Conquering the 찜질방!

As some of you may recall, I recently talked about noraebangs (karaoke rooms), and my recent trip to a Wiibang (Wii game room). Today, I conquered a new bang and an eleven month fear by experiencing the jimjilbang (public bath house). My friends go to jimjilbangs frequently. Not only can you bathe, sit in a sauna, get body scrubs, and relax, you can also sleep in them (which makes them popular places to "stay" for cheap travels). Jimjilbangs are everywhere, and they are a significant presence in Korean culture.

I have avoided the jimjilbang for eleven months. There is something about public nakedness that really weirds me out, and I somehow managed to evade trips with my friends the entire time I've been in Seoul. I have considered going, but then I can never decide if I want to go alone or with a friend. Is it weird to ask someone to go sit naked in the bath with you? Or is it worse to awkwardly try to navigate the system of attending the jimjilbang alone? The first time you do anything in a foreign country (grocery shop, set up bills, go to the bank, etc), it is always slightly uncomfortable. It takes a lot of observing to figure out the system, and I like to watch what everyone else is doing to make sure I'm doing everything correctly. Is it okay to observe naked people? If I'm already awkwardly unsure of the process, how much worse will it be if I have no clothes on? Yesterday, however, I made a to-do list of things I want to do my last month in Korea. I decided to add jimjilbang to the list -- for the experience, of course. I've done a lot of worse things (eating live octopus, attending horrifically boring cultural events, etc.) "for the experience," so going to a sauna should be easy I thought.

The symbol for Jimjilbang

Today, we had plans to go to a park by the river, but because of inclement weather (aka the weather every day/the rainy season is a dumb weather pattern) our plans fell through. I looked at my to-do list, and decided it was now or never. My friend Arianna agreed to accomany me to a jimjilbang in our neighborhood (like all the other 'bangs,' there are jimjilbangs everywhere). After putting our shoes in a locker, we moved into a main room where we were given a big locker key and two small towels. In a corner of the main room are lockers, and it is here you strip down to your birthday suit. From here on out, it is only as awkward as you make it. None of the Korean women seem remotely concerned about walking around stark naked so I tried to be nonchalant about it too (even if I did try to angle my handtowel to appropriately cover me as I walked into the bath room). Just like the locker room at the gym, the only person uncomfortable with the situation is me, so I had to remind myself that it was no big deal.

Once in the bath room, there are 5 large pools of different colors and varying temperatures. First, you take a shower from a shower head on the wall to make sure you are all clean. Following my shower, Arianna and I headed for the pools. After soaking in each tub (3 hot, one freezing, and one peppermint), surrounded by lots of naked old women who I felt like judged me every move I made, I decided to get a body scrub. Most women sit on little stools all around the room in front of little faucets, buckets of water, mirrors, and scrubbers. After you are finished soaking, sauna sitting, and relaxing, you scrub your body clean. A friend of mine has been raving about the body scrubs though, and I decided to try one. I, what I can only imagine looked like a scurry, up to the ajummas (old women) in the corner who are clad in black lacy bras and underwear standing by three long flat tables. I indicated I wanted a body scrub, and then one sat me down on the table and instructed me to lay down.

The body scrub begins by the ajumma dumping a bucket of water over you. Following this, the woman puts on mits that are really coarse. For about thirty minutes, this lady rolled me, scrubbed me, and rubbed my skin raw. Although it kind of hurt, it was also really refreshing. I could actually see skin coming off my body. Part of me wanted to giggle the entire time since I was naked, she was in her underwear, and I was literally sliding all over this funny little table in a public bathhouse, but I was trying so hard not to stand out that I luckily didn't let a single giggle escape. Following the mits, she then rubbed me down with a carton of milk, a tub of yogurt, and about half a bottle of baby oil. Needless to say, my skin is softer than it has ever been. It was definitely a good use of twelve dollars.

