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Little People

1 Jun

It’s a Saturday evening in Paju City, South Korea.  It’s a quiet night at English Village and once again I am grateful for the luxury of a warm spring day and gentle cool evening.  I think I am still defrosting from the long cold Paju winter. The warmth of the sun continues to feel new… and welcome and satisfying.

The typical pattern of work life in English Village has had a new beat this week.  Gratefully, we had a much-needed break with a few days of light teaching with just one or two classes a day. Our students this week have been mostly elementary students, much different from the regular diet of middle school students and the recent weeks of high school and college students. I still remember the first elementary class I taught this week.  When I walked in I was startled by how… little they were.  I did my best to recover from the slight shock and proceeded to teach the lesson.

The second half of the week we had a more regular pace of classes with another elementary school group.  This group was quite good with their English and mostly good attitudes as well.  I even had one student who had spent two years in Australia.  She was quite comfortable with her English and when she would respond to a question she would stand up and announce her answer eloquently to me and the class. Of course, some classes had the expected high level of elementary school ENERGY that must be released in some way!

I piloted a new lesson I created this week with the elementary students.  It’s an English lesson on adjectives for an upcoming month-long program in August called VIP.  Here at English Village we create our own lessons, then “try them out” or pilot them, then make any necessary changes before the lesson continues to be used.  I had a pretty good time creating this lesson (with the help of many other EV teachers).  It’s a mystery sort of lesson where students learn and practice some basic adjectives to describe people.  Next they watch a series of short videos we created of the “EV Bandit” (EV, that’s English Village) perpetrating a few innocent crimes.  Guided by a worksheet, the students choose adjectives that accurately describe the bandit to help “identify and catch him”. My first run this week of the lesson went quite well.  The students were bright and participated whole-heartedly.  They seemed to enjoy the lesson.

Today I made my regular journey to Seoul and my (as of recently) weekly trip to the chiropractor.  Afterwards I treated myself to a little lunch.  I have been craving sushi for some time lately.  Granted I need to travel a little further east to get the good stuff, but it seems it is still possible to get sushi in South Korea.  I went to a place called Alilgato in Itaewon, an expat friendly area of Seoul.

They began the meal with a delicious cup of miso soup. I kept it simple and ordered two sushi rolls – a spicy salmon roll and a California roll.  They were beautifully created and quickly delivered to my table.  Both rolls were truly scrumptious and a real treat as I haven’t had sushi since I left the United States two years ago.

Tomorrow, Sunday, is the monthly World Peace Prayer Meeting for my Buddhist SGI group in Seoul.  It is also the last meeting of one of our members before she and her family return to the US.  After my meeting I look forward to returning to Paju for a juicy afternoon relaxing at home, doing a little cooking and just taking it easy in the fresh spring weather before a new work week arrives.

Cheers to everyone from Paju City!  As always, feel free to write and say hello!

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On the Road to Nowon

26 May

It’s late May and its hard to believe that I have been in South Korea for 5 months already.  In some ways this seems like a long time, in other ways it seems like the blink of an eye.  After 5 months I have settled into some ease with my life and ways here in Paju City and English Village.  I no longer sit on the subway in Seoul frantic that I will miss my stop, attracting attention and usually assistance from concerned Koreans also on the subway.  I can now relax and join the regular rhythm of other passengers using my smart phone until my destination arrives.  When in class students often ask how long I have been here.  I ask them to guess which usually starts at 5 years, 3 years, 2 years.  When I share I have been here for only 5 months their eyes gape open and the mouths drop.  There are some teachers from US and other English-speaking countries who have been in South Korea for years and some have invested the time and energy required to learn the language.

This past week was a great respite from my recent steady pace of teaching many and sometimes challenging middle school students.  I spent my week teaching in an area called Special Programs.  The beginning of the week I taught a small group of middle school students visiting from a rural area of S. Korea here at English Village for only two days.  There were only 30 students and I was told that was their entire school.  Wow!  The students were friendly, kind, and generally well-behaved, with English levels above our typical student here.  There were just a few English Village teachers working with them and it was a nice break to work with a small group of teachers and interact with this easy and engaging group of students.

Later in the week I taught a program of high school students visiting from a prestigious language school here in S. Korea.  When I first met some of them it was an immediate treat to meet mature students with a near fluent capacity with the English language. We were able to connect a bit and talk in a way that is often unavailable with students.  I also found some ease slipped into my teaching and the emphasis, while still on learning English, was more relaxed and conversational.  My concern was less on being understood and more on teaching the lesson at hand.

