The Secret Seminar Ski Trip

My adventure started like this:

“Blake, would you like to go skiing with the staff on the 28th?”

“Yes! That sounds like a lot of fun!”

That was at the beginning of December. For several weeks I heard nothing further about the staff ski trip. We were all to busy dealing with exams, camp planning, and year end B.S. to discuss the trip further. A few days before we were scheduled to go, I was informed that we would be leaving the school at 1:30 on Friday. I asked that I be allowed to go home at lunch, drop off my laptop and change. No problem.

Friday arrives, I show up and teach my classes. Approximately two hours before departure time I asked whether we would be night skiing that evening or not. The response, and first significant curveball, was “Oh, the Vice Principal reminded us last night that this trip is not about skiing but about the seminars”

“Seminars you say? What seminars would those be?”

“The seminars on teaching of course. Why else would we be going on a trip to Muju?”

An excellent question and one to which I clearly needed to dedicate far more thought before jumping at these sorts of opportunities. To late to back out now… So I headed home at lunch, changed, grabbed my bag and strolled back into the school. We boarded the bus on time (for Korea) and headed merrily on our way. Shortly, after leaving the Gwangju City Limits I was handed the first beer of the trip. Thankfully, I managed to keep my consumption to only one this early in the trip. I was getting the clear sense that I was going to be in over my head as far as booze consumption was concerned and was anxious to retain some control over my intake early on.

We arrived at Muju and piled into the resort. I had known that the odds of having a bed were going to be pretty slim, but I became seriously concerned when I was asked to help carry various boxes into my room. They contained chips, snacks, soju, and beer. It would appear that I had been placed in the ‘party’ room. The problem with this is that the men would be the ones partying and none of them speak any English. Really takes a bit of the fun out of those late night bashes when the only thing you can discuss is ‘one shot!’

From there we piled onto the bus and headed to another part of the hill for our seminar. The opening act was our tour guide who gave some sort of talk about Muju and skiing. The follow up was our actual presenter. He slapped down his laptop, opened up PowerPoint and at the bottom of the screen I glimpsed 1/262 just before he hit ‘start slide show.’ Fortunately, there were lots of interesting video clips and pretty pictures to keep me entertained. The message I took away (before I completely tuned out) was that the presentation was arguing that Koreans are good at making robots shaped like wild boar, and they love baseball, so they should use the boar-shaped robots to replace baseball players. It was all very confusing. I was abruptly snapped out of my daydream when I realized that everyone was quiet and looking at me. The presenter asked me a question – in Korean – shit! I sputtered out that I only speak a little Korean and everyone took that opportunity to forget about me and move on with the program.

Thankfully, he did not go through all the slides so the presentation was only about an hour and a half. Apparently, it was about the need to emphasise creativity and the humanities in Korean schools and move away from the massive focus/competition around English and Math.

Post lecture we headed off for some dinner. I have not adapted to the Korean habit of not eating until seven or eight so I was STARVING. We headed into the restaurant, kicked off our shoes, sat down on the floor and were immediately presented with platters of raw beef. Excellent, BBQ time! Sadly, no grills were uncovered and the raw beef was followed up with raw liver and stomach lining. NOT what I had in mind for dinner. The raw beef was actually pretty good, but the liver and stomach lining were a bit hard to deal with. Thankfully, they followed this up with a very small amount of samgyupsal (cooked pork) and lots of beer to wash it down so I managed to make it through the meal. Sadly, I was corralled into several rounds of give-and-take beer drinking with entire tables, resulting in my leaving the restaurant rather tipsy. Soju is a horrible thing!

Of course that was not the end of the night. From there we trooped back out and got on the bus for the third time (the last two times we had gone about two hundred meters each trip) and headed out to a noraebang. This was the biggest noraebang room I have ever been in. There were close to forty of us and we only partly filled the place. Nothing like high-backed velvet covered couches surrounding a dance floor to scream classy. I have no idea who paid but we didn’t get out of there until close to midnight. I was the only solo act (nobody else wanted to sing in English) so I butchered Danny Boy for them. By the time we left, two of my male colleagues were so drunk they were basically passed out with their heads on their knees and I had a driving headache.

But the evening’s fun was not over yet. One of the passed out lads had our room key … which he lost, so we had to negotiate that hurdle. When I finally entered my room it was already full of older Korean men and nearly full of smoke. Thankfully, one of my co-teachers helped me change rooms so I could try and sleep off the headache in peace … or so I thought. One of the guys had brought his daughter with him on the trip (cute little kid, about three) and she woke up SCREAMING for her Mom in the middle of the night. Took her dad a good fifteen minutes to get her to stop. Between that and the frequent arrival of yet another hammered colleague to pass out on the floor, there was not a lot of sleeping going on.