After my scrub, I showered again by the wall then dried off then went back out to the main room (this time not so shyly), got dressed, and headed back home. They have places in the main room to dry your hair, do your makeup, or even do your nails. I'm not sure why I waited so long to go to a bathhouse. It was really relaxing, and after a few minutes, being naked isn't really that weird. I'm going to definitely go again before I leave Seoul.

Have a great weekend everyone, and go to a public bathhouse if you get the chance!
-Andie

Don't Do That!

My 4th graders love this song!

Last Day of School

School is out for the semester!

Just like my students, part of me is thrilled with that last sentence. Another part of me, however, is slightly in shock about how fast this year went by in Korea. I taught my last class on Friday morning, sang my last song, played my last poorly made powerpoint game, and said goodbye to my students. Since Tuesday, I've been having to say good-bye to my kids, and I am super-sad to not being seeing them any more. I have gotten a lot of nice notes from them (some folded into adorable origami), and on Wednesday, they covered my board with notes that say "Good-bye Andie Teacher!" I'm surprisingly attached to some of them, and they make me want to stay and teach them for another year. While obviously some days the kids drive me nuts, most days they make me feel really great, and I've really enjoyed getting to know them for the past ten months. They never fail to make me feel like a rockstar even when I'm having a bad day. For example, yesterday as they lined up to all say good-bye to me, 3/4 of them wanted my "signature" on their book. I told them I wasn't a celebrity, but they insisted on it anyway.

5-3. My favorite class. They are well-behaved and enthusiastic!

4th graders!

Some of my great 5th grade girls

4th graders!

My board on Wednesday :(

I'm really going to miss how much they make me laugh, too. A couple weeks ago, I held up a picture of a snowman and asked, "Who is this?" and the very serious response I got back was, "Lady Gaga." Yesterday, I had a picture of Tom Cruise on a powerpoint and two 4th graders got in a serious debate over whether it was Harry Potter or Nicholas Cage. Every day at least one of them does something to brighten my entire day. I wrote my email address on the board for all my classes and I instructed them to email me if they ever wanted to practice their English or come to USA. I promised to write them back. I've already gotten several adorable emails that brightened my weekend. Many students asked for my "handphone number," but I got away easy on that one since I could tell them in all honesty that I do not have a phone number at home any more.

4th graders!

My crazy 4th grade class: 4-1

Friday afternoon, I finished cleaning out my desk. I organized all my lesson plans for the next teacher who will begin in August. I packed up all my sentimental items, and I finished the year. I start working summer camp on Monday at a nearby elementary school. Camp is really easy, but also really boring as I'll repeat the same 3 lesson plans for 2 weeks. Ew. Following my two weeks of camp, I'm going on vacation with my friend Sarah (keep your fingers crossed for our Chinese visas to actually go through!), followed by one more week of summer camp at my school (so I will get to see some of my hoodlums again). I've worked really hard on my camp plans-- I'm having a science English camp where the kids will play games about animals, the 5 senses, recycling, insects, and the body. I think it will be really fun.

4th graders!

4th graders!

Another difficult part of Friday was saying goodbye to my coworkers. Gil-Dong Elementary has been so supportive and welcoming to me this year. My fellow subject teachers in my office brought in a cake yesterday afternoon, and I even had a candle I got to blow out on top. They also gave me a beautiful jewelry box made in a Korean style, and my coteacher, Grace, gave me printed pictures of the fourth grade classes. Despite the fact that some of them don't even speak much English, they have been the most helpful, supportive, and wonderful people to me. It is difficult to even articulate how kind everyone has been this year. I think they are more acutely aware than I even am that I am very far from home and still pretty young. They really helped make this a positive experience, and I'm going to sincerely miss all of them!

My 4th grade coteacher- Grace!

My 5th grade coteacher Hwajin!

Have a great weekend!
Love,
Andie

Buddhist Templestay and 4th of July!

Happy Belated Birthday America! I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you - alas, I spent the holiday weekend in Seoul in a unique fashion.

