It has been one year and one day since I landed in Korea. I many ways if feels like only a few weeks, but at the same time it feels like a few years. There is no short way of explaining my experience here. It has been wonderful, terrible, frustrating, and exhilarating. It has brought me to tears and filled me with joy. I have had the urge to get on a plane and go home and in the next breath, I feel like I never want to leave. I have truly enjoyed my time here so far and I am definitely not ready to leave. I am very happy with my decision to stay another year.
One of the hard things about living and working in this country is knowing you will have to say good-bye to good friends every year. Most people come here with the idea of staying one, maybe two years. Many people don't plan on being here for longer than that, and because of that, you are forced to leave good friends way too often. I work at a school with 7 other foreign teachers. I knew when I started my year here that I would have to say good-bye to most, or all of these girls at years end. Next week, I will have to say good-bye to four of the girls. These girls were my "Korean Family." We were there for each other when we first arrived and were scared out of our minds. We were there for each other during our first weeks of school when we all felt like terrible teachers and we were in over our heads. We traveled to tropical islands and foreign lands together. We explored the city we now call home and tried weird foods together. We have shared so many laughs and been shoulders to cry on. In such a short time we made amazing memories and life long friends. I will be so sad to see them go and I will never forget all the fun we had. It is just one of the downfalls of this country. The good-byes are never easy.
The good-byes are definitely one of the hard things about Korea, but there are so many wonderful things as well. I have written twice about one of the amazing things about this country in this blog...the travel opportunities. I have seen some of the most amazing and beautiful tropical islands since I have been here. Being able to travel with such ease is one of the great perks of living here. Knowing I can go anywhere in Southeast Asia on a dime is a wonderful feeling. Knowing I can and will see so much of the world is one thing that makes moving and living here so worth it.
One thing that took me by surprise here was the food....and it was a good surprise. I knew coming here the food was going to be quite different. I knew Korean food was spicy and they used a lot of cabbage in their food. I knew they ate a lot of sea food and meat. I wasn't sure how this would fly with me and it took me awhile to really venture out and try some real Korean food. But man, am I sure glad I did!! I now have quite a few dishes that I truly enjoy, with Duk Doritang being my absolute favorite!!! For so many months I was craving American food, now days, I crave Duk Doritang, Kimchi Jongul, and Duk Galbi. It has been a wonderful surprise and makes for great dinners.
Korea has also brought someone into my life that I never thought it would bring. I met my boyfriend Jared about 7 months ago. I didn't really expect to travel half way around the world and meet someone like him. He has been a wonderful addition to my life and I am so happy I have him in my life. He has made life away from home so much easier. He has added new challenges to my life, like going on 91 kilometer bike rides, which was our first date. And he has brought a great deal of laughter and friendly banter to my life. He makes being away from my family a little bit easier.
All in all, taking the good and the bad, I am still very happy I made the decision to move here. This experience has been nothing like I expected, it has been better.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Holiday on the beach
These posts are a bit out of order but I found writing about Sheena was much more important than a holiday in paradise.
If you recall, I broke my wrist three days before we left for our holiday in Boracay, Philippines. I was quite bummed but I was just happy I could still go on vacation. We left for the Philippines on Christmas Eve right after work, and by we I mean, Jared and I, and 5 of my co-workers. Our travels weren't too bad, we only had one layover in Manila before getting to the island. Since Boracay is so small, we actually flew to a different island from Manila then took a ferry to Boracay. We got to our hotel on Christmas morning, it was a great way to start Christmas. This was not only my first Christmas away from home, but it was the first time I wouldn't be in snow and cold for the holidays. We checked in and thankfully our room was ready for us. After we got settled we headed to get some breakfast since it was about 9:30 in the morning. After breakfast we were so drained from the night of travel we took a nap before we headed off to explore.
