fully learn it within a 10 day course. But the consensus within the Vipassana community is that the course experience is the surest and safest place to begin. All others proceed at their own risk. I started meditating before the course—but it was only “anapana” meditation (awareness of respiration), one of the basic first steps toward Vipassana meditation. And this is fine. It served me very well and put me in a good place to begin the course. I had already begun to experience the benefits of Vipassana.
My Benefits of Vipassana
Below are some of the immediate benefits I am experiencing right now. Now, the benefits will be as varied as there are practicers of this method. As much as I am able to continue in Vipassana, I expect this list to grow.
- I’m less anxious about life, and more hopeful about the future, but more aware of the present.
- I feel like I can handle so much more stress than I could before the course. This is true for pain and discomfort as well.
- Little things going wrong do not affect me as they did. Instead of cursing under my breath (or out loud, depending on the context), I find myself laughing at my silly little predicaments with a much healthier perspective. I’m now laughing over spilled almond milk.
- I am more able to suspend my judgment and see things from more than one perspective.
- I’m certain I am becoming a better husband. Even though I haven’t seen Helen in almost 3 weeks (she’s back on Friday!) I can already feel so much more love and appreciation for her in my heart.
- I am more easily moved to feel what other people might be feeling and to act accordingly. I am sensing what I think might be called compassion. For my hard heart, that’s a big deal.
- I’m reading more, reading faster, working harder, sleeping a little less, and getting more done… At the same time, I’m living less hurried. My to-do list is not of almighty importance anymore.
- I am more present with people.
- My heart and mind is becoming less ugly. In Christian spirituality, as my mom reflected back to me, I am experiencing the fruits of the Spirit.
- I feel like I have turned an important corner in my spiritual development and maturity.
- Etcetera…
Sign up for the Course
If you are interested in taking a course and would like to learn more before jumping in, here’s what I would say:
- Explore the info and videos at Dhamma.org thoroughly.
- Read the book The Art of Living by William Hart: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Living-Vipassana-Meditation/dp/0060637242
- Based on the readings in the book, start practicing anapana meditation—awareness of respiration.
- This isn’t as important, but if you can find it, watch the documentary The Dhamma Brothers, about Vipassana meditation at an end of the line prison near Birmingham Alabama. Inspiring.
- If you’re still interested after all that, go for it. Look up the nearest course site on Dhamma.org and see what upcoming courses might match with your schedule. I’ve heard of weekend and 5 day courses offered instead of 10, but you won’t learn the whole Vipassana technique in less than 10 days. Ten days sounds like a lot, but honestly, it progressed in such a way that I think it would have been rushed if it fit into much less than that.
If you have questions or would like to talk more about Vipassana, I’d love that. Please let me know. I certainly don’t have all the answers, and can only testify to my own experiences, but I can point you to the right places.
“May you all experience this ultimate truth. May all people be free from misery. May they enjoy real peace, real harmony, real happiness.” --SN Goenka
Peace,
Tyler
thepriesthood@gmail.com
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Student Letters to the U.S.A.
I recently organized a letter exchange between the 2nd grade students at my school (7th grade) and the 6th grade students at Grove City Middle School. Fascinated by the brief introduction to middle school life in the U.S., my students plunged into descriptions of life in Korea and a bizarre mix of questions for their U.S. counterparts. The letters were sent away in November, and I'm expecting the responses any day now.
Thrilled by my description of an activity that requires LOTS of quiet working time for the students, and curious to find some equally peculiar results, several of my friends leaped on the idea. One friend described her experience of introducing the project to her early elementary school students, saying, "They were so excited we had to turn off the lights and do deep breathing, and that was before I told them they'd receive letters back from America."
It's good fun for everyone, and I've included some of my favorites below. They were instructed to write "Dear GCMS Students", along with a series of questions and personal responses. I mentioned they could include their genders, since students in the U.S. likely won't be able to determine from reading their names. For privacy, I've removed their names from this blog post.
*Important Note: By posting these letters, I don't mean to mock my students' English ability. I've chosen to copy their letters as they were written, but I recognize that this is their second language. I think they're intelligent and funny, and their letters say a lot about middle school life. I'll keep it balanced by later sharing some notes and amusing themes after receiving the return letters from Grove City. Also, at their age, I couldn't speak a second language at all.
Letter #1
Dear GCMS Students,
Are you a boy or girl? I'm a boy. What's your hobby? My hobby is playing computer game. What is your favorite food? My favorite food is bread. Do you know Korean? I think you have to know about Korean. Do you know about Hong Kong gay bar? Hong Kong gay bar is very good. And in Korea we always eat dog. It is very delicious. And I'm god of Minecraft. I'll wait your answer.
(Note- I opted not to send this one, since people don't always eat dog in Korea, and I simply don't have time to explain the complexity of the issue to the receiving students.)
Letter #2
Dear GCMS Students,
How are you? I'm great. What are your favorite hobbies? My hobby is play computer games, especially, I like Left4Dead game. It's fun. Try this and do you know Dokdo? Dokdo is land of Korea, but Japan take away Dokdo, and Japan take away East Sea. We are so angry. People is unknow this. So we say Dokdo is land of Korea.
Letter #3
Dear GCMS Students,
Hello GCMS Student. I'm a boy. How are you? What do you do every day? Um... My schedule is wake up, wash, and eat breakfast. I go to school at 8:20. After I finish school, I go to Academy. And I come back my home and eat dinner and wash. At home, I do homework, and when I finish, I sleep. And what kind of online games do you like? What game is it? What is your nickname? I like Sudden Attack. My nickname is Psychohead. How long is your winter vacation? Our winter vacation is one month. I think our winter vacation is very short.
What do you think about Gangnam Style? I like it very much. When you come to Korea, you come to Gwangju. And when you come to Gwangju, you spend my house or my friend house. You're welcome to visit any time.
Letter #4
Dear GCMS Students,
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is bosintang. Bosintang is dog stew. It's yummy and healthy. I tell you the recipe of bosintang. First, put a living dog into a pot. Second, put a boiling water into pot. Last, boil them. Um ~yummy. Um ~delicious. Dog's smell is good. Very healthy smell. Um ~good. I recommend eating bosintang. bye. Let's LOL. Let's play the League of Legends.
(Note- See note for letter #1. While I appreciate the shock value, I'm holding the original copy in my hand right now.)
Letter #5
Dear GCMS Students,
How is the weather these days? I'm so cool because the weather is cold. I am interested in K-pop. My favorite K-pop star is BIG BANG. Do you know them? Do you like him?
In my school, girl students usually wear make up. Your school also do? If they do, how they make up? And boyfriend like computer game? My school's boy students like games very much.
I hope to know difference between my school and your school. And in your school, students dying their hairs? If they do what color? In Korea, many students dying variety color.
This is the end. I want your answer. Take care your health and good bye.
