Thailand Vacation Part 2: Chiang Mai, Elephant Nature Park, Pun Pun, Cooking Class

The Chiang Mai part of the trip was easily the best part of the whole vacation.
After getting a room at the Thapae Guesthouse we had a much deserved rock hard night of sleep. We woke up tired from the sickness but also refreshed and ready to go.


At 9am Brad from the Elephant Nature park picked us up at our hotel (along with several others) and off we went to see the elephants.

This is the most amazing place in Thailand. No controversy here. No, this is a very magical place where an amazing Thai woman called Lek rescues abused elephants and lets then live out their lives in peace in this safe haven she and her staff has created. There are also about 30 dogs and 20 cats too. All friendly and happy to see you. I was in heaven, with a dog or cat to pet every second. This is the best elephant place to go, maybe the only. These are tremendously well cared for and loved animals.
You can read more about Lek and the elephants at www.elephantnaturepark.org, http://www.elephantnaturefoundation.org/

We arrived in time for lunch- the elephants lunch. This is where I experienced my very first elephant kiss. Yum!


We fed the elephants loads of bananas, sugarcane, and pumpkins. The put their trunk out to you and you wrap the food in their trunk. They smile the whole time! This is Max, one of the older elephants. We were told he is quite the ladies man because he is so gentle and sweet to the female elephants!



Then it was time for our lunch...this consisted of a huge spread catered by a local vegetarian restaurant that I think used "happy" food. Then we watched several heart breaking films about abused and misused elephants that brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room. As humans, even really sensitive humans, we forget that animals are just as sensitive as we are if not more. The elephants being used in the cities for novelty acts like painting and rides are completely devastated and mistreated. They pick up strong vibrations form the noisy streets which makes them scared and shaky, nervous and tired,..
To train the elephant's to bend to their will, many traditional Mahouts will take the baby elephant from its mother when it is time and place it in a small pen and poke it and beat it until it's spirit is completely broken. This is how elephants "learn to paint" as well as do other tricks.

Please take 3 minutes to watch this. It will change the way you think about elepahnts in Asia.

http://current.com/items/88882706/elephant_training_torture_in_thailand.htm

If you ever go to Asia, make sure you do your research and only visit places with a good reputation. Lek is trying to change the way elephants are treated all over the country and to change the way traditional mahouts care for their elephants. The elephants end up being a huge source of income for families and so it is very hard to show then that there is another way...that people will really pay to see the elephants and be with them in their natural habitat.

After the video it was bath time.

We plunged into the chilly river to play in the water with the elephants, who clearly loved it!





After bath time we were shown to our room, a cute little cottage down a small dirt lane. We freshened up and rushed back for the elephants second feeding.




We had fabulous massages after another delicious dinner and then sleepy time.

The next morning we were woken up by the sounds of sweet elephants trumpeting. It doesn't get better than that!
We had a nice breakfast and then we got ready for what will always be the most amazing couple hours of my life.

The most rewarding part of the time spent at Elephant Nature Park was the morning walk we were taken on. I barely have words to describe it. We were able to watch the elephants interact in their family groups. The whole elephants social network at the park was explained to us by our spirited guide, Judy. Elephants social networks so closely resemble our own. Truly amazing.



The lady with the small elephant who has a bell is Judy and the Elephant is Hope.
To get an idea of how the elephants come to be at Elephant Nature Park here is Hope's story taken from the site: "Hope

"Yod Doi or
"Top of the Mountain"
Rescued: 26 Mar 02
Rescued from: Orphaned

Our Jumbo Express team was called out to a trekking camp to treat a female elephant who had just miscarried. We left immediately! The drive to Huy Pak Kood village was over 11 hours away. Arriving after midnight our team saw a baby elephant which appeared to be under one year old.

He was very skinny and looked so depressed, startled and his eyes were full of fright.

He kept hitting his head against the side of a narrow cage. His skin was riddled with parasites and he was in a very sorry state. We offered milk but he would not accept it nor any other comforts from our team.
The next morning the owner of this bedraggled orphaned baby elephant came to talk and asked us to take care of this baby as he still needed to drink purchased milk which he told us his family cannot afford. The cost of looking after the baby was beyond them. He had liver-worm and parasites infested his blood. These were the conditions that had killed his mother. He was not given much chance of survival.