Friday night, I went to a delicious duck restaurant with my friends. It was Korean barbeque style, and it was both amazing and affordable. I'm really going to miss this when I leave. Following dinner, we headed to a noraebang to karaoke our hearts out for several hours. Noraebangs are everywhere in the city (literally on every block), and they consist of private rooms with screens, microphones, and tambourines (the tambourine really makes the experience). Participants use a special remote to put their song of choice on the tv, and voila - your song comes on complete with English subtitles. I hadn't been noraebanging in awhile, and I forgot how fun it is. This particular noraebang (because this is Korea, and like I've said before, nothing makes any sense here) comes complete with full body animal costumes -- because if noraebang itself isn't fun enough, you can noraebang while dressed as a giraffe, cow, cat, or my personal favorite: the flying squirrel. This one also had free ice cream in the lobby so it was definitely a win-win for us. The only problem I have with noraebangs is the videos on the screen are always really sad. No matter how vile or inappropriate your rap song or how intense you get your Beyonce on, the songs are always played to a.) A Vietnam War scene b.) A domestic violence scene c.) A gang shootout d.) starving children.

After my late night noraebang experience, I got up Saturday and headed to Myogaksa Temple in northern Seoul. My friend Rachel and I signed up for a temple stay a few weeks ago. I'm not exactly sure what motivated me to do this, because reading the itinerary I knew I probably wouldn't enjoy the experience, and I was right. Now that I'm comfortably back in my apartment, I can look back on the experience and be glad I did it while being even more glad in my decision to never become a Buddhist monk.

Inside the temple grounds

After putting on our temple stay attire (gray prison uniforms with elastic around the ankles and a baby Buddha stamped on the breast pocket), we were greeted by an enthusiastic nun who taught us about Buddhism and how the tradition has impacted Korea. I know absolutely nothing about either topic so it was quite interesting. The nun was bald, wearing traditional monk garb, and had good English and a big smile. As we sat on cushions in a large room with 3 other templestay participants, the nun would periodically stop talking and shriek, "SURPIRSE HAIR!" and a student monk would scurry out with both hands extended. The nun would pick up the one strand of hair and give it to the student monk who then left the room to deposit it in what I only can imagine is a big receptacle for surprise stray hairs found on the temple floor. While the nun told stories, she also would periodically end them with, "and now he's my facebook friend," which I found simultaneously cute and bizarre. Korea really is where old meets new.

Saturday evening, we rang a bell, went to a chanting ceremony, learned to meditate, and did 108 prostrations. My legs are still sore from all the getting down and getting back up, and I now thank God that I am not Buddhist and don't have to do this regularly. Following a vegetarian dinner (in silence), we went to sleep (on the floor) early so we could get up before dawn to ring the bell again, meditate for an hour, and take a walk on the mountain. After breakfast and a tea ceremony we were free to go home. While I do recommend the experience and I am very glad I did this, I will never do a templestay again. Been there. Done that.

The rest of my Sunday (and there was a lot of it left since I got up so early!) I spent shopping and getting ready for our Seoul 4th of July picnic. My friends and I had a potluck party in Seoul Forest complete with fried chicken, deviled eggs, potato salad, apple pie, cookies, chips, beer, and soju lemonade. We even found sparklers (sold at the stationary store's sock aisle. Obviously.), and we had a great evening celebrating America.

Seoul Forest for 4th of July

This week and next week are my final weeks of regular school at Gil-Dong. I am really excited to finish! I have only been teaching 4th and 5th grade since March, and while I love my 4th graders, my 5th graders are about to drive me absolutely crazy. I have one class that always leaves with someone crying because they pick fights with each other, I have kids yelling in class, throwing things, and just in general not listening to a word that comes out of my foreign speaking mouth. It takes all my energy just to keep their attention. It is also unreal how much unnecessary noise an 11 year old can make. They are constantly tapping on things, banging on things, rocking their chairs, humming, or (and this one really gets me) dropping things. I had no idea kids were this clumsy, but every few minutes something is clattering to the floor. My nerves are completely shot, and I need this year to be finished. Below are a few pictures my 5th graders drew of their friends.

