Spring is sprang and then went. It was a very short spring that quickly turned into a humid summer. The same thing happened with fall. Climate change? Global warming? Yea, probably.
While I semi-hibernated during the cold and snowy Korean winter, I have been doing quite the opposite by running wild all over Korea (mostly Daejeon) since I returned from vacation in late February. Yes, it has been 4 months since I came back from my vacation in Vietnam, and I haven't really slowed down!
- Since I returned from winter vacation, one of my best friends from home, Colin, has come to Daejeon to teach English! He is teaching at a boy's middle school, and although he lives far away from me (and I mean...who doesn't, really?) we have been hanging out a lot. Before he came to Daejeon, I hadn't seen him in a year and a half, which is a very long time not to see one of your best friends.
It has been really fun helping him get acquainted with life here: introducing him too all of my favorite people and haunts. It's also been great seeing Korea through his eyes, where everything has been so new to him as it was for me back in when I first came here.
- I am in the best shape of my life right now. Since coming to Korea, I have lost about 15 pounds and am back down to my pre-university weight. In addition, I am the most muscular I have ever been in my life. These days I can bench press 5 repetitions of 265 lbs (admittedly, not with free weights, and that makes a world of difference, but I'm still quite proud of myself!). Furthermore, my normal fasting blood pressure is 110/70, which is the blood pressure that a lot of people have after strenuous exercise.
- A little while ago, my school had a Pop Song Contest, which I co-hosted with two of my students. I also performed two songs while the judges were making their final decisions ("Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel, and at the request of some of my girls' classes, "All The Single Ladies" by Beyonce). The performances were all great, including an all around excellent performance of "Mean" by Taylor Swift by some of my junior girls. Many teachers commented on how great of an MC I was, moreso than my actual singing and guitar playing, haha! I guess rather than an English teacher, I should have been an MC!
- About a month ago, three of my students were chosen to represent our school in a city-wide high school debate contest. I helped them to prepare, and I was invited to come to the event by my co-teacher who was also coaching them. My students passed the first round, but were narrowly defeated in the second round. I could tell they were very disappointed, but I told them that we were very proud of them and appreciated their hard work. Their disappointment definitely reminded me of how hard I was on myself when I was that age...and in some ways I still am!
- Speaking of, a month or two ago, one of my favorite students was absolutely bawling in our teachers' office while speaking to her homeroom teacher. I had no idea what it was about (because she they were speaking in Korean), so after she left (while still crying), I asked my co-teacher what she was so upset about. Apparently she had not made high enough grades to make it into the school's "academy". My school a designated elite group called "(the name of my high school) Academy". The 30-35 students of each grade who have the highest grades in the school are the ones who are apart of this group. I know it's totally unthinkable to a lot of people in the West for a variety of reasons, but being a part of this "academy" is a big deal when the students start applying to universities. Anyway, the student whom I mentioned earlier just barely did not make high enough grades to be in the "academy", and she was in it the year before. I felt so bad for her, because once again, I remember how hard I was on myself in high school, and how insecure I was about my intelligence. I decided to buy a pastry for her as a good gesture indicating "I know how hard that must be". Before I gave it to her, I told her that she is not her grades, and being a part of the "academy" doesn't make her who she is. When I pulled out the pastry and gave it to her she started crying and said, "Oh, Joshy!" and ran away from embarrassment. A minute later, I heard her happily tell another student, "Look what Joshy gave me!"
From what I know (and from what a few students have told me), the Korean teachers aren't very sympathetic towards the students, even though the students are going through hell, sometimes staying at school from 7:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. (something that I still can't even comprehend, even after a year here). From what students have told me, the teachers are more or less like, "Suck it up!" So, I think the student really appreciated that gesture. I'm not writing this to say, "Oh, I'm such a nice, sympathetic person", but I really just want to remember that moment.
- I’ve had some amazing weekends in Korea the past few months: Easter Weekend and Tony’s Sports Birthday Weekend are the two that spring to mind first.
- Tony is one of the most hilarious, ridiculous people I have ever met in my life. He is one of the most extroverted people I have ever known, and he’s always full of energy and up to something. He scheduled several events for his birthday weekend: a baseball game, Beer Olympics, and a soccer match. On Friday evening, about 15 of us met at Hanbat Stadium in Daejeon for a baseball game, featuring our very own Hanwha Eagles. It was the third baseball game I had attended while in Korea, and probably the most exciting. There was a lot of back and forth momentum between the two teams, and we ended up winning by a run. After that we went out dancing. On Saturday, the “day off” from Tony’s Extravaganza (hah!), I went on a beautiful bike ride to Daecheong Dam, which is an area just 15 km away from where I live. There is a nice walkway along the river that leads all the way to the dam. The weather was great, and I really enjoyed the time alone outdoors. Later that night, there was an International Party. A Korean university student, Eunseok, organizes an International Party once a month. Usually it’s at a club, and we pay 20,000 won (about $20) for all you can eat and drink. Usually about 150 foreigners, as well as Koreans, show up to these parties. It was the last one I will go to with many of my friends since the majority of them will be leaving in August and I will be in the States during the July International Party. When I finally woke up on Sunday (12:30 p.m.? haha!), it was time for Beer Olympics! About 20 of us showed up outside of Olympic Stadium for Beer Olympics followed by a soccer match. Beer Olympics involved games of flippy cup and beer pong, as well as a relays and a batting game (all of which, obviously, involved drinking). After 2 or 3 hours of Beer Olympics, the whole lot of us stumbled towards the stadium to watch what was pretty much a godawful boring game. This weekend made me feel like I was in college all over again, and I have Tony “Tone-Loc” to thank for most of it! I will say, though, that my 28-year-old self does not have the physical ability to do a weekend like that every weekend. But my 22-year-old self was happy to oblige.