Letter #6
Dear GCMS Students,
Hi I live in Gwangju, Korea. I am a Juwol Middle School student. I want to ask some questions to you. First is it common to have a gun? In Korea, it's illegal. Second, are there any bullies? In Korea, there are many bullies. Third when you visit Korea which place do you want to go? When I visit America I want to visit New York and Washington. Bye bye.
Letter #7
Dear GCMS Students,
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is sam gae tang. It is very delicious. I tell you sam gae tang recipe. First, prepare one chicken and a pot. Second, boil water. Third, stick the chicken to the pot. Finish! Yummy!
Letter #8
Dear GCMS Students,
How are you? I'm... hm... fine! I live in Gwangju, South Korea. Do you believe in God? I don't believe in God because I think God doesn't exist...Oh... By the way, my hobby is drawing because I like cartoons. So when I grow up, I will cartoonist. I look forward to your reply.
(Note- This kid drew an amazing picture of himself at the bottom of the letter. The letter/drawing combo is quite Doonesbury-esque.)
Letter #9
Dear GCMS Students,
Hello, how are you? I'm fine. I live in Gwangju, South Korea. My favorite hobby is playing video games and watching animation. My favorite game is Halo. In the future, I want to be a game maker. My life is so hard because I always go to academy every day. How about you? Anyway, my life is so hard but I always happy because I have good friends to play with. These friends sometimes do annoy but they are funny and good. By the way, have you good friends? I want to be your friend. Later, when we met we have to a good friend.
Thrilled by my description of an activity that requires LOTS of quiet working time for the students, and curious to find some equally peculiar results, several of my friends leaped on the idea. One friend described her experience of introducing the project to her early elementary school students, saying, "They were so excited we had to turn off the lights and do deep breathing, and that was before I told them they'd receive letters back from America."
It's good fun for everyone, and I've included some of my favorites below. They were instructed to write "Dear GCMS Students", along with a series of questions and personal responses. I mentioned they could include their genders, since students in the U.S. likely won't be able to determine from reading their names. For privacy, I've removed their names from this blog post.
*Important Note: By posting these letters, I don't mean to mock my students' English ability. I've chosen to copy their letters as they were written, but I recognize that this is their second language. I think they're intelligent and funny, and their letters say a lot about middle school life. I'll keep it balanced by later sharing some notes and amusing themes after receiving the return letters from Grove City. Also, at their age, I couldn't speak a second language at all.
---
Letter #1
Dear GCMS Students,
Are you a boy or girl? I'm a boy. What's your hobby? My hobby is playing computer game. What is your favorite food? My favorite food is bread. Do you know Korean? I think you have to know about Korean. Do you know about Hong Kong gay bar? Hong Kong gay bar is very good. And in Korea we always eat dog. It is very delicious. And I'm god of Minecraft. I'll wait your answer.
(Note- I opted not to send this one, since people don't always eat dog in Korea, and I simply don't have time to explain the complexity of the issue to the receiving students.)
Letter #2
Dear GCMS Students,
How are you? I'm great. What are your favorite hobbies? My hobby is play computer games, especially, I like Left4Dead game. It's fun. Try this and do you know Dokdo? Dokdo is land of Korea, but Japan take away Dokdo, and Japan take away East Sea. We are so angry. People is unknow this. So we say Dokdo is land of Korea.
Letter #3
Dear GCMS Students,
Hello GCMS Student. I'm a boy. How are you? What do you do every day? Um... My schedule is wake up, wash, and eat breakfast. I go to school at 8:20. After I finish school, I go to Academy. And I come back my home and eat dinner and wash. At home, I do homework, and when I finish, I sleep. And what kind of online games do you like? What game is it? What is your nickname? I like Sudden Attack. My nickname is Psychohead. How long is your winter vacation? Our winter vacation is one month. I think our winter vacation is very short.
What do you think about Gangnam Style? I like it very much. When you come to Korea, you come to Gwangju. And when you come to Gwangju, you spend my house or my friend house. You're welcome to visit any time.
Letter #4
Dear GCMS Students,
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is bosintang. Bosintang is dog stew. It's yummy and healthy. I tell you the recipe of bosintang. First, put a living dog into a pot. Second, put a boiling water into pot. Last, boil them. Um ~yummy. Um ~delicious. Dog's smell is good. Very healthy smell. Um ~good. I recommend eating bosintang. bye. Let's LOL. Let's play the League of Legends.
(Note- See note for letter #1. While I appreciate the shock value, I'm holding the original copy in my hand right now.)
Letter #5
Dear GCMS Students,
How is the weather these days? I'm so cool because the weather is cold. I am interested in K-pop. My favorite K-pop star is BIG BANG. Do you know them? Do you like him?
In my school, girl students usually wear make up. Your school also do? If they do, how they make up? And boyfriend like computer game? My school's boy students like games very much.
I hope to know difference between my school and your school. And in your school, students dying their hairs? If they do what color? In Korea, many students dying variety color.
This is the end. I want your answer. Take care your health and good bye.
Letter #6
Dear GCMS Students,
Hi I live in Gwangju, Korea. I am a Juwol Middle School student. I want to ask some questions to you. First is it common to have a gun? In Korea, it's illegal. Second, are there any bullies? In Korea, there are many bullies. Third when you visit Korea which place do you want to go? When I visit America I want to visit New York and Washington. Bye bye.
Letter #7
Dear GCMS Students,
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is sam gae tang. It is very delicious. I tell you sam gae tang recipe. First, prepare one chicken and a pot. Second, boil water. Third, stick the chicken to the pot. Finish! Yummy!
Letter #8
Dear GCMS Students,
How are you? I'm... hm... fine! I live in Gwangju, South Korea. Do you believe in God? I don't believe in God because I think God doesn't exist...Oh... By the way, my hobby is drawing because I like cartoons. So when I grow up, I will cartoonist. I look forward to your reply.
(Note- This kid drew an amazing picture of himself at the bottom of the letter. The letter/drawing combo is quite Doonesbury-esque.)
Letter #9
Dear GCMS Students,
Hello, how are you? I'm fine. I live in Gwangju, South Korea. My favorite hobby is playing video games and watching animation. My favorite game is Halo. In the future, I want to be a game maker. My life is so hard because I always go to academy every day. How about you? Anyway, my life is so hard but I always happy because I have good friends to play with. These friends sometimes do annoy but they are funny and good. By the way, have you good friends? I want to be your friend. Later, when we met we have to a good friend.
The Kimchi Lover
"Well, this isn't real life, you know" is a phrase oft repeated among members of my friend group. It's easy to forget until I catch myself starting a story with, "When I went to the homeless festival while staying at a hostel beside the red light district in Osaka...", and the responses mainly include inquiries as to whether I'd recommend the accomodation. Nearly everyone here is extremely well-traveled, or in the process of becoming so, and intensely willing to experience life in its fullest. Doubts about visiting the same coffee shop more than twice spring up, as though living in Korea isn't consistently new enough. Being surrounded by the endless, wondrous curiosity is exhilarating, and I highly respect everyone who's been willing to dedicate themselves to teaching alongside travelling.
