Falling in Love with Asia

Hi all!  It's been a VERY busy fall and I've been out and about doing a lot of exploring!  I also haven't felt like I've done anything significant to write about, hence how long it's been since I've last posted.  Here's a bit of an update of what I've been up to lately and what life has been like here.

My class is doing very well!  They are able to speak and understand a lot more now, which makes things a lot easier and more fun.  We have a field trip or some sort of school event almost every month, so it's fun to be able to have some fun with my kids and enjoy them, rather than scold them for speaking Korean.  We had a garage sale last week, where the kids brought in 2,000 won (like 2 bucks) and bought random items.  Eric, the student of mine who was nicknamed Lurch and is a bit flamboyant, purchased a lovely blue purse, the same one as Amy (see below).

I had parent/teacher conferences a few weeks ago and received so many treats, cakes, brownies, waffles, it wouldn't stop!  It was a very different experience from PT conferences back home, that's for sure!  The moms kept telling me how pretty I am and how her child loves me because I'm so beautiful.  While it was lovely receiving so many compliments, it was interesting to see how my teaching capabilities were more about my looks, rather than the fact that their child was actually progressing in English.  We have a songfest concert in February and now the focus of our class is learning Justin Bieber "Baby," they really like the song, obvs!!!!!  I'll be sure to send videos of them singing/dancing soon!!!!

Exploring Seoul has been amazing the past few months!  I've been trying to check out a new spot every weekend, which is so easy because there is so much to do and see!!!  Last weekend we went to the Seoul Fish Market, where Azzurra's friend, who was visiting from the States, ate a live octopus, head and all (please notice the black ink in his mouth).  It was pretty painful to watch, but apparently is a MUST DO when visiting here...I will opt out on this one though :)  

My Sunday's have been consumed by the flag football team I joined with Azzurra, we're playing in the championship game this Sunday!  We are actually pretty good, I mean specifically Azzurra and myself.  We've had quite a few game changing plays, although it took us half a game of running around aimlessly and me sternly asking the QB to actually throw us the ball to show our athletic abilities!!!  It's been a fun way to meet people in our area and actually leave our apartments on a Sunday.  While I whine the entire way to the game, mostly because I'm so hungover, it's been really fun and lately has been my only taste of football, which is terribly sad.   

Here is Azzurra after a close win!!!

Last weekend we also attended a Korean wedding, interesting is how I would describe it.  We arrived at a convention center type place, where people were waiting in the "lobby" for whatever wedding they were supposed to be attending and the doors were open so that the noise from the lobby was interfering with the ceremony.  The bride was very shiny, in a big, pouffy dress and the family members in traditional Korean hanboks.  The aisle was called "Virgin Road," dead serious.  After the ceremony, which seemed to be hosted by a game show host, we went upstairs to eat.  We received an entry ticket and began to roam the all you can eat Korean buffet, which was filled with people from various weddings, not just the one we attended.  The bride and groom came to the dinning hall after changing into hanboks and thanked the table of their guests for attending.  It felt very impersonal and made us all thankful to never have a Korean wedding.  After we ate we went home.  The end.   No dancing, no fun, just eat and leave, bizarre.   Azzurra was able to check it off her bucket list, so at least we accomplished something by attending!

My first friends from Korea left, so that was weird and sad and gave me a little taste of what's to come.  I have a few very good friends leaving in March and I can't even begin to think how much harder that will be, but it's the nature of the game and luckily the friendships that we built will continue once we all go home!!!  It's been an amazing four months so far, I can't believe how fast time is going by and I'm excited by all that I have left to do on my journey here.  There are so many places I want to explore and see and I can and will do it all!!!!  So far, life in Seoul has been everything I hoped it would be and I'm very happy here.  I of course miss everyone from home, especially my dogs and the delicious NYC food, but living here has been such an easy transition and so much fun, that it makes being away a lot easier!  I'm getting ready for my trip to Thailand for Christmas and NYE and am beyond excited!  Two of my friends from home will be there, which will be wonderful, and a few friends from Seoul...bring both my worlds together for the holidays!  There are a lot of exciting things coming up and I'll be sure to keep you all updated!!!

xoxo

Ash

Teacher, Teacher!!!

Below are some pictures and videos from my teaching job in Seoul!  My morning Kindergarten class, in the pictures below, is great!  I have 10 kids, half who already speak a bit of English and the other half don't understand a word I say, which can be very frustrating!!!  They are all really great kids for the most part, very sweet and work pretty hard, but they definitely push my buttons as any 5 year olds would!  We are together from 9:30am until 2:20pm, with a few breaks in between and an hour lunch.   My new name is "Ashley Teacher" or just "Teacher." The second they finish their work they scream, "TEACHER FINISHED, TEACHER FINISHED, TEACHER, TEACHER!!!!"...how very annoying!!!  I'm trying to get them to raise their hands quietly instead, some are catching on, others not so much.