I learned some of these students had studied and lived in the US or Canada for a year or longer.  I asked them how they liked it and their faces lit up and they said “we loved it!”  I asked them what they liked about it and their response was “it was relaxing!”  Here in South Korea there is such an emphasis on education, students hardly have time for anything else.  Many students are literally in school all day, often attending English schools call Hagwans into the evening as late as 10pm.  It’s not unusual for students to fall asleep in class because… they’re tired.  This pace is currently deeply meshed into Korean culture and I can understand how studying in the States or elsewhere would be a welcome break!

The weather in Paju is a well-formed Spring beginning to slip into Summer.  I had a wonderful day yesterday enjoying the warmth on my body and spending a little time in Seoul.  I began with my morning chiropractor appointment and then grabbed a quick bite to eat at Tomatillos, a taco and burrito type joint in Itaewon.  Itaewon is an area of Seoul that tends to cater more to English-speaking foreigners and is the part of town where one of the US military bases is located.  It was such a treat to enjoy the simple pleasures of a day out and a bite to eat.

Later that day I went to an area of Seoul called the Nowon District. I went their to meet someone for a purchase — some new to me speakers for my iPod/smart phone, courtesy of Craigslist.  The benefit of this outing, in addition to the speakers, was the simple joy of traveling to a new area of the city.  Nowon is on the outskirts of Seoul and is the highest population density in Seoul, with 619,509 people living there.  It is surrounded by the mountains Suraksan and Bukhansan which you can see in the distance beyond the walls of people and commerce. It was fun to continue my experience of saturating myself in a country so new and different from my life in the States.


On the subway yesterday I was sitting down and there was a seat open next to me.  A grandmother motioned for her youngish grandson, about 7, to take the seat next to me.  I saw him look at me then look at her and shake his head.  I had flashbacks of my own shyness when I was a child and hesitancy towards things and people who seemed different.  Also many Korean children have little to no experience with people who look and speak different from them.  I tried to bridge the gap and patted the seat next to me inviting him to take a seat.  He did and easily settled in to playing his video games.  When they got up to leave the grandmother smiled and grabbed my hands and said something to me, I don’t know what.  Then she motioned to the grandson to say good-bye to me and we waved and smiled and they departed the train.

Today is a day of chanting with my SGI Buddhist group in Seoul.  The group is chanting for five-hours today!  Quite a long time but also a very powerful practice.  As members we can come and stay for as long as we like.  I imagine I will stay for nearly the whole time.  Then afterwards run a few more errands in Seoul.

This week we have a refreshing break with no programs on Monday or Tuesday.  What a treat and also a time to catch up on some of the English lessons I am developing for future programs.

Happy Sunday from South Korea!  My best to all of you and feel free to write.  It’s always good to hear from you!

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Settling into Spring

12 May

It is a foggy Sunday morning here in English Village.  This week has continued to be the typical atypical shenanigans of life and work in English Village (EV).  Monday 500 adolescent Korean students arrived.  We danced the “EV mambo” with them for three days (a unique combination of moves including language and cooking lessons, badminton, soccer and rides on the EV railbike), then they left and a new group arrived.

The visiting schools this past week were filled with the general array of bright faces and unexpected challenges.  First there was the girl who, when I opened the room up for questions raised her hand and asked me if I thought I was pretty and then later asked me for my “autograph”.  Later in the week there was the class of 17 boys who for the first hour wouldn’t listen to anything I asked them to do and talked to each other throughout the whole lesson.  As I had these boys for three consecutive hours of lessons, they challenged me to regroup, adjust the planned lesson, and begin the next two hours reviewing good classroom behavior.  I pulled out some classroom discipline tricks I had seen another teacher use, reminiscent of those from my own middle school teacher.  In the end, they left for lunch quiet and orderly and even picked up the trash on the floor before leaving.  Hooray!  and … Whew!….

As the weekend continues, I am doing my best to soak up the luxury of a quiet weekend day before Monday makes her way back around.  Saturday I took the familiar journey into Seoul.  I had scheduled a chiropractor appointment to tend to my injured left ankle still hurting from a fall down some stairs in France over a year ago.  The chiropractor, who is Korean, spoke excellent English from his studies and work in the States. By the end of my appointment I couldn’t have been happier.  I now can see clearly how my ankle is not properly aligned, my foot turning slightly in to the right, which is why I still have pain.  After one appointment that was just a little painful, it already looks better.  He was also able to give me some good information about my painful back, spine and neck.  He took one look at my neck and asked me if I slept on my stomach… which I do.  He told me that I needed to sleep on my back… so I am now in the process of learning to sleep on my back.  First night… not too bad, but it will take some getting used to!

