The Perfect Work Day

Every Korean school takes a school trip. At my middle school, the grade levels take different trips with their class. This week the first graders went to a camp, the second graders went on a three day hike up Soraksan (Sorak Mountain), and the third graders went on a hike up a mountain to a small, but very famous Buddhist temple. I got to go with the third graders to the Buddhist temple.

We hiked for about an hour and twenty minutes before reaching the temple. The weather was perfect for hiking, 60 degrees and sunny. I hiked with 120 thirteen-year-old girls and three male teachers. Two other female teachers went, but they did not want to do the hike, so they met us at the top of the mountain. For me, it was the perfect way to spend a work day. You can imagine what the 120 thirteen-year-olds thought of it. They despised it. As I hiked along side them, they continually said, “I’m dying!” “I can’t do it.” “I’m so tired.” “I’m so hot.” Many of them fell and others took a few spare moments to sit down. I attempted to encourage the students at the end of our snake-like line, continually shouting “bali, bali” (hurry, hurry) and “You can do it!” Most of the walk was gorgeous; however there were a few times when I was a little taken back.

As we walked through a very rural area that preceded the mountain, we heard tons of dogs barking. At first, I thought maybe they were watch dogs, guarding property. As we got closer, I realized that all of these dogs were in wire cages. The cages were also concealed with tarps so that no one could look in. However, if you searched hard enough, you could find small openings. As we got even closer, I saw students pinching their noses shut, and I quickly put my jacket over my nose. The area smelled revolting. When I was able to get a look into the cages at the barking dogs, I realized that they were in similar cages to that of a pet rabbit’s cage. Wire raised above the ground so that when the dogs went bathroom, their deposits dropped to the ground to prevent them from walking all over it. I saw mounds and mounds of mushy dog crap, and I got a peek at some very scraggly dogs smooshed together in very confined spaces. I finally accepted the thought that kept popping up in the back of my mind. “The dogs are being farmed.” I eventually got the courage to ask one of the students, and she said, “Maybe they are to eat.” I knew it, but having it confirmed made me so sad that I haven’t been able to shake the thought.

Once we reached the summit, I gave each student a high-five as she took the final step to the temple. At the temple, we drank water from a natural water spring that is the basis for a legend.

A long time ago, a young prince was blind. Desperate to correct his vision, his mother took him to every physician she could find. No one was able to cure him. One day she took him up the mountain and found this spring. Here, she washed his face with the fresh water. The water healed his eyes. It was kind of interesting to know that I was drinking water form this famous stream.

After resting and taking pictures, the students took out their lunches and began to eat. Some of us teachers sat down with them. As I have said before, Koreans are very generous. The students fed me their lunches, some of them prepared by their mothers and some of them prepared by themselves. They used their chopsticks and spoons to feed me as a mother would feed her child. It was a fun and new experience, but in the back of my head, I couldn’t help thinking, “I wonder how many thousands of germs are being spread between us right now?” - 120 students and teachers sharing lunch - After getting my fill of the students’ food. The teachers had a picnic together that was provided by the students’ parents.

The Buddhist temple had elaborate carvings, vibrant colors, many miniature Buddha statues. Unfortunately, I had problems with my camera, so I will not be able to post pictures. As we hiked down the mountain, we walked through a traditional Korean village where a TV drama was being filmed. The students were so excited.

All in all, it was a great work day. I was so happy to get to know my students on a different level, and to see them out of their school uniforms!

Anna-Teacher

Seongju Girls' Middle School and High School

hiking up a mountain

Spring Flowers

Last Week

Last week in Daegu, we . . .

. . . experienced the coldest day in April in 45 years.
. . . had snow in April for the first time in 92 years.
. . . realized that Korean shopping hates us. It’s quite depressing. I don’t recommend trying it. I left every single store feeling like a big, fat, giant American. We can’t find shoes or pants in our sizes. After quite the ordeal, we did find a couple of shirts.
. . . went for a hike up a mountain near a beautiful river. I decided that living in the heart of the city is fun for now, but I prefer the country. Although it was a beautiful, sunny day, everything was hazy because of the yellow sand. I’m not sure if I have seen a purely clear sky since we arrived :(
. . . had our first American, Kenyan, Korean Bible study in English at our apartment! What a blessing :)

Last week, I heard . . .

“Teacher, you have an “S” shape.” The student proceeded to make the shape with her hands. That was quite entertaining :)
“Your husband is so handsome.”
“Your eyes are so big.”
“Do you have a baby?”
The students saw my wedding ring. They asked if the diamonds were real. When I said yes, they all said, “Oh, wow, your husband is a rich man!” Koreans very rarely wear their wedding rings, and from what I have gathered, diamonds are uncommon.
“You are very inconvenient.”
“Very, Very thank you.”
“White, white, white,” as they pointed to my face! This was on our hike, and I had multiple people do the exact same thing.

Each week brings something new and interesting!

-Anna

The spring Cherry Blossoms are so beautiful.

Trip to Costco! We stocked up on cheese, beef, and popcorn :)

One of the ridiculous English shirts sold in department stores around Korea. It is quite fun to walk around and read all of them.

McDonald's and Burger King on one corner - prettydoc.net plastic surgery directly above them - a little ironic

Danny and Seth at Sydney's Pub - two blocks from our apartment -

It's a Small World After All!

Last weekend we had our friends Danny and Kate Doerksen stay with us. We found a great English pub just two blocks from our house. It has been open for three weeks. The owners are a couple; one is Australian and the other is Korean. It was so odd to be in a place where everyone speaks English! It actually felt like we were back home. After having brunch, palying Ticket to Ride, and playing Super Mario Cart, we took the subway to downtown Daegu. We explored Korean-style department stores; merchants rent out corners of the store and sell their products. We spent quite a bit of time laughing at the “English” shirts. These shirts have ridiculous phrases in English. They make absolutely no sense. It was very entertaining. To finish off our day, we took a taxi to Costco! We were all so excited to find some American foods in bulk. Seth and I bought two huge blocks of cheese, massive amounts of beef, a box of 32 bags of microwave popcorn, and a few other small items. We were so excited to have cheese, beef, and popcorn. That night, we went home and ate slices of cheese for dinner :)

After having a great weekend with our friends, we realized just how small the world is. For those of you who don’t know, Seth’s sister, Shayla, is doing an internship at the USOC in Colorado Springs. Seth’s family went to visit her over Easter. The whole family went to church on Sunday morning in Colorado Springs. The next day, Seth got a message from Danny telling him that Seth’s parents and Danny’s parents met at church and were going to have dessert together! We thought this was sooo crazy. Seth and I are teaching English in South Korea through the EPIK program. We met Danny and Kate during our orientation. We all hung out last weekend. While we were hanging out, Seth’s parents were meeting Danny’s parents in Colorado Springs! How bizarre! Needless to say, I’m sure both sets of parents were shocked to find out that their children were both on the same adventure and were friends.

The church we attend here in Korea had a beautiful Easter service. The choir did a 20-30 minute Easter Cantata. While singing, they showed clips from the movie The Passion of the Christ. It was such a great service. Other than the service, our Easter was quite nontraditional. We had lunch at church. They served rice, seaweed soup, kimchi, and other vegetables in red pepper sauce. It was a warm and sunny day, so Seth and I got ice cream from Baskin Robbins and walked around by the university. For dinner, we made fajitas. I asked my co-teacher if Koreans know what the Easter Bunny is; she had never heard of him, so we didn’t give each other Easter candy :( I am really missing that!

-Anna