In sickness and in health...

Danielle has had a rough two weeks with sickness which resulted in her getting a needle in the bum and a couple of days in bed... but it didn't stop her having a lovely weekend away to Seoul and then spend most of this week taking it easy to make up for it.

We have both been surprised at how tired we constantly are all the time - getting home ready to die each evening and being shattered at weekends too.  It's hard to tell whether it is the late onset of jet-lag or the change to our diet - or both - or that we are awake at 6.45am during the week which results in our bodies wakening at around the same time on weekends too despite our best efforts to sleep in.... but we are working on it and maybe a bit of extra exercise will help!

So, what have we done since our last post - well, probably the key event was going to Seoul, for Bryannie's birthday a fortnight ago, to see Cirque du Soleil's Varekai.  It was breath taking and made me pine for the days of yore when I might have been both more physically capable and ballsy to have had a go at flying through the air, leaping around a stage and generally dressing up in some fantastical costume on a stage.  It made me think whether I could have been able to keep a toe in the performance element - but to be honest with myself I doubt I'd have been of the right calibre for a show like this one!

The weekend in Seoul was very relaxed - and we were with a few other couples too which was a nice change though we did also miss some of our other friends who we would normally have been with - but big crowds have their logistics problems too so for once we were very happy with our lot.  There was no set schedule or places we had to be (besides the show) or anyone else to pander to - which made it a really nice atmosphere!
We met up on the Friday night and went for some food - beef instead of pork - which may have been the only mistake of the weekend (or it may have been the McD's) as the chances of cross-contamination was particularly high as cooked meat was moved to the side as raw flesh was chucked on top... at some point over the weekend Danielle got sick and it was too hard to tell whether anyone else was effected by it too as two of the other girls were already ill when they arrived on the Friday too! lol!

On Saturday we all went off in different directions to do our own things - some went to the racetrack to place a few bets on the ponies and others went shopping.  We decided to do the touristy thing and see the sights of Seoul via bus - but we got waylaid on route!

We got the metro towards the pick up point for the bus and came out to a massive square with a few statues along it.  It was very clean, very pretty and also very impressive! The statue behind us is of the king Sejong the Great who was the 4th King of the Joseon Dynasty and the creator (or at least the patron) of Hangul - the written symbols of the Korean language.
Around the back of this statue is a door which leads downstairs to a exhibition all about him and the development of the language.

From here we followed the square to the end where we discovered that we were at the Royal Palaces of which there were a few - and decided to have a look around with a view to coming back if we had time either after the bus or the next day.

But once we got closer to it we ventured inside, and wanted to see more...

IT WAS MASSIVE!!! In the end we spent around 3 hours walking around it and only seen about a third of the area which had the palaces restored and kept in exquisite order.



There were men dressed in traditional costume at the main gate - guarding the entrance much as they would have done hundreds of years ago.  They had traditional weapons and even the changing of the guard too of which there was as much pomp and circumstance as you would expect at Buckingham Palace.
There was a museum, a children's museum, an arts centre, displays of old buildings from the 50s and 60s, replicas of historical statues from across Korea... and much more that we didn't even get to see! In fact, in order to show you the images I had to rearrange my Flickr sets so I could stream the photos on here.

So - this weekend we decided to stay at home in Chungju again and relax.  Saturday was a lazy but expensive day.  We walked to the shop where I bought my bike to leave it in to be repaired as the back wheel had buckled and needed fixed by someone more qualified than I.  From there we walk into the town to waltz around the shops and then headed to get some snacks for a pizza and movie night we were hosting.  This last stop resulted in us buying an oven - unfortunately all the instructions are in Korean... there is no translation available online... and it sounds like a microwave when on but we'll figure it out this week as I try making a few bits and bobs!

Sunday saw us venturing out towards Chungju Dam, with Hanna Bear, to see what all the fuss was about - as everyone was talking about seeing the Cherry Blossom Festivals here... it turns out there are two sides to the Cherry Blossom Festivals - the lovely Cherry Blossoms and the awful entertainment they provide (it was NOT entertaining!!! X-Factor NOT!!!).

The most entertaining aspect of the day was the matching clothes that couples and families sometimes wear here in Korea - especially young families will wear matching jumpers or t-shirts which looks really cute but also funny, though adults do it too.  We were also lucky to catch a couple of molested dogs decorated by their owners... no idea why though! lol!

So, I'm off back to class and will prepare myself for a week of baking and roasting (lots of accidents and errors are expected as I try to figure out what the oven is doing and how it works)... fingers crossed I'll work it out and get some good results in the end!