In the afternoon I met with my SGI Buddhist group.  We had a study group meeting in the home of one of the members.  We read and discussed the writings of Nicheren, the Japanese Buddhist monk who is the founder of the practice.  The more I explore this Buddhism, the more I enjoy it.  It’s general message of perseverance and happiness in the midst of all challenges and situations is very compelling to me.  It’s also been great to know and be connected to the other Buddhist members in the area and feel a sense of community here in S. Korea.

This coming week I will be a little off of my familiar track as I am scheduled to teach Korean college students visiting for the week.  So it looks like this week I will dance a new dance with a different beat and a more mature students body.

Spring continues to settle in with temperatures lately topping off at around 70 degrees farenheit.  It is a deep relief to walk outside and feel a gentle warmth after months of a startling winter.  I took a few photos from a walk in the hills of English Village one night after work.  Also, here are some photos of the neighboring agriculture.  This used to look like an abandoned lot and is now fastidiously developing into a proper garden.

Overlooking the English Village campus in Paju, South Korea

All is well on this side of the earth.  How about you?  How are things in your world?  It’s always great to hear from you!


Photo at top a view from “behind the scenes” of the English Village “hollywood-esque” sign nestled in the hills of Paju City, South Korea.

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Blossoming

4 May

A few weeks have slipped by since my last blog entry.  In the space of my own busyness, Spring has arrived at Paju City South Korea.  While I was lost in the world of teaching, the blossoms were busy exploding on the trees and the sun busy shining.  There is still a slight chill in the air, but the temperature finally leans more towards warm than cold.  I have even gone outside without wearing a coat!  Truly amazing as I was beginning to think that my skin was the texture and color of a dark blue down coat.  Alas, it is not and I am at last thawing out.

I continue to do the dance of English teacher at English Village.  It is a different dance each day.  Some days look a little more elegant than others!  We are fully immersed in our current “semester” welcoming a new group of about 300 Korean students usually every three days, Monday through Friday.  Wednesdays are a bit of a juggling day – one group leaves around lunch time while the other group arrives late morning.

The staff of teachers at English Village continue to face the blessings and the challenges of our current teaching conditions.  In the past few months we have shifted from teaching one group of kids for 5 days (Monday through Friday) to teaching two different groups of students for three days, twice a week.  We are learning that many of our students are coming here with the expectation of a fun field trip and not to study and practice English.  Additionally, lately many more of our students speak very little English.  As an organization that is committed to teaching English in English, this presents opportunities as well as challenges.  Adjustments are often needed to the level of lessons but communicating effectively with students is not always possible.

All that said, being here and teaching English at English Village is a wonderful education.  Each days calls me to be the best teacher I can be, to stretch and explore my sense of compassion for students (and myself), and to continue to learn to set clear boundaries in classrooms of middle school students who are at English Village just “passing through”.  In the midst of this fun and lively, but at times challenging environment,  I am in some ways invigorated and inspired by the challenge.

A few weeks ago I was speaking with a friend and leader in the Seoul foreigners chapter of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist group I belong to, about my week… it’s challenges that were demanding that I rise up and be very deliberate about bringing kindness and compassion in the midst of challenging situations.  Her response was, “Honey, that’s human revolution!”  Human Revolution is a term that SGI often refers to when talking about personal development, growth and happiness.  SGI says “Human revolution is the work of transforming our lives at the very core. It involves identifying and challenging those things which inhibit the full expression of our positive potential and humanity.” As a fairly new member to the organization I am still exploring experientially what its different terms and concepts actually mean.  As for human revolution, I am beginning to get it!

It’s Saturday and I am doing my best to rest-up and prepare myself for the new week to come.  My weekends seem to have a fairly regular syncopation as of late… one day spent recovering and cleaning up from the week and preparing a little for the week to come.  The next day usually spent in Seoul connecting with an SGI activity and friends and often sharing a meal and a little social time.

The biggest news in Paju for now is the arrival of Spring.  It’s amazing what a difference it makes to see the surrounding hills covered with green and blossoms bursting off of neighboring trees.  I must admit I was harboring complaints about the late arrival of Spring… however my family in the Kansas City area of Kansas and Missouri actually got snow over the past few days.  That makes Paju seem like a tropical paradise!

Spring has invited more leisurely strolls and exploration around the surrounding streets and hills.  On my way to the grocery store this morning I saw three hard-working Korean men and women transforming what looked almost like an abandon lot into a field for planting.  It was quite amazing to see them working so patiently, pulling out rocks and debris slowly generating a metamorphosis into neat hills and rows.