The nap did us well and we woke up ready to see what Boracay had to offer. At first we headed to the beach, it was a short walk away from our hotel. The beach and "road" by the beach were amazing. The "road" was just sand only feet away from the ocean, with shops and restaurants on one side and the ocean on the other. From the beach, we wondered off the ocean and found some places off the beat'n path. It was fun to see the things Boracay had to offer. After a bit of shopping we walked back to the beach and decided to see what the cuisine had to offer. We weren't too hungry yet but we found some tasty snacks on the side of the beach, pig tongue and liver!! It sounds awful and like something I would probably never try, but it sounded exotic and fun so we decided to try it out. It was surprisingly amazing!! I think I had either tongue or liver every day we were there.
After snacks, we headed back to the room and showered and changed for dinner. And since we were on vacation, we mixed some drinks for our walk to dinner. This became our ritual for every day we were there. It was a great little routine we got in while on vacation.
Boracay had a wide range of food to chose from. Everything from Greek to Mexican to Mongolian and, of course, Korean! We decided to stay away from the Korean for the week since we had our fill of it back in Korea. There were also plenty of buffets to chose from, mainly of seafood and pork. It was fun to wonder and have my choice of cuisine to eat. The week brought an array of wonderful food, that I believe tasted even better since I had only had Korean for the past 10 months. We had a great dinner and a wonderful stroll on the beach before we headed back to the hotel.
The next morning, like all the mornings we were on vacation, we were up pretty early. We would go get breakfast, I liked to sit by the beach and read or swim while Jared wondered around the island taking pictures. This only lasted the first couple of days though. Soon I was bored of sitting by the beach and decided to join Jared as he wondered. Like I said earlier, Boracay is a small small island, it was easy to walk the whole island in one day, but we paced ourselves so we wouldn't see everything in one day. One of the days we wondered, we found an amazing view point from the top of the island that overlooked the whole island. It was an amazing view and worth the 4 hours of walking. We also found a great beach with more crystal blue water and some great views.
The wondering during the day made us hungry, which made the food even more delicious. Among the amazing things we ate that week, my two favorites were the gyros we had at the Mediterranean restaurant and the wonderful buffet we had on New Years Eve. I hadn't had gyros in years and the buffet had fresh turkey!!! I hadn't had turkey like that since I was at home, it was a great treat.
Other than the amazing food, the wonderful relaxation, the exploration of a foreign island, one of the highlights of the trip was New Years Eve. Jared and I decided money was no issue for dinner that night and we decided to splurge a little. We got a great buffet and paced ourselves through dinner. After the amazing dinner of fresh pork and turkey, wonderful squid and sauteed vegetables, along with fruit salad for dessert, we were getting ready for some amazing fireworks over the water. We met back up with my co-workers to ring in the New Year together. We found a place on the beach and waited for the countdown. It was amazing to see all the fireworks go off at the stroke of midnight, and it was even more wonderful to be standing on a beach with great friends and a wonderful boyfriend. I will admit, it was strange to be in warm places during the holidays. I didn't feel right celebrating New Years without a winter coat and boots, but I was quite alright with where I was.
The night was great but the morning brought the dreaded end to our vacation. It was such an amazing way to spend the holidays and a great way to relax after breaking my wrist. The travels home were fine, other than Jared getting a piece of sand in his eye that didn't come out for a few days. He was in quite a bit of pain the whole way home and I felt so bad for him. He was so unhappy but he was able to sleep most the way home, which was good so he didn't have to deal with it. Other than the sand, we got home with no problems.
It was hard to come back to reality after a week in paradise but paradise was wonderful nonetheless. I haven't even been in Korea for one year and I've had two tropical island vacations with plenty more vacations to look forward too. It's no wonder I'm staying another year.
If you recall, I broke my wrist three days before we left for our holiday in Boracay, Philippines. I was quite bummed but I was just happy I could still go on vacation. We left for the Philippines on Christmas Eve right after work, and by we I mean, Jared and I, and 5 of my co-workers. Our travels weren't too bad, we only had one layover in Manila before getting to the island. Since Boracay is so small, we actually flew to a different island from Manila then took a ferry to Boracay. We got to our hotel on Christmas morning, it was a great way to start Christmas. This was not only my first Christmas away from home, but it was the first time I wouldn't be in snow and cold for the holidays. We checked in and thankfully our room was ready for us. After we got settled we headed to get some breakfast since it was about 9:30 in the morning. After breakfast we were so drained from the night of travel we took a nap before we headed off to explore.