One such talented friend, Brittany, wrote an essay about her year, and she gave me the okay to share it on here. I know several people on their way to Korea who can benefit from every bit of information they can get, and her perspective is uplifting and sweet! Enjoy!
I can still vividly remember sitting on the plane as I made my way to South Korea. I would be lying if I said my mindset at this time was calm and collected. I had a million thoughts running through my head. What if I get lost? What if I miss my connecting flight in Shanghai? What if my coworkers don’t like me? What am I doing??!! Although I had been preparing for this move for months, nothing had prepared me for these emotions I felt on the 16 hour flight to South Korea. My family and friends back home thought I was out of my mind. I often got very curious questions as to why I would want to leave America and go to North Korea. My response was always the same, “I am going to SOUTH Korea not NORTH Korea and I think this will be a good experience for me.” It turned out I was wrong; it was not a GOOD experience, but in fact a life-changing experience. This past year I have not only learned a lot about South Korea, but I have also learned and grown more as a person.
Prior to my move, I had read many books about the culture of South Korea. I knew some basic Korean. I knew I should bow when I see elders. I read that this strange food called “kimchi” was eaten at mostly every meal. Cramming all this information in my head was helpful, but nothing can match the knowledge I have gained by being immersed in the Korean culture on a daily basis. Culture is not something you are familiar with growing up. It just is your life because that is all you know. When I first arrived in Korea, I was amazed with how different everything was. Everything seemed to be the opposite of what I was used to in America. Even the emergency number was the opposite! (In America the emergency # is 9-1-1. In Korea it is 1-1-9.) Soon, however, some aspects of Korean culture slowly began to fuse with my culture. For example, I cannot express how this strange food called “kimchi” is now one of my favorite foods. Although you can buy kimchi in America, it is often hard to find or is very expensive. I love kimichi so much, that I have been learning to make it because when I go home I do not know what I will do without it!
I could write pages and pages comparing and contrasting American and Korean cultures, but for the sake of time I will share a few things that have changed in my life since I have been here. For starters, I am much healthier here than I ever was back home. One reason for this is I walk everywhere. In American we drive everywhere. Even if we are going to a store that is only a five minute walk, we drive. In Korea if I am not walking I take the bus. I think Korea has an amazing transportation system, and although I do miss driving, I will miss the Korean transportation system. Another reason I feel healthier is because I believe I eat healthier foods. My diet is rich with organic fruits and vegetables, fish and other meats. In America I would often eat at fast food restaurants and consume food that was non-organic or unhealthy.
Next, the interaction between older and younger individuals is much different in America. In America the relationships are very casual. In Korea they are much more formal. I thought bowing seemed like a pretty straight forward concept. It was not until after my first day of work (and a lot of giggles) I learned that I am not supposed to bow to my students when they bow to me. In the process of becoming accustomed to the Korean culture, it has also allowed me to reflect on my culture. By doing this, I have become aware of things I take for granted back home as well as some things I wish would be different. Here is a small list of things I miss from back home: My favorite gum, being able to try on clothes before I buy them, trash cans on every street corner, Mexican food, turning on the T.V. and hearing English, shoes that fit me (I wear a 255-260mm), California beaches, being able to casually converse in my native tongue and my family. Of course from this list I will tell you I miss my family the most. I come from a large family (6 children) and not being able to share my experiences with them on a daily basis does make me sad.
As stated before, there are a few things that living in Korea has changed my perspective on. First, I will absolutely miss the healthcare system in Korea. In America I hardly ever went to the doctor, hospital or dentist, because of how expensive the fees are. In Korea I go all the time. I also enjoy not wearing shoes in school. Before moving to Korea I worked with Kindergartners at an elementary school. I can still remember how after work, the first thing I wanted to do was to take my shoes off. In America teachers wear high heels and by the end of the day our feet ache very badly.
Perhaps the most vital thing I will take away from Korea is how important learning a new language is. I think the level of English spoken in this country is truly amazing. While I wish the pressure of learning English was not so intense on the younger generations, I do believe it will greatly enhance my students’ lives. A Spanish professor once told me, “Learning a new language is important because it opens up new worlds.” At the time I could not understand how incredibly right he was. Often as I teach, I wish I could interact more with my students. I find myself wanting so badly to communicate with them. Not on the level of just teaching them new English vocabulary, but also to hear about their day, to encourage them in English, and to tell them that Middle School can be a hard few years, but that I truly believe they can be whatever they want in life.
So why travel or move to another country? I can tell you from experience it will forever change you for the better. You become more aware of yourself because you are not it your comfort zone. You must challenge yourself, learn to adapt and interact with others. I have learned more by living in Korea than any book or class could ever teach me. I plan on staying in Korea one more year. After that I will seek a new adventure! As I close I leave you with a quote by Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain has a famous TV show in which he travels the world and samples food along the way. He once stated, “Move. As far as you can. As much as you can. Across the ocean or simply across the river. The extent in which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food is a plus for everybody. Open your mind. Get up off the couch. Move.” –Anthony Bourdain.
Like Bourdain I challenge you to immerse yourself in another culture. If you are unable to do that, I challenge you to at least try something new today. You might surprise yourself.
One such talented friend, Brittany, wrote an essay about her year, and she gave me the okay to share it on here. I know several people on their way to Korea who can benefit from every bit of information they can get, and her perspective is uplifting and sweet! Enjoy!
A beautiful portrait by one of her students
Brittany dangling off Mt. Hua in China
From Here to There
Prior to my move, I had read many books about the culture of South Korea. I knew some basic Korean. I knew I should bow when I see elders. I read that this strange food called “kimchi” was eaten at mostly every meal. Cramming all this information in my head was helpful, but nothing can match the knowledge I have gained by being immersed in the Korean culture on a daily basis. Culture is not something you are familiar with growing up. It just is your life because that is all you know. When I first arrived in Korea, I was amazed with how different everything was. Everything seemed to be the opposite of what I was used to in America. Even the emergency number was the opposite! (In America the emergency # is 9-1-1. In Korea it is 1-1-9.) Soon, however, some aspects of Korean culture slowly began to fuse with my culture. For example, I cannot express how this strange food called “kimchi” is now one of my favorite foods. Although you can buy kimchi in America, it is often hard to find or is very expensive. I love kimichi so much, that I have been learning to make it because when I go home I do not know what I will do without it!
