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Here Comes the Rain

14 Jul

It’s a Sunday morning here at the rainy English Village in Paju, South Korea.  I am slowly waking up preparing for a day of restoration before Monday arrives and a new work week begins.

It is rainy season here in South Korea.  As this is my first year here, it is also my first experience with rainy or monsoon season.  So far I have to say it is… rainy!  I am not sure how long rainy season will last, but the past few weeks we have been submerged in water with an occasional sunny day.  The upcoming weather reports show all rain this week and no sun in sight.  Sometimes it is a light misty rain and other times it is a serious downpour. The climate, while not that hot,  is crazy wet and humid.  I am running my air conditioner lately not because I am hot, but because the space needs a break from the humidity and dampness.

I continue on my recent mission of restoration after recently hitting a wall of  fatigue.  Wow…so tired.  This week I am feeling better.  I am still seeing my chiropractor in Itaewon who is assisting with lifting the tension and adjusting the tight spots in my body.  I spent the better portion of the day yesterday with my my Buddhist SGI group in Seoul.  So good for me!  We had our chapter meeting, always an inspiration.  Following I went with a few of the members to chant at one of the local SGI Community Centers.

We traveled to a center that was more on the outskirts of Seoul where I had never been.  When we arrived inside I felt my whole body heave a big sigh of relief.  There was something about the energy of the place that just felt like… home.  We took off our shoes  by the door and stored them in the provided cubby holes, standard behavior in Korea.  We then went to the second floor and headed for the chanting room.  The chanting room is a place where people come and chant for as long as they want whenever they want.  There are mats on the floor to sit on and chairs around the perimeter for those that don’t prefer the floor.  My fellow members where there for the long haul – 6 hours of chanting!  I stayed for two and left feeling more centered, restored, happy and energized.  What a relief it was to just take a break and chant… a time when I didn’t have to think about anything else or worry about whatever may be on my mind.

While chanting I was charmed by the graciousness and gentle hospitality of my fellow members…. making sure I was comfortable and at ease, bringing me a back rest to sit on, making sure I had water and knew where the bathroom was, offering a kind and gentle smile.  It is these things that truly make a difference for me and warm my heart after what sometimes feels like a rough and tumble kind of work week.

Today, I plan to continue to stoke the fires of gentle spirit, recovery and relaxation of the weekend before a new workweek begins.  I began my day with some chanting and yoga.  Later today I will take a swim at the English Village indoor swimming pool.  I have been swimming more lately and it feels so good to stretch my body and move and be submerged in water.

How about your life?  Any calling for restoration?  Any gentle offerings or practices to offer yourself as you prepare for a new week? Feel free to write, it’s always good to hear from you!

Image at top,  a soggy sunflower making its way in the persistent rains of the Korean monsoon season.

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“Nobody”…nobody but you…

16 Jun

It’s a fresh Sunday afternoon at English Village.  It’s one of those rare days where the sun is warm and inviting but there is still a cool breeze in the air.  I am working today, but that is no problem.  It’s been a light day of teaching as the program for today completed at 2:30pm.  An easy day, even though I am at work.

Today’s students were here for just two days and one night visiting from a town about two hours away.  My class today were all boys ages ranging from about 9 – 12.  They were full of boy spirit and energy with a few rough edges and bullying in the class, but overall a really sweet group.  I co-taught today’s class with another teacher which is helpful in a class full of boys.  What was the subject today?  Rockets!  The first hour they learn the basics about rockets and the second hour they make and launch their own.  Actually it’s pretty cool.  They make the rockets from empty Coke bottles then put a “nose” and some “fins” on it.  We then head outside where the rocket gets filled with a little water, loaded on to the launcher, and with the help of a bicycle pump, is launched into the sky.  It’s unexpectedly impressive and fun to see the rockets dive further then imagined into the distance.

At the end of the class as we headed to lunch, many of the boys were really kind and grateful giving me a high-five and saying thank you.  Thank you is not something you often hear in the classroom and I was really impressed and appreciative of their good attitudes.