The nap did us well and we woke up ready to see what Boracay had to offer. At first we headed to the beach, it was a short walk away from our hotel. The beach and "road" by the beach were amazing. The "road" was just sand only feet away from the ocean, with shops and restaurants on one side and the ocean on the other. From the beach, we wondered off the ocean and found some places off the beat'n path. It was fun to see the things Boracay had to offer. After a bit of shopping we walked back to the beach and decided to see what the cuisine had to offer. We weren't too hungry yet but we found some tasty snacks on the side of the beach, pig tongue and liver!! It sounds awful and like something I would probably never try, but it sounded exotic and fun so we decided to try it out. It was surprisingly amazing!! I think I had either tongue or liver every day we were there.
After snacks, we headed back to the room and showered and changed for dinner. And since we were on vacation, we mixed some drinks for our walk to dinner. This became our ritual for every day we were there. It was a great little routine we got in while on vacation.
Boracay had a wide range of food to chose from. Everything from Greek to Mexican to Mongolian and, of course, Korean! We decided to stay away from the Korean for the week since we had our fill of it back in Korea. There were also plenty of buffets to chose from, mainly of seafood and pork. It was fun to wonder and have my choice of cuisine to eat. The week brought an array of wonderful food, that I believe tasted even better since I had only had Korean for the past 10 months. We had a great dinner and a wonderful stroll on the beach before we headed back to the hotel.
The next morning, like all the mornings we were on vacation, we were up pretty early. We would go get breakfast, I liked to sit by the beach and read or swim while Jared wondered around the island taking pictures. This only lasted the first couple of days though. Soon I was bored of sitting by the beach and decided to join Jared as he wondered. Like I said earlier, Boracay is a small small island, it was easy to walk the whole island in one day, but we paced ourselves so we wouldn't see everything in one day. One of the days we wondered, we found an amazing view point from the top of the island that overlooked the whole island. It was an amazing view and worth the 4 hours of walking. We also found a great beach with more crystal blue water and some great views.
The wondering during the day made us hungry, which made the food even more delicious. Among the amazing things we ate that week, my two favorites were the gyros we had at the Mediterranean restaurant and the wonderful buffet we had on New Years Eve. I hadn't had gyros in years and the buffet had fresh turkey!!! I hadn't had turkey like that since I was at home, it was a great treat.
Other than the amazing food, the wonderful relaxation, the exploration of a foreign island, one of the highlights of the trip was New Years Eve. Jared and I decided money was no issue for dinner that night and we decided to splurge a little. We got a great buffet and paced ourselves through dinner. After the amazing dinner of fresh pork and turkey, wonderful squid and sauteed vegetables, along with fruit salad for dessert, we were getting ready for some amazing fireworks over the water. We met back up with my co-workers to ring in the New Year together. We found a place on the beach and waited for the countdown. It was amazing to see all the fireworks go off at the stroke of midnight, and it was even more wonderful to be standing on a beach with great friends and a wonderful boyfriend. I will admit, it was strange to be in warm places during the holidays. I didn't feel right celebrating New Years without a winter coat and boots, but I was quite alright with where I was.
The night was great but the morning brought the dreaded end to our vacation. It was such an amazing way to spend the holidays and a great way to relax after breaking my wrist. The travels home were fine, other than Jared getting a piece of sand in his eye that didn't come out for a few days. He was in quite a bit of pain the whole way home and I felt so bad for him. He was so unhappy but he was able to sleep most the way home, which was good so he didn't have to deal with it. Other than the sand, we got home with no problems.
It was hard to come back to reality after a week in paradise but paradise was wonderful nonetheless. I haven't even been in Korea for one year and I've had two tropical island vacations with plenty more vacations to look forward too. It's no wonder I'm staying another year.
Celebrated and honored
Let me start by saying this post is long overdue. I should have posted about Sheena sooner than this but such is life. But I am thankful to report that the moms of ALL my kids decided to tell the truth to the kids. It was a long day but in the end, I was very proud of the kids and happy they knew the truth. Well at long last, here's the details...
