Wrap up

Alex// Sunrise @ Daewangam Park

I'm starting this blog three months prior to actually leaving Korea, in anticipation of having difficulty reflecting on my time here during the madness of my last few months.

Two years. Two years this has been my home. I've been thinking back to my first few months here, when I was in my nesting mode. Exploring my neighborhood, transforming my apartment into a place that I looked forward to returning to at the end of the day, catching up (or slowing down) to the pace of life. The life I created for myself here has been on one hell of a roller coaster. What I was doing during my first few months looks a lot different compared to what I am doing now. Ramen and gimbap are no longer a staple of my diet. My focus has drifted from accumulating objects to figuring out how to get rid of all my possessions. Wine and art nights have now just become art nights. Instead of rushing home after work, I rush to the gym.

When I walk down my street, I do so with a sense of pre-nostalgia. I'm viewing present moments with future feelings of loss. Soon, I will be overwhelmed with "lasts". The last time walking to work. My last class. The last time eating at my favorite gimbap restaurant. The last time purchasing flowers from the sweet lady on the corner. The list of ends is endless.

But what do endings bring, if not beginnings? It's hard trying to balance my appreciation for all that I am leaving behind and everything I have coming. One day I am asking myself if I am really ready to end this chapter, and the other I am begging time to move faster so I can get on with my plans. I've experienced this transitional phase a few times in the course of my life. I don't think it has gotten any easier to stay present when the "now" and the "future" are playing a competitive game of tug-o-war with my thoughts.

Things I'm gonna miss
-Ajummas speaking to me and having no idea what they are saying. Watching them laugh as a wave of confusion washes over my face, followed by us both giggling and shrugging our shoulders in defeat.

-Feeling really confident asking a question in Korean, only to realize I have no idea how to translate their response.

-My students, even the ones that make me want to pull my hair out.

-My apartment, and living near the sea. This is the first place I have been able to call entirely my own. Living alone and creating my own space has been such a treat.

View from my apartment

-Food. All of it.

-The families that I have been lucky enough to become a part of. I've had the chance to watch the kids I babysit for grow up, the boys into curious pre-schoolers and the girls into fun toddlers that never fail to brighten my day. Their moms have become like sisters to me, and I'm lucky enough to have the chance to take solace in the comfort of "family" when mine is so far away. 

- Jimjilbangs, and being completely comfortable walking around butt naked. Hopping between the scorching hot and ice cold baths, mixed in with a few sessions in the saunas. I wish I would have taken advantage of these magical places more often... but I refused to visit the one near my house in fear of seeing one of my students. THAT I would not be comfortable with.

- The incredible people that I teach with, and get to see nearly everyday. I am so lucky to work with people that I genuinely enjoy being around. My Korean coworkers have been so dang helpful since the beginning. I never hesitate to ask them for help, which they are always happy to give me.

-Cheap taxis, which sometimes double as the entertainment for the evening.

-Norebangs, and their unbeatable collection of old, cheesy English songs.

Things I am not going to miss
-Trash

-Being a part of an educational system that I disagree with. I often have a heavy heart at work, knowing that most of my students are stressed and tired. Some of them haven't eaten dinner, and won't have a chance to before they go to their next academy. Some of them study for 12 hours a day. They study when they are on vacation at school. They study on the weekends. Their little lives are focused on passing tests and memorizing useless facts. I have constantly wished there was something more that I could do. Something more than trying to shift the focus of our classes from "studying" to "talking". I hope I was able to help my students relax and take a breath.

- The frequency that I see dead animals for sale. Don't get me wrong, I find it completely fascinating. Roaming around markets is one of my favorite past times, and they are always presenting me with something new. I've never really been exposed to markets like this growing up, so they are one of the things that makes me realize where I am. However, seeing and smelling it every day isn't pleasant. And the condition that they keep some of those fishies in makes me uncomfortable as well.

I've probably said it a million times, but I am so grateful that I've been given the opportunity to experience Korea on such a deep, captivating level. I tried to be as present and aware as I could. I think this helped me come to somewhat of an understanding of what, and who Korea is. In the process of learning about another country, I've learned more about myself. I've gone through cycles, in and out of good habits. One thing I can say for sure, is that I'll be leaving Korea as the best version of me to date. It took a few downs to really catapult me into a deeper sense of self, and of this beautiful world around me. 

Give me more JIMJIL

When my Korean coworkers invited me to a Jimjilbang with them, I was a little hesitant. I've always wanted to visit one, but with the people I work? Do I want to hang out naked with them, I have to look them in the eyes almost everyday. But, what the hell - right?

                                   

I didn't know what to expect going to a public bathhouse with my coworkers AND boss. So I decided to expect nothing. Except for being noody, that I knew was unavoidable. We drove an hour and a half outside of Ulsan to a Jimjilbang that wasn't in a mass building structure. Instead we pulled up to a quaint building across from a garden and a lotus field. Worth it. Especially because for the first 30 minutes we had the spa completely to ourselves.

