April update

Kia ora koutou. Just a short update.

Life in Korea is going well.

The day-to-day teething challenges of living and working here have been smoothed out, and I've settled into the swing of things.

I've now successfully transitioned into being a morning person – up at 6:30 every week day, and even on weekends, I'm up early – there's just so much to do!

I'm trying to take the task of learning Korean pretty seriously, and I try to practice what I learn in the textbook as often as I can.

I received my first paycheck a couple of weeks ago (wahoo!), and one of the first things I did was to order a bike, so I'm looking forward to doing some exploring.

I've made some new friends, and had some pretty cool moments – to mention a few:

-        sharing makgeoli (rice wine) and an exciting array of side dishes with church friends in Jeonju

-        celebrating Easter with a South African family and introducing them to Pavlova

-        baking hot-cross buns and kiwifruit muffins for the staff at school

-        hanging out with new friends in Namwon, and visiting cool places with them

The teaching is going well, and in general, the students are always excited to be in English class. I was asked to run an after-school club for motivated students/to motivate students to learn English, and thus 'Kiwi Club' was born. Each week, we learn something about Aotearoa/NZ. So far, I've introduced NZ from Pākehā and Māori perspectives, we've watched 'The World's Fastest Indian,' made papier-mâché kiwis, and learnt about 'No. 8 wire'/famous Kiwis. We're doing more crafts and watching 'Whale Rider' this week. Any suggestions are welcome.

At this point, I reckon you've done enough reading, so I'll continue the story with pictures. Rural Korea is idyllic at the moment, with blossoming trees everywhere, and warm, sunny weather. The only thing to be wary of is the dust pollution which blows over from China.

Namwon is situated on the banks of the Yocheon river. This cycle path, along the river, goes on for ages, linking villages and towns along the way.

One of the several bridges that cross the Yocheon.

 Looking towards the mountains and Jirisan national park.

Childrens' performance at Gobaek church, Jeonju.

The traditional array of sides that come with makgeoli (rice wine), including crab claws and silkworm larvae (yum!)

A Jeonju market at dusk.

Chunhyang folk village. Amongst other things, Namwon is famous for the story of Chunhyang, a 'true love prevails' story about the son of a governor who, against all odds, marries Chunhyang, the girl of his dreams. Chunhyang festival, held in May, is a big deal here apparently.

Hot Cross buns!

Pavlova.

My classroom.

Blossoming trees are everywhere in Korea at the moment. I've been out and about as much as possible to see them while they last!

On the way to Gokseong after breakfast on Saturday, we stopped to see the petroglyphs carved into the rocks.

Wandering around Gokseong rose garden. It's still too early for the roses, but I'll be back!

Gokseong rose garden.

Gwanghallu garden, in Namwon. One of the main settings for the 'Chunhyang' story.

Gwanghallu.

 I cut through a meadow by the train tracks on the way home.

Oh, I'm here, by the way

I'm here! Yay!

Actually, I've been in Korea for a grand total of nine days now.

For the past week, I've been at Kyeonggi University in Suwon for the EPIK orientation.
There, amongst the more obvious stuff such as lectures and survival Korean classes, I enjoyed meeting other teachers, stockpiling on the amazing food, and visiting a Korean folk village, where I 'made' a Korean flute (danso).
A special shout out to the only other two Kiwis I met at orientation - for your committment to consistently top-rate Kiwi humour, and another shout out to my awesome South African roomie.

So a week later, and I'm trying to work out how I ended up in a slightly more obscure, almost zero-English-speaking town. This is the short story of my day: after a few hurried goodbyes ('see ya,' 'I guess I'll see you sometime... probably... maybe...'), those of us who were headed to Jeonbuk province boarded the bus to our new homes. After arriving in Jeonju, the main city in the province, the Korean English teachers (hereinafter co-teachers) from our new schools came to pick us up.
My new co-teacher, Mr. Lee (who, funnily enough, lived in Dunedin for a month a few years ago), took me to Sanseo Middle School (pronounced like 'sahn-sor'), where I met a few of the teachers and checked out my new classroom. The school year starts on Wednesday, and my lesson planning starts from tomorrow!
I'm pretty excited. Each week, I'll not only be teaching at the Middle School, but also at the High School and a nearby elementary school as well, meaning I get the experience (and challenge!) of teaching at all levels! But because Sanseo is such a small town, consisting of just one main street, my classes will consist of only around ten students. So it's worked out pretty well!