As the day begins to wind down, I am grateful for a few more hours of sunlight today before I settle in to the evening.  It’s been a quiet but sunny and productive day.  I am wondering, how is Spring blossoming in your life?  It’s always good to hear from you!

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Taking Time to Smell the Flowers

13 Apr

Its been another full week of teaching here at English Village in South Korea. Once again we have hosted hundreds of middle school S. Korean students. Once again we have spun in a maze of  English classes ranging from “Survival English” to Badminton (a favorite with Korean girl students, but not so much English taught here) to classes about Movies, Science, Drama, Culture.  I have handed out more stickers (a tool we use to increase student participation) than I can count.  And now it’s the weekend.

Teaching at English Village is a good challenge for me with the practice of being a good, interesting and compassionate teacher in the face of  many and varied new Korean students.  Some days, some classes I think… I am a pretty good teacher… and other classes with more challenging behavior… I feel less confident.

The volume dial of our work week has been turned up with the steady flow of hundreds of South Korean students. Generally we receive groups of good kids here at English Village but the fact remains that they are young adolescents (a phenomenon that has no cultural boundaries), they outnumber the teachers, we don’t speak the same language, and they are here at English Village as a field trip to have some fun… which is sometimes fun for the teachers, sometimes not.

As Friday drops in I find myself depleted from the week.  Once again, I find myself receiving the thank-you letters from the students at the end of the week which automatically lifts my spirits.  In the spin of so many students and the mixed behavior and challenges throughout the week, it makes a difference to be acknowledged and to be seen by the students as a “good and kind teacher.”

In the midst of the blessings and challenges of this week, I find it is important to return to the basics and take time to smell the metaphorical flowers.  For me that begins with gratitude. As I write from the chilly Winter-like Spring of Paju, South Korea pretty darn close to N. Korea, here is my ode to gratitude… and the simple things in life that I will now give my attention and thanks…  I am grateful for…

1.  Chocolate “pudding” made with greek yogurt.  This may sound a bit callous and overly simply, but as someone who is sensitive to sugar and must stay away from it, chocolate has typically been something I have to go without. Lately I have been purchasing homemade Greek yogurt from a local business in Seoul.  Their website is medfoodinkorea.com.  I recently acquired a new treasure from the local “foreigners” market… unsweetened Hershey’s cocoa for the bargain price of about 7.50 USD. The other night relaxing after work a new idea popped in… Greek yogurt, Hershey’s cocoa… Greek yogurt, Hershey’s cocoa… is it possible there is a place where the two can come harmoniously together?  And so I googled… and found a simple recipe of just Greek yogurt, cocoa, and a little natural sweetener (I used just a touch of honey).  Without hesitation, I went for it and easily created a simple and satisfying chocolate snack.  Did I mention I added fresh strawberries?  Ah, delish!

2.  Veggiehill.com.  I have mentioned them in my blog before.  They are a recent find that sources organic foods grown not far outside of Seoul.  What a treat it is to easily order my food online and have it shipped to my door.  Not only does this free up a little more time in my life, but it provides me with chemical-free vegetables that you just can’t find in the grocery store. The vegetables I receive look ten times better than what I see in the stores and taste great.  Hooray!!

3.  Quiet Relaxing Evenings.  I’m a sensitive soul and after the big energy of teaching dynamic middle school kids during the day it is highly needed and satisfying to have some quiet and private down time in the evenings.  I often treat myself to a good meal, an extended Reiki treatment, a little yoga.  Ah, just what the doctor ordered!  And before I go to bed?  Usually, a little shameless video watching… my recent pleasure is watching old episodes of House then some chanting before bed.  How grateful I am for this time and my spiritual practices to balance my being and my day and prepare me for the day to come.

4.  I am teaching a yoga class!  Wow, it is amazing to me that I am teaching a yoga class at English Village.  As someone who has practiced yoga for over 8 years, relying on it as a spiritual tool to move my body, mind and spirit through many challenging circumstances, it is a real treat to share it with others.  The situation sort of found me…it began with one of the head teachers at English Village asking if I would teach one yoga classes during the work week for teachers.  After that many teachers asked when the next yoga class would be… so we planned it.  Our first weekly yoga class was this past Monday evening.  We had a great turnout!  So many teachers were there that we almost need a bigger room.  Fabulous.

5.  I am at home.  This may sound overly simple, and isn’t necessarily referring to S. Korea or English Village… but it’s a growing sense in me that no matter where I am or what I am doing, I am at home.  Not that I don’t sometimes feel “homesick” or  long for a life that might be more rooted…  But the challenges and blessings of life – losing all of my belongings to Hurricane Katrina, being dramatically uprooted, deciding to travel and the challenges and blessings of that life, have supported the development of my home within. It’s a spiritual place really and even thought I still feel and experiences successes and challenges daily, it is ever apparent in my life.