Thankfully, group breakfast was a mandatory event so we got to get up at 6:30 – yay! The best part was that it was beef bone soup, kimchi, seaweed, and rice. Koreans don’t understand breakfast.

From there, it was down to the ski shop to rent our equipment. Luckily one of my co-teachers was learning to ski, so she helped me avoid being put in a class. I had forgotten that it takes so long for new people to get ready and it was after 10:00 when we finally got to the slopes. They all had classes and we had group lunch at 11:40 so I scampered off to do my own thing (despite the tone of the original invitation, not one of my co-workers can actually ski/board so they were all in lessons) I enjoyed the slopes for about four runs before I had to head in for lunch. Kimchi jjigae (a hot kimchi-based soup) with rice, and more kimchi.

After lunch I headed up the hill with one of my co-workers who, although not an English teacher, speaks OK English. The instructor had told her to practice on her own. It took us fifty minutes to get down the hill with me supporting her boots to help her stand and guiding her down the hill. She fell every fifteen feet or so, but never once complained and was always trying to get back up by the time I got there. Pretty impressive actually.

When we finally arrived at the bottom I searched out my co-t, who was not having a good afternoon and took her for coffee. She had been separated from everyone she knew since lunch and her cell had died (really bad in Korea) so she was more than a little rattled and panicky by the time I managed to find her. So that was the last of the hill I saw. before we headed back to Gwangju.

“Blake, would you like to go skiing with the staff on the 28th?” turned into: “Blake, do you want to go to a teaching seminar in Korean, eat a ton of strange, raw meat, go to noraebang with forty drunk co-workers, stay up most of the night, eat kimchi and rice for breakfast, get in five runs on the rather icy hill, and help a traumatized co-worker on the 28th?”

As interesting as it was, if they ask me again next year, I think I might already have plans.

A Korean Christmas

Christmas is practically a non-entity in Korea. You get one day off and, at least for teachers, that comes at one of the busiest times of the year, so many people take work home with them. The entire feel of Christmas is different here. There is no ‘holiday season’ surrounding it, no big smiles from everyone you meet, no Merry Christmas. According to one of Blake’s colleagues, Christmas was gaining significance in the 1990s, but since the Asian financial crisis, it is generally considered a holiday for kids. Perhaps because of this, it is not a holiday where people cook a lot a fancy dishes. Home-made food is not a big part of Christmas here. Line-ups at Baskin Robbins and the various bakeries to buy cakes were out the door and down the sidewalk. Beyond purchased cakes and presents for kids, Christmas is a ‘couple holiday’ for Koreans. Several people of my co-workers have suggested that being ‘solo’ on Christmas is one of the worst things that can happen to people here. But, we still managed to have a heck of great holiday with our own little group of Korean friends.

We started our Christmas off several weeks ago when we planned a Christmas eve party in concert with Hendrik and Caitlyn. A very kind coffee shop owner (at a place we frequent on a relatively regular basis) agreed to allow us to have our little soiree in his cafe. Blake had to teach after school class until six that evening so Tamara was left with most of the preparation. Amazingly, everything was ready and we were at the cafe in time to help the DeBeers set up a little before seven. Christmas traffic is crazy in Korea (who knew?) so our friends did not all arrive until a little after 8:00. Now worries for us though, as we dove on the delicious food prepared by the party goers and slurped back a wide variety of coffee drinks.

Christmas smiles – finally!

The dress theme was a touch of Christmas

Once everyone had arrived, we were treated to a great guitar set by one of our South African friends, Reg. He played two pieces, one of which he had written himself. Awesome guitarist!

Reg, serenading us all.

A captivated audience.

The white elephant gift exchange was next and (after Caitlyn cleared up some initial confusion about the rules from multiple cultures) it was a great time. We played by South African rules, where you draw numbers. When it’s your turn, you go and unwrap a gift and then have the option of trading with another person. A gift can only change hands three times before it is ‘dead’ and cannot be taken again. After people got over the initial reluctance, theft was rampant. Even Mr. Kim, the cafe owner got into the elephanty good times.

Ron modelling his workout waist thingy (still not sure what it’s for).

Tamara’s pedicure kit.

Chocolate! See Caitlyn’s smile? You should have seen the frown when it was stolen.

