Our City: Dongtan

Dongtan new city, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea!



Cruisin on my bike on the way to school, just another day in the life! :)



Another picture of the view on the way to school, this is just a little bit away from our apartments. There are always elderly men and women working so hard in these fields! It is common to see much older women here walking around completely bent over like an 'L' shape. Their backs get really messed up from squatting down and bending over the rice fields all day, cultivating the entire field by hand. No longer can I complain about my job!!



Here is the corner right before school. Theres the Korean Kindergarten building on the left, the colorful one. And if you look closely there's a vertical blue sign on a building on the right that says LCI Academy, right across the street from the Korean Kindergarten.




This is the school I work at in the morning, all decorated for Open Class! Our main building (LCI Academy) is right across the street from this school, where our main rooms are. I just come here in the morning to the Korean Kindergarten and teach several 25-minute English classes. Open Class was 2 of my Saturdays spent working, unpaid! We had to put on a mock English class for all the parents to watch, kind of like open house back home but way more intense. We prepared for Open Class for weeks before, making up a whole bunch of props, games, dances, songs, etc. It was extremely important to my director and boss that we impress the pants off these parents!




We finally got bicycles! I can now leave my apartment 20 minutes later in the morning... sweet.



With some of the girls for Rhonda's going away lunch. Rhonda is the one on the far left, she has already been here for a year and she leaves next week!



Katie, Amy, Sarah and I having some wine with our lunch.... how classy do we look! Haha just kidding, but mom and dad I did actually like this wine I have no idea what it was though.

Busan or bust!

Well, it's Tuesday morning and I'm back to the daily grind after an AMAZING weekend in Busan with Andy, Amy, and Bri! Here's a map for those of you unfamiliar with the area:




So we live a little south of Seoul and Busan (spelled here 'Pusan') is on the south-east coast of South Korea. We took a KTX bullet train from our area to Busan station and made it there in a bit over 2 hours! Our train didn't leave until 10pm on Friday night, so after school we packed up and took the subway to Gwamyeong (about an hour away) where we caught the KTX. We were by far the loudest people on the train! We managed to get a "set" for our seats, so we had the middle area of the train with 4 seats and a table:




It was really sweet to be able to all sit together and use the table for some card games (which we of course did NOT turn into drinking games ;) The 4 of us were heading to Busan to meet up with about 10 other people for our friend Kathleen's birthday. We got into Busan station well after midnight, and managed to meet up with the rest of the group around 1am. It was a long day!! We hung out with everyone at the bar we met them at for a few hours, had a mini crisis when Brianna thought she lost Katie's backpack with all her belongings, managed to find the pack, and head out to find a place to stay that night. In all honesty, the 4 of us half expected to be sleeping on the beach that night but we found a cool motel called Motel Olympia. Of course we had to stay there! It turned out to be a love motel, complete with a scandalous picture on the wall and a whole blacklight system. It worked out well though, being so cheap and the lady let all 4 of us stay in one room which they usually don't do. I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow, and woke up in the morning with Bri and Amy on the bed and poor Andy in a corner on the floor with no blanket! We set out to find some breakfast and then made our way to the beach!

Haeundae Beach was so amazing, it was rather overcast when we got there but the weather held up for us the rest of the weekend! It was perfect temperature the whole time and mostly sunny. Here is a picture of the beach at peak season:



Crazy, right?!! Luckily, it was not nearly as packed. You can see some pictures of the beach further down below this post. Anyway, we met back up with everyone else and spent a great day at the beach on Saturday. There were some very interesting, EXTREMELY tan Korean men with not nearly enough clothing on (think European beach wear) setting up a volleyball net so of course we get into that. I played 3 games and we dominated the court! Eventually none of the people who originally set it up were playing anymore, so they made a 2 game max rule so they could get their court back haha. Some other people were playing soccer so a few of the group also got into that. We were all EXHAUSTED after all the sun and beach sports so around 5 we went to check into the next hotel and relax for a bit. Plus we had to save our energy for the big World Cup, Korea vs. Greece, soccer match later that night! Being in Busan, surrounded my thousands of soccer fans all rooting so strongly for Korea was such an amazing experience! It awesome to see how much sporting events like this bring people together and it was so cool to see everyone so excited for their team. We watched the first bit of the game under cover (it rained for a bit) at dinner, the place went crazy at the first goal! After that we moved to the beach where they had a huge screen and seating area set up for people to watch the game. We saw the second goal there and the beach went crazyyyy!!! Everyone was waving around their noisemakers and chanting the Korea fight chants, it was awesome. Another long night but totally worth it to see the match.