After the two days my classes didn't have school, we all returned to school on Wednesday. I got to the classrooms early and left a message to the kids as to what would be happening that day. I told them it would be a different kind of day and to unpack their bags and go to Bristol class. As the day started, there was word that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming to school, the mothers didn't want their kids to know the truth. I was a little upset that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming but the school was calling the moms still trying to convince them to send their kids, and I was grateful for this. As all the kids arrived, I let them color or play with the blocks, surprisingly they didn't ask where Sheena teacher was, they were more concerned with why they weren't studying. I told them it was going to be a different day and kept waiting for all the kids to get there.
As the morning went on almost all the kids that were coming were there, we were waiting for one last kid and Ellie, our assistant director, told me that two of the kids that weren't going to come were on their way. I was very happy about this. As we were waiting for those kids to come, we heard from the last mom and she was also sending her kid. All the convincing and talking had worked.
Once all the kids were there, we got all the kids (15 of them) into one room. One of our Korean teachers came in and took over. She started by showing them a movie about a boy who had a pet mouse that died. After the video, she explained (all in Korean) what death was, then told them what happened to Sheena. A few of the kids broke down and were sobbing uncontrollably. It was heartbreaking. Others were crying as well, a few didn't cry but just looked shocked. They all asked questions and were given the chance to cry. After about 10-15 minutes, the kids were given the chance to go down to Sheena's office where we had put up flowers and pictures. They went down in shifts to see her and after they saw her, they were able to write letters to her.
They all handled it very well. I was happy all of them felt comfortable enough to cry in front of each other and they all wrote great letters to Sheena. It was a hard day but I was so happy all the kids came and knew the truth. It gave them a chance to talk about it and learn how to grieve and cope with death.
I put a picture of Sheena up in both my classrooms and told the kids they can write letters to Sheena or talk to her whenever they want. The next few days at school the kids wanted to go down and see Sheena or they would ask questions about her. Things have slowed down since then, the kids are resilient and will move on, but I'm glad they all know and have learned this great lesson in life.
After the two days my classes didn't have school, we all returned to school on Wednesday. I got to the classrooms early and left a message to the kids as to what would be happening that day. I told them it would be a different kind of day and to unpack their bags and go to Bristol class. As the day started, there was word that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming to school, the mothers didn't want their kids to know the truth. I was a little upset that a few of the kids wouldn't be coming but the school was calling the moms still trying to convince them to send their kids, and I was grateful for this. As all the kids arrived, I let them color or play with the blocks, surprisingly they didn't ask where Sheena teacher was, they were more concerned with why they weren't studying. I told them it was going to be a different day and kept waiting for all the kids to get there.
As the morning went on almost all the kids that were coming were there, we were waiting for one last kid and Ellie, our assistant director, told me that two of the kids that weren't going to come were on their way. I was very happy about this. As we were waiting for those kids to come, we heard from the last mom and she was also sending her kid. All the convincing and talking had worked.
Once all the kids were there, we got all the kids (15 of them) into one room. One of our Korean teachers came in and took over. She started by showing them a movie about a boy who had a pet mouse that died. After the video, she explained (all in Korean) what death was, then told them what happened to Sheena. A few of the kids broke down and were sobbing uncontrollably. It was heartbreaking. Others were crying as well, a few didn't cry but just looked shocked. They all asked questions and were given the chance to cry. After about 10-15 minutes, the kids were given the chance to go down to Sheena's office where we had put up flowers and pictures. They went down in shifts to see her and after they saw her, they were able to write letters to her.
They all handled it very well. I was happy all of them felt comfortable enough to cry in front of each other and they all wrote great letters to Sheena. It was a hard day but I was so happy all the kids came and knew the truth. It gave them a chance to talk about it and learn how to grieve and cope with death.
I put a picture of Sheena up in both my classrooms and told the kids they can write letters to Sheena or talk to her whenever they want. The next few days at school the kids wanted to go down and see Sheena or they would ask questions about her. Things have slowed down since then, the kids are resilient and will move on, but I'm glad they all know and have learned this great lesson in life.
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