I could write pages and pages comparing and contrasting American and Korean cultures, but for the sake of time I will share a few things that have changed in my life since I have been here. For starters, I am much healthier here than I ever was back home. One reason for this is I walk everywhere. In American we drive everywhere. Even if we are going to a store that is only a five minute walk, we drive. In Korea if I am not walking I take the bus. I think Korea has an amazing transportation system, and although I do miss driving, I will miss the Korean transportation system. Another reason I feel healthier is because I believe I eat healthier foods. My diet is rich with organic fruits and vegetables, fish and other meats. In America I would often eat at fast food restaurants and consume food that was non-organic or unhealthy.
Next, the interaction between older and younger individuals is much different in America. In America the relationships are very casual. In Korea they are much more formal. I thought bowing seemed like a pretty straight forward concept. It was not until after my first day of work (and a lot of giggles) I learned that I am not supposed to bow to my students when they bow to me. In the process of becoming accustomed to the Korean culture, it has also allowed me to reflect on my culture. By doing this, I have become aware of things I take for granted back home as well as some things I wish would be different. Here is a small list of things I miss from back home: My favorite gum, being able to try on clothes before I buy them, trash cans on every street corner, Mexican food, turning on the T.V. and hearing English, shoes that fit me (I wear a 255-260mm), California beaches, being able to casually converse in my native tongue and my family. Of course from this list I will tell you I miss my family the most. I come from a large family (6 children) and not being able to share my experiences with them on a daily basis does make me sad.
As stated before, there are a few things that living in Korea has changed my perspective on. First, I will absolutely miss the healthcare system in Korea. In America I hardly ever went to the doctor, hospital or dentist, because of how expensive the fees are. In Korea I go all the time. I also enjoy not wearing shoes in school. Before moving to Korea I worked with Kindergartners at an elementary school. I can still remember how after work, the first thing I wanted to do was to take my shoes off. In America teachers wear high heels and by the end of the day our feet ache very badly.
Perhaps the most vital thing I will take away from Korea is how important learning a new language is. I think the level of English spoken in this country is truly amazing. While I wish the pressure of learning English was not so intense on the younger generations, I do believe it will greatly enhance my students’ lives. A Spanish professor once told me, “Learning a new language is important because it opens up new worlds.” At the time I could not understand how incredibly right he was. Often as I teach, I wish I could interact more with my students. I find myself wanting so badly to communicate with them. Not on the level of just teaching them new English vocabulary, but also to hear about their day, to encourage them in English, and to tell them that Middle School can be a hard few years, but that I truly believe they can be whatever they want in life.
So why travel or move to another country? I can tell you from experience it will forever change you for the better. You become more aware of yourself because you are not it your comfort zone. You must challenge yourself, learn to adapt and interact with others. I have learned more by living in Korea than any book or class could ever teach me. I plan on staying in Korea one more year. After that I will seek a new adventure! As I close I leave you with a quote by Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain has a famous TV show in which he travels the world and samples food along the way. He once stated, “Move. As far as you can. As much as you can. Across the ocean or simply across the river. The extent in which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food is a plus for everybody. Open your mind. Get up off the couch. Move.” –Anthony Bourdain.
Like Bourdain I challenge you to immerse yourself in another culture. If you are unable to do that, I challenge you to at least try something new today. You might surprise yourself.
Hold the Sheep
A rather intense month of thinking, sorting, and financial planning led me to the conclusion that the sheep must be put on hold. New Zealand remains on my extensive list of places I could possibly live one day, but it's not ideal for right now. The following photo fits the situation quite well...
sad sheep?
... because I'm currently applying to teach in the northeastern United States! This photo is from a rural school in New York, so they COULD be my welcoming committee.
curious, excited sheep?
I'd prefer an urban area, but I'll make do as long as a paycheck is involved. Though I've managed to save a respectable amount of money here, my school loans are beastly. Teaching is my first love, and living my life outside of student debtors' prison is my second. (They have those, right? )
The realization that I've been in a learning position for my entire life sank in over the past several months, as I finally began to gain my footing as a teacher. With less anxiety-producing guesswork driving my lessons, excited confidence came with knowing that students would likely respond well to what I'd prepared. Of course, every school and group of students comes with different needs, but there's a massive difference between the person who walked into Juwol Middle School last February believing she was having an out-of-body experience and the one who's currently leaping along with the students in winter English camp. I just love it when I can include leaping in the lesson plan!
We were leaping to this. It's exquisite.
A further note on classroom content: while planning for this holiday-themed winter camp, my prediction of the boys' (oh, yes, there's one girl too) enthusiasm for Bollywood was an absurd underestimate. They were captivated. We even took some time afterward to list adjectives to describe their feelings about the video: "exciting. colorful, so exciting, wow, so great". On second thought, my surprise over their love of Bollywood was probably silly. We played New Year's Resolution Musical Chairs yesterday, and their song selection was the following:
This video was published one week ago, and there are over 22 million views.
K-Pop is... well, you can decide for yourself.
Trekking back to the subject before the Girls' Generation and Bollywood tangent, all of this means I'll be frolicking in western Pennsylvania for the month of March, and I'd love to see all of you. It also means that if I can't find a job, I could turn around and head back to Korea. It's a great place, and I'm certainly not storming out of here. My experiences have deepened my desire to teach art at a school where I can build on the lessons year-by-year, though I do have an ongoing list of alternative options, all of which include settings with less pervasive K-pop. Ohhhh it's fun when the future's wide-open and gloriously uncertain!
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
SIX PLAYS. Four Nights. One Couch.
Hello, everyone!
December's been off to a fabulous start, and the show, "SIX PLAYS. Four Nights. One Couch" opens this coming Saturday. Click the link below to see interviews with my friends and footage from our dress rehearsal last Sunday. I'M SO EXCITED!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cmz-OdNgjNc
December's been off to a fabulous start, and the show, "SIX PLAYS. Four Nights. One Couch" opens this coming Saturday. Click the link below to see interviews with my friends and footage from our dress rehearsal last Sunday. I'M SO EXCITED!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cmz-OdNgjNc
Saturday, November 24, 2012
GIC Day Dance
American, Irish, Canadian, South African, British, French, Australian, Korean. It's a crazy amount of fun to share in the talents of Gwangju's active foreigner community, the extent to which was showcased during Gwangju International Community Day earlier this month. Volunteers ran booths offering delectable food items, and the Talent Show was packed with gorgeous and wide-ranging performances. I could only sample the wonders of it all thanks to the nervousness that kicked in before my dance, but what I did catch was fabulous.
It felt wonderful to focus on dance again, if only for that week. My beloved Gwangju Family showed up to cheer and document my performance; and, in true family-fashion, insist that I was worthy of first prize. I did not, in fact, win a prize (or have any knowledge of the judges or their expectations), and watching the video made me squirm a bit because I'd love to do a few things differently. That said, it was enormously enjoyable to take part in the show, and I've posted the dance below, as promised. Thanks go to Brandon and Justin for filming it, and to everyone else who was there to support me!