It’s been a great weekend for me.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  The typical venturing into Seoul for the day on Saturday, meeting with my SGI Buddhist group and then sojourning around town.  I appreciated the sheer joy of just being out and about for a bit in beautiful warm weather, connecting with people I like and respect and enjoying the practice of Buddhism, and also having some nice quiet time on my own.  What a pleasure it was to experience all of these flavors in a day and then the joy of returning to the pretty green hills of Paju, quiet surroundings and a relaxing evening.  Mmmm.  Feels good!

As I spend much of my time teaching English and working with Korea children, I have noticed certain tendencies and cultural influences beginning to rub off.  On more than one occasion I’ve had a K-pop song randomly running through my head… an “earworm” that I cannot escape.  For those of you who don’t know, K-pop is the very popular music culture in South Korea (i.e. Korean-pop) making a name for itself in Korea and around the world.  Korean children are CRAZY for K-pop! It features stars like Psy who sings “Gangnam Style” and is internationally known.  The top tune currently running through my mind is the song “Nobody” by the Wonder Girls.  Their music video is pretty funny.  Check it out!

I have also noticed other by-products of teaching English in South Korea.  For example, I now hardly ever say “no” without crossing my forearms in front of my body making a deliberate “x”.  The is the common way to communicate “no” non-verbally in South Korea.  When teaching children who may or may not understand what you are saying, non-verbal cues become important.  But now it seems I cannot make it through a single conversation without this added accentuation.

There are other ESL teaching habits that have slipped into my regular ways.  More and more… I act words that I say… pointing to eyes when talking about eyes, moving arms like I am flying when talking about birds.  And of course speaking deliberately, slowly and distinctly.  I also notice I habitually say everything twice… because it’s not always understood… or heard… the first time.  All of these “symptoms” a sure indication… of an ESL teacher.

As Sunday continues to tick away, the day will soon seamlessly shift into Monday, the beginning of a new workweek.  I am doing my best to keep a light attitude about work and “pace” myself as the upcoming summer schedule doesn’t offer much of a break in sight.

In the meantime, it’s still Sunday.  Although the students have left, there are a few more hours to record at work before being compete for the day.

How are you spending you weekend and Sunday?  It’s always great to hear from you!

Photo at top, flowers and fountain on a summer day at English Village.

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Is It Summer Already?

9 Jun

It’s a Sunday morning here in Paju City, South Korea.  The weather is creeping into summer as the temperatures are tipping into the upper 80s.  That didn’t take long.  Yes, it is June, typically nearly summer weather in some parts of the world.  But it seems that winter just recently… ended.  I could swear it was just a few weeks ago that I confidently tucked away my winter coat for good and took an extra blanket off my bed.  It was not long ago that I finally unplugged and put away my room heater. And here we are greeted with summer weather.  I am told the heat and humidity here will give New Orleans, my former stomping grounds of 13 years, a run for its money.  We will see.  When I lived in New Orleans my last job was working at an outdoor farmers market.  During New Orleans summers the heat and humidity is like a wall.  At the market we would sit there with towels dipped in florida water, a cool refreshing cologne water, hung around our necks and try not to move while the sweat rolled down our foreheads.  Hopefully the summer in Paju is not that bad.

With summer weather comes summer wardrobe.  We have a pretty laid back dress code here at English Village and really we are quite lucky to have such a casual atmosphere.  We can wear shorts and tennis shoes and sandals that are at least a little dressy and have a back strap.  We cannot wear sleeveless shirts or tank tops which seems reasonable for work life.  I am still exploring what is appropriate summer dress in general in South Korea. Wearing tight tank tops that reveals shoulders and skin, a summer staple for me, may not be considered appropriate in regular public life.  I asked a fellow teacher about this and she suggested that some girls in the city wear tank tops but it’s still not all that common just yet.  You often see girls and women wearing a very light almost see through cropped cardigan over sleeveless dresses and shirts.  Still learning the nuances of culture.

