About Us

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Jenna and Emilie are two Canadian girls who, after experiencing four amazing years of university together in Victoria, BC, decided to keep the good times rolling by moving together to South Korea. We are now living in a city called Suncheon in the southern province of Jeollanamdo. Both of us teach English at public elementary schools to the cutest kids in the world, and we live in an apartment complex called 'Shedae' with about a 100 other foreigners. We hope this blog will keep us connected to friends and family at home, allowing everyone to follow the whirlwind adventures we are sure to have while living in the far east! Lots of Love, Emilie and Jenna

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Is Peter There?

Today was so exciting! I just finished one of the coolest lessons ever with the kids, and everything went so well. The grade 5's are studying phone conversations right now, so I thought it would be a cool idea to get them talking on skype to some family/friends at home.

For the first part of class we came up with some good questions to ask, and then we called Dani, my mom, and Jen. Some of the best questions the kids asked:
  • (To my mom): "is Jenna teacher's brother handsome?" (I showed them a picture of Myles after the class was over, and indeed, their high-pitched shreiks confirmed that yes, they think he is handsome!)
  • "do you think korea is lovely?"
  • "what do you think of jenna teacher?"
  • (To Jen): "who is your boyfriend?" (...and when they found out he was Korean, the look of shock/excitement on their faces was priceless!)

Here is a picture of Dani talking to the kids. (Right after the lesson ended I realized I totally forgot to take a picture when Jen was skyping with the kids, probably because the class talking to Jen was much crazier than the one talking to Dani. Anyway, I'm pretty sure one of the boys is in love with Jen and wouldn't stop goofing around in front of the camera. He's always been one of my favourite students but always such a handful!)

Thanks again mom, Dani and Jen for all your help! It was soo much fun and I know the kids really enjoyed it.

What's Happening North Korea??

Don't fret everyone! Despite what you may have heard on the news recently, we are completely fine and really not too worried about the whole N.Korea situation. We've already received multiple updates from our Canadian Connection Contact in Korea, who has assured us that all is well. Also, Em and I have both registered as Canadians living overseas so will be accounted for IF something does happen, which I'm sure it won't. Weirdly enough, I really haven't heard any mention of the situation from any of my co-teachers or anyone at my school.


On another note, every day I ask each of my classes "How are you?" as part of a series of small talk questions to start the class. Recently I started banning the answer "I'm fine" because it seemed like that's all the students would say. Today, I heard one of the cutest/funniest responses from on of my grade 5's:
"How are you?"
"I'm fantastic and so-so" 
...not sure if the whole concept of "so-so" is clicking in these guys' brains. 

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

My First (Korean) Birthday!



Hi all! We're back from another great weekend in Seoul, this time to celebrate my 22nd birthday! A group of about 15 girls met on Friday night for a weekend filled with birthday celebration! It was so nice to spend my 5th consecutive birthday with Em, and she really made it feel special even far away from home. This birthday had potential to stir up some feelings of homesickness, but Em really helped me feel the love on this side of the world. On Saturday we spent the day at MyungDong market (just like last time in Seoul) and then went to Itaewon. For those of you who don't know, Itaewon is the foreign district in Seoul and is full of places we have really started to miss in the 3 months we've been here - Subway, Mexican restuarants, Cold Stone creamery, etc, etc!! (Picture a kind of "China Town" for foreigners in Korea?). After heading back to the hostel, I was surprised with a lovely birthday cake from our favourite cafe, "Paris Baguette". It was the perfect way to start a great night on the "town", or, in this case, the 2nd biggest city in the world!! 


Birthday surprises! Party hat included!

The girls outside our hostel, the Yellow Submarine


I think I speak for both Emilie and I when I say we cannot believe it's been more than 3 months since we came to Korea. Since we've been here it seems like we always have some new, exciting adventure to look forward to. Next on the list (besides Harry Potter of course... which comes out a MONTH late in Korea!) is our winter vacation. More to come on those plans soon!


Jenna xo



Monday, November 22, 2010

The little things will surprise you...

Today, being Monday, I woke up dreading the day ahead of me. Not because its the first day of the week, but because I face the infamously unbearable Grade 6s on Mondays. I have no doubt explained to many at home how the four Grade 6 classes I teach at Namsam Elementary quickly became the bane of my existence: they do not pay attention, they physically fight in class, and they have a collective, infuriating "I'm (literally) too cool for school" attitude. My coteacher has confided in me that she regularly has nightmares about this group. Because of all this, I commonly dread Mondays as I feel like I can never please them, whatever imaginative lesson plan I might be able to come up with.

