Log10: Just how bad I am at Blogging

I am very bad at blogging and keeping people up to date.  Period.

I think one of the reasons is my tendency to take a lot of time to 1. reflect 2. formulate the words befitting the reflections 3. assemble these befitting words into remotely sensible prose.  Surely other broader factors--such as lack of time in front of a computer--also contribute, but the decision to even begin blogging has always seemed somewhat of an enterprise.  I often wish to know I have at least some amount of time in order to blog, and 98% of the time such allotment just never comes.

In any case; what have you/I/we missed (and I say "I/we" as well because through it all I gain tremendous benefit from these ruminations because through the processes of deliberation, reconciliation and meditation I derive a greater sense of self, a greater understanding of the world, and a greater appreciation for the time I have been given) include the following (note that today is the 20th of August):

Thursday, August 12: My birthday and celebrations

Friday, August 13: Trip to Seoul

-the hotel

-the Embassy

-Ambassador Pool Party

-Evening with friends: beer, drinks

Saturday, August 14:  Trip to DMZ

Sunday, August 15: Family in Seoul and date with Mom

Monday, August 16: Language classes graduation, presentations and awards at Korea University

-Return to Goesan

Tuesday, August 17: Morning meeting, then evening ETA talent show (for which I played flute and pulled off some semblance of flute/beat-boxing)

Wednesday, August 18: ETA Field day with extendees (various field games with regional groups), final goodbyes

Thursday, August 19: Departure Day

-Meeting Principals, VPs, and co-teachers

-Final goodbyes to ETA friends (that sh** was difficult)

-Arrival in the city of Jeonju and meeting my host family

Friday, August 20: Today

-Woke up around 9:30AM

-Ate breakfast, then practiced flute, got internet in my room, then listened to the host father speak about his life for 1.5 hours, then explored the city a bit, got one of the worst haircuts I've ever had (had to go to another place to rectify the situation, to the extent that looking like a newborn got a couple of razors in his hand, sat on your head, and just started swinging his arms recklessly as if to maintain balance can be rectified), started connecting the ETAs via e-mail/chat, hung out with the host brothers, and voila.

And guess what?  Yeah, I'm too tired to write about all this stuff.  And tomorrow apparently I may go hiking early in the morning with the family which is why I want to sleep now.  Great, because hiking is my favorite thing to do.

Here's how my host family subverted my expectations and utmost concern though: they don't go to church.  And I so unnecessarily worried myself over it.

I thought I was about to say something else...

Ah yes.

My host family consists of the mom, the dad, and two boys, a high school freshman and an elementary 6th grader.  Henceforth in my blogs, I will write of these figures with an "h" to precede their respective titles (h for host): hDad, hMom, hBrothers, hBro1 (older), hBro2 (younger).

Okay, time to sleep.  I have so much to say, but so little time.

But there's never enough time for anything.  Ah, the beauty and bane of life, no?

Log9: Sleep and Log8 Continued

Okay, I ran out of time yesterday so I'll complete this now. 

Why now you ask?  Because after language classes this morning we have been absolutely free all day; no workshops, no tests, nothing!!!  Okay, so this is actually only semi-free, since theoretically we are to spend these "free" hours preparing for our language class finals tomorrow. 

I fell asleep and took a 2.5 hour nap.  Wonderful. Gorgeous. Sensational.  Needless to say, amount of studying I have gotten done as of 6:42PM remains at zero percent.

But back to the story.

1. Jeonju

Jeonju should be exciting.  The school seems devoutly religious, and though that of course says little about the day-to-day lives of the students and/or teachers--and much less about their internal convictions and practices--it may be a telling sign for my home-stay situation.  It also goes to show you just what a great sense of humor life has.

Some of you may know I am not very religious, and that I have my atheistic leanings.  I am committed to deeper explorations of faith in its various manifestations, but aside from intellectualizing religion and its meaning I've never been able to find actual religious practice very rewarding.  Actually, let me rephrase.

I've had a difficult time in Asian/Asian-American/Korean Christian worship services, which have been the only Christian services I've been to. Really, I've never enjoyed them.  It's a strange primal, gut-instinct disinclination that I immediately feel when I'm in that setting.  It's inexplicable and takes time for me to articulate that visceral fervor I feel.  The one area of worship service that always gets to me is when all rise and begin singing to the glory of God.  But I certainly think there will be more to say in the coming year on this topic, so let me not try to stray too far from the path.

A comedy of sorts it seems then that life would give me my most demanded preferences with flying colors but also give me the necessary evil (haha no pun intended).  For all you politically-correct minded folk, I'm not saying religion is bad, Christianity is evil, etc. etc.  I stated my religious preferences clearly on the form in hopes that I stay far away from a situation similar to that of last year's ETA, when a fellow had to meet a 6PM curfew each night and attend church services for several hours straight on each and every Sunday.  Granted I know that's very unlikely to happen and there is a flood of my own unfair and unstated assumptions I am currently thriving off of, but let me write honestly and tell you that these are my concerns.


That said, I know I have it good knowing that these are my concerns.  