We moved him to a new home and gave him the name "Hope". From the first moment of his arrival he tried to be friendly with Ging Mai, an orphaned baby elephant, already under our care, but Ging Mai did not want to know him and turned away each time Hope approached.

Lek tried hard to make Hope accept milk from her, but he knocked against her, pushing attempting to hurt her many times. He chased the visiting elephant volunteers around the pen trying to knock them down and tried to kick out or vigorously swing his trunk at anyone who came close to him. He was nervous the first three nights and could not sleep at all. He kept everyone else awake trumpeting over and over throughout the night. The fourth night he fell into a sleep and Lek used this opportunity to get close, patting and comforting him. When he would wake up she ran from his pen. She did this every night until finally Hope accepted her. He awoke and slowly opened his eyes then silently tiptoed over to see Lek. She sat beside him and he sat wearily down. He kept laying down letting her pat him and was soon fast asleep again. Lek knew that he had accepted her and released him out of the pen early next morning to walk with him and the volunteers. Hope walked over to join Ging Mai in the surrounding jungle. He showed lots of things to little Ging Mai and shared his experiences while he was with his mother. Ging Mai copied his foot steps and newly learned antics. They enjoy mud bathing and swimming together and Hope brought real elephant experiences to teach his younger sheltered friend.

The volunteers were made to work hard all the time, preparing milk, trekking with them and, at night, putting the exhausted playmates to bed. They now had 24 hour care as the volunteers took shifts during the night to answer calls for milk. Hope always showed to every one how different he was from Ging Mai. He is so confident and naughty and this contrasts greatly to Ging Mai’s gentleness and shy demeanour. Hope is continually playful and likes to smash everything in front of him. Both orphans loved their time together and never left each others side day or night.

After Hope had been with us for eight months, his owner came to take him back. He was to be trained for work. Lek told him that the youngster still needs milk and cannot let him go back. The more Hope stayed with her the more she loved him and she really couldn’t let him go back to cruel training and arduous work. With the help and kind support from Jody Thomas (USA) and Leonor Gonzo (Australia) Hope won his freedom to stay with us. These kind volunteers became Hope’s foster parents after helping to buy his freedom.

After the untimely death of Ging Mai, Hope stopped drinking and taking food. He was totally devastated and kept calling out for his young friend. He used his trunk to smell and looked all over the area for his little brother. Finally we had to move him to another place. It was just too sad to see this devastated boy stay in this land surrounded by painful memories and sadness.

For the safety of the two remaining babies Lek decided to move Hope and Jabu to another house in a remote location. They became firm friends and played relentlessly. A few months later he was moved again and found a permanent home."

This is just one of the many heart-warming and life affirming stories on the site.

The rest of the day was spent hanging around the center and happily repeating what we had done the day before.
Michael was also able to help a vet clean out an abscess that Max has from a long standing injury.

We were very sad to go at the end of our time at the end of our trip!
PS Thank you so much to Michael's mom Alice, who made the trip possible. I hope you are able to get there one day too!

Here is a quick video of a sweet little baby elephant playing.


The Next day we took a cooking course which was just alright. It's called the Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School. It's the cheapest I saw..at 900Baht..they come and pick you up and take you to a market and then to the farm. The market we went to was amazing. Huge and colorful. Buzzing with conversations, purchases, people. We go to have some fresh coconut milk from the coconut milk guy, right out of his coconut press. Cool.
Here is a picture of our teacher and a bit of the market behind her.


We had a good time and the farm was nice, but more like someones backyard garden than a farm per say.
We all had a neat little station to work at with our own burner and tools. Everything was pre-cut and handed to us, which I thought was weird. There was not much measuring or explanation of the items being used. The smells of course were amazing!!



It was bit crazy for me and my stomach though. First I made yellow curry. We mixed all the herbs and spices in a mortar and pestle until they were pasty. It was cool to make curry from scratch. Then I made Thai vegetable soup and then tofu with basil. Whoa! We sat down to consume all of this and really, no one could. So we packaged it up in little baggies for later.


After an hour break to digest as fast as we could. We headed back to our stations to make pad thai ( which we bagged and ate on our hotel bed later that night) and pineapple sticky rice (which we ate on the spot, even with the threat of possible belly explosion).