This is a video of them doing freeze dance before they left for the day...

This is my class during playtime, they get loud and wild and drive me a lil bit nuts!!!

They created a congo line during freeze dance lol

 This is Amy, she's one of my favs...so smart and sweet.  Although, the other day she cried because she couldn't draw a map well, even though Ashley Teacher's map was a nightmare as well!!!!

 This is Olivia and Joseph.  Olivia is great, she is very smart and is doing so well!  Joseph on the other hand doesn't understand a thing I say and just blankly looks at me, but he's adorable so it's ok...for now ;)

 Here is E class!!!!

After Morning Kinder (MK), I have PK, which is technically second grade.  I started with four girls and now have five girls and a new boy.  The new boy, Jason, lived in America for a while.  He speaks really well and understands everything, but can't read well or write at ALL...and often drives me insane because he asks the dumbest questions (I know, no question is a dumb question, but his really are!!!!).  It's 100% the language barrier that confuses him, so I'm learning how to be the most patient human I can possibly be.  For those of you that know me well, you know this is proving to be the biggest challenge of MY LIFE!!!!  Sometimes this class likes to just gaze out the window and completely ignore me, so I've been bribing them lately...pizza party, ice cream party, cookies, candy...what do you want...just please PAY ATTENTION!!!!  We shall see how that goes!

My PK class, just the ladies...

 Amy and Jasmine, two of my brightest stars :)

The PK class had to write a short paper on an animal they like the best, memorize it (in true Korean fashion) and present it to the class.  The two best presentations competed against the other PK kids in the school...neither of my girls won, but they did really well and made Ashley Teacher very proud!!!

Here is Sue's presentation on puppies...

Teaching here has been amazing so far, very different, sometimes challenging, but overall a wonderful experience!  I look forward to updating you all with funny stories, more pictures and videos to give you a taste of life as a teacher in Korea!!!

North vs. South

The DMZ and North Korea in the distance 

The borders and the DMZ (not the same thing!!!) 

This past Saturday I took a trip to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), which is the border of North and South Korea, scary I know!!!!  A group of us went with the USO, which is a US organization that supports our troops; they also sponsor trips for Expats such as the one we took.  So we were safe, or as safe as you can be while visiting the border of a pretty hostile, communist country.  Anyway, the bus ride took about an hour; along the way we saw where the South has put up posts to protect the border, after failed attempts of the North trying to infiltrate.  We began our tour at one of the many tunnels that the North built in an attempt to gain access to the South.  Apparently the North tried to pretend these tunnels were created for mining, but after realizing there was nothing to be mined and that the path was clearly coming from North and heading South, it was determined that these tunnels were built by the Northern troops to weasel their way into the South and attack.  The trip down to the tunnel was a fairly steep hill, which was cold and wet.  I was afraid my Toms wouldn't provide the proper traction, but thankfully I stayed on my feet!  We finally got to the tunnel, wearing yellow hard hats and walked down it, having to duck the majority of the way...clearly built by tiny Northerners (apparently it is known that North Koreans are smaller in size due to the lack of nutrition they receive).  When we got to the end of the tunnel we were able to see a concrete wall that the South had built in order to prevent any Northern troops from entering.  They built three walls, only two of which we could see.  The hike back up was pretty rough, I was thankful that I had started working out again, although it was still pretty rough!!!

Our next stop was a look out point where we weren't allowed to take pictures except from really far away, which was pretty stupid and I snuck one anyway :)  We were able to see the DMZ, which is actually just an area of land that is between both the North and South borders and apparently is very appealing to scientists because the land has never and can never be touched because of the location!  Up next was the train station that takes you into the North, it is used for Southern citizens that go to the North to work...yes people actually go there to work, crazy!!!  

After the train station we headed to Camp Bonifas, where US Army soldiers are stationed.  We were met by a solider from the US Army and escorted into a conference room to watch a brief slideshow summing up the history of the Korean War and the state of the present day border.  We signed a waiver that pretty much said that if war breaks out they can't guarantee our safety and we could easily die...very reassuring!!!  The US solider and US Army bus took us to the JSA (Join Security Area), which is where both sides stand face to face on a daily basis, it is also where military negotiations between the North and the United Nations Command are held.  The UNC is a council that supports the South and consists of other countries that try to prevent future attacks on the South.  When you are at the JSA you are told to be very respectful because anything that visitors do on the South can be used as propaganda against them, so we couldn't point, or speak toward any Northern guards or anything of that nature.  We all kinda just stood there because we didn't know what was and was not allowed, so we opted to be safe and keep our mouths shut and just take pictures.  The Southern guards stand facing the North, with half of their bodies behind the building to protect them from potential gunfire.  One Northern guard stands at the top of the Northern Welcome Center with binoculars, watching us all.  We were brought into the room where negotiations are held, which was also very creepy.  Both sides use the building, but when the South uses it two guards protect it.  It was originally protected by only one, but one time when a Southern guard was locking the door that led to the North, a Northern guard tried to pull him out of the room onto Northern soil, so now two guards go in together and when they lock the Northern side door one guard holds the other incase anything happens.  