- One of my other favorite weekends these past few months was Easter weekend. Our friend, Diisha, hosted an Easter picnic on Saturday. Unfortunately, after about an hour outside by the river, it got incredibly chilly and the rain started pouring. All 20 of us moved into Diisha’s tiny apartment, finished what was left of the food, and broke out the booze. I had a really good time talking with people, as there weren’t the distractions there normally are at bars and clubs that habitually break up conversations. Once night fell up on us, a group of about 10 of us went to one of the girls’ apartments and we played a dancing videogame and just generally were being silly. After that, we went to go see a funk and soul band perform at one of the clubs we frequent. After they were done playing, Jmo, Kate, and I went to a noraebox (imagine karaoke in a photobooth) and sang our hearts out. It’s worth noting that we sang “Summer of ‘69” two or three times…in a row. The next day, our friend Xavier hosted a BBQ/picnic in the park behind City Hall. A great way to end a great weekend.
- Another one of my favorite days was St. Patrick's Day. Since I was a freshman in university, St. Patrick's Day has usually been an all day and all night drink-a-thon for me, but this year was different!...slightly. On St. Patrick's Day I went hiking with Colin, Kate, and our friend's friend (long story) on a mountain called Gubongsan. As is Korean hiking tradition, and now my tradition, we drank makgeoli after we finished the hike, and had a great conversation as the sun went down over the hills. After the euphoric feelings of hiking, getting a little tipsy, and having good conversation with friends, we went to our respective homes to get ready to go out on the town! We met at a local watering hole called Cantina where we met the Andrews (one of whom was bartending). We had some Irish Car Bombs, and then moved to Yellow Taxi (a club) to dance and rock out. Let's just say the night culminated in my throwing cake in one of the Andrew's faces, and that started a bit of a cake fight in Yellow Taxi...good times!
- On a more solemn note, I keep forgetting to write about this particular experience that we had back in November. I had organized a group of friends to meet at Weizenhaus for dinner and beer one Friday night. Right before we converged at the meeting point, I heard a large crash across the street. It sounded like a car crash, actually, but anything that indicated that it was a car crash. Once I got to the other side of the street, I saw some of my friends looking like they just saw a ghost. Then I saw a bunch of people all standing around in a circle. I looked to the center of the circle and saw what looked to be a woman lying on the ground with a shirt covering her face. I put the pieces together after talking with my friends: the woman had jumped from an apartment building window to her death (assuming it was suicide). The medics were just arriving as we were leaving for Weizenhaus. A very dark start to the evening, everyone was pretty quiet for the first 15 or 20 minutes at dinner. Some of my friends seemed to take it very hard. They were in some sort of shock. I wasn't nearly as shocked as some of them, and I'm not really sure why it didn't affect me as much as it did everyone else. Am I desensitized to it for some reason? Do I just process it differently than other people? I wanted to talk about death and suicide at the table. I wanted to talk about why Westerners, especially we as Americans, have a difficult time talking about and accepting death. But everyone seemed to want to get AWAY from the subject instead of addressing it.
When I seriously consider my own death and the fact that I will die some day, it does make me anxious. But I want to eventually get to a place where I can be very comfortable with, even find peace in, the idea of death and dying. As Robert Jordan wrote, "Death comes to us all; we can only choose how to face it when it comes."
- I'm am preparing myself emotionally and mentally for the exit of many of my friends around mid-August, after our contracts end. I signed on for another year, and I'm very glad to be here another year with my friends who are staying, but it's going to be so difficult missing so many people. To say the least, it will be a lot different. Out of everyone, I'm going to miss Kate and Liz the most. Kate and Liz have become like two little sisters to me, and I've become closer to them than I ever have with anyone while living abroad (Daniel would also be included in this, but he's staying here another year). Kate and I, especially, operate on very similar wave lengths in a variety of ways, and I really consider her the little sister I never had. There will certainly be a lot of tears come mid-August!
- I'm going home for two weeks in two weeks! I'm getting very excited! Although I love it here, which is why I'm staying for another year, it will be a nice to have a break from life in Korea. I can't wait to see everyone, as well as to eat and drink everything I've been missing here!
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