Today was different, however. It is American Thanksgiving this week, and so the theme of the lesson "Would you like to come to my house?" is this classic holiday. Hoping to fill up some of the time with a writing activity, I handed out to each student a worksheet with "I am thankful for..." written at the top. The kids had to write three sentences beginning with "I am thankful for..." I admit, I expected most of the students to laugh at this activity and refuse to participate at all. I was shocked, then, when the first class of the day got really into the worksheet. By the end of the fourth class, I was not only over the moon at how each class had gone almost flawlessly, but also touched by the answers that some of my normally bratty students came up with. I thought I would share my favourite answers with everyone at home... it just goes to show you can't always think you have someone (or 120 Korean preteens) completely figured out.
(I have copied these answers exactly as they were written, so you will note the differences in English proficiency between some of the students)

- I'm thankful for the health of my family
- I'm thankful for being alive and life
- I'm thankful for home happy
- I'm thankful for family because some people do not have family
- I'm thankful for my seeing and listening (meaning 'sight' and 'hearing')
- I'm thankful for being born because I is happy
- I'm thankful for parents because give me money and meal and bought computer and cellphone
- I'm thankful for together my family which is 나 잉 방 in Korean
- I'm thankful for my brain
- I'm thankful for Jesus (this one had the cutest anime Jesus drawn beside it)
- I'm thankful for my mommy because she gave birth to me
- I'm thankful for President Lee because our country protection
- I'm thankful for water because it helps us, ex. we can drink it, we can wash our face
- I'm thankful for earth because it makes me life
- I'm thankful for my family, because they love me

- I'm thankful for peace because we have no war
I'm thankful for *me*


and, last but not least...
- I'm thankful for Kimchi


...maybe I will miss these kids when they head off to middle school, after all =)
xoxo
Em

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Adventures of a Korean Car Accident:

On Monday I got into a small car accident with 2 co-workers on our way home from school. While waiting for a red light, some guy who was paying more attention to his cell phone/TV than to actually driving rear-ended us.

I assumed we'd have to talk to the police and maybe get a few x-rays as a precaution, but no. I was told it was "standard Korean process" for every person who's in a car accident to spend at least one night in the hospital. Really? All for a small fender-bender? Ok. So, me and my 2 co-workers headed to the hospital where we got not only X-rays, but also CT scans, an IV, multiple injections, and monitored with an EKG. A little over-kill if you ask me.


We have been warned that Korea is the land of unnecessary bureaucracy and huge amounts of useless paperwork. Indeed, I discovered this first hand when trying up the loose ends before being released. I guess you could say the frustration paid off, however, because I was informed that I would  receive 800,000Kwon (about $750) from the insurance company. Sweet!!

This picture is a little ridiculous but I wanted to capture the craziness of the whole experience. So here I am, neck-brace and all, completely and 100% fine but being kept in the hospital to be extra, extra, extra safe.

Bye for now, and remember, safety first!!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Suncheon Marathon!

Hello everyone! We're back from a day full of running!! Unfortunately Emilie's bronchitis did not clear up in time for her to be able to participate, but it was definitely a good decision on her part not to run as for the last few weeks she's been doing nothing but popping Korean pills and hacking up her right AND left lungs. While I crossed the finish line you can bet Emilie was my number one cheerleader! 


The route itself was pretty typical with a few hills, but mostly flat. Everyone seemed to be excited that there were some foreigners were participating, and along the way I got lots of encouragement from spectators as well as those running alongside me. I heard the Korean equivalent of our "good job!" which sounds like "highting!!!" about 1 million times during the run. My time was 1:05, about the same as it was for the Times Colonist run last April. The coolest part about the race was the time chips they used - on the back of our number that we pinned to our shirts was a little black rod, about the size of a que-tip. Apparently the rod recorded our time when we crossed both the start and finish line. AND to top it off, as soon as I crossed the finish line I received a text on my cell phone telling me my time! So cool!! I wonder when that technology will come to Canada??



some korean dancers lead us in some group stretches. 

fini!!


Friday, November 5, 2010

The Wonderous Korean Bath

As the weather gets progressively chillier, we are learning more and more about the various ways to warm up in Korea. This is especially important as the schools are downright freezing. All windows and doors are left open to allow for "air changee," or fresh air, which is of course important, but means that I keep my jacket on for most of the day. Plus a scarf, sweater, and turtleneck.

Ondol, or floor heating, is the way we heat our apartments and is really quite lovely. We turn on the hot water, and it runs through pipes in the floor to make the apartment nice and toasty. Its not cheap, but it also only needs to be on for a few hours a day to keep the place warm.

Today, after choosing to try out the gym by our apartments, I decided to also give the bath there a whirl. We had been told that these places were godsends when the weather cools off. Firstly, do not let the term "bath" fool you. This is not a public bath in the form of a big pool with a bunch of naked bathers crowded together. Picture instead a luxurious water spa, with various pools of varying temperatures to try out, as well as little pools with massaging jets and rain-like showers. There are also several sauna rooms and steam rooms, and even little nooks with bamboo beds on which to nap. What else could you ask for at the end of a long, cold day?