"She has so-so face."
What a great friend.

"He is short. He is not smart. He has not money. He don't have umbrella. He has gun."
The unfortunate friend...

The rest of my week not at work will be spent going to baseball and spending time in a Wiibang (like noraebang except to play Wii) with my friends. Hope everyone had a fun and safe holiday!
Love,
Andie

*Because I have received several negative notes about this post, I feel it is important to note that I mean no disrespect to Buddhism by writing about my temple stay experience. Just because I didn't have fun (and the program isn't meant to be fun- it's meant to be enlightening and educational), I learned a lot about Buddhist culture through the patience and kindness of those who ran the program, Like I said above, I am glad that I had the experience, and I do recommend the Myogaksa program for anyone interested in learning more about Buddhism.

Vaughn Family Visit

Happy Humpday!

I've been meaning to update everyone on the Vaughn Family's big Korean adventure, but I have been too busy the last couple weeks! My parents left about ten days ago, and although it was nice to get back to my routine, I looked forward to their visit for months and it was hard to see them go. As Mom and Dad can probably tell you, I am a great tour guide so if you want to see Seoul you've got 8 more weeks to get over here for your free city tour. It was exciting to have them here after I have already had a chance to thoroughly get to know Seoul. I was able to set up a great itinerary for them, as well as choose to revisit some of my favorite places in Seoul (on someone else's dime!) I kept them busy (as Dad says, "I would have been popular in the French Foreign Legion - March or Die."), but hopefully they left feeling like they hadn't missed out on anything the city has to offer.

Photo pole at Gangnam Station!

Changdeokgung Gardens

Stream in downtown Seoul

Gyeongbokgung Gardens

Gyeongbokgung!

While they were here, I took them to a palace and a couple shopping areas while introducing them to my favorite Korean dishes. Unfortunately, the food was the least favorite part of their adventure. After only two days, my Dad told me three times how great his Dunkin' Donuts breakfast sandwich was the first day and how lucky I was to have a Dunkin' Donuts. I tried not to take the hint, and kept hoping to find something that they liked. Alas, I still fed them all sorts of Korean cuisine- from bibimbab to bulgogi to octopus to rice cake in hopes of finding something they enjoyed. No luck.

The first weekend they were here, we left early Saturday for Sokcho- the gateway town to Seoraksan National Park. I spent a weekend here in April, and the trip was amazing so I was hoping to recreate it with P&D. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and it was cloudy and hazy for most of the hike. I think they enjoyed it though, and even through the clouds some of the views were stunning.

Naksan Temple at Sokcho

Seoraksan - the summit at Ulsanbawi

Sokcho

Another highlight of their trip - for me - was bringing my parents to school. The kids got really excited to see them and surrounded them before class. They would point at them and say "MOM??" "Dad??" and when I nodded yes they would loudly exclaim, "Wooooowwwww!" as if they were aliens from outer space. The kids asked them how old they were repeatedly as they circled my parents. It was fun to watch.

During the week, we also took in several temples and palaces, all the main shopping districts (including the subways), and got to attend the World Cup game against Argentina. We decked ourselves out in Red and cheered at City Hall Plaza for the Korean team (which lost that night). My parents couldn't take the crowd so they left early, but I had a great time there with my friends. Korea finally got knocked out of the Cup by Uruguay on Saturday night. The mood in Seoul had been so festive, and everything from advertisements, to songs, to my students were yelling, "Fighting!," singing songs, and wearing red from head to toe.

The past two weeks I have also been very busy getting my summer camp plans together. I will teach three weeks of camp between the end of July and the end of my contract in late August. I'm making a "science English camp" for my kids, and I have a lot of work to do! I've also been to a Korean play, watched an obscene amount of Korean dramas with English subtitles online, and been planning my next steps after I finish my Korea contract.