That night we went to a night market and walked through many sidewalk stands full of either cheap clothes, name brand knock offs, or beautiful Thai jewelery and art. Every moment of it was crazy and we only lasted a little while.

We also spent a little time at a cool farm called Pun Pun. Here is what their website says about it "Pun Pun is an organic farm, seed-saving operation, and sustainable living and learning center. We feel that only by living in a sustainable way ourselves, is it possible for us to create a model from which others can learn and live. Through natural cultivation on our organic farm we display ways of transitioning to, and living more sustainably. Through the living and learning center we experiment with appropriate technologies, organic farming, and natural building techniques. We discover the practices that work well for people and are practical. We then spread this knowledge to those individuals and networks that will put it to use. Through our seed-saving operation we seek to bring back indigenous and rare species of all kinds of vegetables, fruits, and medicinal herbs. We propagate them at the farm and then exchange them for greater use amongst farmers and other interested people, thus empowering and improving the health of the general public." Pretty cool stuff!




There was not much going on here but we did get to help scrape bricks for adobe dwellings and learn more about seed saving. It was really beautiful and everyone was really nice. I wish I had been there when a class was going on or more people were there to talk more about the building and gardens.
Here is where we stayed. We heard all kinds of strange alien-like noises from the frogs and birds that inhabited the pond below our hut.

There were several foreigners there working on the farm, one from CO! They share meals and the work load and help run workshops. Good Folks!

Beautiful sunsets!


Then it was back to Bangkok where we went to a cool Forest Wat. Very cozy, nestled in the woods. And stocked up on fruit for our journey back to Bangkok at a local market.

Thailand was the perfect trip. I miss the fruit already!



And then overnight train to Bangkok and plane to Korea....

I am officially blogged out. Time for a nap.

Thailand Vacation Part 1: Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Koh Samui, and Railley

Thailand Trip

We just got back from our trip to Thailand. Fantastic trip. Here are the highlights and recommendations.
We arrived in Bangkok on January 17th around 8ish? We stayed at the New Joe's Guesthouse on Khao San rd. for 2 or 3 nights. It was a bit pricey for what it was but it did have a really yummy restaurant downstairs open form 6m to 12am. Khao San Rd was crazy and everything was overpriced.

We ended up signing up for a group tour to the Floating Market, the Bridge on the River Kwai, and the Tiger Temple.

So in our second day we went to the Floating Market about 2 hours West of Bangkok. It was quite a novelty to see all the boats on the river full of fruits and foods. The smells were intoxicating and the sights were vibrant.




After the floating market we went to see the bridge on the River Kwai.


A Kanchantaburi tourist site explains it's significance "In 1943 thousands of Allied Prisoners of War (PoW) and Asian labourers worked on the Death Railway under the imperial Japanese army in order to construct part of the 415 km long Burma-Thailand railway. Most of these men were Australians, Dutch and British and they had been working steadily southwards from Thanbyuzayat (Burma) to link with other PoW on the Thai side of the railway. This railway was intended to move men and supplies to the Burmese front where the Japanese were fighting the British. Japanese army engineers selected the route which traversed deep valleys and hills. All the heavy work was done manually either by hand or by elephant as earth moving equipment was not available. The railway line originally ran within 50 meters of the Three Pagodas Pass which marks nowadays the border to Burma. However after the war the entire railway was removed and sold as it was deemed unsafe and politically undesirable. The prisoners lived in squalor with a near starvation diet. They were subjected to captor brutality and thus thousands perished. The men worked from dawn until after dark and often had to trudge many kilometres through the jungle to return to base camp where Allied doctors tended the injured and diseased by many died. After the war the dead were collectively reburied in the War Cemeteries and will remain forever witness to a brutal and tragic ordeal."