To see more of GIC Day, you can fire up your Internet Explorer browsers (the video doesn't work otherwise) and check out the Korean news footage. My friends show up frequently throughout the 10 minute clip, and you can spot my face briefly a couple of times.
To watch:
1. Paste this into your browser: http://www.ikbc.co.kr/?r=home&c=2%2F24%2F85&uid=159338
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page where you'll see orange arrows and the word "VOD" in a box
3. On the left hand side, click the 1141 video
4. Coverage of GIC Day starts at 23:49
It felt wonderful to focus on dance again, if only for that week. My beloved Gwangju Family showed up to cheer and document my performance; and, in true family-fashion, insist that I was worthy of first prize. I did not, in fact, win a prize (or have any knowledge of the judges or their expectations), and watching the video made me squirm a bit because I'd love to do a few things differently. That said, it was enormously enjoyable to take part in the show, and I've posted the dance below, as promised. Thanks go to Brandon and Justin for filming it, and to everyone else who was there to support me!
Can you tell I forgot the last 20 something seconds and made it up on the spot? Oops! :)
To see more of GIC Day, you can fire up your Internet Explorer browsers (the video doesn't work otherwise) and check out the Korean news footage. My friends show up frequently throughout the 10 minute clip, and you can spot my face briefly a couple of times.
To watch:
1. Paste this into your browser: http://www.ikbc.co.kr/?r=home&c=2%2F24%2F85&uid=159338
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page where you'll see orange arrows and the word "VOD" in a box
3. On the left hand side, click the 1141 video
4. Coverage of GIC Day starts at 23:49
Monday, November 05, 2012
Taiwan! Visas Ready.
In September 2002, I met Jamie Hsieh. She'd just moved from Taiwan to Grove City, PA, and I'd just switched from a private school to the local high school. We went on trips together, participated in theater productions, went to school dances, and all the while discussed what it'd be like for me to visit her home country. I knew I'd like the Pocky candy she shared with me, and I was absolutely certain I'd consume absurd amounts of bubble tea in the land of its creation. The extent to which Taiwan could potentially blow my mind did not sufficiently factor into my expectations.
In September 2012, I hop on a plane with a bunch of friends from Gwangju and take off for Taipei. With one friend joining us after her later flight, four of us settle into the comfortable seats to make up for the less than ideal sleeping conditions provided to us on the wooden benches of the Seoul airport during the previous night. Slowly awakening to the customs cards being passed down the aisles, we lazily fill out the forms as the plane begins its descent.
One line on the card creates a bit of trouble. It reads, "Fill out your visa number below". Catching my breath, I glance at Brittany's card beside me. Her pen dangles above the same line, and I feel my head grow light. "We checked that, of course. We're all responsible people.... right?", I whisper. Her expression mirrors mine, "Yeah, of course. Let's not scare the other girls by saying anything until we're off the plane". While I don't find plane landings to be nearly as pleasant as the take-offs, this one feels far worse than usual.
Stepping from the plane, Maeve and Ciara appear no more at ease than Brittany and I. With sentiments echoing, "HOW could we make it ALL THE WAY HERE without checking if we needed visas?!", we queue up in the customs line, nauseated with the awareness that an immediate return flight to Korea is entirely possible. With only two people ahead of us in line, the internet on Ciara's iPhone kicks into gear. "Citizens of the UK... do NOT need a visa!!", shrieks Ciara, hugging Maeve. Brittany and I grab for the phone, and quickly confirm the same just as we arrive at the front of the customs line.
We meet Jamie outside the baggage claim, at which point the rest of my memories seem like a dream. She planned every second of it for us, packing each day with a phenomenal variety of activities and food samples and amazing sights. I'm still overwhelmed when I think about it all! My friend, Maeve, wrote a great article about the trip for Gwangju News, and I highly recommend reading it here: http://www.gwangjunewsgic.com/online/in-taiwan/. Also, she used my photos for the article, though the content is more exciting than the images, I think.
I'll turn it over to Maeve now, but one last note on the trip: people don't bow to each other in Taiwan. After a solid seven months of bowing at every greeting, departure, and thanks, our silly group managed to entertain Jamie throughout the trip by showing extreme courtesy to everyone we met. I'm curious to see if this habit carries over when I return home in the spring.
---
In September 2012, I hop on a plane with a bunch of friends from Gwangju and take off for Taipei. With one friend joining us after her later flight, four of us settle into the comfortable seats to make up for the less than ideal sleeping conditions provided to us on the wooden benches of the Seoul airport during the previous night. Slowly awakening to the customs cards being passed down the aisles, we lazily fill out the forms as the plane begins its descent.
One line on the card creates a bit of trouble. It reads, "Fill out your visa number below". Catching my breath, I glance at Brittany's card beside me. Her pen dangles above the same line, and I feel my head grow light. "We checked that, of course. We're all responsible people.... right?", I whisper. Her expression mirrors mine, "Yeah, of course. Let's not scare the other girls by saying anything until we're off the plane". While I don't find plane landings to be nearly as pleasant as the take-offs, this one feels far worse than usual.
Stepping from the plane, Maeve and Ciara appear no more at ease than Brittany and I. With sentiments echoing, "HOW could we make it ALL THE WAY HERE without checking if we needed visas?!", we queue up in the customs line, nauseated with the awareness that an immediate return flight to Korea is entirely possible. With only two people ahead of us in line, the internet on Ciara's iPhone kicks into gear. "Citizens of the UK... do NOT need a visa!!", shrieks Ciara, hugging Maeve. Brittany and I grab for the phone, and quickly confirm the same just as we arrive at the front of the customs line.
We meet Jamie outside the baggage claim, at which point the rest of my memories seem like a dream. She planned every second of it for us, packing each day with a phenomenal variety of activities and food samples and amazing sights. I'm still overwhelmed when I think about it all! My friend, Maeve, wrote a great article about the trip for Gwangju News, and I highly recommend reading it here: http://www.gwangjunewsgic.com/online/in-taiwan/. Also, she used my photos for the article, though the content is more exciting than the images, I think.
I'll turn it over to Maeve now, but one last note on the trip: people don't bow to each other in Taiwan. After a solid seven months of bowing at every greeting, departure, and thanks, our silly group managed to entertain Jamie throughout the trip by showing extreme courtesy to everyone we met. I'm curious to see if this habit carries over when I return home in the spring.
Bring on the SHEEP!
Hello, my dears.
I'm genuinely confused that it's November. All continues to go smashingly well, though a bit too quickly. At school, I just completed Phase 1 of a letter exchange project between my 7th graders and the 6th grade students at Grove City Middle School. I'll be sure to share some highlights in a later post (there are many). And, with just over a month left before "Six Plays" opens, emotions in that arena range from great excitement to appalling anxiousness. There's so very, very much to do, but it's all intensely good fun.