It’s been a pretty light teaching week here at English Village, although myself and some other teachers are still busily preparing new lessons for the upcoming “semester”.  This week we have several different programs including a group of young Russian children here for two weeks.  I am not one of their “regular teachers” but did have the opportunity to teach them for one class last week.  They range in age from about 9 to about 13.  They are a great bunch of kids with spunky spirits.  But they can, as other teachers have noticed, push the boundaries.  They are fiestier than the Korean students we have in a way that is both inviting and challenging.  When I arrived in the building to teach them on Friday, four of them were downstairs making a train with rolling desk chairs pushing them around the room.  When I arrived in the classroom upstairs students were drawing pictures on the board during the break, some nice and some… not so nice.  It was quite a first impression.  We spent about an hour together playing a game and while the time did have some ups and downs, generally it went well.  I teach them a few more lessons on Monday and Tuesday.

We had an interesting staff experience on Friday afternoon…. Korean Village.  Yes, all of the English teachers at EV attended a class taught by a Korean teacher using Korean language only. The idea as you can imagine is to give us a sense of how some of our students may feel when in our classes taught only in English.  The question this rose for me was “Don’t our students have years of training in English when they come to us?”  That answer…some, yes, but as it turns out not all.  Undoubtedly we see a range of English-speaking skills here from practically fluent to barely any English at all.  But I had always assumed that their training had tucked away some English somewhere and perhaps they were just shy about speaking it or uninterested.  But apparently this may not be the case.  It seems that economic level does play a part in students English-speaking exposure and participation in quality English lessons outside of the “regular school day”.  Also I was told that some students in public schools take little interest in English and are allowed to slip through the cracks.  So its possible that we get students who really understand and speak almost no English.  This is new to me and certainly puts a slant on trying to teach English in English.

I spent my Saturday in Seoul.  I visited my chiropractor and am happy to report that after a fall in France a year ago, my ankle seems to be getting better.  I went to an area of Seoul called Hongdae, a lively neighborhood near Hongik University.  My favorite taco stand is there, Gusto Taco.  I grabbed two delicious fresh chicken tacos, complete with hand-made corn tortillas and soaked in a little of the international atmosphere.  There were customers from S. Korea and the US, a Spanish-speaking couple, an American owner, and French radio streamed over the internet. It was love.

While in Hongdae I also saught out one of the few thrift stores in Seoul and South Korea called The Beautiful Store.  As noted by other visitors and explorers of South Korea, Koreans aren’t really into buying used clothes.  And so the thift store scene is not too grand.  But The Beautiful Store, a local chain, has locations all over Seoul and their proceeds go to charity.  If it wasn’t for the help of a nearby friendly Korean-American, however, I would have never found the store.

I exited the subway, exit 8, and began to scan through my maps and information on my smart phone.  Seeing my lack of clarity with a friendly voice she introduced herself and asked if I needed any help.  Fortunately for me, she speaks Korean and is able to navigate her ways through the maze of symbols and words known as the Korean language.  With just a little misdirection, some guidance from her smart phone, and her knowledge of Korean we found the store just steps away from the train station.  The store sign is written in Korean so it wasn’t visible to my English reading eyes.

It was a tiny shop but a true thrift shop nonetheless.  My new companion for the moment joined me and we both found just a few clothing treasures for low prices.  If you are in South Korea and would like to go there yourself, here are basic directions:

  • Take the subway to Hongik University Station exit 8.  When you arrive at the top of the stairs, look to your right.  There is a building with a door at the corner of the street.  Enter that door and go downstairs.  The shop is on your right.

Today is a simple Sunday for me.  I intend to enjoy a little luxurious walking in the still fairly mellow summer heat, run a few errands, and do a little cooking for my upcoming work week.  I believe I have another lighter teaching schedule for the work week ahead, much needed after so many crazy weeks and more to come in the future.

Good-bye for now from the slowly becoming balmy land of Paju!

Photo at top a quiet evening at English Village at sunset.

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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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Stop the Bus!

19 May

It’s a quiet rainy Sunday at English Village.  I am sneaking in a little time to write my blog before I head off to Seoul.  There is a district meeting today for my SGI Buddhist group.  Our meeting is at 1pm but I generally allow about two hours for the journey.  This includes waiting for bus 2200 traveling directly to Seoul, the 50 minutes bus-ride, then catching the subway and any miscellaneous walking involved.  I spent part of my morning today preparing a simple dish for the potluck lunch after the meeting.  It was a good reminder to me how grounding it is to spend a little simple time preparing food.  Cutting vegetables, adding seasonings, mixing ingredients and preparing it to share with others is a simple ceremony that feels like it honors my soul.