The spa-bath at this particular gym is an entire floor, and is separated by gender, of course. That is the one catch about these places -- no bathing suit option! Everyone is naked, naked, naked. It feels a little weird at first, especially because the "stare at the foreigner" rule is not spared at the public bath. Before long, however, I was the happiest bather in the place, trying out all the cool options of jets and showers and hot and cool tubs. The steam rooms and saunas were especially soothing to my phlegm-filled chest, and will have surely helped in the laborious battle I have been having with this cough.

The mercury is going to drop further, and I sense that more frequent visits to this wonderful, warm place will be a large part of our Korean future!




Halloween in Korea

Well our first Halloween in Korea has come and gone, and although it was up to the foreigner population in Korea to keep the spookiness alive amongst a people who don't celebrate the ghoul-ish holiday, we all felt the halloween spirit nonetheless. The Suncheon crew headed to Mokpo, and us girls dressed up as "liquors" (see pictures below!) Emilie was Crown Royal, Catherine was a White Russian, Liz was a Jaggerbomb, and I was Fireball whiskey. 


 Fireball, Jaggerbomb, White Russian, and Crown Royal

...we had to get pretty inventive with our liquor bottles..


Halloween also meant we got to teach our classes a little bit about the holiday. Most of the kids had heard about Halloween, but really didn't know anything about it. Em and I both showed our kids the "This is Halloween" song on youtube from the Nightmare Before Christmas, and played Halloween-themed games. While I'm not sure how much they took from the lesson, I still have kids coming up to me and saying, "Teacher, candy? Trick or treat!" They don't quite understand it's a one-day only kind of thing.


After the festivities of last weekend we hope to have a semi-quiet weekend here in Suncheon, although we may head to 광 양 시 (Gwangyang) to watch some of our friends play in the annual rugby tournament. And yes, as you may have guessed our Korean classes are going swimmingly! We are now fully able to read and write the Korean "alphabet" Hanguel, and are onto learning key words/phrases and some grammar rules. I can definitely appreciate how hard it is for our students to learn english... it's hard enough for us to learn Korean, and Korean is a language that's actually logical in the way it follows grammar rules with few or no exceptions! English, however, is another story...



Next weekend is our 10k run for the Suncheon Marathon, and the weekend after that is my birthday weekend and our 2nd trip to Seoul!! A little nervous for the run as my vice principal has announced he will be there cheering me on... haha, Korea is so weird.


On a somewhat sentimental note, Emilie and I realized we've had matching halloween costumes 5 years in a row now! I wonder where we'll both be next year, and whether we'll keep the tradition alive...?!

Bye for now!! Lots of love,
Jenna & Emilie

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Korea's the best, but....

UVic MIGHT be better! Feeling small bits of homesickness today as I discovered this video on youtube. Here's the story: Last summer, pretty much every UVic student was logging on to youtube to watch a video made by a "University of Victoria" in SPAIN. A few months later I guess our competitive nature got the best of us and we just had to show up this Spanish university who stole our name. Seeing the UVic spirit definitely makes me miss my days as a student at the best school EVER.



If you want to see, this is the first video from the summer, which inspired UVic to create their own

Monday, October 25, 2010

Seoul's got Soul!

Emilie and I are back from another GREAT weekend adventure. On Friday after school we met at the bus terminal and took a 4 hour bus ride to SEOUL! When we arrived we had to navigate the subway system to get to our hostel... We got a little lost at first, but, as usual, a group of friendly Koreans offered their help and we found the our hostel no problem. Our new Korean friends also gave us KOREAN NAMES which we have been wanting for a while and was soo cool. So, from now on, you can call me 민 영 and Emilie 슬 기 (Miin-Young and Suul-Ki)!! Every Korean name means something, so my new name is a combination of bright, pearl, and sky, and Emilie's is a combination of clever, rising sun, and eternal.

Our friend Alison, who's on exchange in Hong Kong this semester, met us at the hostel along with her three exchange friends from Denmark. Emilie, Alison, Linnea, Sørn and Sørn (who we call the Sørn's - funny what names are common in different parts of the world) and I all spent a great weekend together. It was great to see Alison and so cool to meet new friends from Denmark! Between our stories about Korea, their stories about life in Denmark, ours in Canada, and their exchange in Hong Kong, we had a lot to talk about! One of the best things about traveling and meeting people from around the world is sharing stories and comparing the similarities/differences about what life is like in different parts of the world. 



...New Danish friends!

Our first day in Seoul was spent shopping during the day and in the university district (drinking Soju!) at night. The shopping in Seoul, as we soon found out, is absolutely insane. First we went to Namdaemun market, a traditional Korean market full of little shops selling pretty much anything you can think of. Alison even got a pair of prescription glasses for only $50... we walked into the glasses shop, they took her prescription, and told us to come back in 30 minutes. So cool! As much as some things seem backwards in Korea, they definitely make some things a lot easier... like getting glasses! The market is HUGE, with so many little alleys leading you to even more stores... it would definitely have been very easy to get lost in there! Next we went to the Myeong Dong district, one of Korea's main tourist areas. In Myeong Dong we went to Forever 21 which we were all excited to find because it's one of our favourite shops at home. As if we hadn't done enough shopping already, next we went to Dongdaemun where Korea's biggest department store, Migliore, is located. Dongdaemun is Seoul's largest commercial district with both traditional and western shops to choose from. We also visited Cheonggyecheon Stream, a 5km-long stream that flows nearly 15ft. below street level. The stream runs parallel to Sejongro, one of the busiest streets in Seoul, but when you walk along the river you can barely hear the traffic above. Very cool! 