Finally we went to the Tiger Temple. At some point the monks there began taking in abandoned tigers and formed a tiger Sanctuary. There is quite a bit of controversy here as some people think the monks (a. Use the money that tourist pay to buy times for items for themselves and not the tigers and 9b. the tigers are so calm because they are doped. I don't know...when we got to the temple there seemed to be a huge wall being built to extend the territory of the animals and tigers kept at the sanctuary. Also the tourist pet the tigers in the middle of the day when they are half asleep anyhow. Also the monks have raised many of the animals form birth so they are quite used to humans. At any rate you are allowed the once in a life time opportunity to pet adult and baby tigers.
To learn more about the tiger temple and it's surrounding controversy you can go to this travel sight http://travelhappy.info/thailand/tiger-temple-thailand/
or National Geographic http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080620-tiger-temple.html
These are sites I wish I had read before I visited the temple. It was a wonderful experience and I did not see signs of misdoing personally but after reading up on it I kind a wished I hadn't gone.
Here some pics..they are still cool...Oi!





In Thailand vacation 2, we redeem ourselves at the Elephant Nature Park and hopefully even out our Karma. So stay tuned.


The next day we spent some time in Bangkok before going to the train station to take an overnight train down south. We viewed the Royal Palace from the outside
and then made out way to Wat Po the birthplace of Thai Massage. Here you can view the largest reclining Buddha. It put us both in states of awe. I highly recommend it.


We walked all around the temple grounds and viewed the beautiful and intricate buildings around the temple.



Here is an old drawing of the Sen Lines as far as I can tell.
And the cutest little happy statue I ever saw.




To the train station...
Good way to travel for sure. I had never been on an overnight train and for travel lasting 10 hours or more, it is definitely the way to go. I got off at Surat Thani and took a bus and then a ferry to Koh Samui where I hung out on beaches, drank coconut water, and got certified to practice Thai massage. I stayed in a sparkling clean, huge room at a bungalow place run by a super kind and helpful family. (I have these pics on a disposable camera so will have to wait to post them separately.

After Koh Samui I met up with Michael who had stayed in Koh Lipe way down south. We took a bus from Surat Thani to Krabi (cheap and easy) and a little red bus to Ao Nang and then a long tail boat to Railley. Railley is an isthmus surrounded by limestone cliffs only reachable by boat.
We enjoyed the back packers side of the isthmus and stayed there were food and lodging was cheaper. We ate tons of mango sticky rice and pineapple shakes.
At low tide our beach looked like this:

But at high tide it was really beautiful.

Sunset on Ton Sai


Here are the cliffs that surround the Isthmus and the long tail boat you take form Ao Nang (15 mins, 80 Baht) to Railley.



We attempted swimming several times but kept seeing so many jelly fish that it just wasn't worth it. In fact one day when we were having another go at swimming we got stings all over our legs from what someone said was baby jellies!
Unfortunately for us we got ridiculously ill with food poisoning on the 3rd day and saw nothing but the four walls of our bungalow and the toilet. We had lots of diarrhea and high fevers. Michael was awesome and assured me we wouldn't die and that it would pass. I had a high fever finally break around 10 pm and at long last slumbered.

The next day with spirits high we took an over night bus to Bangkok. Please don't ever take the over night bus unless you have to. Ugh, so cramped and miserable. But we were troopers! We got to Bangkok in time to catch a day train to Chiang Mai. So 14 hours later we were up North. Here I felt the deals were better, everything was cheaper and more delicious and the people were warmer. I had been doubting this land of smiles business for a while and was so overjoyed to see that it was true, just maybe more true up North.

To be continued in Thailand vacation Part 2!!!! (the best part really!!!)

Who should and shouldn't teach in Korea, the good the bad and the top tens

To all those thinking about coming to Korea to teach...here is my experience...
If you decide to teach in Korea here are...
My top ten things I wish someone told me before I came to Korea
1.You cannot be sensitive, really at all, about anything or you will go nuts...the sights, the smells, the staring, the ignoring, the lack of support, get ready.
2. You cannot care if you get to put your two cents in about decisions being made regarding YOU
3. You cannot care if the Principal only addresses your male counterpart,
4.You cannot care if you don't teach anything to anyone for weeks at a time
5. Even if you thought you could "go with the flow" check in with yourself and make sure you really can flow more then you ever dreamed you could
6.If you have any, any feminist tendencies,.. um...don't? Just don't be surprised that you won't really be heard or able to speak up for yourself and it seems to help if you are modelesque depending on which Korean males you are dealing with.
7. I think it would really help to know more Korean, much more Korean.
8. It helps if you eat meat and drink...I don't...I am simply put, one of the strangest creatures the folks in this tiny town have come across....maybe I am not quite human due to my healthy habits. Oh and animals don't seem to be highly regarded so if you have a bleeding heart, either ignore all the cold homeless cats and puppies and dogs in cages on mountain trails, and possible/probably dog ingestion, or don't come or cork the bleeding for a year.
9. Forget you knew what the sun looked like...
10. Oh shit...the won fluctuates, a lot....Doh!