You start by washing off your body and hair. No one wants to share a bath with a dirty ajumma. Or waygook for that matter. And the whole being naked thing? Got over that real quick. The whole environment was too perfect to not relax. After we hopped between to two spas (one hot and one cold) we rinsed off again and changed into our orange Jimjilbang outfits and went to meet our two male coworkers in the common area. 

They were already drenched in sweat from being in the massive hot sauna while waiting for us. We ducked our heads down to walk through the tiny door (yes, even I had to croch down a bit) and immediately broke into a sweat. Sitting in a circle and chatting it up while sweating a storm and making silly traditional Jimjilbang headwear was a highlight of the afternoon. 

To be honest, the whole afternoon was one big highlight for me... and for everyone else I think. Several times each of us exclaimed how happy we were. How relaxed we felt. How awesome our job is. HaeJoo, the boss man, brought us all sikhye while we were sitting outside cooling off. It's a transitional Korean rice drink. It's sweet and delicious and really hits the spot after being depleted of a mass amount of body water via the sauna. 

Then our group of lucky little ducklings were hearded through a "secret passage" connecting the Jimjilbang to a Korean BBQ joint - specializing in DUCK MEAT. Holy crap. I was in heaven. We didn't even have to change out of our cool attire or put shoes on. Eating is so much fun in this country. It's so interactive and fun to share and try new things. My chopstick skills, however, vary. Sometimes I'm a pro, other times I drop kimchi into my water. Hit or miss. I'm a firm believer that metal chopsticks makes it more difficult. Cop out. 

We waddled back to the spa and explored all the things they had to offer. A few sleeping rooms, where I took a quick but efficient power nap. They had massage chairs that felt like I was being pulverized. My legs and feet were at one point constrained and I couldn't remove myself from the chair. It was like a boa constrictor. Not gonna lie, it felt amazing. They also had lower tempurate saunas, or "burning rooms" as my cute Korean coworkers refer to them as. After another session of sauna and outside patio chat, we returned to the spa to shower and sit in the tub and shower some more. 

And then our perfect boss took us to dinner. Naengmeyong. Cold noodles. Perfect meal choice for the post Jimjilbang stomach. Even though I may have still been full from lunch - I did a pretty decent job keeping up with the Koreans eating pace. Their little stomachs sure can hold mass amounts of food, and they get it in there so fast! They were finished with theirs waaaay before most of us even made a dent in our massive pile of noodles. 

So, moral of the story? Get naked around the people you have to see everyday. 

Lucked out

I can't believe my first week of teaching is over! My transition to Korea has been made ridiculously easier thanks to the remarkable people I work with and my perfect recruiting agent. She's getting flowers this week, because I owe her a big fat thank you for finding this job. It's the perfect fit.

I was worried about working in a private school because set curriculums taught out of textbooks sound like a drag to me as a teacher. Luckily, our boss gives us the capacity to be creatively free with our lessons as long as they correlate with the book and we stay on top of our shit. He isn't constantly breathing down our backs or checking up on us. He trusts us.

I was gung-ho about teaching at a public school, it seemed like I would get more out of my experience here. I interviewed for a position and got offered a job, but there was so much confusion about where I would be teaching and I had such short notice to accept - my gut told me to hold off. I couldn't have made a better decision. 

My first day teaching was my first day at work and only my second full day in Korea. I was anxious as all hell and I felt incredibly unprepared, but my English coworkers promised I had nothing to worry about. They were right. How could I be worried when my biggest class size has only 10 students? One of my higher level classes had only 3 students. I had my book as a guide for my lesson and with my uncanny ability to be flexible and adapt, I did just that for my first day as an English teacher. 

A student-designed apartment, complete with a room for Burgers.

This week I've been getting into the swing of things. Overcoming jet lag and trying to get on a normal sleeping schedule has proved to be more difficult than I thought. I'm waking up at 5am when I don't work until 3pm. At least I have loads of time to do normal life things, like blog and paint and study Korean and explore.

My new friend making me my favorite cheap dinner, Gimbap

                                   

Food. So much food. And surprisingly I've been eating more foreign food than Korean. My boss took all of us out to an Italian restaurant for lunch my first day. Korean Italian, however, takes a slightly different spin on things. We had a bulgogi (불고기) salad, which may have been the most delicious thing I've are thus far. I celebrated Canada earlier in the week with my coworkers at a western cafe and ate eggs Benedict and poutine, and then had Indian food the day after that. 

Spur of the moment on our way home from work Karyn and I decided to go out for chimek - a shortened version of chicken and the Korean word for beer, mekju. There are fried chicken places on every corner. Other than it being completely western influenced, it has definitely earned it's place in modern Korean culture. 

Daewangam Park