Korean election day - 19 Dec

So Wednesday was a freebie vacation for me, because it was the Korean presidential election. I spent the morning having coffee with my friend Julene, who has a heart for international ministries and for reconciliation and for Africa - who has, alas, gone back to her hometown in the US for the next couple of months. It was a spiritually enlightening conversation for both of us.

In the afternoon, I went to Italy Hair to have highlights put in my locks. They had done this about six months ago without the trauma usually associated with foreigners at Korean hair salons. But this time the stylist started slapping on peroxide indiscriminately, and I felt my heart sink into my socks.

So after a lot of furious gesturing, they realised that the resulting luminous carrot-orange was not the color I had in mind. They were very kind and apologetic and offered to fix it "service", which means, for free.

So rather than risk more highlight-horrors, I chose a light golden brown. As you can see, the result was rather nice, and of course, they styled my hair into Korean-style sumptuous spiral curls. If only I could get this effect every morning!

In the evening I attended a small party with my Intermediate Adult class. It was at Annie's house, a globe-trotting Korean who showed us all fantastic hospitality. She put out a delicious spread of seafood, sushi, kimbap, sausage, salad and real cheese! The cherry-on-top was that she had found some South African red wine at E-Mart, and this was supposed to help me feel less homesick. It was definitely good medicine for that.

So Annie (in the purple shirt) is going to South America in January, as this is the only continent she hasn't visited yet. She also told me about her intriguing cross-cultural romance, but I will just leave it at that. Annie is a great role-model and her Korean name means "talented at languages." She is certainly living up to it.

Wesley (in black and yellow) is a die-hard English student, who has recently got married. He and his wife are expecting their first child, so I think they are experiencing a lot of excitement and nerves. Wesley has been called a perfectionist, but I think he is just a hard worker who has high standards for himself. I guess you have to aim for the moon, if you want to reach the stars.

Jin-Ho (in black clothes) is usually quite quiet and respectful. He is a bachelor who seems married only to his computer and the ladies in my class take every opportunity to tease him about finding a wife. He also loves cleaning cars and said that if he ever did volunteer work, he would do laundry work in a disaster area. (He also likes pizza very, very much.)

Hyun-Joo (red shirt) is a mom of two young kids and she has a lovely jazzy voice. She wants to study English at university and become an English teacher for Korean kids. I think she will make a great teacher, because she is very caring and able to express herself well in English. She is looking forward to sending her kids to Kindergarden so that she can have some peace and quiet at home!

All in all, I had a lovely evening with my class and appreciated their concern for me. They really helped me to see how hospitable and warm Koreans can be. I know it can be intimidating for Koreans to speak to foreigners, but when they reach out to us it definitely makes coming to Korea worthwhile.

Korean wedding weekend fun

So Saturday was Calvin's wedding. He was in my Bible Study when I first arrived in Korea and he's a lovely guy. A whole bunch of church friends went to his wedding, which was in a little chapel in the middle of nowhere. Now, unfortunately the Koreans sometimes do a "Western style" wedding, which is like a bad impression of what they think an American or English wedding is like. So there is a white dress and a pastor, but it all happens quickly with slightly tacky edges.

For example, the wedding cake is fake except for the top layer, and they shoot streamers out of trumpets. And the bride comes down the church on a cart through the mist, which is pumped through the floor of the church ala phantom of the opera.

But Calvin looked trendy, and Angela looked gorgeous. And although I didn't understand much of the Korean message, it seemed very sincere.

And supporting a friend in making such an important step is of course, mandatory.

After having photos taken with the wedding couple, we went to the lunch buffet. The food was truly delicious, with Korean, Japanese and other Asian cuisines represented.

Then the couple took part in the intimate, traditional Korean part of the ceremony. They exchanged their tux and gown for bright red and blue hanbok. They then perform a series of gestures full of symbolism, that as Westerners, we do not truly understand, although it was beautiful to watch.

For example, the mother-in-law throws jujubes into the bride's skirt at this time, which means that they wish them to have many children. Jujubes signify riches, honor, and male heirs in Korea. There is also a lot of bowing to everyone, and the groom has to bow to the guests, to his in-laws and to his bride in an extravagant head-touching-the-floor style.