This is my favorite Korean Drama- it's amazing.

I am thrilled about the warm weather and my final six weeks in Korea. I am not ready to leave at all! There are still lots of people to see, shopping to do, Korean food to try, and places to explore before August 24th!

Love,
Andie

Boracay Vacation

Hi!

I've just returned from a fabulous long weekend in the Philappines! I not only had an amazing time, but I also just completed my first solo vacation. Go me. I headed to Incheon Friday after school to catch my flight to Manila. I flew Cebu Pacific which was really questionable. Not only was I quite certain the plane was going to fall apart any second, but I've never been so cramped up on a plane. And I'm not even a big person. I luckily landed safely in Manila about 12:30 Friday night and had a 5 hour layover in the airport. I had planned to sleep on the floor somewhere while clutching my purse, but because Manila is maybe the sketchiest place I've ever been, I instead made friends with the graveyard shift airport staff who let me charge my ipod and sit behind a counter with them. At 5:30, I then boarded an even more questionable Cebu Pacific Puddle Jumper for a short flight to Caticlan. After our plane smacked and skidded across the shortest runway at the smallest airport I've ever seen, I followed my fellow passengers to the Caticlan jetty port where I then boarded a "ferry" for the island of Boracay.

Airport in Caticlan

The extent of the runway at the Caticlan Airport

The ferry from Caticlan to Boracay!

Once on the island, I hired a tricycle to take me to my hostel. The tricycle is akin to the tuktuk - a mode of transportation I have grown accustomed to over the past year. The tricycle, however, really takes the prize for being the most ridiculous. It is essentially a motorbike with a cart attached to the side of it with a couple benches in it for passengers to sit. My tricycle that morning was filled with me and six Filipino men. The side of the tricycle said, "Elegant, Durable, Safe," and I remember thinking that it was absolutely none of those things as we careened across the island. It was only 7AM, and it was already swelteringly hot.

I checked into my hostel - a charming little resort a couple minutes from the beach. I ate breakfast with the owner then went to my dorm room to put my stuff down. The room didn't have airconditioning (SOOO hot in there), but besides that it was really comfortable. I put on my bathing suit and headed for the beach. After being briefly chased by three goats, I finally made it. The trip was absolutely worth it - I was in paradise. The water was crystal clear, there were only a few puffy white clouds in the sky, the sand was fine and white, and there were plenty of palms swaying in the breeze.

I laid on the beach all day Saturday while alternating between putting my umbrella up or down for sun or shade. I was quite content just sunbathing, staring at the ocean, catching the breeze, and taking pictures of the beach. I had Jane Austen and Chelsea Handler on my Kindle to keep my company and I alternated between fresh fruit shakes and margaritas as I enjoyed my vacation.

Saturday night, I went back to the hostel to enjoy a fresh seafood dinner and hopefully make myself some friends for my long weekend. The dinner was delicious, and I met about 8 other travelers who I then spent the next three days with on the island. I was the only American of the group - the others consisted of Australians, Canadians, Germans, Mexicans, a couple girls from London, and a French Girl. Several of the group had just finished teaching contracts in Korea and were heading back home. It was nice to meet new people, and every night I went out with the group to experience the vibrant Boracay nightlife.

A bar on the beach on Boracay

Sunday, I laid on the beach all day until afternoon when the French girl, Alex, and I headed to a mountain on the island to see the views. We were escorted by a passle of Filipino children that had begun hanging out with some girls in our group. They were really amazing kids - smart and sweet, and although they walked the beach selling jewelry all day, they naturally made time to escape and spend time with us. Six of us set out from the beach in a tricycle, but, unfortunately, the tricycle could not make it up the mountain and at one point started rolling backwards down the steep hill. I was just about to bail from the cart to escape my untimely Tricycle Philippines Death, when the driver got ahold of his motorbike and ordered us to jump out and walk. The mountain had stunning views, monkeys, and a nice breeze so it was definitely worth the trek.