Okay that being said...I came...here I am...in South Korea. I am all the wrong things for Korea. Oops! I am a over sensitive, animal loving, alcohol abstaining, vegetarian, bleeding heart, hippie with a nose ring, who likes to be in charge of myself and loves to teach and thinks everyone should be equal...
It's time to go home. And so I am. In three weeks I start the exodus home, the 12 hour flight to Denver CO where I can be all the things I am. I have been told by many people throughout my life how strong I am, over sensitive and a bit nutty, but strong and kind, playful and high spirited. So I thought I could get down with Korea...almost.

However...I was placed in a very small town that is quite cloudy and full of smokey something in the air, my apt is freezing cold all the time, the people I work with think I am weird but do seem to like me (small bonus!), I hardly ever really teach, which is a huge bummer because I actually enjoy teaching when allowed (aside from the awesome camp Michael and I did...so much fun..if only...), and my spirit is slowly drying up. Michael has watched it and I have seen it in him too. It really happened. Note: Just looked at pics from our trip to Thailand, we were both surprised to see how my eyes sparkled and how healthy I looked. I see that in ,most pre Korea pics as well.

This, as many people have parroted, is a crap shoot. Maybe your school will be great, maybe it won't. You can't know. You come and you try and it either kicks your ass and you go home or you suck it up, make the best of it and stay.

The government seems to spend a tremendous amount of time and money putting English teachers in EVERY school in the province I teach in. Many of these schools have either never had foreign teachers or have only had them part time. Now there are two teachers in every large school and the Korean teachers don't know what to do with us. I really think that EPIK ought to have had an orientation for the Korean teachers too. Many of them, as I have previously posted, were not even aware that we were coming until the day before. Oh the hierarchy!! Also the innovative English villages we were told we would be working in have been either non existent or off limits. There are some good ideas here but bottom line is we need to be allowed to actually teach English not just be tokens.


Understand that though I feel all the above there are some really nice things about South Korea. My most recent blog is about why I will miss it http://adventuresingangwondoland.blogspot.com/

So to balance things out....
My top ten things to do and see in Korea (for the sensitive Soul)
1. Hike...hike wherever you find it. Trails are beautiful, well marked and soothing if you avoid the big parks on holidays and weekends. There is usually a trail in the town you live in somewhere, just look.
2. Bi Bim Bap is so good. Really...and everyone seems to make it a little different. Treat yourself to the fancy kind in Insadong if you get a chance. Yum! And banchan!
3. Many Koreans are very generous. I met many sweet ajumnas and little old men and ladies, and esp parents of students who will bend over backwards to help you. Amazing! One family gives me free acupuncture!
4. When you actually get to teach...it's loads of fun. The kids in the small towns fall in love with you and love to play!
5. I really like Seoul...esp Insadong (a quaint, quiet, artsy district, with tons of tea houses and musical instruments). Seoul is easy to get around (or maybe it just seems that way of you have a Michael) and relatively tolerant of foreigners).You can get burritos in the district next to Insadong that are close to the original! Go on the Shamanistic Temple walk.
6. Naksan Temple and the HUGE statue of Kwan Yin will humble you and make you forget about your woes.
7. There are gardens everywhere, everyone seems to grow vegetables somewhere. I think that is awesome.
8. You get enough vacation time (if you do EPIK) to travel to gorgeous places and get paid while you are there. Yea Thailand!
9. Getting exposed to another culture is really important for self development. It changes you forever for the better and makes you appreciate what you have back home.
10. And...wait for it...I like radish Kim chi a lot.

Conclusion: If you think you can do it...give it a shot, You can always leave. But really think about it hard before you make the decision to go. But if you do come and it's tough remember to be self reflective, work on the bits that look like they could be HUGE growth opportunities. Take that new strength back home with you, even if you can't take back as much Won:-)



And now here's your moment of Zen...
Mmmmmmm! Mmm yum! Fluffy candy!