So now it is almost mid-winter and really cold. If you don't believe me, check out the ice-sculptures outside our downtown shopping centre, Yawoori. These blocks are solid ice! They have been left there for a couple of weeks, and show no sign of melting.

On Sunday I said goodbye to Betsy, our church musical star and close friend, who is going back to Redding, Northern California. Betsy is one cool chick, relaxed, creative and with no hang-ups. I will miss her a lot, but hope that my small attempts to teach her Xhosa and Afrikaans have left their mark!

So each Tuesday morning we have a "girls group" bible study at Starbucks.

In this necessary injection of sanity, we have been discussing how to live out our faith in a culture so different from our own. Its been really interesting hearing everyone's story. Although we are all English teachers in Korea, we come from very different backgrounds and countries. But what we have in common is that we are all trying to make a difference in Korea, and act as authentic Christians who are messed-up and flawed in a world that needs God.

You must be the change you want to see in the world. -Gandhi

The elephant song...

I used this video song with my grade 1's in class today. They were in near hysterics! They wanted to sing it about six times. Now the tune is completely stuck in my head. If you teach little kids maybe you can use it too.

Trick or Treat in Shingye-Ri

So autumn (or fall, as the Americans say!) is here, with temperatures plummeting and real colored leaves, red and yellow and gold. We don't get anything like the leaves here in South Africa. Truly stunning.

Shingye-ri is a small village on the road from Cheonan to Mokcheon, known primarily for a whole range of food and sausages made from blood (which I've avoided as much as possible!) Most of the kids who live in Shingye-ri come from poorer backgrounds, and most of them are very respectful and super-cute!

Even outside my window (below) the fall coloring of the trees are evident.

Shingye-ri is also really close to Independence Hall, the largest museum in Korea, and it is quieter and more picturesque than the big nearby city.

It has got lots of traditional-style houses called Hanok along with the big apartments that all the Koreans seem to live in. My boss Miekie and I are the only foreigners in the area (so we get lots of FAME and more than a little notoriety!)

I found a lovely short hiking route near my house, which starts at the Life-Long Learning centre, and courses through the nearby hills.

I enjoy taking walks there, its so quiet, with the smell of leaves and pine-cones and no one else in sight. My only other companions were the Korean squirrels and one large, red-ringed snake (?) which slithered across my path. Definitely a good place to escape from the surging mass of humanity that is Korea!

31 October was Halloween, which meant we had to desperately research what American schoolkids do for Halloween, since its a non-event in South Africa.

We decided on some traditional games such as bobbing for apples, and pin the hat on the witch, a Korean "ghost" game and the ever-popular candy treasure hunt.

As you can see, the kids really enjoyed it, although I thought some of the little kids were going to drown when their heads stayed under water until they had secured the apples!

One of my grade 2 kids has the English nickname "Jack". He was thrilled to discover that the pumpkin lights are known as Jack-o-lanterns. He said to me "Teacher - I am from Halloween!"

Happy (Korean-style) Halloween!

Everland... an epic battle of courage and cowardice.

Let's just say I will never use metaphors like "I felt a rollercoaster of emotions" or "Life is a rollercoaster" lightly again...






So this is the last of the unforeseen holidays, a Wednesday sneaking up right out of nowhere, on the coattails of Chuseok.

After much persuasion, including being handed "The Bryson Ultimatum", I decided to join Betsy, Steph, Jackie, Erik and Matt on a trip to Everland, the biggest amusement park in Korea and my kids' favorite vacation spot.

Everland is a short subway trip to Suwon and then a hefty bus ride out of the city and into the mountains. It's a beautiful part of the country, with the leaves starting to change color. However, it was the man-made marvels that were on our agenda for the day.

Everland was decorated in Halloween theme with pumpkins and bats galore. It's a massive labyrinth and has even been rated as the 4th most visited amusement park in the world. So despite being a Disneyland knock-off, its certainly not second rate.