Sunday night, our group watched more fireshows (mostly done by Khalid - one of our Filipino children) and stayed out most of the night just enjoying the live music on the beach, drinks, fireshows, and crowds of travelers. Boracay is amazing. Monday, I continued my lazy vacation by laying on the beach again all day followed by a night out with new friends.

This is Halida - she wrote all our names in the sand the last night I was there. I think I am supposed to be "Indy."

I returned to Seoul late Tuesday night, and now I am getting ready for tomorrow when the Vaughn's arrive to see Korea!
Have a great weekend!
-Andie

What tension?

The weeks are flying by, and I realized the other day that I only have a short 10 weeks left in the ROK. In order to take advantage of the time I have left, I've been staying quite busy. I wrote in my last entry about the Lotus Lantern Festival, but Buddha's 2554th birthday celebration lasted at least another week. I took myself to Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul to check out the lanterns decorating the temple grounds for the occasion. The pictures do not do the scene justice-- it was really extraordinary.









I've been having a great couple weeks, and I have been very busy enjoying the (finally!) nice weather, working out, going out with friends, and doing a lot of shopping. I feel like it is expected that I say things have been tense here, but Seoul is completely not fazed by the myriad of threats being thrown around by North Korea. Because of the atmosphere here, I forget - probably more than my parents- that I am still in a country technically at war. I did remember (unfortunately maybe too late) early last week when I pulled out my lesson plan and pulled up the class game for my 5th grade students. I had planned to play vocabulary battleship, but after I explained it, I felt really culturally insensitive so I changed the game to "Sunken Treasure" and called them all pirates. Poor planning.

A view of Namsan Tower while shopping downtown last week!

A view of Seoul from a friend's rooftop party

Jamsil Stadium for a baseball game!

I have been enjoying teaching recently, but last Friday was an absolutel nightmare. I have one child - Yu-Bin - who has some problems (don't even get me started on Korea not separating disabled students or students on various levels- I teach them all at the same time). I'm not exactly sure what is the deal with Yu-Bin, but anyway, this kid is always trying to escape from class. On Fridays we literally have to bolt the doors from the top while Yu-Bin RUNS and THROWS himself at the door for FORTY minutes. (There isn't like a place to send him like in America-- like I can't just be like go to the principal or detention- they dont really do that. It's up to you to control their behavior). It's absolutely ridiculous.

So Friday morning, we're playing a multiple choice game (stand in the corner you think is the right answer) and the category for the question was "Famous People" with a picture of Johnny Depp fully clad in Jack Sparrow attire. I had SEVEN students get out on this question- not because they thought it was Brad Pitt or Nicholas Cage, but because they legitmately thought it was BARACK OBAMA. My students think all black people are Obama, but when I said, "Barack Obama is African American" my coteacher goes-- oh, they don't know foreign policy. OK?

As I'm reeling from this, I look up to see a DOG run by in the HALLWAY. This country seriously blows my mind sometimes. Luckily no students see it- yet. I turn around only to see the 4th grade girl in the wheelchair being run around the room FULL SPEED doing doughnuts by this little obese boy. Everyone is screaming. Then, unfortunately, dog is spotted and 75% of my students run out of the room including Yu-Bin which was really unfortunate since this kid requires capturing. I watch helplessly as this dog runs up and down the hall, OUTSIDE, with 30 4th graders after it. One girl as she ran by panting goes- Teachahhh-- Dog-- Fastuh!! I can't even articulate the level of chaos that was happening.

Below is a picture of me with some of my coworkers at a dinner last week. They are always so nice and supportive of me - I am so lucky to work with such wonderful people!

I leave for the Philappines tomorrow for a 4 day solo trip to Boracay. I will be sure to put up pictures and update you as soon as I get back!

Love,
Andie