Ceonggyecheon Stream


MyeongDong Market

Even though it was Alison and the Dane's first time in Korea, ironically we chose sushi for dinner... not exactly the traditional Korean dinner we should have had, but delicious nonetheless. On our way back to the hostel, we picked up a few bottles of Soju and once we started drinking it disappeared pretty quickly. From the hostel we headed to the downtown university district with some of the people also staying at the guesthouse. We didn't really know where we were going so it ended up being a lot of walking and standing outside, but still so fun because the streets were full of people doing exactly the same thing! Eventually, though, we settled on a Music Bar and spent the rest of the night there.

The next morning we checked out of our hostel and made one last quick trip to see Gyeongbokgung Palace, constructed in 1394 and whose names translates to "Palace of Shining Happiness." We opted not to do a guided tour but instead sat in the shade (it's almost November and we were too hot sitting in the sun!) on the grass outside the palace and just enjoyed the music/scenery. Sitting of the grass was nice and restful until I woke up this morning with huuge bug bites all over my body! My co-teacher even wanted me to go to the hospital because some of them were so big, but I talked her into letting me go to the school nurse instead... the hospital seemed a little too dramatic for a few swollen bug bites! 





After Gyeongbokgung Palace Emilie and I headed back to the bus station and Alison and the Danes continued their trip. Unfortunately we had to be back to teach for Monday morning, but they don't leave until Thursday. It was so nice to see Alison and great to meet our new Danish friends... Emilie and I really want to try and visit Hong Kong before their exchange is over in December. Hopefully we can make it happen!

It was such a great trip and I'm so happy to have been able to visit Seoul, but there's definitely much more to do/see and a few more trips before the year is over is definitely in order! We're hoping to get a group to go for my birthday weekend and for the Harry Potter movie premier (...guess who suggested that idea? =) ). We also really want to check out the DMZ (de-militarized zone) between North and South Korea next time we go. Our Korean tour book says that the DMZ is the "scariest place on earth" and yet they do guided tours and the Joint Security Area has become a huge tourist attraction... so strange! Emilie and I will post more Seoul pictures on facebook so look for them sooon!!





Love, jenna and emilie 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The parking situation is GRIM

I'll admit this video was shot after maaybe a few too many soju cocktails, but this will give you a good idea of the craziness that is the parking situation at our apartment.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Weekend Explorations

This weekend we decided that it was time to explore our own city a little bit more, so we stayed in Suncheon. On Friday night a few friends who have been here for a year already took us to some fabulous places: first, we went bowling in the University district. It cost $2.50 per person, per game, and the alley was full of hardcore Korean league bowlers! Jenna and I were quite the spectacle, bowling between our legs while surrounded by this lot. It was a lot of fun though, even if though neither of came close to winning.

Afterward, we ventured to a pool hall. This place let us bring in our own food and booze, and so we spent a few hours playing pool and drinking... you guessed it... Soju! Like bowling, neither of us were particularly proficient at billiards, and so we mostly played the role of spectator. Still a lot of fun though, and the owners of the place were great, doing shots of soju with us =)



The local pool hall

Our final stop of the night was a place called New Bar, in the new downtown district of Yeonghyang Dong. This bar was absolutely amazing. We got our own big booth on the upper level, ordered a few pitchers of beer and soju smoothies, and received UNLIMITED service!

**Service: An amazing aspect of Korean culture in which customers are given free items after purchasing anything, even if it is small. Examples include- free socks at a clothes store, free gum from taxi drivers, free bowls with a box of cereal, free food at bar... the list goes on**

The service at New Bar was far and away the best we'd yet experienced. Kimchi pizza, Ramyan noodles, creamy corn, french toast, ice cream, and more! And whenever we polished one course off, the servers would come around and fully replenish our stock! It was an amazing experience all around.



Jenna, Mike, and the many drinks and services of New Bar!

The night was completed when two of our coteachers showed up at the bar! At first they were hesitant to join a group of rowdy foreigners for drinks, but we convinced them to sit with us and we all ended up having a great time together! They stayed late with us (especially Jenna's coteacher, English name Clint Eastwood) even though they had to work the next day! (Korean teachers and students have to go to school every second Saturday - us lucky English teachers the only ones who get every Saturday and Sunday off!)