And with that… gratitude in the midst of challenges, growth and new opportunities in South Korea, I will say good bye for now.

In the meantime I am curious, what are you grateful for in your life?  I’d love to hear from you!

Photo above is a snapshot taken in Seoul of a road barrier… that has planters on it  filled with flowers.  Finding beauty in the most unexpected of places.

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Spring not yet Sprung

18 Mar

It’s a quiet Sunday at English Village.  I am working today as I am still on  the “weekend shift” along with a small collection of colleagues.  The promise of Spring it seems was just a tease as a cool winter bite has returned to the air.

There are groups of Korean students visiting English Village this weekend not related to our regular teaching program. Truthfully, I am not sure why they are here or what they are doing.  They wear school uniforms and are lead by Korean teachers.  I just walked out into the hall and stumbled upon a group of them leaving a classroom.  One of the Korean students caught my eye and I smiled and waved.  She giggled in typical Korean girl student fashion and waved back.  I said “hello.”  She said hello back and began to giggle even more.  It’s fun have these brief interactions with students and visitors where even just smiling and saying “hello” can make a difference.

Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner and chanting with some of my friends from the Seoul SGI Buddhist Group.  It was such a treat to see them and chant with them.  We grabbed a bite for dinner just up the street. It was refreshing to be surrounded by the sounds and smells of Korean food and good company.  I ate something called Galbi Tang, which means rib soup.  It was… really good!  It’s a simple soup filled with rice noodles and short ribs cooked in the broth for a VERY LONG TIME… hmmm… not sure how long…  We took the ribs out of the soup and ate the remaining meat on them and then enjoyed the broth with rice noodles, mushrooms and what looked to me like green onions.  Oh it was so good.  One of my dinner companions, originally from Korea but who spent many years in the US, told me that Galbi Tang is good for your health and helps to give you energy!

Earlier this week during my “weekend” (which is Wednesday and Thursday, by the way, and does not feel like a weekend!) I wandered across the street to the neighboring art community called Heyri Artists Village.  It was a bit of a strange visit for me as I entered the village from what must be the “back side” just across the street from English Village.  As I walked past what almost looked like abandoned houses and streets and with no one else in site besides me, I wondered if I had gone the wrong way.  As I followed the road I found some comfort as I moved towards the more central area of the Art Village.  It was a coldish Wednesday afternoon and wasn’t a big day for tourists.  With winter still lingering in the air and the surrounding “dead” hills and trees, there was not much activity.  But still, I saw the “promise” of an interesting place to visit as the weather gets warmer and the area comes back to life.

It appears that artists live on-site and have their own little shop to sell their goods.  There are also different cafes and shops dotted throughout the village.  They even have small motorized bikes that you can rent to weave your way through the streets.  I saw one young Korean couple motoring their way around.  They couldn’t have been cuter with her at the wheel and him sitting behind her, slender and soft wearing his thick-rimmed glasses and reading the Village map.

Hmmm… don’t know what this says…
A cool balcony at one of the artist’s homes in the village.
You can see the light peaks of English Village in the background
Look its an old beattle in the Art Village.

The streets of English Village continue to become more alive, although it does feel like we are trying to will away the edge of winter and invite Spring… even though she is not quite here.  We have more visitors and guests on the weekends.   The “Edutainers”, American performers at English Village, are in the streets singing songs by popular American artists (Billy Joel, Michael Jackson). This week we begin our “busy season” as once again English Village will be flooded with visiting students.

What about your life?  Is there anything new “coming to life” as Spring may be threatening to make an appearance?  It’s always great to hear from you!

Top image of ceramic roses in full bloom on a cool winter/spring day at the Heyri Art Village.

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My Serene Seollal Celebration

10 Feb

It’s Sunday.  Just an ordinary day for most Americans.  But for Korea it is the celebration of the Lunar New Year called Seollal.  I can’t say that I really know that much about it.  I know it is an important holiday for Koreans and that traditionally people travel to be with their families and prepare and eat traditional foods.  I have heard that Seoul is a ghost town during Seollal since so many people depart to go be with their families.

According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_New_Year), the Korean New Year is traditionally celebrated by eating Tteokguk , a soup with sliced rice cakes. It says the Korean New Year is similar to a birthday for Koreans, and eating tteokguk is part of the birthday celebration. Once you finish eating your tteokguk, you are one year older.  But for me, mostly, it’s just another day.