The JSA.  The blue buildings belong to the South and the UNC, the big building in the background is the Norths Welcome Center 

Always facing North 

Creepy Northern guard watching us

He's in front of the door that goes to the North.  This is where the Northern guards tried to pull a Southern guard onto Northern soil, not cool!

The guards always stand in a martial arts "ready" stance and the guards that are posted at the JSA are the best of the best!!!

After we left the JSA we went to another area where we could see the North!  We had a good sighting of Propaganda Village, which is a fake village that the North set up to lure people to.  There is nothing but empty buildings and an ENORMOUS NK flag.  The South has an area called Freedom Village, which was a village setup in the DMZ for Southern citizens.  The people that live there harvest crops such as rice and ginseng and make around 80k a year, regardless if they sell all of their goods!  The people that live there must live there for 240 days a year in order to maintain citizenship, unless you are a student and decide to continue your education outside of the village.  If you leave for school the government pays for your education, pretty nice!  ALTHOUGH the people in Freedom Village live by strict rules, have a curfew, etc, etc.  

The village in the South called "Freedom Village"

The Northern village that is empty

The ENORMOUS NK flag in Propaganda Village

Next and final stop was the Bride of No Return, which was where they had the POW exchange after the Korean War.

The Bridge of No Return

The DMZ overall was amazing, so informative, so creepy and so very interesting!  If anyone ever comes to Seoul I recommend going!  We all really enjoyed our trip and even more so, enjoy living in the South!!!!

North Korea, very pretty actually!

Doin it like a local

Sooo wanted to steal him from the dog cafe!! 

 Check out my restaurant above my head...

 NOLA or Seoul?!?!?!

Clearly I'm a pro at this Norebang-ging stuff!!!

Today was my first day teaching my own kinder class, they’re around 5 years old, 6 in Korea because you are 1 when you are born…confusing!!!  So far I only have 4 girls; there is Jenny, she's super smart and already speaks English pretty well, Amy, she's very quiet, but also knows a good amount of English, Seri, pronounced Sari and is a little behind the other two and Rose, who cried from the moment she stepped into the classroom and ended up leaving after less than an hour :(  My Korean co-teacher, Sarah, helped me with them a lot today guiding me in what exactly to do.  We began by introducing ourselves, going over the ABC's, numbers, read some books and did some singing-alongs (yippee).  Overall I had a pretty successful first “official” day!  It's very interesting teaching such young kids, I have to remember to speak slowly, which I am NOT good at, and need to keep reminding myself they don't understand most of what I'm saying!!!  We are hoping to get more students come September, but we shall see!  My afternoon class, which is like 2^nd grade and I started teaching last week, is pretty good, but are having difficulty focusing, so I need to do some serious crackdown on stars! That is the way they motivate the kids to do work at my school…3 stars equal a stamp or sticker and like 25 stickers/stamps equal a prize, think like a koosh ball or something!  It’s all about the little things in life I guess!

This weekend consisted of participating in various Korean traditions; the first was attending a bathhouse otherwise called a Ginga-bong.  It’s pretty much a place where you can sit in various temperature jacuzzis, saunas, as well as get a full body scrub, massage, get your hair washed, etc, etc.  Everyone is completely naked the entire time and most of the Koreans gave us some serious stare downs, which we happily ignored.  The scrub, which we all participated in, consisted of a large Korean woman in a bra and underwear scrubbing layers of our skin off, leaving you feeling like a babies butt…it was pretty amazing and quite the hangover cure!  We decided it would become our monthly pampering ritual from here on out!!! 

Despite the constant rain, this is apparently the worst rainy season in forever, we did some sightseeing as well this weekend.  We explored a few different areas that have some serious shopping, that’s what Koreans seem to do best, besides boozing!  We went to a dog café where you pay $8 get a free non-alcoholic drink, I’m pretty sure we paid 8 bucks for a Peach Snapple, and hang out with random dogs.  I fell in love with a Randy look alike, except he was a black lab pup, hence his smaller size.  They have cat cafes as well; the one we found was like $15 although they provided you with toys to play with the cats…fun, fun! 

I also participated in the Korean tradition of Norebang-ing (pronounced noribong-ing), which is karaoke…my FAVORITE!!!  It was insanely cheap, like 30 bucks total for a private room for like 10ish people and you can pretty much BYOB!  We belted out some tunes for about an hour or two and then continued our night out, such a fabulous way to begin an evening if you ask me!