I am glad for the rainy weather this weekend.  It somehow gives me permission to have a quiet steady pace after the preceding hectic workweek.  This weekend has been a gentle rhythm of spending time on my own reading and tidying up a bit, traveling to Seoul for a chiropractor appointment and doing a little grocery shopping.  Then yesterday afternoon there was a staff barbecue at English Village.  And last night, I made some homemade tomato soup.  I have never done this before.  It was just wonderful and seemed to feed something in me deeply in need of nourishment and comfort.  Here is the recipe I used!

My second visit to the chiropractor continues the journey of healing my left ankle from my fall in France.  As he works on it, with his friendly and comical “bedside manner”  he gently scolds me as he points out the many different places and ways that my ankle is in need of adjusting.  I have also talked with him a bit about my persistent back and neck pain.  He has concluded that this problem is a hereditary thing and suggest that I sue my parents and we split it 70% for me 30% for me.  Then, he says, I can quit my job and sit at the beach and drink beer.

This past work week was a different rhythm from the sometimes frantic pace of teaching busloads of visiting middle school children.  I worked Monday – Wednesday with a group of college students here from Japan.   It was fun to connect with them and explore the distinctness of being Japanese, the different sounds of their language and names.  I was grateful for some of the simple benefits of teaching college students.  You don’t have to collect them or herd them like disgruntled cats to get them to class.  Generally in class they are well-behaved.  And you don’t have to worry that they might randomly run out of class or hit their friend if you don’t have your eye on them.  That said, upon returning to my regular middle school appointment on Thursday, I was genuinely happy to reconnect with the younger students.  Although challenging at times, it is fun for me to be around their lightness, sometimes shenanigans, and fun spirit.

The greatest challenge lately and this past week has been… how to teach English to students who speak very little if any English.  As I have mentioned before, English Village is a teach English in English organization.  Even the Korean teachers here are encouraged to teach only in English.  English Village even trains teachers how to teach English in English.  And as I continue to develop this skill and refine how to simplify a lesson or express something in its most simplest terms, sometimes I am at a loss of what to do.

Earlier this week I had a class of Japanese college students who spoke and understood only the simplest of English.  My class to teach them was Idioms.  An idiom, if you’ve forgotten, is a phrase commonly used that has its own distinct meaning that is often very different from what the words literally mean.  An example is ” a chip on your shoulder” or “high as a kite”.  Quite difficult to explain to students who don’t have a grasp on the basics of the English language.  But I went into the class with good intentions and did my best to explore it and simply.  After about five minutes as I looked out into a class of totally blank faces, I stopped and said “just one minute!”.  I snuck out of the classroom and quickly made my way to my supervisors down the hall.  I desperately told them my situation and we quickly decided to change the lesson to a word game using English called “Stop the Bus”.  In this game each team has to think of words for different categories beginning with whatever letter is offered for that round…. B, S, T.  When their team has written words for all categories they have to shout “Stop the Bus!”, hence the name. I returned to the class and smiled and announced that we will do a new lesson.  They smiled and laughed and then were fully engaged in the game.

This coming week I will work again with a special visiting group.  They are high school students from a language school.  It is likely that their English level will be high and their behavior a bit more mature as they are in high school.  I am looking forward to it and we will see how it goes!

I must depart now as the bus to Seoul is calling my name.  The bus driver is unforgiving if you are even a few seconds late and will not stop the bus…  Enjoy your weekend!  And of course, feel free to write and share what’s up in your world or even just say hello.  It’s always good to hear from you!

Photo at top, another view of the hills and land surrounding English Village.  Those stone pillars you see on the right… yes those are the giant replica of Stonehenge that greets you as enter English Village.