I went to Seoul yesterday for a meeting with my SGI Buddhist group.  It was great!  The chapter I participate in is a small group of mostly foreigners (remember, that’s me!) but also a few Korean folks too.  We had a study group together yesterday and then a potluck to celebrate the New Year.  I brought a fresh spinach dip to the celebration.  Here is the recipe if you’re curious.  I used soy sauce instead of the Worcestershire sauce and didn’t use any mayonnaise.  Next time I think I’ll use greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  At any rate, it was a hit and it was a nice gathering among friends new to me.

After the meeting the leaders of the SGI group traveled with me back to Paju to “enshrine” my Gohonzon.  For those of you not familiar with SGI Buddhism, the Gohonzon is a scroll with Sanscrit writing and is the object of devotion in the practice.  I received my Gohonzon when I became a member of SGI two years ago, but as I have been traveling for most of the past two years, it is just now that I am a little more “settled” and I am able have and use and practice with my Gohonzon again.

It was fun for me to lead them from Seoul to my new “home” in Paju.  They had no idea what to expect from English Village.  They were tickled and delighted to discover English Village is like a small theme park, complete with a giant mock Stonehenge at the entrance!  “So you live in there?”  they asked referring to behind the gates entering English Village.  “Yep” I said.  Not your typical Korean abode! They were like kids in a candy store as we entered through the gates and I began to lead them through the campus to my room.

They were generous in their description of my little “home” in English Village.  “It’s cute”  they said.  “So cozy” and “It’s like a little hotel room.”  All little affirmations that were nice to hear and in fact, for me it is cozy!  We spent a little time together in my room, hung my Gohonzon in its new cabinet and did a little chanting together.  It was really sweet for me to have them all there and to spend that time together.

As it is the New Years holiday, we have fives days vacation this week at English Village.  This is time that many staff use to travel to near-by (and not so near-by) destinations – Thailand, Japan.  As I am a recent arrival I was not yet prepared to take a trip but look forward to having a nice low-key week and doing a little sightseeing in Seoul.

I am not alone in my New Years respite at English Village.  We have a staff potluck/New Years celebration tomorrow night and it will be fun to share food and time together in the midst of the slow-paced holiday break.

And today, the day of  Korea’s New Years celebration, I find I have time to rest, relax and have time with myself.  I have indulged in a little on-line video streaming, plucked around on the internet, as well as my typical respite of Reiki and yoga.

A fresh coat of snow in last week... about a foot. Not a Blizzard or anything... just regular winter life in Paju South Korea.

A fresh thick coat of snow last week.  It wasn’t a blizzard or anything – just regular winter life in Paju South Korea.

I was told not too long ago by a young Korean man I met on the subway (who was excited to see a “foreigner” so he could practice his English)  that according to Korean tradition, I am 44 years old.  Now I don’t know exactly how that works… but somehow in that process I gained two years! (I am 42 in American years)  And so it is.

The sun is starting to set and the quiet evening is making itself known.  It is so peaceful here right now that the only sound I can here is the hum of my heater blowing overhead.  We remain cold  here with a hearty blanket of snow on the ground unwilling yet to go away.  And so, this is the context and the landscape of my Korean New Year.  My only question is… with this New Year, am I now 45?

Top Photo:  Toto, we’re not in Korea anymore!  Stonehenge?  The unexpected welcome at the entrance to Gyeonggi English Village in Paju City, South Korea.

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Being at Ease

2 Feb

It’s been a great Saturday for me.  Nothing too exciting.  It’s the weekend and I spent the day taking it easy.  Cleaning my apartment, sorting things, going to the grocery store.  I gave myself a Reiki treatment, did some yoga and put some black beans in the crock pot.  Tonight I will watch a movie.  I have to say it has been a great day!  Just what I needed.

I realized today as I was walking to the grocery store that I am starting to move out of  “survival phase” in my integration to life at the English Village in South Korea.  I have been here long enough that I am now fairly content that my basic needs will be met.  I have a kitchen full of foods that are healthy and satisfying.  I have a fluffy pillow and warm blankets.  I order regularly from iherb.com to get the healthy foods I want and need but can’t get in South Korea (delivery only a flat fee of $4.00!).  I have some basic spices and seasonings in my cupboard and with the assistance of my lovely crock pot I am able to cook some yummy meals for myself.