A pot made a few rounds.

Chris got …

… a massager, which he swapped with a slightly unwilling Ana.

Slippers – Lindri’s excited!

Christmas spirit scarf/streamer and socks? for Harps.

A muff/pillow thing that’s popular in Korea (at least I am always taking them from my students to prevent them from sleeping).

Alex is stoked on his gift.

Once the gift exchange was finished, a few people trickled out to other events or to the far side of town (we live on the opposite end of the city from many of our fellow EPIKers), but most people stuck around nearly until closing time at 11:00.

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After such a strong start to our Christmas, it would be tough to follow it up, and indeed our next Christmas event (having our friend Alex over for breakfast) suffered a minor setback when the blender died while making humus on Christmas eve. Thankfully, Tamara was able to pull off a culinary coup and make amazing crepes sans blender. So we had a great breakfast with Alex before settling in to finish preparing for our Christmas lunch/supper with the DeBeers.

Tamara had acquired a turkey from First Alleyway and had popped it in a borrowed stock pot on the top of the gas range around 7:00am. By the time it was mid-morning that delicious turkey smell was permeating the entire house. Then we hit a little snag. When you boil a turkey, stuffing tends to turn into bread pudding. Not ideal, but Tamara pulled out another save with some homemade stove-top stuffing. Blake’s job (carving) was also a little bit different. When we pulled the turkey out of the pot, it just crumbled into a bone-filled mass on the carving board. No problem: Korea has given us plenty of practice identifying those hard to spot bones! Blake spent the next thirty minutes sifting the bones our of the mass of meat – no knife required! When that task was complete, we packed everything up and headed for Hendrik and Caitlyn’s.

Once we arrived, our turkey, salad, stuffing, and gravy joined their broccoli and cheese, vegetables, mashed potatoes, rolls, and apple crumble to make a heck of a Christmas feast! We rounded it out with a few card games and it wasn’t until well after dark that we caught a taxi homeward. Oddly, as we drove along we noticed that 90% of the shops were still open for business even though it was nearly 7:00 Christmas evening.

A great Christmas lunch with great friends

Overall, an amazing Christmas in our new home. We are so lucky to have such great friends to share it with, and we hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas back home in snowy Canada!

Dongbaemaeul and Unamsan: A Random Weekend Wander

Every now and then we like to head out into the city and explore a new area. Usually, it is a place that we passed on the bus or somewhere one of our friends mentioned was pretty interesting. We never really know what we are in for, but this city seems to have one surprise after another in store for us.

The last weekend of November we headed out to explore an area along one of our regular bus routes. We had never paid much attention to the area until we had gone there for a school program the previous week. The setting had then intrigued us. Scattered throughout Gwangju are little hills (generally called mountains by Koreans) and this area is tucked in along one of these. Of course, our original plan was to get up on top of this hill so we could look down on the traditional style roofs and houses. No such luck. Apparently we headed the wrong way around the hill. That or the trail entrance is very well hidden. Koreans love having trails in high places so it’s unlikely that there is no access to that hill.

In the end, we walked all the way around to the back of that little tree-covered lookout, and eventually wandered into Dongbaemaeul or Dongbae village. This is a really interesting little corner of Gwangju. It is clearly an older part (dating back to at least the 1950s based on some of the signs claiming a church had been there for fifty years) and has a certain traditional feel to it.

This was the Chinese character sign marking the entrance to one church. In the bottom corner you can see a reference to 1953. We are not sure if it refers to the organisation or this particular establishment.

Most of the people we saw there were middle aged or older and there was definitely a sense of community. We saw several ajumas crouched together cleaning some freshly harvested vegetables, chatting and laughing.There appears to be only one road that provides access to this area and it runs along the southern edge. From this road, several narrow roads branch off, bordered on both sides by the walls of house and church compounds. These streets get narrower with every corner you turn and several of them will not accommodate any motor vehicle larger than a motorbike. The whole place feels isolated from the larger city around it, like you’re stepping back thirty years as you wander along the streets. It might be the way the village is pushed back against Unamsan and cut off from the neighbouring high-rise apartments by a steep bank topped with a fence, but it’s like the old and the new are doing their best to ignore one another here.