My dedication to yoga has dropped to once a week classes with the kids, though I've since supplemented my exercise routine with practices for an upcoming dance performance. Two weeks ago, my friends said, "Hey, we're helping to organize a talent show for the Gwangju International Center, but no one has signed up. Do you want to dance?" Hearing that first, second, and third place winners receive the equivalent of 300, 200, and 100 dollars respectively, I imagined doing a simple dance on a small stage in front of a few elderly Korean people. And so, to help my friends, I agreed.
I'm genuinely confused that it's November. All continues to go smashingly well, though a bit too quickly. At school, I just completed Phase 1 of a letter exchange project between my 7th graders and the 6th grade students at Grove City Middle School. I'll be sure to share some highlights in a later post (there are many). And, with just over a month left before "Six Plays" opens, emotions in that arena range from great excitement to appalling anxiousness. There's so very, very much to do, but it's all intensely good fun.
My dedication to yoga has dropped to once a week classes with the kids, though I've since supplemented my exercise routine with practices for an upcoming dance performance. Two weeks ago, my friends said, "Hey, we're helping to organize a talent show for the Gwangju International Center, but no one has signed up. Do you want to dance?" Hearing that first, second, and third place winners receive the equivalent of 300, 200, and 100 dollars respectively, I imagined doing a simple dance on a small stage in front of a few elderly Korean people. And so, to help my friends, I agreed.
Fast forward two weeks: I hadn't heard anything, so I assumed the show was off. But, no. Three days ago, I got an email showing my time slot in the performance that will take place on November 10th. It seems I'll be doing a solo dance after a kung fu demonstration and before a traditional Nepalese dance on a large stage near the city's main event center. The show also features traditional Peruvian dance, tae kwon do, and a wide mix of other performances.
I may be entirely out of my league, but some friends who critiqued the two-thirds of the dance I've choreographed thus far suggested that I won't embarrass myself entirely. Actually, they were more encouraging than that, and I'm having way too much fun practicing to drop out of the competition. I also value dancing on the same level as breathing, the extent to which leaves me somewhat unconcerned about actually winning any money for the performance. Still, I am planning a January trip to either Vietnam, Thailand, or the Philippines, so the extra cash would be lovely! I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes, successful or otherwise.
The biggest news of the past month is: I have future plans!! For a variety of reasons, I've decided to finish my contract at the end of the year, return to the U.S. for 8 weeks, and then take off for a year in New Zealand. Life in Korea is, and continues to be, intensely wonderful. I've also felt acutely that remaining here for a second year without any dedication to learning the language is a little sloppy. I value this experience so much, and I also think that being able to converse with and remember the names of your students and co-workers is important. Like, super important. My knowledge of hovers around a shameful 5% score in that category, and signing up for a second year without any intention of improving the situation is absurd. My attention is too focused elsewhere.
So, New Zealand it is! An EPIK friend tipped me off to the idea about a month ago, when she enthusiastically described the year she spent there through a company called BUNAC. Barring unforeseen opportunities, I won't be teaching in New Zealand. My friend worked for a government office, and I've read there are loads of opportunities to develop my skills in sheep farming. Also, the country boasts a fabulous variety of cheeses, a point in which Korea falls drastically short in comparison (a country with 70% mountains leaves little room for large animal pastures). Here, you can buy the equivalent of a low-grade package of Kraft singles for around $6. Heartbreaking.
For the next (ah!) 3 months, I'm completely dedicated to soaking up the joy of living in Korea. Brace yourselves for the inevitable overly-emotional, gushing blog post that I'll likely produce sometime in February when I decide that good cheese isn't a sufficient reason to move countries. Until then, I have an extensive to-do list, the first item of which includes completing my After School Conversation Class lesson plan for a group of students who all but refuse to speak in English. I'll keep trying to inspire them, but I sympathize with the fact that their attention is too focused elsewhere. It's hard to get frustrated with them when I have the same problem.
I may be entirely out of my league, but some friends who critiqued the two-thirds of the dance I've choreographed thus far suggested that I won't embarrass myself entirely. Actually, they were more encouraging than that, and I'm having way too much fun practicing to drop out of the competition. I also value dancing on the same level as breathing, the extent to which leaves me somewhat unconcerned about actually winning any money for the performance. Still, I am planning a January trip to either Vietnam, Thailand, or the Philippines, so the extra cash would be lovely! I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes, successful or otherwise.
The biggest news of the past month is: I have future plans!! For a variety of reasons, I've decided to finish my contract at the end of the year, return to the U.S. for 8 weeks, and then take off for a year in New Zealand. Life in Korea is, and continues to be, intensely wonderful. I've also felt acutely that remaining here for a second year without any dedication to learning the language is a little sloppy. I value this experience so much, and I also think that being able to converse with and remember the names of your students and co-workers is important. Like, super important. My knowledge of hovers around a shameful 5% score in that category, and signing up for a second year without any intention of improving the situation is absurd. My attention is too focused elsewhere.
So, New Zealand it is! An EPIK friend tipped me off to the idea about a month ago, when she enthusiastically described the year she spent there through a company called BUNAC. Barring unforeseen opportunities, I won't be teaching in New Zealand. My friend worked for a government office, and I've read there are loads of opportunities to develop my skills in sheep farming. Also, the country boasts a fabulous variety of cheeses, a point in which Korea falls drastically short in comparison (a country with 70% mountains leaves little room for large animal pastures). Here, you can buy the equivalent of a low-grade package of Kraft singles for around $6. Heartbreaking.
For the next (ah!) 3 months, I'm completely dedicated to soaking up the joy of living in Korea. Brace yourselves for the inevitable overly-emotional, gushing blog post that I'll likely produce sometime in February when I decide that good cheese isn't a sufficient reason to move countries. Until then, I have an extensive to-do list, the first item of which includes completing my After School Conversation Class lesson plan for a group of students who all but refuse to speak in English. I'll keep trying to inspire them, but I sympathize with the fact that their attention is too focused elsewhere. It's hard to get frustrated with them when I have the same problem.
Neighbors, Food, and Mind Reading
A while ago, a friend of mine posted the following note online: "I just answered the door to a huge bang. Shoved into my hand was a giant packet of toilet paper and a phone. The woman on the phone says, 'Construction will happen and it will be noisy. Please accept the toilet paper as our way to say sorry.' Classic Korea!" Rapid construction, consideration for the happiness of another, and the gift of toilet paper- her tale summarizes so much of what makes Korea so lovable.
The interactions with my neighbors have been slight. Aside from hearing the occasional light switch turn off, or a cough or shout, or passionate love-making session that echos through the shower drain while I'm quietly brushing my teeth, I rarely see the people with whom I share my paper-thin walls. There is, wonderfully, one exception. My landlord's mother lives on the third floor of my building, and her knowledge of my whereabouts leaves me almost certain that she monitors the security cameras.