Now for a culture note about Americans. They get out of the womb and straight into a rollercoaster chair. These adrenalin-hungry thrill-seekers have long out-screamed the natural terror one could be expected to feel on death-defying rides. They are quite blase about it. I've seen pulses racing faster in a sleep clinic.

The Koreans aspire to American entertainment standards, but us Africans are a different breed. We don't really like for our feet to leave the ground. We get our natural fixes from things like muggings, high-jackings, murder and violence. So amusement parks haven't caught on in a big way, and I've never felt the need to get high on anything other than life. But that was all about to change.

We approached a low-key rotating ride called "Championship Rodeo." It starts off quite calmly, a gentle introduction. Jenni was happy. Then it picks up speed.

All of a sudden it is trying to throw its passengers from their carriages in a dangerous, psychopathic fashion. My friends throw their arms up and scream excitedly. I tried to join in, but only a slow dying moan escaped from my mouth.

As I curled up in a fetal position, I heard Matt commentating happily beside me "Oh, this ride is messing up my hair" or "The ticket lady isn't dancing very well." as if he expected me to be able to respond when i was trying to stop myself from gagging or passing out, or jumping from the cart.

My introduction to the land of the brave was not at all flattering.

Undaunted, we went on the "Eagle's Fortress", a seriously impressive rollercoaster with all the necessary turns and falls. During this ride, I managed to let out a few proper screams, which definitely helped. At least it lets you know you are still alive. But I still couldn't quite whistle a happy tune or simply remember my favorite things... I still felt pretty wretched.

The next ride was the "Columbus' which is a huge Viking-type swing ride. This one definitely leaves your stomach in the air while the rest of your body is rapidly descending. Erik kindly said "It helps to open your eyes"and I was naive enough to believe him and thus got a crushing view of us screeching towards terra firma at a 45 degree angle with a truckload of Koreans. Surely Columbus had it much easier than this.

So with adrenalin coursing in my veins and a glazed-over expression in my eyes, I went to explore the rest of Everland. I discovered all kinds of innocent, peaceful rides which of course none of my hard-core friends had wanted to go on. I really liked Aesop's village - it's very child-friendly and magical, with lots of nooks and crannies for kids to explore and non-traumatic games and adventures. I was still waiting for my own PTSD to wear off.

We went to a perfectly un-scary "Haunted House" ride where you shoot ghosts with laser guns. Another room in the haunted vein lifts up entirely and turns around 360 degrees, very "Harry Potter", and pretty cool in a mind-bending sort of way.

Everland also had this crazy Abba-style band, which performed Western songs in a mildly embarrassed manner. Although the singer was Russian, this is a good career option for Westerners who don't get into the English teaching business. Everland likes its performers as blond and Caucasian as possible. In a big auditorium they had all kinds of dancing - Spanish and Irish tap and acrobatics.

As night fell over Everland, we got swept up in an incredible light parade. Different floats represented various fairytale, and I could not help but wave at the characters on top of them. For me, it's quite easy to be as mesmerized as a child in a land of costumes and make-believe. Kudos also for the people I was with, who had a healthy store of child-like enthusiasm for Everland. Consequently we could all merrily regress together.

After the light show, we went on a calm, classic merry-go-round ride and then did some souvenir shopping. I bought a bat Alice-band which my students think is very "cutie", and take turns wearing at the hagwon. On the late-night trip back we tried to come up with titles for my creative writing proposal. Topics ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime..but unfortunately never reached the sublime. But it certainly made the trip go a lot quicker. Everland was another novel experience for me, a quick lesson in introspective psychotherapy and in every way unforgettable.

Chuseok in the misty mountains...

This weekend and the first merciful three days of the week have been Chuseok - the Korean high holiday and somewhat akin to American Thanksgiving. In other words, the Koreans thank an unspecified deity for the harvest and celebrate by eating special foods like rice cake, gathering together at the home of their parents or grandparents and bowing to the ancestors. The Korean kids say its pretty boring for them, but its a few days off school, so who's complaining?