Suncheon exploration continued on Sunday, when a group of us finally made the trek to Suncheon Bay. This is a famous place in Korea, and is indeed an internationally renowned wetland! We walked along the boardwalk through the mashy wetland, and hiked up one of the surrounding mountains! It was a foggy day, but the views were beautiful nonetheless. Koreans love to explore the outdoors at this time of year, and the place was PACKED!




Waygooks at the Bay

After our nature wanderings, we came across the Festival of Reeds, which is on for two weeks every October and takes place at the Bay. There we feasted on 전, or 'jo-hn', which is essentially vegetables in a crepe/pancake like batter, fried and served with yummy sauce. We were also offered 막걸리, Korean rice wine, from a group of older festival-goers. By the end of the day we were exhausted but very happy to have finally experienced this area of our city! Next up: the Suncheon Temples!



Suncheon Bay at Sunset

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Best of EnGrish

As many of you may know, "engrish" is the commonly used term to describe the very commendable yet hilarious attempts Koreans make at speaking/writing english. "Engrish" gets its name because there is no "L" sound in the Korean language and often the "R" sound is used in its place. We hear/see engrish everyday, and it hasn't ceased to make me smile or even laugh out loud whenever I encounter it. Besides the most common "engrish" phrase,  (teacher) "How are you?" (student) "I'm pine!" (regardless of whether they are fine or not), I've started to compile a collection of funny engrish signs for everyone at home to enjoy.


Bakeries have recently risen in popularity here in Asia ,
but I'm sure this one is especially popular..

Ahh, got to love a happy family that's been nicely sauteed!

Well FIRST, I would argue that crap is not clean..

ahh, human water, the best kind!

Just so cute!

I really hope "hunt" was not meant to be used as a verb in this situation

and, finally...

Monday, October 4, 2010

The Daily Grind: Korean Style



Hi everyone! So it seems like all of our posts are about weekend trips and holidays we've had, but I'm sure you're wondering what we're up to in our everyday lives now that we're back to work and finally all settled. Em and I truly are "9 to 5-ers" now and are loving the routine after night jobs and years of crazy studying hours at school.

For the most part the job gets easier each day, but the kids are starting to get used to us and don't feel as much of a need to behave like they did when we were still the mysterious new foreign teacher. They can be absolutely crazy sometimes!! Also, the vastly different english levels are becoming more and more apparent. It's hard to keep everyone focused and interested when, in a class of 36, you might have some kids who don't understand a word you're saying, and others who are bored because it's too easy. Do you remember the boy I was talking about in the first blog post, the one who is trilingual? The other day he was finished copying the dialogue in his book way before the other kids. So, I told him to do it in handwriting, which he did very quickly again. Then, I told him to do it in French... it took him a while longer, but indeed he did that too!! So amazing!


After work we usually meet for dinner each day with a group of friends, and either explore Suncheon to find a new restaurant to eat at, or go to one of our favourites. We've made many great friends here, but there are 4 in particular - Glen, Liz, Corina and Catherine - who we spend most of our time with. After dinner we might walk around downtown, go shopping, watch a movie, or go for a run.

We both just signed up for the Suncheon Marathon (although we're only doing the 10k) on November 13th. There is a beautiful lake right across the street from our apartment that we like to run around. The lake is about 2km around, so it makes it easy to figure out distances/times.


We also just attended our first Korean language class tonight. Our teacher, Rob, is from Ontario but has been in Korea for 7 years and has a Korean wife, etc... needless to say he is fluent in Korean but is able to teach us the ins and outs of the language in english... perfect combination! We meet twice a week for 1.5 hrs, and the course is 6 weeks. We've heard great things about Rob's teaching so hopefully we'll come out of these classes with a good understanding of reading, speaking, and writing. 


...But, for now, annyeonghi gyeseyo!! (good-bye: said by the person who is leaving. literal meaning, "stay in peace.")

Thursday, September 30, 2010

World's Biggest Ferris Wheel!

Here we are on the world's biggest ferris wheel in Osaka, Japan. The wheel was huge, as you can see, but we aren't sure if it is actually the biggest in the world, since copyright laws in Asia aren't quite as strict as they are at home. (There are brands such as "Kic-Ker" (looks/tastes exactly like a kit-kat), "Crunky" chocolate bars, and Minute MADE juice). Either way, the ferris wheel was very cool, and we took a video as we were reaching the top.

Tropical beach weekend in WANDO!!

Hello all! Jenna and I are back from an amazing beach party in Wando! This is an island city in the very south of the country... about a three hour bus ride from Suncheon -- so close in Canadian standards, but so far for Korea! Telling our teachers that we were going there, they were all shocked, thinking we were going on such an adventure. This is another interesting tid bit we have noticed here so far- alot of Koreans don't travel too far away from home! I had a teacher telling me she loved to travel, and when I asked where she had gone, she went on to name the cities and towns within one hour of Suncheon! When I probed as to whether she had been outside of Korea she responded, with shocked laughter, "no no, I love Korea!"