I can also get myself to Seoul without too much distress and make my way around a bit on the subway.  I have overcome some simple, but necessary challenges of traveling by myself to and from Seoul… like making sure I exit the subway at the exit number where the bus stop for the bus home is located (this is very important!  A few times I exited at random exit numbers and emerged on the streets of Seoul and had no idea where I was, let alone where my bus was!) And I am now confident that I know my bus stop well enough that I won’t accidentally miss it or pass it by, even at night.  It’s the little things!  So I am starting to feel a more… relaxed… and at home.

I am very grateful for my connection to the SGI Buddhist group in Seoul!  They have been a wonderful respite and a place to connect and meet new people when I want on the weekends.  This weekend on Sunday I will be traveling to Seoul to join them for their monthly world peace chanting.  Afterwards I will join a few members to go grab a bite to eat.  Really nice.

It’s a quiet winter day here on the English Village campus.  The snow has mostly melted and today this sun is shining.  While it is warmer, there is still a descent bite of cold in the air.  Our busy month of January programming and teaching is complete.  We have had a few days of light teaching this week and I am told a light week to come before our upcoming 5 day holiday (It is the Korean New Year).

As you may know, I am in Paju, south Korea which is a small community of about 250,000 just an hour north of Seoul.  The surrounding area is pretty spacious… much wide open land with little clusters of business – stores, restaurants and other things I can’t tell what they are since I don’t read Korean.  I am told this area is agricultural  and has a Korean military base not far away.  Paju Premium Outlet mall is just a short bus ride away (shockingly similar name to the outlet chains in the United States) with American movies and some familiar brand names and shops.  We’ve had a few days of weather here where it’s not so cold that I am huddled into my own being like a turtle seeking its shell. I am actually starting to look around and notice my surroundings a bit more.

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A quick look at the area surrounding the English Village in Paju, South Korea, the land still barren in the dead of winter.

The English Village campus is somewhat remote.  While we are located in the city of Paju, we are surrounded by much land and are a 5 or ten minute walk from the grocery store and a fifteen or twenty-minute walk to nearby restaurants, post office and other commerce.

We have pretty easy access to “getting around” with the bus stop just outside the English Village grounds and a bus that goes directly to Seoul.  There are other buses that take you to nearby shopping areas and cities and with the assistance of our friendly security staff, we can easily catch a cab when needed.

I was at a clothing swap earlier this week.  A staff member is leaving and she hosted a swap as an opportunity for her to give away clothes and other items that she won’t be taking with her when she leaves Korea.  When we were chatting she mentioned that living at English Village is like “Korea light”… which is true.  Nestled in the comfort of our English-speaking environment, we get to experience many of the comforts and ease of home.

That said, we don’t have to go far to be immediately immersed in the world and culture of  South Korea – just beyond the Hollywood-like sign of the English Village.  For me, I find it’s a nice balance… as I continue to ease my way into life and work in South Korea.

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Egg-citing times

24 Jan

Hello everyone!  Well it’s been a great week here in South Korea!  I happily made it through the big flu and cold epidemic among students and staff at English Village with just a few days of sniffles and fatigue.  Now we are practically in a heat wave with three days in a row of weather above freezing.  Amazing!

I made my way to Seoul again last weekend and was so grateful to connect with a local  Soka Gokkai International chapter, a buddhist group of which I am a member.  It was so much fun!  I joined the International group of SGI in Seoul.  There were members from the United States, Japan, and South Korea.  The nice thing for me is that everyone speaks English and it felt like a little taste of home.  It was comforting to connect with a new group of people who were so welcoming and open.

I learned about this SGI group through a connection from a friend and great  SGI supporter back in New Orleans.  She heard that there was an SGI member who used to live in New Orleans who now lives in Seoul.  So she reached out to him and let him know I was here and within a day I was connected by email with other SGI members in the area and within a week I was directed to the meeting closest to me.

We met in the private home of one of the members who lives on a US Residential base for the military in Seoul.  Their spacious apartment had all the comforts of “home”… a kitchen stocked with American food, a dishwasher, and plenty of good company.  What was on the menu that day?  Good ol’ American chilli!  What a treat.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting every member of the SGI group and look forward to attending regularly.   They could not have been more generous, supportive and welcoming with their time, energy and attention.  I am so grateful and it will be nice to have connections in Seoul outside of my English Village life in Paju.

This week of teaching has been good, but has felt busy to me. At English Village we get new students every week, therefore my schedule changes very much from week to week.  This week I have taught elementary students and high school students from South Korea.

Here at the English Village our curriculum is developed for us and our job is to teach it.   Many of the classes here are created to be fun and engaging for the students with topics like Drama and Cooking.  This week I assisted with a class that learned about gravity.  They were given a piece of newspaper, string, tape and straws to create a “home” for an egg.  At the end of the class they drop it from a second story and hope it lands safely on the ground… in one piece… (some do… some don’t…)  We teach all classes only in English and students are encouraged to only speak English and not Korean (or whatever their native language is)…  This, as you can imagine, can be challenging for some students.