Three Moments

Three Moments
In the past two days I had three moments, brief moments of actually BEING IN Korea. Of Being here and finding myself thinking that I would miss it when I was gone.

One: I’m in the back of Tom Cruise teacher’s jeep. The back back. Just lounging, taking in the sites. The rolling hills between Dogye and Miro. The dead trees hanging onto the last rotting bright orange-red persimmons. The train tracks and stations. The bright florescent pink, green, and yellow dangling streamers flittering over the gas stations. Michael and Tom Cruise are in the front talking about politics, Obama and North Korea. About philosophy in Tom Cruise’s broken English-ee. I felt Korea.

Two: I’m in the Bi Bim Bap place with my friends. The little Ajuma that lives there and runs the restaurant hauls herself up from her spot watching tv. She greets us with a glint in her eye, surely remembering when Chantel poured her soup into her Bi Bim Bap. We sit down and she talks to us in Korean. We just nod our heads, sometimes shrug our shoulders, and say “Ne, Ne”. She makes us Bi Bim Bap and watches us like a hawk as we eat it. She approves. We are doing it right. She comes to me and says something I don’t understand. Chantel figures it out. She is telling me I am too skinny. I tell her I am trying to eat more and make a motion to shove tons of food in my face. She points to her belly and lets out a huge laugh. She points to me and puts her hands close together. We laugh and laugh. I felt Korea.

Three: I am walking home. Up Up Up the hill. It is dark all around except for the lights that shine in the town below. I see where I think Su Bin lives. I look at the houses with their slanted roofs and shoddy walls. I walk past the house with the goat and the chickens and roosters. I hear kids giggling and screaming in the mazes of houses all around me. I stop and look down…at the red glowing crosses, at the outline of the mountains that encircle this town. I look down at the thought floating above Korea. The thought that this wasn’t mistake. That I am here for a reason, to learn something. And when I leave, whenever I leave, I will miss Korea and wonder why I didn’t love it more when I was there. And I feel at peace as I walk up to the apartment. I felt Korea.

This isn’t to say that tomorrow I won’t be just as frustrated with Korea. It’s just to say that I see why I will miss it.

There are always sweet little puppies to befreind!

Yea! There is always a puppy somewhere who needs love and attention. This is the pup that lives at the convenience store downstairs from our apartment. She is a little skiddish but once she knows it's you, she let's you pet her. I wonder what they will do with her in the winter. I have only seen her outside in her little dog house. Aw!

The I'm going to tell tell you what is not okay with teaching and living in Korea post (you knew it had to come at some point right?)

Okay, okay okay...If you don't want to hear what I think is not okay with teaching and living in Korea avert you eyes and check back another day when I am posting cute kids and beautiful mountains. No, today is the day I let it all hang out. I will be alright, really...I just thought I would let you all in on the downside of being here.

When I started reading some of the posts on ESL Cafe I thought all the negativity spewing whiners were just puffing hot air. Well, they hit a couple of things on the nose. And truth be told it really isn't that bad here compared to the horror stories I have read from some posts but there are a few things that I am not used to and will never become used to.
One thing that I will not get used to is the disregard for my time. If you don't care about plans or teaching then you will do great teaching in Korea. If you like to actually know what is going on ever...well...think about it. Examples: -We have been waiting for cell phones and a water filter for months. -When I ask the English speaking teacher almost anything she says she is too busy. -Yesterday we thought we were both going to Samcheok (the larger town we used to live in) for a meeting about winter camp. Two minutes before departure, when we have made plans for the evening and we are psyched to see other foreigners, the English speaking teacher says, "Oh no...just Michael." Who knows? Something about them doing a teaching demo that Michael knows nothing about. Of my own accord, I decided to go home early rather than sit in the office with #2 and #3 for 3 more hours. -I am continuously introduced as Michael's girlfriend...and I am...but jeez...and not asked my opinion on pretty much anything. Men are very much in charge here. I have read that Confucianism is fading out and I think that's probably true to some extent. But definitely not in the country. Let's stop there for a breath.