Wando, however, was well worth the journey for us! Though there have been mini reuinons every weekend, this Wando event was planned a while ago and was the biggest convention of waygooks we have yet experienced. Everyone from our orientation was there, as well as alot of people who have been here for a year or more! We finally got to see Jessica Ratushniak, the girl (my sister Lyndsey's friend) who was our contact here before we left Canada and was an invaluable asset in our decision to come to Jeollanamdo and getting ready to move!

We arrived at the beach in Wando around 1:30 in the afternoon, and were awestruck. It was a beautiful, white sand beach, and the waves were massive! After the big reunion with everyone, we all hit the water, soju and beer in hand! (*our friends got their hands on a 5L jug of soju for 15,000 won, or $13!) Though we were pretty freaked out by the waves at first, we were soon having chicken fights and were facing the waves head on. The water was warm, it was 30+ degrees, and all in all the beach was just amazing. Who knew such a tropical paradise existed in South Korea!? This place is such an untapped gem... its great that worldwide tourism hasn't really discovered it yet. 




We spent the night in yet another love motel... these places are turning out to be one of the best things about Korea. They make venturing out to other cities so so cheap, especially when we get 5-6 people to a room. 

As we headed home, we knew we had one night to get rested and relax, because the next day we were bound for JAPAN!



Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Konnichiwa!! Jenna and Emilie home from JAPAN!



I wouldn't say this trip to Japan was "well deserved," exactly, as we really only worked a few weeks before we got this vacation time. However, Japan was absolutely amazing and it was definitely hard to set the alarm last night and wake up for work this morning. 


Our trip started at the Suncheon bus station, where we took one of the coolest/comfiest buses ever to Busan (about 2 hours away). We hadn't booked anywhere to stay that night, so we got lucky when the owner of a little motel let all 5 of us girls stay in a room that was meant for only 2 people. It was a squishy sleep, but nothing we haven't done already! (See blog post re: Mokpo weekend!)


The next morning we headed to the international ferry terminal where we checked in for our 11:45 am ferry. The boat was small, really fast, and nothing like BC ferries at home. Everyone's seat was assigned, and you had to stay seated/buckled for the whole trip. The view leaving Busan was amazing, but after a few minutes it was pretty much open ocean.


After clearing Japanese customs, we headed straight for the train station in Fukuoka, Japan to catch the 300km/hr "Shinkansen Nozomi" train that would take us to Osaka. The ride was awesome... so fast and many great sights along the way! When we arrived in Osaka we had to navigate the subway/Japan Rail (JR) lines to get us to our hostel, called Bonsai Guesthouse. Navigating the JR line turned out to be somewhat of an onerous job at first, but by the end of 4 days we were veterans.


Busan, Korea to Fukuoka, Japan on the ferry

Here is a picture of the Shinkansen, Nozomi train that 
took us to Osaka, over 900 km away, in under 3 hours!

Navigating the Japanese subway system turned out to 
be surprisingly simple despite the looks of this confusing sign!



For our first night in Osaka we headed downtown, known in Japan as Dotomburi. We were all extremely excited to walk out of the subway and see, what else, but Subway! (sandwiches, that is =) ) Even though we felt a tad guilty about eating western food amidst sushi-heaven, it was such a nice taste of home that we didn't mind at all. Asian Subway even has some cool things Subway at home doesn't: cream cheese, avocado, thick-cut fries, and shrimp sandwiches.




After dinner we wandered around a bit and found a cool bar in one of the alleyways downtown. Downtown Osaka is absolutely beautiful; huge, tall buildings surround you while a river runs parallel with the main street. A few times Emilie and I even said we felt like we could be in Vancouver - the streets are so clean and there are english signs everywhere. A few times I almost forgot I was in Japan!!


The next day was packed with museums, history, museums, and.... more history and museums! If I had to guess, I'd say it was maybe Em's favourite day =). First we went to the Osaka castle which detailed the unification of Japan's two most prominent families in the 16th century. Next we went into the financial district of Osaka and saw the Mint Museum. We learned a lot about the history of the yen and how the modern monetary system of Japan came to be. We saw old coins from around the world, olympic medals, and machinery used to make the coins.

Em and Jenna out front of the Osaka Castle

 At the Mint Museum in Osaka


After our Subway Sandwiches from the night before, we definitely wanted some real Japanese food for lunch. We found this great place with Udon noodles... we each tried a different kind, and everything was so delicious. Next was the Osaka Human Rights Museum, by far my favourite stop of the day. The museum was organized by different themes of discrimination - people with disabilities, forced Korean-labourers in Japan,  those infected with AIDS from infected blood banks in Japan, homosexuality, etc. It was really eye opening and the exhibits were packed with many different forms of media.


After the museum we headed into the bay area of Osaka, and took a ride on the world's biggest ferris wheel. Very cool. We rode in a glass bottom gondola-type carriage and got some amazing pictures from the top of the wheel. Afterwards we checked out a market with various Japanese foods/souvenirs/clothing and got some sushi for dinner. 


