haeinsa

A retreat!!! Last weekend, all the ETAs had the privilege to go to Haeinsa for a couple of days. Haeinsa is a Buddhist temple in the mountains in the middle of South Korea. The setting was spectacular, the food was scrumptious (I had octopus for the first time--and liked it!), and the opportunity to get to know my fellow ETAs was supreme. After arriving on Friday and listening to a lecture on Korean Buddhism, we took a bus ride and a hike to the temple. The Haeinsa temple is famous for the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of over eighty thousand wooden tablets containing the sayings of Buddha. While I do not agree with the teachings of Buddhism, it was still fascinating to see the artifacts and history of the temple, and talk to the monks living there.

My favourite moment of the entire weekend occurred Saturday afternoon. I took a walk with a couple of girls and we found a rock on the edge of a creek. It was beautiful to sit and watch the water while talking about life, feeling hidden from the concerns of the day. We were rained on and watched the fog roll across the river. Overall, the retreat was refreshing and just what I needed.

taekwondo

I get to learn Taekwondo while in Korea!! Today I (along with about thirty-five other Fellows) received my Taekwondo uniform and my white belt. I already love the class. After changing into uniforms and learning how to tie the belt, we stretched, learned a few commands, and our first kick. I greatly anticipate participating in this aspect of Korean culture. Yesterday, I began my first calligraphy class. The instructor was extremely nice and gave us an overview of this art in Korean while a leader helped translate. The remainder of the day revolved around Korean language classes and practice. Construction continues outside my window, but fortunately I can block that with headphones.

Here are a couple of pictures of my Taekwondo uniform and in my first stance (next time I will smile :) ):

photography 101

Today I had the opportunity to visit Cheongju (again) for a street photography workshop. After learning about aperture settings, shutter speeds, ISO, exposure compensation and flash tricks (and practicing them on our fellow photographers), we received the assignment of taking five pictures of people doing something interesting. It was kind of awkward for me to take pictures of strangers at first, but here are the five pictures I think turned out the best!

site visit

Today, the elementary ETAs got to visit a school classroom in the city of Cheongju! It was encouraging to see an example of what I will be doing this next year. Sixteen of us loaded onto a bus and drove an hour from Goesan. We then observed a third grade English class, observed a fifth grade English class, took a tour of the school and went out to dinner with the principal of the school. The students were extremely cute. The would stare at us as we walked by, run up and greet us with a quick hello, or peek around door corners as though they were afraid of being spotted. One of my favourite moments was when two girls stepped into the classroom during the passing period. They looked at all the "foreigners" with big eyes and started to count how many there were. Starting in English, they reached seven before exhausting their supply of English numbers and began again in Korean. Then they just giggled back and forth at the large number of people.

After seeing the school we went to a Japanese shabu-shabu restaurant. We took off our shoes to enter and sat at a table that was placed into the ground (we were sitting using the floor as a chair with our legs hanging over a ledge to be under the table). In the middle of the table was a boiling pot of water with herbs in it. Everyone received a plate with thinly sliced raw meat and little wraps of lettuce and rice. The meat was placed in the water to cook (one piece at a time) and then eaten with the wrap. There were also various side dishes to sample. Next, the waiter brought noodles and cooked them in the broth we had created, and the meal concluded with a sweet fruit drink. It was all delicious and something I would love to try again in the future.

Today finished with a workshop based on pictures of Korea and some chill time. I am ready for it to be the weekend!

language school begins!

First thing this morning, I had language school! I am in a beginner class of twelve and we have two professors. Today, we worked on the basic sounds of the alphabet and common greetings. Hearing the difference between aspirated and unaspirated stops is much more difficult than I thought it would be. Hopefully I will be able to pick up on the subtleties soon :) The remainder of the day consisted of meals and meetings. After dinner, I wandered around the university and took some more pictures. The cooler evening temperature was refreshing.

This is from exploring Goesan, a twenty minute walk from the university. We did a photo scavenger hunt and to eat dried squid, arm wrestle in front of a store and do push-ups in front of a market.















Here is a part of the university campus. I was walking around at sunset and it was beautiful. I love all the intersecting paths and bridges as well as the many ponds and fountains.

some pictures of the university grounds

Today began with rice, seaweed soup, an egg and a carton of milk for breakfast. (I was very excited about the milk!) After a few group announcements and more introductions, we met the Hangul teachers took placement tests for language classes. Since I have no previous knowledge of Hangul, it wasn't that difficult to prove it :)   Then, I had a few minutes to take some pictures of my location, so here they are:

This is Jungwon University. Here, 73 individuals will spend six weeks preparing for teaching placements around the country.

These are some statues on the grounds that I thought were interesting. There are also two swimming pools, a golf course, a fitness centre, and probably more that I haven't discovered yet!

These are some of the nearby mountains. It is really pretty, especially with all the clouds.

This is a fountain and bridge that is near the golf course.

After lunch, we learned what past teachers took from their experiences and then had a photo scavenger hunt as an introduction to the town of Goesan. The day concluded with a mixer with Korean students. Altogether, it was a great day!

travels to Korea!

Day 1 in Korea has begun! And what a cray travel experience it has been so far. After 3 plane trips, too many goodbyes, almost losing my backpack, and a four hour bus ride, I am very happy to be on the grounds of Jungwon University in Goesan, South Korea. My room is very nice, complete with bed, desk, drawers, closet, and personal bathroom. Jinhee is my roommate, and I think we will get along very well. She is from Queens, NY and is Korean. So far, the the food has been enjoyable and the people pleasant. I will have to grow accostomed to lots of rice and humidity. Well, busy day tomorrow, so I had better rest up!

This is a picture of Korea from the airplane window at about five in the morning.

I shot this from the bus as we were traveling from Seoul to Goesan.

Here is my sleeping part of my dorm room. I have to take my shoes off, whenever I come into the room.