My security camera theory explains her quick appearance at my door after I've just returned home for the evening, though it's only an easy explanation for the curious actions of this adorable little woman. With an almost perfect record to date, every (truly, every) time I've decided to splurge on a heap of tomatoes, cucumbers, -you name it-, she brings the exact food item to my door as a gift. It's happened with an uncanny variety of food, and it's not as though both of us are making only the most in-season selections.
Her thoughtfulness is so appreciated, and since buying food for her seems odd (particularly since I'll have to assume she already has whatever I choose), the best I've given her is a little card with a painting of a flower I made. I'm due to give her another gift, as one of our funny exchanges happened again only a few hours ago when I returned home with the first large bag of apples I've purchased in a month. What did she hand me? The most delicious, giant apple I've tasted in recent memory. If only we could speak the same language, I think we might have more in common than an odd habit of purchasing the exact same food on the exact same day. I'm very happy to enjoy this much, anyway!
The interactions with my neighbors have been slight. Aside from hearing the occasional light switch turn off, or a cough or shout, or passionate love-making session that echos through the shower drain while I'm quietly brushing my teeth, I rarely see the people with whom I share my paper-thin walls. There is, wonderfully, one exception. My landlord's mother lives on the third floor of my building, and her knowledge of my whereabouts leaves me almost certain that she monitors the security cameras.
My security camera theory explains her quick appearance at my door after I've just returned home for the evening, though it's only an easy explanation for the curious actions of this adorable little woman. With an almost perfect record to date, every (truly, every) time I've decided to splurge on a heap of tomatoes, cucumbers, -you name it-, she brings the exact food item to my door as a gift. It's happened with an uncanny variety of food, and it's not as though both of us are making only the most in-season selections.
Her thoughtfulness is so appreciated, and since buying food for her seems odd (particularly since I'll have to assume she already has whatever I choose), the best I've given her is a little card with a painting of a flower I made. I'm due to give her another gift, as one of our funny exchanges happened again only a few hours ago when I returned home with the first large bag of apples I've purchased in a month. What did she hand me? The most delicious, giant apple I've tasted in recent memory. If only we could speak the same language, I think we might have more in common than an odd habit of purchasing the exact same food on the exact same day. I'm very happy to enjoy this much, anyway!
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
How to Teach- Part 2
Before I moved to Korea, the content of the following video provided almost the entirety of my education on Korean education. For a new teacher, the rigor of it all sounded like a promise for effortless classroom management. The content of the video supports what I've since discovered, but academic intensity only goes so far. Take a peek at the video. After that, I'll fill in some gaps.
When I ask my students, "What did you do last weekend?", they scream (or yawn) "STUDY!". As if anything could possibly change from one weekend to the next, I always press them further, "And what else did you do?", knowing full well their answers will be, "Studieeeeeed! And played computer games!". Like an idiot, I hope desperately that some kid in the class will tell me a different story: went on a picnic, went to the movie theater, read a book... for FUN. Something feels oddly amiss here. Since I'm in no position to make real changes, my most subversive actions include telling students that rest is good, playing and having fun are good, and you can even do better in school if you're not overly stressed. Making those comments always leaves me feeling a little like a rebel.
While I search out videos and articles on educational philosophy that suggest other methods of learning (and, no, I don't think the US has it all figured out either), my students stampede their way from one class to the next. In short form, the next video provides a spot-on depiction of a student's day, right down to the metal lunch trays. My students confirmed it when I showed them the video, begging for repeats and shrieking with laughter.
"Just went to check on a group of 16 year old students who'd been accidentally left unsupervised for half an hour. This is what I busted them getting up to. Not exactly what I would have expected in this situation back home...."
Fun little story from the other day: I've been conducting an American culture/history trivia game with my students. One of the questions was, "Americans celebrate their freedom on this day."
Every student wrote down "Friday" as their answer.
Student: "Teacher, how to spell shupple dance?"
The teacher looks down at the paper and finds the student has written "supple dance". A seductive dance, surely, but further conversation clarifies that the desired term is "shuffle dance."
I entered a classroom today, only to be welcomed by a kid strumming a guitar and shrieking, "BETHANY, I LOOOOVE YOU! I LOOOOVE YOU!", until he dropped to the ground laughing (still strumming and singing).
Teacher: hey ladies! Do any of you have hairspray?
Girls: (completely serious) No teacher, we really don't use stuff for our hair. You should ask the boys for that.
While editing the school's English newspaper, I came across a sentence that read: "Olympic national team members' passion which is hotter than summer bore irreplaceable fruit." I just left it. It was one of the best sentences on the page.
More to come ;)
When I ask my students, "What did you do last weekend?", they scream (or yawn) "STUDY!". As if anything could possibly change from one weekend to the next, I always press them further, "And what else did you do?", knowing full well their answers will be, "Studieeeeeed! And played computer games!". Like an idiot, I hope desperately that some kid in the class will tell me a different story: went on a picnic, went to the movie theater, read a book... for FUN. Something feels oddly amiss here. Since I'm in no position to make real changes, my most subversive actions include telling students that rest is good, playing and having fun are good, and you can even do better in school if you're not overly stressed. Making those comments always leaves me feeling a little like a rebel.
While I search out videos and articles on educational philosophy that suggest other methods of learning (and, no, I don't think the US has it all figured out either), my students stampede their way from one class to the next. In short form, the next video provides a spot-on depiction of a student's day, right down to the metal lunch trays. My students confirmed it when I showed them the video, begging for repeats and shrieking with laughter.
This video always deserves a repeat!
Korean students spend a full day in school, enjoy a brief break around 4 pm during which time they inhale hotdogs from the street vendors, take music lessons, or play computer games in a PC room (they call it a pee-shee bong, bong= room), and then head to hagwons for more classes until 10pm. As the first video noted, many students attend classes on the weekends at hagwons now that public school classes only run from Monday through Friday. In the past, Guest English Teachers were permitted a two day weekend, while Korean teachers continued to work on Saturdays as well. The school year is longer this year as a result of the change.
I won't pretend that every moment of my after-school life gleamed with productive activities as a kid, though I question whether free time always results in time poorly spent. Developmental research consistently shows the value of creative play, and there's so very little time for it here. The students are more than capable of it when given the opportunity. Because, in the midst of the intensity, kids are still kids and ridiculousness is never far. To illustrate this, I've assembled a few brilliant moments from my classroom, as well as several shared by my fellow English teachers throughout the past couple of months.
I won't pretend that every moment of my after-school life gleamed with productive activities as a kid, though I question whether free time always results in time poorly spent. Developmental research consistently shows the value of creative play, and there's so very little time for it here. The students are more than capable of it when given the opportunity. Because, in the midst of the intensity, kids are still kids and ridiculousness is never far. To illustrate this, I've assembled a few brilliant moments from my classroom, as well as several shared by my fellow English teachers throughout the past couple of months.