Having no ancestors or relatives anywhere in Korea, I decided to join Martie, Tina and Cor (the Van De Wilt crew) and a couple of their South African friends: Sigrid, Gabi and Lebogang for an all-South African affair, no substitutes accepted.

On Saturday we travelled to Soraksan, the famous mountains right on the North Korean border. Despite our fears for crazy Korean vacation traffic, the trip only took about three and a half hours. We stopped in Sokcho, the last outpost before the wilderness, to buy some supplies and then headed for the Sorak Youth Hostel where we would be staying for three nights. The Hostel looks motel-ish and bland from the outside, but the traditional Korean rooms were very cosy and the location was unbeatable, mountains on every side and a river running so close to our room that you could fall asleep to the sound of it. We made our beds on Korean matresses on the ondol floors and had a quick communal nap.

Now one fantastic thing about being on vacation with a bunch of South Africans... is the food. Perhaps it comes from our church-bazaar culture, or from a long tradition of carrying supplies accross the mountains during the Groot Trek, but the Afrikaners can't simply get fast food from a Korean kimbap shop. We prepared meat, fish, salad, barbecued veggies, the works on the equipment from our self-catering room and on the BBQ outside the hostel. It was "chop en dop" time in the Korean mountains.

It soon became anextended sociable affair of making food together, listening to jokes and drinking red wine. (they now even have one brand of good-as-gold Stellenbosch red wine at a supermarket here..sheer bliss!), playing cards and just taking it easy as night set over the mountains. One of the best finds of the trip was cheap-cheap local prawns, which were pan fried to a beautiful pink.

The next morning we left the sanctuary of our hostel and went to where the action was - the Sorak National Park. Soraksan is a misty craggy mountain set just next to the coast and rising up from green hills. After a fair walk from our hostel through the area, we entered into the lush green forests..along with about 1000 other Koreans. To say that Soraksan is popular is an understatement. Everyone from geriatric ajumas in rediculous bright pink hiking suit to a toddler strapped to a weary mom's back was hiking through Soraksan.

We bought some mielies (corn) from an ajuma and went to look at the Buddha statue and temple in the park. Soraksan is a holy mountain to the Buddhists, so there are many temples, but my SA friends were a little templed out, so I didn't get to see as much as I otherwise would want to.

What we did get to see were spectacular views: we bought tickets to go on the cable car up to the Gwongeumseong Fortress, 700 meters up into the mountains. The short 5 minute cable car trip was dramatic and exciting. You get a whole new perspective on the park, with its tall, ancient forests, the temples lying below you, the wet hills around you and the sharp jagged peaks beckoning you to them.

Gwongeumseong Fortress was a refuge for King Gojong during the Goryeo dynasty (1254) or so the story goes. From the cable car we walked to the peak.. where piles of stones mark the Korean flag flying on the highest point. From the top there is a panoramic view of Sokcho and the East sea. When you get close to the edge of the cliff (as I love to do!) old Korean ajuma ladies yell at you to get back. Surely they don't want to lose too many foreigners to the misty mountains.

On Monday we decided to go to Kanseong, a Lonely Planet recommended beach/lake town even closer to the North Korea Demarcation Line. I spent a lovely day just relaxing on the white sand, playing in the water and reading my courtroom/murder mystery novel.

After another evening of chatting, mountain air and obscenely-named card games, it was time to pack up and come back. The journey home was less glamorous. It took double as long as it did to arrive, as we decided (unwisely) to head through Seoul, where 25% of Korea's population were trying to get home after their celebrations, all on the same highway. But we got home in one piece in the end, a little ragged, but happy for the break.

Of course we have only had a taste of Soraksan and I hope to go back there in the early winter, when it truly lives up to its name of "craggy snow mountains". But Korea is such an incredibly beautiful country hidden beneath a dirty urban veneer. I will try to remember that downtown Cheonan or central Seoul may be the economic heart of Korea, but its certainly not what makes this country breathe.

How good to be with my people again - to speak my language and remember who I am. Their humour, their stories, their perspectives, remind me that I am not as alone here as I sometimes feel I am. It was the best way I could possibly be refreshed.