Where does the time go?

It has been a few weeks since I last had the chance to write on this blog... the daily schedule seems to have become:

- wake at 6.45am, get washed, get breakfast, get out by 7.45am
- get to work around 8.10am and then classes start at either 8.45 or 9am (depending on the day of the week)
- work until 4.30pm (for Colm ) or 5pm (Danielle) and then head home
- get home and collapse onto couch...
- make dinner / go out for dinner (restaurant or maybe a friend's)
- go to bed / get home and fall into bed
- sleep.

The only variation is the weekends - which are either the same morning schedule delayed by an hour as we jump on a bus to Seoul or we blow the schedule out of the water by not moving until 11am, and when we do move it is only to eat and lounge around on the couch until we can be bothered to wash and get dressed.

After another visit to Seoul a couple of weeks ago (which did result in some shopping by Danielle and Colm buying a guitar) we decided that we should remain in Chungju for the first time last weekend - and it was great! No rushing to get a bus, no stressing about dodgy accommodation, no worrying about where people have disappeared to/when they'll be back/why the bloke behind you is hacking phlem up (and is he going to spit out beside you while you try to eat your sandwich).

Staying in Chungju was lovely - the weather, the relaxing - it made for a 'nice' weekend and gave us the opportunity to get to know a little more about the city we live in.

So, on the Sunday, we decided to go for a cycle out towards the centre of Korea where a 7-story pagoda stands - but we never got there! We ended up being side tracked to a park area which was dotted with sculptures of seemingly risque nature which overlooks where two rivers join together.

Grand Auditorium - with a solo fella playing Sax to dodgy music...

The boys loved the sculptures!

So, we are heading off to Seoul again this weekend to see a show, meet up with some friends and generally have a wail of a time (or is it whale...?).  Tickets are bought, accommodation sorted - but Danielle is ill which a Doctor's visit deemed to be due to the weather, the change of diet and stress.  They were able to rule out pregnancy so no party yet! lol!

I'll try and update on here earlier next time so you can be fully informed!

Thanks for reading!

Fun, frolics and worrying.

It's been an eventful fortnight - started teaching in my school, started cycling to and from school (albeit on a rickety old bike that crushes bones), got internet into the apartment and mobile phones sorted out - and we also had our first weekend away to another city! Lovely!

I have quite a full schedule each day which totals 24 classes (during school) each week and 3 after school classes but I am looking at this in terms of money and kudos in the school - in the hope that I may have future favours return to me too. If I scratch their backs...blah blah blah...

I've so far found that my 1st Graders are much better and more open with their English than either of the 2nd or 3rd Graders - which I am attributing to them having had a good experience with GETs in their elementary schools.  I don't know how the previous GET to me got on with the students so all I can hope is that they slowly come round to me over the course of the year... which may of course take time when you only have a class once each week!

Danielle enjoys both of her schools - she attends one school 4 days (Mon - Wed and then Fri) and the other only on Thursdays.  Her Thursday school is small in numbers but, due to its location near an Airbase, she has found the children to have a good level of English which means she can have more fun with them.

We met up with a load of other GETs from our Orientation for the weekend in Daejeon - one of the country's larger cities.  A train journey on Saturday morning was cheap, comfortable and quick.  We then went to watch Daejeon's football team play against Seoul in the K-League - a 1-1 draw but was good craic and only cost 5,000Won - roughly 2.50 GBP!

It was soooooo easy to get there that we are pretty certain that we will go back to a few more home games and support Daejeon in the future... though if we learn that Chungju has a team then we may just have to support them instead! We know there is a stadium but we haven't seen it yet... sure we are here for at least a year - we'll have lots of time to go and see it another time! hahaha!

A substantial amount of drink was consumed that night by all (bar me) and after entering a bar/restaurant called Boobie Boobie (merely because of the name) for a quick one - we left over 2 hours later with some members of the group having to be helped down the stairs.  It was then onto a Karaoke room or Noreban as they are called here - for more drink-fueled singing and banter.  We even picked up some locals on the way and forcibly made them join us....

It was a great weekend - lovely to see some of our friends from Orientation with who we've become quite attached, and to see more of this country and it's people.

Can't wait for the next time!!! lol!

As for the worrying part - we have a cousin who is living/working in Japan, specifically Fukishima where the Power Plant is.  He has been on the road since Sunday and is trying to move to a safer part of the country with a couple of others. We've been able to speak to him on Facebook and Skype but even knowing that he is currently safe doesn't stop us worrying about him and his friends - and also his girlfriend's family too.  Japan is still in turmoil and will take some time to recover and too many people have died. So even if you don't have a faith, please say a word to the man upstairs to give them strength.