2. Parents

 This past weekend I visited the family in Seoul.  The trip was great, and not so surreal this time since I got to see them in a more familiar setting.  


I saw my grandmother who has been depressed for several years now and whom my mother is taking care of.  I also saw the home-maker who has been with our family ever since I was a baby, and whose strength and fortitude knows no bounds (dirt poor, she raised her four adopted children alone and sent them to college while also saving her husband from a blood clot in the brain by cutting the back of his neck with a kitchen knife to prevent a clot from forming--sorry graphic, but the doctor said this saved his life; all this to say this woman is fearless).  Afterward I went shopping for a backpack with my mom and haggled to get a good price on it, then had burgers (great) for lunch.  I went to see my great-aunt and her cancer-ridden husband (whom I barely could recognize due to his weight loss but who recognized me immediately and with great elation), had dinner with my cousins and uncles and aunts, then passed out by 11PM.  It was exhausting, really.


But I woke up at 10:30AM the next morning, which really all made up for it.  Then my parents treated me to my first meal of the day: really good Mexican food with a Negra Modelo.  The smells, sights, and tastes of that meal felt to me like what Beethoven's Third Symphony--perhaps the most revolutionary piece of music ever--might have sounded like for the first time. I was all smiles.  Mind you, beer--and good beer--is not something of a trademark art in Korea.  Even just a Negra Modelo tasted like wine from Dionysus.  


Anyways.  


So I'm back, and in a couple of days I'll be off to Seoul again for quite the weekend. 


Friday: Pool party at Ambassador Steveson's crib (and/or the consulate? not sure)
Saturday: DMZ (+ evening "shenanigans" probably)
Sunday: uh...not sure?
Monday: "Graduation" from Korea University language classes, ceremonies held at Korea University.


Today is a Tuesady.
Tomorrow we have finals.
Thursday is my birthday.

I'll be drinking some much needed red wine that evening.  My goodness.

Log8: My Placement, My Parents, and a little bit of Frustration

I'll begin with my frustration; that I haven't had time to post as often and as much as I would have liked.  They just simply haven't given us any down time, and it's so frustrating!  Especially because I like to take my time to think, and to think when I write, even if only for a little bit.  There might not be as much self-censorship in a blog, but there is nonetheless that critic within who is ready to pounce on any authorial decision I make.  


It's been 5 days since the announcement, so my apologies.


For the next year, I will be live in the city of Jeonju in Jeollabuk-do province, teaching at YoungSaeng High School, an all-boys private Christian high school.

I got much of what I asked for.  In fact, I lucked out a lot, because JeonJu was the only specific city I asked for, and I got it; rare in the coordinators' project of mass accommodation of our innumerable preferences.  

Though I was placed with nearly none of the people I asked for, I actually could not feel luckier to be around the people I've ended up with.  Four of us are in the city of Jeonju, while several others are on the outskirts, about 30-50 minutes away.  


I got music, that's for sure, and I definitely got food.  Jeonju arguably has the best food in all of Korea and is famous for it.  Jeonju is also known as the bastion of culture, lively and performing arts, especially of traditional Korean art forms.  


Yeah, lucked OUT.

Log7: A New Outlook

So I've caught up on the past two weeks, but here's what's new.

In less than 12 hours, I will know in what school I will teach and in which city in which region of Korean I will live for the next year.

This has been a rather unnerving process.  We have filled out preference forms requesting certain characteristics from our placement: i.e. type of school (middle/high, girls/guys/co-ed), type of environment (rural/suburban/urban), geographic layout (inland, coastal, etc.), etc.

After living in a rural small village town for the past five years, there were three things I absolutely wanted (and which I made clear on my preference sheet):


1. Music.  I want to be able to take advantage of musical opportunities at my location, via community orchestra, chamber music, traditional music center, whatever.
2. People. I want to be close to people I know and have befriended here.  I want that support system, or even just knowing that they are near me.  I mentioned specifically that I hopefully be placed near my 2010 Pitzer friend who reminds me of Gerber-Baby (aka Nick; see Log6.6, Friends).
3. Food. Okay, seemingly silly, but really important in my mind.  Having eaten the same cuisine the past few weeks was difficult.  I had more than one occasion when I almost became sick of the food (kim-chi, actually, which I could eat without a problem but apparently not without some diversity injected every once in a while), a scary thought if one were to consider seriously the huge role food has in all of our lives and will have in my life this coming year.  I don't want to be in a situation where I can't eat the food that's being provided to me, or that I become resentful.  I want to have that burger, that burrito, that other cuisine at least available and accessible so that I know I can have them, even if I don't have them everyday or every week even.  


Where do these preferences point me?  Hopefully a suburban or urban city where the aforementioned elements will already be inherent to it (music, people, food). 

All this said, yeah I know Republic of Korea (aka South Korea) is the size of Indiana; it's really not that big.  So yeah I know I can easily get access to the above things with reasonable travel times.  

But I'm going to be busy.  