In terms of respect and teaching...
I came here for several reasons and one was to see what it was like to teach kids in a foreign culture. As I have said before the kids are awesome. The program, however, leaves something to be desired. Will I have class today? Who knows? I was given an after school class but attendance is not enforced at all so I don't often have class. There is one class that I have mentioned in which I sit in a chair and sometimes the Korean teacher motions to me and tells me to "speak the sound". In two other classes that I have 3 times a week each, I go in ready for what I think we are doing but often it's not, so I have to quickly pull it together and come up with something. Example: I go to my fourth grade class. There is no Korean teacher. I ask my students where their teacher is. They don't know. So, as I do not know where the CD Rom is for the lesson is, we play Hangman and I learn their names better. That was fun...what was weird is this...at the end of class the Korean teacher comes in and says she was outside looking into the class to see how the children do with just me. Then she asks me if I did the lesson...Argh! I continuously try to plan with the fourth grade teachers (who have me run the class but often aren't on the same page)but it is very challenging. Our English speaking teacher days she wants write up of everything we are going to teach that week on Monday. I hope she is not really serious because I never know what we will be doing unit after the class.
This may sound great to just putz around...and it is sometimes...
On a very high note,I plan and teach all the first and second grades on my own and one of the third grades. They are really super fun and sweet.
The thing is, I really like teaching and would like to be more a part of things and actually teach. I am too much of a perfectionist for this. I take a lot of pride in what I do and don't like to do anything half-assed but to get by here I often feel like I can only do as well as I can without upsetting anyone or stepping on toes. My new motto is "Whatever" (Ew!) and Don't take anything personally. Sometimes I feel like it would be easier not care as much. That's a bummer. Part of this is just Korean culture and part of this is our lot at this particular school.

When the weekend rolls around it feels so good. You can just do your thing again. Maybe be a tourist. And you think to yourself, 'I will make it through this year. This is a beautiful place, everyone is so nice, and I am okay.' Korea is all those things if you are on vacation here. Not when you live and work here. Monday always rolls around and the cycle starts again. Honestly I am doing my best to go with the flow here. I am really trying to hone that valuable skill. It gets a little out of hand though. At EPIK orientation there was one teacher that had been teaching here for a while. He seemed really cool. Really just chilled out and funny. Very go with the flow. But even he confessed to just getting fed up sometimes, then having too many beers and seriously considering rolling bottles of propane down the street to express his frustration. Even to the coolest, laid back dude... it gets to you.

Of course the thing with the apartment didn't help. That was two months of begging them to let us live close to our school not over an hour to get to and 8,000 won each a day. I think the way they handled it was tough. The chain of command makes any request at any level more then you bargained for. Whether you want to move your location or you just need a new dry erase marker...well it's all up for great debate.

Lastly we found out from "Tom Cruise" that the teachers did not know about our arrival and imminent teaching positions at their school until a couple of days before we got there. The administrators had to know because they had an apartment ready for us but no one else seemed too. That's tough....

BTW:pit toilets are not as easy as you'd think especially if you have a skirt on and what is the deal with no TP in any stall! TP!!!!

Maybe they need a bathroom like this!!! The more rolls the better.


An section from my personal blog in my computer diary, a glimpse into what I am thinking...I swear I will write something more uplifting in my next blog...

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Two Haikus from a particularly hard day...

Koreans are hard
Faces like concrete setting
Faster as they stare

A curious glance
Don't bother to look away
I won't either then, Heh!

This is the unblog for now maybe it can be a blog later on. For now I need a place to vent . Today I almost lost it. I do not know if they don’t realize that I am a person, an actual adult living breathing person, but if they do I feel like they often hide it. The longer I sit around and hear my name in conversation but cannot understand anything else I fell isolated and moronic. I am on one hand dying to hear the conversations the teachers have and on the other hand I am glad I can’t hear it. It gives me the illusion that I have no responsibility. It is lonely here for sure. I wonder if it is just because they have never had teachers here before. Or if this area if full of hardened people. The people I find the kindest are often the quietest or the teachers that seem more on the fringe.

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Today was funny for a lot of reasons. I am sitting in the little gazebo outside of school. I am wondering how to make Korea feel better. I don’t want to half ass it here but I also find it hard to be myself because I am so worried consistently that I will offend a Korean. I think this is a real, legitimate concern and frankly, I am tired of feeling that way. I do not know how to act and it’s wearing me out. If I could just be myself and not worry about what impression I am about to make at every second, I will be much happier. I want to smile all day and be silly and fun. I don’t want the adults, that I don’t understand, to get in the way of that love for play.