World's biggest ferris wheel! 
We got some great pictures from the top.


The next day we took the JR train to Kyoto, about 45 minutes away. In Kyoto we visited the Kinkakuji temple (aka the Golden Temple). Currently it exists as a buddhist zen temple, but previously was owned by a powerful statesman who used it as a private villa. 


Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto


Our friend Liz who travelled to Japan with us has a family friend, Kate, who works as a silk weaver. Kate was actually staying in Kyoto working at a silk market at the same time we were there, so we all got to meet her and have dinner with her. She was able to show us around a very charming part of old Kyoto, so we got to see some things we otherwise wouldn't have been able to find. 


The next day we went to Hiroshima. Our first stop (which actually turned out to be our ONLY stop, because it turned out to be so fascinating) was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The museum was absolutely huge, with two main exhibits detailing the history before, during, and after the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima in 1945. The museum was so emotional, yet very powerful at the same time. Through the individual stories told, you really got a sense of the commitment the city of Hiroshima as a whole has made toward attaining total nuclear disarmament. There is a burning flame in the Peace park outside the museum that will stay lit until every country who possesses nuclear weapons becomes disarmed. 


It was nice to end our trip to Japan on such an amazing and powerful note. The next day, we headed to Fukuoka and caught the ferry back to Busan. We were a little worried about catching a bus because of the heavy holiday traffic, but to our surprise we were home before dinner. It's amazing to us the travel opportunities we have on this side of the world. The time and money it would take us to get to Vancouver in a car on the ferries can get us to Japan and back. Some of our other friends from orientation went to Cambodia, others went to China, and some went to the Philippines. 




We will be sure to keep you posted on all of our upcoming travel plans! Hope all of you are well and are enjoying the blog. Lots of love,
Jenna and Emilie xox

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Videos!!

Jenna here with a few videos for you!!

First, here's a quick video of my apartment:


Just a GLIMPSE at how crazy and awesome Korean clubs are!!


Shot in the streets of Mokpo, South Korea! I hope everyone at home
feels the love =)


Sunday, September 12, 2010

Another amazing weekend!

Emilie here! Later this week I will post some info about my schools and teaching, though Jenna did a great job of summing up alot of that =) Now, however, Jenna and I just got back from our first weekend trip out of Suncheon, and though we won't be able to post the photos for a few days, there is much to be said for the experience we had! We went to Mokpo, a port city about 2 hours away, where alot of our friends from orientation are living. Mokpo is about the same size of Suncheon and has a bunch of foreigners teaching there.

We had quite an adventurous night, starting out with a meal of Korean BBQ, where we managed to fry up some tofu and kimchi together, which was a delicious combination. At these BBQs, you sit on the floor, pay for the meat or main dish, grill it on a gas element in the middle of your table, and wrap it up in lettuce with rice and other side dishes. Very delicious, and cheap!

After dinner we all went back to our friend Kelly's apartment. Her place is quite a bit smaller than our apartments in Shedae, but we managed to cram about 15 people in there for some Soju before heading to the bar. At 'Mustang Bar,' there was a Waygook party. Waygook is the term for foreigner that has been adopted here, and aside from providing a website that is full of lesson plans and class games to use at school, the Waygook organizers put on a great event for foreigners in Mokpo. Mustang Bar was full of other English teachers from around the province, so we go to meet alot of new people. There was also a flip cup and beer pong table set up, so we felt right at home!

We left Mustang and headed to 'Gwang Nights,' an after hours bar that is renowned among the Mokpo crew. Though it took us forever to find it, the search was well worth it. This place was like nothing you would ever find at home. It was the size of a big concert hall, complete with a huge stage at the front. You pay for the table when you go in, and are served liquor, beer, fruit, and other snacks. There are performers on the stage at the front, and the music was mostly K-Pop, or Korean pop music with choreographed dances, our new favourite genre of music. There were also some favourite songs from home, and we had an awesome time dancing with more than one thousand Koreans in this massive club! They love to dance here =)

Finally, at the end of the night, all the chaos in Gwang Nights meant that the group of us from Suncheon got separated from the others. There was a torrential downpour by this time, and so we ran to the closest building we could. Turns out there was a love motel right beside the club, and since we had gotten lost from the Mokpo people, we decided to call it a night and stay at this motel. Explanation is needed for the term 'love motel'. These are places, very common throughout Korea, that are set up for couples to go for some privacy. You live with your parents until you are married here, usually in pretty small apartments, and so places like these love motels are very necessary for couple getaways. It was 50,000 won, about $50, for the night. All six of us stayed together in this hilarious motel, making for a perfect end to an unforgettable night.

We woke up this morning and found a cafe that served bagels and cream cheese, a much needed dose of comfort food. We then bused back to Suncheon and all made it home in one piece. Needless to say, it was a memorable first weekend away from Suncheon!