A beautiful place to live...

While looking for videos and inspiration for conversation topics for my classes I found this on a website I have been checking out on a regular basis since last November when we were initially told we were going to South Korea - Eat Your Kimchi.

This video is a brilliant view of the country in which Danielle and I now live - if you have the time then take a look... it might encourage you to come here to visit!

Do You Know South Korea? from David Dutton on Vimeo.

Its all go here!

So, we've finally moved to Chungju and after a night in an 80s hotel we moved into our apartment.

It is a nice place in a block of apartments. We're close to shops, takeaways, the bus station etc so it is very handy!

It has 3 bedrooms, an open-plan kitchen/living-room, a reasonable sized bathroom and a balcony.

I took a quick video yesterday (after we had decorated the living-room wall and the kitchen units) so you can all see it for yourselves!

Never thought it would happen...

During one of our classes yesterday it became apparent that the lack of provision for those with Special Needs was not the only issue we would have to deal with in regards to behavioural problems or causes for disruption in our classes.

Special Needs children mainly carry on in regular school classes but drop off the register as they fail exams to get into High School - with no real specialist support (though in some cases a helper may be employed to assist them in school to a certain extent). This is due to the stigma attached to not succeeding in this country... a place which shamefully has the highest adolescent suicide rate in the world due to the pressure of exams and the need to be the best academically.

But today a new situation was flagged in our faces - Orphanages.

I had expected that such institutions would have existed here as there are orphans across the globe due to illness, low mortality rates, war etc. but I had not been prepared for the harsh and selfish nature of Korea in this respect.

It is not uncommon for a child to be placed into an orphanage if their parents get divorced! They just get rid of them!

Why? Because no one wants to get married to someone and be a parent of another blood line!

??? So they just divorce their own kids to look for a new partner? Yep!

We can't even imagine how this would affect the children involved - an eternal feeling of 'I'm not wanted'?

I know I'll not be able to change anything here in South Korea... and I know I'll have to hold my tongue on many things that will drive me mad while I am here... but even if I can't change it - I think that letting these children know (along with the other orphans) that they are the rice of Korea, the future of the country, that they more important than their parents is a must for me during the next 12 months and that I should go out of my way to make life better for them.

How can a parent ditch such a responsibility as a child just to copulate?

Rant over for now.

Field Trip and lesson planning...

So after two days of intense lecturing, learning Korean, watching Korean movies and trying to be sociable we were all looking forward to Monday's Field Trip to the Jeonju Hanok Village and then the Traditional Cultural Centre.  Everyone wrapped up warm and boarded buses to take us to our starting locations - classes 1 to 4 went to the Hanok Village first for a tour with some handicrafts (making a photo frame) and then off to a restaurant for some Bimbimbap for lunch.

This was our first real class group photograph (although 4 members of the class were missing as they had to attend the medical that the rest of us suffered on the first morning here), taken outside the Gyeonggijeon Shrine.

After going round the village we ventured down to Nambu Sijang a market area which gave us a real insight into both the people here and also the wears that they sold/bought in the markets. Some things were a bit "eugh!", such as the silk worms which they ate but there was also a fasinating selection of fruits, fish and beans/lentils too.

From the market we went to a craft village where we made the aforementioned photo frames from paper made in the village (using traditional methods).  The paper is also used in the making of doors and windows.

Then it was off to a popular Jongro Restaurant, Korean tourist restaurant, where we were all given some traditional Bimbimbap - a dish that translates as being an all in one bowl dish.  Some people loved it and the various other delicacies that were provided... others not so much! lol!



It was then onto an old traditional school which is partly being restored and not currently in use.  Inside the grounds was a tree which the Korean people hold very dear as it is over 800 years old... so of course loads of people wanted their photo taken with the tree and seized the opportunity to touch it!

There was soooo much happening throughout the day that I can't possibly post all the photos on this blog. 

Between dancing, drumming and traditional Korean wedding cermonies (Danielle was a Bridesmaid!) the day was packed and we were all totally exhausted by the time we got back to the university.  Unfortunately the day didn't end as soon as we all got back as many of us wanted to meet up to go through lesson plan planning for joint presentations on Thursday morning... an EPIK orientation teacher's day never stops!
So, as a means of giving you the opportunity to have a look at all the photographs from the day I have added in a slideshow below... fingers-crossed it works!