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Well today is the big day. The school is decked out. The trophies are polished. There are flowers and projects everywhere. Quite a feat I suppose. It is 9:30 and I do not know if I have class thirty minutes from now. So at 10 am I will wander upstairs to the classroom, stick my head in, and say “English class today?” with a goofy grin on my face. Such is this day and everyday here is the wacky world of Korea.
I am not sure why they do not think it is of any consequence if I know if I have class or not. It irritates me to no end. Here’s why…I get it in my head that I either have class or not and plan for that. I am good with changes here and there I realize but it seems to have a limit. It only reaches so far and at school I think my flexibility points get used up fairly quick. It is hard not to feel like people just don’t respect your existence at all. As I have mentioned before I would like to find a way to exist in Korea productively and as happily as I can. Is this possible to attain here in this place that seems like the opposite of most things I believe in.

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Don't get me wrong either...we are housed...we have food...we are in good health...we have each other...we have friends...we are truly fortunate...
I still miss America...and our family and friends.

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We and up watching a lot of TV. It really is quite an opiate. We are currently too into the Office and various other televisional diversions. Sometimes it's all ya want to so at the end of the day.

Oh yeah...it's really, really, really, cold. The wind howls and whips through our shoddy windows and door. I really want to build a fire in the bedroom right now!!!!! Send hugs!!!!!!!!

Dreaming of Thailand...

Dogye Apartment Tour

Here is our apartment amidst a sea of changing colors and rolling hills. Our apartment is in one of the two smaller buildings on the left.



Hello. Well We have finally moved to our apartment in Dogye. The board of education and our school finally gave in let us move to an apartment within 5 minutes walking distance to out school. There are pros and cons, but it is Wonderful to commute 5 to 10 minutes on foot rather then 1 and a half by bus and foot. It is very small and very cute and feels cozier than the last apartment. It has a bedroom, a living room with a little porch, a kitchen/kitchen table area, and a wee little room that we begged them to put the refrigerator in. They thought we were nuts. The bathroom is truly Korean style. There and is a toilet and a very tiny little tub that doesn't exactly seem usable, especially because the shower head is not located in the tub area but outside and beside the tub. So we stand, squat, or sit on stool and hold the little shower head over our own head and try to get clean. It's hilarious and distressing at the same time. Oh yeah, the heating system does not include the bathroom so it is cold as ice before you get the shower going. The kitchen however is very cute with lovely cabinets and a sink. This is the only sinkn in the house, bless it's heart. There is no sinkn in the bathroom so we brush our teeth in the kitchen sink, which is a little odd. So when we get home to the US if you catch us brushing our teeth late at night in the kitchen sink over a pile of dirty dishes, just kindly stop us and remimnd at that in American we can brush our teeth in the bathroom. We will thank you and sheepishly move on.

In the living room there is a little porch that has a fantastic view of the mountains. There are even great trails up there to hike on. The fall colors are rich and beautiful... It's very calming to come home and sit on the porch and just stare out into the quiet town. But I am not completely alone on the porch. NO I share this space with the black fake leather couch that stands on it's side vertically in the corner. We do not like the couch. They told us we would not have to take it when we moved but it came and there it stands on the porch looming at me. I ignore it and look at the changing leaves instead (or Michael's sweet face).

They also said we would not have to take the TV either...and again there it is...we tucked it into the laundry room like a couple of good hippies and wished it well.

All in all, it is nice to be in Dogye. It is quiet at our apartment, whereas in Samcheok it was loud, bright, and frenetic outside. It is also cool to be in the community our students live in. This morning as I was walking to school (Michael went to his other school today) a family from school pulled over and gave me a lift to school. It was very sweet. I'd like to get to know the students and families better and take advantage of living in the mountains again. I get very frustrated with the school itself, but as usual, never with the kids.
I am going to class now but later I going to boldly explain the pros and cons of working at a school in rural Korea.

I will leave you with this moment of Korean Zen:


Happy Showering!

--Soon I will hopefully be able to post the video we made of the apt. Stay tuned!