Sunday was spent relaxing and playing some more on the beach, and then we caught our train home around 7pm. It was overall an exhausting but fun little vacation! I can't wait to go back to Busan and experience the city, I hear they have some amazing traditional markets. And I didn't get a chance this time to order any fresh seafood, which is supposed to be phenomenal in Busan! Guess that means I have to make another trip back... I'm not complaining!

That's all for now, it's lunch time!

Tia Teacher

Motel Olympia, where we stayed for our first night in Busan. Reminded me of home!



Haeundae Beach in Busan, how beautiful! It was so amazing to get away for a weekend at the beach, it was almost like a mini vacation! It was one of our friend's birthdays so a few of us from Dongtan went with the group to celebrate. We took the KTX train (dad- its one of those bullet trains. they do have those here!) on Friday night after school, and got back to Dongtan late Sunday evening. I was exhausted at work Monday morning, but it was a refreshing and fun weekend.



Some of the group at the beach.



(BEFORE)

There was this huge stage set up on the beach for the soccer match later. Korea has gone crazy for the World Cup and this beach was PACKED later on in the evening with people cheering Korea on. In case you didn't catch it, Korea beat Greece 2-0! Made for a fun night filled with Korean soccer fans in great moods!




(AFTER)

The beach filled up later for the soccer match! This was so much fun!





If my friends did this to me, I would not be pleased! Needless to say, it was hilarious to watch though.



How cute is this little guy?! He had the most adorable blue and white striped outfit on, with a matching hat, and sand all over his booty! He was just running around the beach having the best time ever.



I'm in the ocean! The water was freezing, but it was so cool to be in the ocean on this side of the world.



Tyler comes to visit! This was seriously one of the best meals I have had in Korea, and it made it even better that Tyler was there to share it with! I had so much fun with all my visitors but it was sad to see everyone go.



Tyler and I on top of Seoul Tower! The tall things in the background are these really cool light fixtures that wave around in the wind, and then on the railings there are thousands of locks attached with messages written on them. Pretty cool! And if you look closely, you can see Seoul in the background.



View of Seoul Tower from the gondola ride down to the bottom. We hiked to the tower, and then ended up taking the gondola down to the bottom of the mountain. It was a weird perspective!



Tyler and I biking around Dongtan.



You see the most random things at the subway stations!!



Me in Suwon



Cool picture of Insadong Market. This is a 4 story shopping area off the main market. My parents and I found some really cool things here!



Bri, Katie and I at Everland! Everland is pretty much the Disney Land of Korea, with 3 different parks. We only went to the amusement park, but they also have a zoo-like area and Carribean Bay, a water park.



The group at Everland.



Amy and I



They had the most amazing flower displays at Everland!





This is in front of this beautiful fountain area in the middle of Everland. It kind of reminded me of being in Europe!



Setting up for Children's Day!



All 5 or 6 hundred kids from GGUM school and LCI school together waiting for Children's Day activities! It was madness having all these kids running around, it's a wonder we were able to keep them all contained.

Eventful Month of May!

Well, another month down, 9 more to go! May has been a crazy, eventful, fun, amazing, and sad month. Crazy: my kids seen to get even more nuts when the weather is warm. Eventful: Buddha's Birthday, Children's Day, hostel stay in Seoul, visiting Seoul Tower, Nanta Theatre, etc. Fun/Amazing: my parents and Tyler came to visit me! Sad: Tyler left to go home and then my parents left to go home :(

So, I have so much to talk about since my last blog post. I apologize again for not being more prompt, I was crazy busy with entertaining visitors for most of the month! Tyler came to visit on the 11th, left around 5pm on the 21st, and my parents got in later that night of the 21st! So much fun! It was such a blessing to be able to see my family and favorite guy from back home. I have been really missing my friends and family lately and I was so happy to have some familar faces here. I was chatting with Bri the other day, and she mentioned to me about this thing called the 5 stages of culture shock. They are the Honeymoon Phase, where you see everything as just amazing and so different and so awesome and you love it all. Honeymoon Phase, check. Then there is the Negotiation Phase, when the differences between whats familiar and whats not become very apparent and sometimes frustrating. Hmm, frustrating like having old women elbow me and push me around at the grocery store to get to what they want? Negotiation Phase: check. Next is the Adjustment Phase, which I think I am currently in! In the Adjustment Phase you start to grow accustomed to everything and develop routines. Another marked point of the Adjustment Phase is homesickness! (Is that a word?) I know Katie and Bri are here, and Katelan, but they were all in the same house up at school and so they all have a lot of memories together and sometimes I feel a little out of the loop. I have made other friends here, but lately I have just been really missing my friends from home. My laid-back, down to earth, fun girlfriends! I am thankful to have familiar faces here in Korea but I miss everyone from home like crazy.