---
"Just went to check on a group of 16 year old students who'd been accidentally left unsupervised for half an hour. This is what I busted them getting up to. Not exactly what I would have expected in this situation back home...."
---
Every student wrote down "Friday" as their answer.
---
Student: "Teacher, how to spell shupple dance?"
The teacher looks down at the paper and finds the student has written "supple dance". A seductive dance, surely, but further conversation clarifies that the desired term is "shuffle dance."
---
---
Teacher: hey ladies! Do any of you have hairspray?
Girls: (completely serious) No teacher, we really don't use stuff for our hair. You should ask the boys for that.
---
While editing the school's English newspaper, I came across a sentence that read: "Olympic national team members' passion which is hotter than summer bore irreplaceable fruit." I just left it. It was one of the best sentences on the page.
More to come ;)
Friday, October 05, 2012
How to Teach- Part 1
"You need to meet with the principal. It's very important."
"Okay, sure. How soon?"
"As soon as you can. She really wants to talk with you."
Had I offended someone? Do my teaching techniques need an overhaul? Despite some reassurance from Younga, I feel anxious for the few weeks it takes to finally arrange a meeting time. I hadn't visited with the principal, whom my students refer to as "Triangle Kimbap" due to an unfortunate hairstyle choice, since the first day I arrived in Gwangju. It was on that same day that we crossed paths at EMart, at which point I'd stocked my cart with only two items: wine and toilet paper. Watching her gaze drift over my cart, I said so-long to the stellar first impression I'd made an hour earlier.
Since then, I'd hoped that months of enthusiastic teaching had removed any concerns for my sobriety, but I wasn't sure. When I'm finally summoned for the Very Important Meeting, Younga leads the way to the office as I mentally prepare for the surely uncomfortable conversation about to ensue. We sit. The principal smiles. Someone brings tea. As she begins to speak, Younga translates the following series of questions while I nod and respond, waiting for the eventual smack-down:
"Are you happy here?"
Yes, very.
"How is your health?"
Improved, thank you.
"How is your apartment?"
Wonderful, ideal.
"Do you eat only bread?"
No... I love vegetables and fruit and many things that are not bread...?
Younga assures the principal that I break western stereotypes by eating Korean food often and only eating bread occasionally. The principal is delighted.
A discussion of my opinion on the school, my co-teachers, and job satisfaction follows, coming to an abrupt end with Younga's following translation: "She is envious of your youth, and she says you look like Brooke Shields from Endless Love. Do you have any further questions for her?" Entirely caught off guard, I thank the principal for her kind words and for the opportunity to work at her school. Conversation ends.
"Okay, sure. How soon?"
"As soon as you can. She really wants to talk with you."
Had I offended someone? Do my teaching techniques need an overhaul? Despite some reassurance from Younga, I feel anxious for the few weeks it takes to finally arrange a meeting time. I hadn't visited with the principal, whom my students refer to as "Triangle Kimbap" due to an unfortunate hairstyle choice, since the first day I arrived in Gwangju. It was on that same day that we crossed paths at EMart, at which point I'd stocked my cart with only two items: wine and toilet paper. Watching her gaze drift over my cart, I said so-long to the stellar first impression I'd made an hour earlier.
Since then, I'd hoped that months of enthusiastic teaching had removed any concerns for my sobriety, but I wasn't sure. When I'm finally summoned for the Very Important Meeting, Younga leads the way to the office as I mentally prepare for the surely uncomfortable conversation about to ensue. We sit. The principal smiles. Someone brings tea. As she begins to speak, Younga translates the following series of questions while I nod and respond, waiting for the eventual smack-down:
"Are you happy here?"
Yes, very.
"How is your health?"
Improved, thank you.
"How is your apartment?"
Wonderful, ideal.
"Do you eat only bread?"
No... I love vegetables and fruit and many things that are not bread...?
Younga assures the principal that I break western stereotypes by eating Korean food often and only eating bread occasionally. The principal is delighted.
A discussion of my opinion on the school, my co-teachers, and job satisfaction follows, coming to an abrupt end with Younga's following translation: "She is envious of your youth, and she says you look like Brooke Shields from Endless Love. Do you have any further questions for her?" Entirely caught off guard, I thank the principal for her kind words and for the opportunity to work at her school. Conversation ends.
A photo from my meeting with the principal.
Everything I told the principal was true: I'm definitely happy here and I only shove my face with loaves of bread when I'm way too tired to cook. Overall, I've found co-teaching to be the greatest challenge of this job, since it requires equal parts humility and assertiveness to establish a healthy balance of power. Learning to accommodate the personality differences of five different co-teachers throughout the week, while an intuitive audience of 40 or so middle school students watch our every move, I regularly get a vigorous work-out in interpersonal skills.
The majority of my English teaching friends were left to run the classroom alone from day one, but the teachers at my school actively attend and engage in every class. Any time I'm tempted to compare my situation to a particularly intense semester of student teaching, I remember how very many techniques I've picked up from co-teachers and feel less frustrated. Still, it leaves me a bit anxious to manage a class on my own, whether in the U.S., Taiwan, or another school in Korea. To anyone hoping for a definitive answer on my future plans, I still have no idea.
Communication with the other teachers in the school remains limited thanks to my nearly total lack of focus in learning the language, though I feel welcome and comfortable with every bow and "annyeounghaseo" exchanged in the hallways. Younga gives me reports like, "So-and-so said she saw you downtown the other day" or "A teacher from the first floor lounge said your dress is pretty", which reminds me that I'm included even when I feel like I'm just drifting among them or exchanging a simple "맛있어요!" (mashisoyo- delicious) comment over a snack in the teachers' lounge.
Occasionally, my inclusion is more pronounced. Take, for example, the day I was asked to make a speech about traveling for my school's tv program. On this lovely Thursday morning, both students and staff watched the video and were provided with a script I presubmitted under the illusion that one of my co-teachers needed to review it first. Instead, I watched in horror as the script circulated through classrooms and teachers' lounges as a homework assignment, topic for class discussions (not my classes!), and point of conversation among teachers (or so I was told). It's one of many times I've discovered that my words mean WAY more than I think they do, particularly when I don't expect them to mean much at all.
More on daily life at school to come. I've been compiling a mix of quotes and stories for a while now, so I'll be editing my way through the pile over the next week. For now, I'm going to spend a while googling my doppelganger, Brooke Shields, or maybe just stare in the mirror trying to see myself through the eyes of a 60-something Korean principal. Or not.
More on daily life at school to come. I've been compiling a mix of quotes and stories for a while now, so I'll be editing my way through the pile over the next week. For now, I'm going to spend a while googling my doppelganger, Brooke Shields, or maybe just stare in the mirror trying to see myself through the eyes of a 60-something Korean principal. Or not.
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