In years past there have been both shouts of elation and tears of disappointment at this meeting (people not getting what they wanted).  I'm obviously going to try not to stress about it because all is said and done and, as my Week 5 CAC says, I will make the best of whatever situation is given (because I have no other choice)...but...I really hope I get a decent placement next to some good people.  Just saying.


Hm.  I'm a bit nervous.  I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow. 

Log 6.5: Archery, Inception and a Burger

Much has happened since my last update two weeks ago. The following is the fifth of a six-part series. 

This is Part 5: Archery, Inception and a Burger


Archery
As part of orientation, we signed up for various optional extracurricular activities.  I signed up to participate in Archery.  Three days ago, a group of us went to the former training grounds for the Korean Olympic Archery team to learn from a former Olympics coach (who now coaches other Olympic coaches).  The Korean archery team is famous for being one of--if not--the best in the world, often sweeping gold medals at the Olympic Games.

 We're newbies, so these targets were ten meters away.

 Olympic distance is 70meters away; the ones way in the back covered in the green tarp.

 The scenery was nice.

The bows...

The man in blue whose back is to us is the coach.

Me, Nora, and Grace.

I hit two "bulls-eye"s, one red, and the rest blue, black or white.  One friend from Montana had only tried this once for twenty minutes but hit nearly every arrow in the bulls-eye mark.  She had gone hunting with rifles before (Montana) and said the principles were similar.

Trying.

Yes, it was as fun as it looks.

Log6.4: Dancing the Stress Away

Much has happened since my last update two weeks ago.  The following is the fourth of a six-part series.

This is Part 4: Dancing the Stress Away

I have been listening to a lot of music...but not Korean music.  It's been interesting how you sometimes gain an appreciation for the things that you had when you become distant from those things.

I have a large collection of music, and as I listen to the songs I inevitably run into songs that evoke memories of my dancing days; mainly salsa and swing.  And for the past two weeks, I had been DYING to get back into social dancing (it is an incredibly small niche in Korea; most everyone has never done social dancing).


So I asked around among my ETA friends, and lo-and-behold we have dancers.  Good ones.  Many know swing and salsa so we decided to make something happen.

The first night, five people showed up and we hosted lessons on the basics.  Two nights ago (Sunday) we had a group of maybe 20, 6 of who were the language teachers (and who ended up being the most unfamiliar with and consequently most enthusiastic learners).  Tonight I missed the third lesson to catch up here online (we're reviewing basics).


The extent to which I felt rejuvenated and alive after salsa-dancing with another ETA for just three songs and swing-dancing for just two songs astounded me.  Dance--much less social dance--is a small niche even in America but which has gained prominence with the rise of popular TV shows.  Here, dance is incredibly popular but the idea of social dancing is unheard of, especially in light of the social conservatism still upheld with respect to dating and the gender divide.  It exists, but I think it is a tiny --but lively, as all groups of dancers tend to be--community in Korea.  I look forward to finding opportunities that will help me recall my dancing shoes.

Log6.3: A Musical Renaissance

Much has happened since my last update two weeks ago. The following is the third of a six-part series. 

This is Part 3: A Musical Renaissance


Everyone told me that I should continue to play music after I graduate.  I couldn't tell you then or now how exactly I will be involved with music, but it seemed only right that I do.  I just can't seem to separate myself from this metal pipe of an instrument, and--ipso facto--music.

Since I've arrived in Korea I can't count...3? 4 days in which I failed to practice.  Of course, we must understand the term "practice" lightly, for I am not attending to the once rigors of scales, arpeggios and etudes I once used to.  By "practice," I could mean anything from an hour to ten minutes.  I know that daily and continued playing--even just touching the flute each day--can play a significant role in the long run.  Eventually, word got around that I play the flute, and there is an incredible pool of amazing musicians in this group of ETAs.  I have been happily surprised.


I met Emily (or more famously called EKG after her initials), an officer who works at the Fulbright office in Seoul .  After hearing her fantastic violin playing at an impromptu performance at Haeinsa, I had hoped to speak to her regarding musical opportunities in Korea.  Not two weeks later, I would be performing five pieces with her and another ETA pianist for over 120 students and staff!

She was asked by Camp Fulbright (see Log6.2: On Pedagogy) to perform something for the campers on Music day.  She approached me knowing that I had my instrument and asked if I wanted to collaborate and I of course readily agreed.  We recruited another ETA who happened to be a brilliant pianist, and together we rehearsed for maybe two hours in total and performed for the students.  We played a Telemann duet, the "Flower Duet" from the Lakme opera by Delibes, and three movements from a trio written by an Italian composer Cui.  


The last time I collaborated with other musicians--much less rehearse and perform with them--was more than two months ago.  I had not realized how much I missed it, but while rehearsing with these two fabulous musicians, I remembered the vitality, the energy, and the inexplicably divine and pure joy music gave me.  To stand there and immerse myself in the music and become lost--even if only for a moment--in a world beyond our own was the most refreshing break I had since arriving in Korea.  And to share this experience with the 100+ campers and their staff in addition to the musicians with whom I collaborated...well, that was just enchanting.