That’s all for now, time for me to get into my new LARGE bed…apparently all you have to do is ask and you shall receive!!!!  So for all you soon to be visitors, there is officially plenty of room for you to crash with me!!! :)

Lots of love!!!!

xoxo

Hello Seoul!!!

 My apt

 Itaewon

 moreeee BBQ!!!

Seoul Tower

I arrived in Seoul, South Korea less than a week ago and so far, so good!  My flight here was cake...had an open seat next to me, sitting next to a Korean Buckeye (boooo), slept a little, watched some movies, ate some kimbap (I had to watch my neighbor to figure out what went in where, but I caught on quickly!).  I arrived and got picked up by someone from my school and was brought to my apartment, which is a decent size, the yellow floors aren't so attractive and the twin bed is definitely less than ideal, but it is paid for, so oh well!  I turned my apartment into my home almost immediately!  It still has some work to do, but it does feel like home.  I live in the same building as a few other teachers, one of whom lives directly across from me and has recently arrived to Korea as well!  I live literally ONE minute from my school, the thought of not having to commute to work makes me so happy I can't even explain it!  The first full day I was here I had to go to the medical center to get a medical exam and then I went to school and had lunch with my coworkers!  Every day our school provides a delicious Korean lunch, which is quite lovely!  My first night out a few of the teachers took me to an area called AK plaza for some good old Western food and a beer, they loves themselves some Hoegaarden here and I'm beyond thrilled about that!  We went to this bar called Travelers where all the foreigners in our area go to, my exact location is Bundang (pronounced Bundong), which is about 30/40 minutes outside of the heart of the Seoul.  The public transportation here is fast and easy, the bus drivers are a little insane, but who wouldn't be driving a bus around all day!?!?  The first thing I noticed was that you are allowed to smoke in bars here ughhh, come on Korea!!!!!  I had a great evening getting to know my new friends, all of whom love to party as much as I do...boy do I fit in here!!!!  The next day I went to work, woohooo!  I am observing my fellow teachers for about two weeks, but apparently they are having me teach a few classes as well, the schedule is beyond confusing so I am going day by day and doing whatever I'm told to do!  The kids are beyond adorable!  The kids ages range from about 5 to 8 or 9 years old, but apparently in Korea when you're born you are one so they are technically younger than they say...it's weird!  They all speak English to some degree, some better than others, but you are 100% able to communicate with them.  Each class has a Korean co-teacher that helps with homework checking, giving spelling tests, etc.  She's not in the class all day with you, but pops in and out.  I will have my own classroom and will have the classes come to me.  They have a weird schedule, but pretty much I have the youngest group from 9:30 until 2ish and then get an older group for two hours and then another group for two hours, so it's a long day, but that's what I'm here for!  All the other teachers are so nice, some have been at the school or in Korea for a few years, so they are great resources for me to use!  The Korean staff is also really nice, they all speak English to a degree and are willing to help you with anything you may need.  I have one class starting this week that I'll be teaching, it's a small group, three girls and then I'll get three more in September, so I am jumping right in which I'm very excited about because sitting around and observing can be veryyyy boring!

I went out on Friday night in Itaewon, which is the area of Seoul where all the foreigners hang out.  They have lots of pubs, clubs, American chains...you name it, they got it!  It's pretty much just one long street of nightlife and everyone is pretty hammered every where you turn!  There are a lot of military people in Seoul because they have a base a few minutes away.  Friday turned into a VERY late night, which ended with 5am Korean BBQ, yummmmm!!!!  It was the healthiest drunk snack I've ever had, lettuce wraps with meat and vegetables, perhaps I'll get skinnier by having my late night snack be meat and lettuce, fingers crossed :)  Saturday afternoon after only 5 hours of sleep a few of us went back to Itaewon and ended up staying out all night, again another VERY late evening.  We took cabs home, which are around 20 bucks, so not too bad at all!  I'm looking forward to getting involved in some serious karaoke and will be sure to upload some videos when that happens!

So far things are going really well and I'm loving every minute of it!  I feel a bit like a kid at Christmas with my eyes wide open taking in everything I see!  I've already began discussing heading to Thailand for Christmas break and am very excited about that!  We have a few days off here and there throughout the year and hope to travel as much as I can during those long weekends, our first one is next weekend!  That's all I have for now, I just wanted to give a rundown of my life so far.

Sending lots of love from around the world!!!!
xoxo

Here is my contact information for anyone that wants to send some love my way!

Apt landline: 82-31-715-9682

Address:

LCI Kids Club, 2 & 4 Floor

46-4 Jungja-dong, Bundang-gu, 

Sungnam, Kyunggi-do, 463-010 South Korea

Phone Number: 031-599-0584

Attn: Ashley Jones