It is Thursday and it has been a full week for me and I must say I am looking forward to the weekend.  Friday is a light day for us as our students have classes just in the morning and then leave in the afternoon for home. This weekend I will be heading to Seoul again.  It is nice to teach and work during the week… and then satisfying to have a few days off to do something different!

Thanks for reading and for staying connected!  As always, I would love to hear from you!

Top photo is a truly foreign sight in Seoul – Girl Scouts!  And Girl Scout cookies!  Yes it’s Girl Scout cookie time, even in South Korea!  Here are a few Girl Scouts I spotted selling cookies on a US Military base in Seoul.

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The Road to South Korea Just Got Shorter

5 Dec

The scenery is starting to change.  The bright leaves of fall have given way to naked trees.  My laundry that has been scattered all over my room is now finding its way in an organized fashion to my suitcase.  And my Passport, previously mostly barren except for a stamp here are there from Germany and England, now has a Korean Visa in it.  Funny, it seems I am going to Korea…

I am in that busy hazy phase prior to making a life-altering shift.  You know the one, where you tend to the immediate details at hand preparing you for something that… hasn’t fully consciously hit you yet.  Yep, that’s me.  Although it’s starting to hit me… waves of excitement and anxiety are finding their way to my body.  I wake up before the sun rises, before the busy little bodies in the home where I stay rise.  I get up and I start to work… on whatever I can think of to do next to make sure I have everything cared for before I leave.

Bye the way, did I mention that I am leaving on Tuesday?  As in less than a week from today?  I was patiently riding on the slow visa train to Korea when all of a sudden, I switched tracks and landed on the express.  And here I am wandering in everything I want to make sure is complete and wondering about the little things I am not thinking about that still need to get done.

Last week it suddenly dawned on me… that I needed to buy a plane ticket.  I felt sort of like an expectant mother who had gotten so comfortable in the process of pregnancy that I almost forgot about giving birth.  And then one day, the alarms sounded… it is time!  It is time NOW!

So here I am bustling in the wake and energy of my plane ticket purchase preparing for my imminent trip to Korea.  My new place of employment, the Gyeonggi English Village (GEV),  is ready for me to arrive and to begin training for their new program.  I will be teaching English at a hands-on-learning campus created to immerse Korean and international students in the English Language.

Happily I will be making a brief stop in the mid-west to visit with my family – my parents and my sister and her family.  My gut says its important to spend some time with them before I leave, even for just a few days.  I will leave for Korea from there.

This is not something that happens for me every day – preparing to travel to Asia!  It’s my first time there.  I am grateful for a few little tokens of comfort like knowing that I will be picked up at the Seoul airport by a taxi driver sent just for me who will be holding a sign with my name on it.  It’s funny I have always seen that scene played out in the movies, but it has never happened in my own life… until now.  I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it!  From there I will be taken to my apartment on the GEV campus.  Yes, my own apartment – a luxury that I have not had the pleasure of since I have been traveling.

I am wrapping up my time here at the family residence in Philadelphia that I have called “home” for the past 3 months.  The youngest boy has been feeding me a steady diet of hand-made presents, since I won’t be here for Christmas.  Practically speaking, this home has been a perfect place for me to be at this time of transition and visa making.  I have been just a stones throw away from the post office, UPS office and other “city needs”.  Additionally I have been most fortunate to have use of a happy, thriving, macintosh laptop computer.  It’s a lovely toy, if even for the short-term, and especially with the expected death of my slow but well-loved PC laptop… hanging in there for now, but… it doesn’t look good.

I am trying to make the most of these last few days here… preparing the family as best as I can to transition to life without an extra set of hands.  I did my best to stock up on groceries and even cooked a few casseroles to put in the freezer for a little added comfort and joy when I leave.

And now, well,  I keep walking the walk of “what is there for me to do next?” on my road to South Korea… getting shorter and shorter as the days go by.  A busy and expectant time!

If you’d like to learn a bit more about my journey and trip to Korea, I invite you to view the video I created.  It’s on my Indiegogo campaign at www.indiegogo.com/southkorea.  And while you’re there please consider a contribution of any amount to support the continuation of this long lovely journey and big school of life.

Thanks for joining me from time to time on the road.  Much more to come!


Photo of Forbidden Road, my favorite “getaway” in near-bye Wissahickon Park in Philadelphia, PA.

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