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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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Sweet Potato Muffins and the Chicken Dance

20 Apr

It’s been a full week for me here in South Korea.  My activities have crossed the spectrum from baking Apple Sweet Potato muffins to doing the Chicken Dance with young Korean children.  I even took a little time to stop by Severance Hospital in Seoul and get my ankle x-rayed… and no, my ankle, still sore after falling down some stairs in France nearly a year ago, thankfully isn’t broken.

Let’s start with the Apple Sweet Potato muffins.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know my search continues for yummy satisfying food with no sugar added.  Refined sugar is definitely not an option for me, but sometimes too much sweet from fruit and honey does me no good as well.  So I adapted a recipe I found recently and baked a muffin with only apples and sweet potatoes for sweetener (no honey or other sweetener added).  Here is the recipe I used:

2 cups almond flour1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnemon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup unsweetened Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded sweet potato
1 cup shredded apple

I combined all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and then all the wet ingredients (vanilla, eggs, oil, yogurt).  Next I combined them both and finally added in the uncooked shredded sweet potato and apple.

I baked them at about 350 degrees F (that’s about 175 degrees C) for 25-30 minutes.

The results were satisfying flavorful muffins with just a touch of sweet.  They were especially tasty with a little butter or with a smear of creamy organic peanut butter (no sugar added!)  If I were to make any changes to the recipe, I might try a little less Greek yogurt as when finished the muffins were a little wet.  I also would liked to have added some nutmeg, but didn’t have any on hand. But just the same, they were a moist and satisfying treat.  Hurray!

And what’s next… yes of course.. the chicken dance!  Who can forget.  Why was I dancing the chicken dance you may ask?  The simple answer is… it’s part of my job.  On the weekends, when we’re not teaching middle school students, we teach fun classes that are open to the public at English Village.  One of our weekend lessons is called Dance Party.  It’s pretty simple… we dance and lead the Korean visitors in a variety of fun and well-known dances.  YMCA, Disco, the Hustle and… the Chicken Dance!  Often our guests are little children who enjoy dressing up in our costumes and doing a little dancing.  Sometimes we get older students… like today.  We had a visiting quartet of early twenty-somethings who put our dancing to shame.  It only took a few dances for my co-worker/dance partner to suggest…” I think they’re professional dancers…”  and…as it turns out…indeed they were.

As I mentioned, earlier this week I took a little sojourn into neighboring Seoul to visit the doctor at the local Severance Hospital.  I learned they have an international clinic from a colleague here at English Village.  It was a welcoming first-class experience all the way.  The hospital itself  had a professional, open and inviting feel.  It didn’t feel really like… a hospital. When I arrived at the clinic I was greeted by friendly English-speaking staff who quickly and easily assisted me with my needs… which was to make sure the my ankle wasn’t broken.  I speedily received an x-ray and soon after I learned, happily, it is not.  After my appointment was complete, I made a stop by the Smoothie King located in the food court inside the hospital. Next I was delighted to find a health food store in the hospital.  I did a little browsing and discovered one of my favorite American brands – Amy’s organic foods.  This is the first time I have seen this brand since I left the States.  They only had a few items, all pizzas, looking somewhat misplaced in the freezer section tossed next to items that were unidentifiable to me.  And what did I do, you may ask?  I bought one of each… yes three different types of frozen pizzas.  What can I say, there is nothing like some good old-fashioned “healthy junk food” for a little comfort like home.  I spent more money on them then I care to say, then made my trek back to the land of Paju.

Earlier, en route to the hospital I encountered what in America we might begrudgingly call a busy intersection.  In South Korea these sticky situations are handled with a little finesse courtesy of the traffic director.  Pictured below in a cowboy hat, the local traffic director displayed an almost choreographed array of moves and ushered traffic with some style and flair.

Well, my laid back day of work is coming to a close…. a real treat today after the past few busy weeks.  Tomorrow is  Sunday, my day of rest, and then once again a new week will unfold.

Spring continues to tempt us with a few days of weather in the 60s this week. But even so, I can’t quite declare it Spring weather even though April continues to fade away.  There are, however, some blossoms showing their face in the surrounding Korean hills among the still barren and dead trees of winter.

Good-bye for now from my world and life in S. Korea.  Feel free to write. 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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