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Unamsan borders Dongbaemaeul to the north with the lower slopes being covered in vegetable patches tended by the village residents. We were trying to find our way onto these lower slopes so we could get up the trails to the summit (having given up on our original hill) and over into Unam-Dong. We never would have figured it out if an older lady had not flagged us and said “Unamsan”, to which we responded vigorously in the affirmative. She then led us down a very narrow dirt trail/alley that wound between a bunch of the house compounds and into the fields. Apparently it was harvest day for the winter cabbage and we were constantly stepping aside to allow people with bags and boxes overflowing with cabbage to slip by us on the narrow trail. Eventually we broke out into the fields. From the top of these there was a pretty neat view looking back over the village and into Gwangju. The contrast between the urban farms, traditional houses, and modern city is an interesting one that we encounter regularly here in Korea.

The snow between the rows of cabbage really caught our attention. This is actually a pretty big urban farm area that seems associated with the village.

It just called out to be photographed in black and white.

After taking a whack of photos we continued up the mountain. It’s really a largish hill so the hike was a short one. At the summit was the inevitable workout-with-a-view area complete with benches. We relaxed and devoured a bag of vegetables we had brought while watching some adorable kids mucking about on the exercise equipment. When we finished, Tamara tried to play too, but apparently scared them all off instead.

This is where the trail spit us out on the far side. It’s strange but this seems like a smaller version of Deongbaemaeul. A little forgotten corner of Unam-dong.

Gym with a view!

That big hill is the health college in our neighbourhood. We live just on the other side of it.

Our descent was as quick as our ascent and much less interesting. There seems to be a bit of a trail network on the mountain. Maybe a couple of kilometres. It’s certainly worth a look for an afternoon’s walk, but you can’t really call it a hike. It spat us out in Unam-dong and we grabbed a bus home in time to make dinner. So in the end it was a successful day of exploring our own back yard. Every time we head out on one of these little trips we end up more convinced than ever that we will never explore even a fraction of this city. But we sure will keep trying!

The things you get used to… and some you don’t.

When you move to a new country, there are some things you get used to over time – and there are some things that you just don’t. Seeing as how we’ve recently passed the nine-month mark (has it really been that long?), we thought we’d include a little post about acclimatization.

Some things that we’re pretty used to by now:

Shower sandals – We’ve become so used to these that we not only step directly into them as soon as we open the bathroom door, but we often unconsciously exit the bathroom sideways, so as to leave the sandals in a more convenient position for the next person. Such is the consequence of living in an apartment with a “wet room” (tiled floor to ceiling with a shower head on the wall).

Bowing – When we get home, people are going to think we’re crazy. This has become so ingrained that we had to re-train ourselves not to do it when we visited Mongolia!

Eating kimchi – Is it amazing? No. But it’s no longer strange, and some of it even tastes good 🙂

Being in a room full of people speaking a language you don’t understand – Once upon a time, I would have been transfixed by this; but now, it’s nothing new.

Giving and receiving items with two hands – Admittedly, this took awhile. Our first real lesson was during orientation, when the sweet cafeteria lady at Jeonju University actually took our coffees back from us, refusing to relinquish them until we’d both extended both hands at once.

Being stared at – Sometimes it’s subtle. Sometimes it’s not. It happens though, every day, without fail, and eventually, you hardly even notice. Most of the time.

Living in, shall we say, tight quarters – We haven’t killed each other yet; that must be a good sign, right?

Having no clothes dryer – Truthfully, this only became less frustrating once we purchased a fan.

Taking public transit EVERYWHERE – even to go hiking! Buses, taxis, and subways are very cheap and generally convenient forms of transportation here.

Seeing noraebangs (singing rooms), PC (computer) rooms, and cafes everywhere – Before we came, someone told me it would be possible to stand in one place and see seven noraebangs in your immediate vicinity. I remember marvelling at their exaggeration; however, it turns out I stand beyond corrected.

Being asked our age by people we just met – Because age plays such a significant role in social hierarchy and how people interact with one another here, this is simply accepted as a normal and legitimate question.

Being called “teacher” instead of Mr. or Mrs. Bouchard – Some battles just aren’t worth fighting, especially with 1000s of students who call their homeroom and other teachers “Son-seng-nim” (literally, “teacher”) every day.

Eating school lunches containing regular and copious amounts of seafood – My primary concern when I show up for lunch: Does any food item still have eyes? Because if it does, I’m not particularly interested in eating it. Otherwise? Game on.