What perhaps hasn't worked out quite so well is my living location. I'm in the busy town (city?) of Namwon, which is about a 40 minute bus ride from Sanseo. After dropping me off at my apartment, my co-teacher was kind enough to help me obtain a SIM card, the whole process of which took about 2 hours. Living and working here is definitely going to be a challenge. As my co-teacher left me to my own devices, I suddenly realised that I'd ended up in a place where people speak very little, if any, English. Act one, ordering food, was an awkward improvisation of gesturing, broken survival Korean phrases, and pointing to the meal of another customer (which turned out to be a very spicy bulgogi-type dish). Act two, trip to the supermarket, required all of my mental powers of counting in the thousands (in Korean), and attempting to distinguish between the plethora of milk brands.

Overall, however, I'm pretty happy. I've got a nice apartment, and although it needs a good clean, it's got loads of the previous teacher's stuff, which gives me a great head start, and greatly reduces the amount to stuff I have to buy and/or find.

The only other thing that's worth saying now is that it is cold at the moment.  Every morning and evening, the ground is frozen solid, and there's quiet a bit of snow around. Sorry, no pretty pics of snow-covered Korean countryside.

Anyway, I think that's all I have to say for now, and I'm not entirely sure where I'm getting this wifi from, so I should probably get off the 'net. Annyeong hi gyeseo and goodnight!

Photos!

 1. New apartment!

2. Walking back to the dorms after a long day of classes at Kyeonggi University

3. On a run from uni around Gwanggyo reservoir, Suwon

4. Traditional Korean dancing!

Before I set off, I just want to say...

Welcome to my blog.

Here, I'll post occasional updates about my experiences living and working in Korea.

The countdown is at T minus eight days until I leave Aotearoa. At least, that's the plan. I haven't booked tickets yet, because my visa is still being 'processed,' but it should arrive in the post early next week (fingers crossed).

'Why are you going?' and 'how long for?' I hear you ask.

The answer to the first question is encapsulated in one overused word: experience. Apparently Julius Caesar made a passing comment that "experience is the best master in every thing on which the wit of man is employed" (thanks internet). Unlike Caesar, I'm not talking about my various military campaigns, but if we take the quote completely out of context for a moment, I reckon it summarises my motives reasonably well. I'm exploring a vocation in teaching. I want to be as prepared as I can be before I launch a teaching career in New Zealand. So pretty much, I believe that teaching English as a second or other language (ESOL) is the best place for me to start.

My contract in Korea is for a year (I start teaching at the beginning of March, and end in February 2017), and I'll be living and working somewhere in the Jeonbuk province.

That's about it: at this stage, everything else is a mystery yet to be revealed. On the other hand, I have had a lot of general preparation, and last week I sucessfully finished a CELTA (Cambridge English Teaching) course in Christchurch. Have I been to Korea before? Nope. Can I speak Korean? Yeah, nah - except for 'hello' and 'goodbye.' I'm working on it. Wish me luck.


















Oh, and in case you were wondering, the blog title comes from a hymn. Here it is:

God who sets us on a journey
to discover, dream and grow,
lead us as you led your people
in the desert long ago;
journey inward, journey outward,
stir the spirit, stretch the mind,
love for God and self and neighbour
marks the way that Christ defined.

Exploration brings new insights,
changes, choices we must face;
give us wisdom in deciding,
mindful always of your grace;
should we stumble, lose our bearings,
find it hard to know what’s right,
we regain our true direction
focused on the Jesus light.

End our longing for the old days,
grant the vision that we lack –
once we’ve started on this journey
there can be no turning back;
let us travel light, discarding
excess baggage from our past,
cherish only what’s essential,
choosing treasure that will last.

When we set up camp and settle
to avoid love’s risk and pain,
you disturb complacent comfort,
pull the tent pegs up again;
keep us travelling in the knowledge
you are always at our side;
give us courage for the journey,
Christ our goal and Christ our guide.

Words: Joy Dine (1937 – 2001) © Revd Mervyn Dine.