The picture is of all the girls at Kelly's apartment. Also note the K-Pop video... this is a girl band called Secret that is a favourite over here. More photos and videos to come soon!

Love to everyone from Jenna and I,

xoxo,
Ems


Liz, Jenna, Jenny, Bernadette, Anne, Kelly, Emilie, Sarah, Heather, Corina, Catherine, Sarah, and Leah

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The 10 BEST things about Korea so far:

  1. The cute Korean kids at our schools
  2. Cheap taxis! You can get basically anywhere in the city for under $5
  3. Cheap food! Our favourite restaurant has nothing over $5. And don’t forget, you don’t have to tip in Korea!
  4. The wonderful people in Korea – everyone is so nice and willing to help you, always.
  5. Being told you are beautiful about 982 times per day
  6. Free stuff! "Service" is very common in Korea, and is basically just extra stuff that comes with whatever you buy. Service can be anything from stickers and pens to boxes of crackers or laundry detergent.
  7. Jenna’s principal at her school (around 50 years old) who reminds her daily that he is "28 and single."
  8. The cell phones! The phones here are way better than anything at home and extremely cheap
  9. The fact the volleyball is the BIGGEST deal in Korea, and on Wednesdays we end school early so the teachers can play volleyball/drink soju.
  10. ....SOJU!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

First weeks are flying by!

Hi everyone!! Jenna here -

So far the first few weeks in Korea have been amazing, and have gone by so fast. It feels like only a day or two ago that I was worrying about my visa going through in time. (Which, by the way, it didn't, but all is well!). Em and I absolutely love everything that is Korea - teaching, the kids, our apartments, our new friends, and the food (well, for the most part... jellyfish and eel have not exactly been on the menu yet).

We already have many trips planned for the upcoming weekends. This weekend we will go to Mokpo, on the west coast of the southern Jeollanamdo province, to visit friends. Mokpo is a beach town and known for its fishing and beautfiul scenery. Next weekend we are headed to the famed beach town of the province, Wando, for the annual beach party. Then it is the Korean national holiday Chuseok (kind of like our thanksgiving) and we are in the midst of planning a trip for that, too. We've thrown around many ideas - Hong Kong? Philippines? Seoul? Jeju Island? There are many exotic options on this side of the world, and we'll be sure to fill you in on whatever we decide.

Of course, the traveling options are just a perk of the job. Our day to day lives are equally as exciting. For the most part, the kids are noisy but so excited that you are there and eager to learn english. It really is amazing the effort the Board of Education has put into their language program here in Jeollanamdo, and I hope in pays off in the future. Already the younger generations have far surpassed the older generation's english abilities, even by the 3rd grade. One kid in my 5th grade class is absolutely amazing - he came up to me on the first day and said "Bonjour, comment ca va?" The kid is trilingual... he speaks perfect Korean and English, and is semi-fluent in French as well. I gather his parents are really intense, and sent him to Montreal to learn english and french when he was younger.

For the most part I am to follow the text book which includes a CD-ROM and detailed lesson plans. However, I am allowed some creativity when it comes to planning the games and getting the students to actually speak english and converse with one another. We teach anywhere from 3-5 classes per day (40 minutes each) and the rest of the time is for lesson planning, and, of course, writing in our blog...........! Today I taught 3 classes of grade 5. I taught them mostly from the text book but played an awesome game called "Bomb Game" which they love. It's basically set up like Jeopardy (on powerpoint), where they pick a screen and have to answer the question behind it, and earn points. Every once in a while instead of the points, a picture of a bomb shows up and "blows up" everyone's points.

I also taught one class to grade 3 this afternoon. Grade 3 is as hard as it is fun; because they are only just starting to learn english in school, their level is extremely varied - some kids' parents have put them in private lessons, and some are starting from scratch. I love teaching grade 3's, though, because I'm allowed to do whatever I want and don't have to follow the text book. Today I taught them prepositions.... I started with a powerpoint of funny pictures like "The dog is ON the table," and "The cat is IN the box". Then we sang a song, which, by the way, Korean kids of ALL ages love.... they get soo into singing and aren't embarrassed in the slightest. Next I had them draw a picture using my directions: "Draw a pencil ON the desk, draw a cat ON the chair." I think it went pretty well, and the kids seemed to have fun.

The kids are insanely motivated by any sort of prize - stickers, candy, pencils, anything...... one teacher even gives mini packages of hot sauce and pickles and the kids absolutely love it... so funny!! Today I gave out Vancouver Olympics stickers and they got really excited. Much better than hot sauce if you ask me.

I know, I know, everyone is eager to see pictures. Currently I am without internet (I can sometimes steal a signal from the apartment next to me) but the connection is nowhere strong enough to post pictures. Once I get internet, though, (hopefully Monday!) we'll post pictures on here and on facebook. I've got lots of great videos too.

Anyways, that's it for now.... miss everyone at home, and hope you are doing well!!
Lots of love,
Jenna xox