Seeing rice and kimchi served at every Korean meal – breakfast included. Not that WE eat it at every meal…

Having access to wireless internet nearly everywhere – including on some mountain summits. Boy are we in for a shock to cyber system when we return to Canada…

Going to public baths (saunas) and walking around in our birthday suits in front of a roomful of people – First five minutes? Extremely awkward. After that? When in Rome (I mean… Korea)…

Incredibly cheap medical care – Although it should be noted that we do have excellent medical coverage through our employer, doctors visits and prescriptions, as well as many other medical expenses are very cheap in Korea compared to Canada, and we’re told astronomically cheap compared to the US. For instance, sometimes a week’s worth of various prescription medications may cost less than five dollars.

The sound of military planes flying overhead – At first, this was a little unnerving; however, while we often have to stop lessons until they pass, the sound is now simply part of the background noise of city life.

No toilet paper (or paper towel, or hot water, or soap…) in most public washrooms – We know better than to leave the house without tissues and hand sanitizer.

Ondol heating – In-floor, piped water heating. One word: amazing.

People taking naps at work – Apparently this is legit here. Tired in the afternoon and have no classes to teach? Just lay your head down on your desk (put your feet up too, if you wish) and take a power nap!

On the other hand, we are not yet used to…

Living a long way from an accessible swimming hole – There are some days I want so badly just to throw on a swimsuit, get in my car and drive out to lake for a quick dip. Only, wait: I don’t have a car, or a lake to drive to. (Okay, and it’s now winter.)

Many coffee shops and stores not opening until 9 or 10am – Does no one, besides the singing man who walks past our bedroom window at 5:30am, wake up early here?

What feels like a very contradictory dress code – Mini skirts? No problem. V-neck shirt? Not unless you want to be given a certain label.

Bones in fish – About those school lunches. Even if it doesn’t look like it has bones because it’s battered and deep fried… That means nothing. Always dissect before you eat.

People spitting in the street – We’re told blowing your nose in public is a no-no, but it’s completely legit to spew all the phlegm you can find in the depths of your lungs right out onto the street. Ick.

Seeing burial mounds amongst rice and other such fields – It’s clearly a space issue; I just don’t understand why it’s not also a sanitation issue…

Mass tourism (including hiking) – Our very first hike in Korea was alongside hundreds of Koreans in matching outfits. Our first sunrise, on Jeju-do, was enjoyed alongside a hundred or more people. Coming from rural British Columbia, this was a huge shock to the system.

Being given unsolicited advice, often in the form of “You must…” or “I think you can’t…” – Sometimes this is a result of a slight error in contextual translation. Many of the same people actually mean to say “you might want to…” or “you may not want to…” However, sometimes this “advice” seems to have more to do with ensuring everyone follows certain social rules, than it has to do with individual well-being.

The notion that teen suicides due to school stress have almost become accepted as an unfortunate norm here – the stakes are high, and sometimes expectations are even higher. It is impossible to accurately describe the pressure put on South Korean students to excel academically.

The incredible amount of power wielded by principals and VPs over teachers – If they want to make your life hell, they can. If they don’t agree with your reasons for taking a vacation, they can say no. If they suggest you should attend a particular meeting or event outside the regular hours of your job… you do it. When the principal or VP walks into your teachers’ prep room, you stand up and bow, and then wait before you sit back down.

The idea that teachers have to apply to leave the country and often must justify how the trip will benefit their teaching – Teachers here are public servants first and foremost. Further, if they witness a student doing something wrong outside of school hours (eg. if they see a student smoking) they are often obligated to deal with it. Teachers are teachers 24/7/365.

Mirrors, mirrors, everywhere – In Canada, if you feel compelled to check yourself out a mirror in public, you generally do it discreetly. Here, you just whip out your own handy dandy pocket mirror (or use one of the many posted around public places) and primp away. Guys included!

(sigh) Squat toilets – While I will use them if I have to, I avoid them at all costs. I think kids (and teachers) laugh at me at school because I always use the one and only toilet in the bathroom (which, I think, is intended for use by the first graders or other such little ones).

Living within an explicitly hierarchical society – This is more of a challenge on some days than others. Age, social position, job, and more are important in determining where you sit in relation to other people. It affects how you address them (there are, depending on how you count them, seven different “levels” of speech in the Korean language, used according to your relationship to the person/people with whom you are speaking), as well as influencing the nature of your interactions.

The notion that people can only be friends with those who are the same age or within about two years (at most) – Otherwise, the person is either your junior or your senior. See above point about living in a hierarchical society. The (general) exception appears to be if the other person is a foreigner.

This is a bit of an abbreviated list, but it encompasses some of the many discussions we’ve had about cultural and other differences between Canada and South Korea. All in all, it’s been an amazing adventure thus far, and we look forward to seeing what the rest of our time here will bring.