Which brings me to the next thing, I was so happy when Tyler came to visit!! It was so exciting to come home from work that day and have him waiting in my apartment. At first it was weird, like oh-my-goodness-I-can't-believe-you're-in-Korea-with-me!! But it didn't take long for things to fall back into place and start to feel normal again. We have a relaxing but also eventful week and a half together. He came into school most days and my kids just LOVED him! Especially the girls :) I have a student named Tyler in one of my afternoon classes and he was tickled to meet "Tyler Teacher". I was glad to have someone else in my classes for a while, not only was he a big help but now someone finally understands how exhausting this job is! For real! During the week we mostly went out to dinner together and with groups, and one night we went to this show called Nanta. It is hard to describe, but it is a comedy/drama show that involves drums and beats and cooking. The only thing I can think t o compare it ot is Stomp, but funnier and with food. Anyway, it was a blast and Tyler got pulled up on stage for one of the audience participation parts! It was SO funny! During the weekend we did a bit of sightseeing in Seoul, going to Seoul Tower and out in Hongdae one of the fun places with restuarants and bars. Overall it was a really great week and a half and I was sad to see him go. But I didn't have much time to be sad because my parents got here literally 2 hours after Tyler left!

So after Tyler's visit, my parents were here for a little over a week. It was also sooo much fun to see them! My Dad looks like such a businessman walking out of the terminal with his suit on, and my mom looked like such a world traveler coming out of the gate pushing her luggage with a big smile on her face. I think the first thing she said was "I did it!" I know Mom was a but nervous to travel on her own, but she did great and sounds like she actually got a chance to have authentic sushi IN Japan! I was so happy to see them at the airport. We took a shuttle van thing from the airport back to Dongtan, and rested that night. I think it had been a pretty long day for all of us! My parents also came to school for a few days, which was hilarious to see how thekdis reacted! While my dad was in Seoul for business, Mom came to class for the first couple days. The kids sure aren't used to seeing a grown up caucasian woman around the building! I told them all beforehand that Tia Teacher's Mom and Dad would be coming from the USA and so they were excited to meet both of them. The funniest part was watching the reaction of John And Kathy, two students in my afternoon class that I named after mom and dad. Once they put it together that John Teacher (dad) and Kathy Teacher (mom) were married, they got so embarassed and all the other kids starting saying all these things in Korean to them. It was really funny!

So besides coming to school with me, we also went to Nanta that week. It was still awesome the second time around! Unfortunantly, I had to work that Saturday but I was able to go into Seoul and meet up with them for dinner and drinks that evening. We got together with one of my dad's colleagues Jimmy Kim and his wife. It was really nice to meet them! Before I left for Korea, my dad let Jimmy Kim know that I was going to be there teaching at a hogwon (private school) and to exchange contact information. Jimmy Kim ended up calling my director before we even got here, just to make sure everything was as it should be and to make sure she was running a legitimate business. I guess hogwons do not have the best reputations here. The ROK has had trouble in the past with people submitting fake degrees, or lying on their background check when they submit their applications. So consequently, the private education sector has become a little corrupt and it is hard to find a reliable school that will come through on everything they promise before you leave your own country. Anyway, it was nice to meet with Jimmy Kim and have him answer some of my questions and give me some advice about living in Korea. I feel much safer and like I have someone to turn to if I run into any serious problems here. Overall it was a delicious and fun meal! I was sad to say goodbye to my parents though and to have to get back to the normal everyday routine.

Other important events of the month: Mother's Day and my mom's (and uncle's!) birthday on May 16th!

Another event of the month: Children's Day was on May 5th! On the actual holiday, we had the day off work and it is used as a time for children to celebrate and be celebrated, to spend time with their parents, and to crowd all the local zoos, parks, and amusement parks! It is a holiday that is used to instil pride and independence in children. We had a big outing here at school the day before to celebrate Chldren's Day. All of the kids from LCI school and GGUM school (where I teach in the mornings) went to this park/mountain area nearby. They played all sorts of games, made some crafts, hiked around the mountain, and came to the ice cream cone area that Rhonda and I were in charge of! It was so funny to see how sneaky some of those kids are, there were more than 500 kids there so I think they thought I wouldn't notice when they would get in line 2 or 3 times for ice cream! It was a fun morning and afternoon and I know the kids enjoy every break they get.

So Amy, Andy, Brianna, and I are off to Busan this weekend for a friend's birthday! Busan (pronounced Pusan) is on the Southern coast and is supposed to be very beautiful! It is a port city so there are lots of fish and other local markets. I hear there's amazing beaches as well. Were leaving this afternoon right after school and will be back Sunday evening. I will put up some pictures of everything next week!

Until then!

Tia Teacher