Tag Archives: Jeju

Contrast Extraordinaire

Contrast Extraodinaire

This is a pretty dang strange transition I’m doing this week.

I was living on Jeju, a small island off the southern tip of mainland Korea, with a total population of around 500,000. Jeju means natural beauty, lush vegetable gardens, tropical storms, fishing, hiking. Korean means stressed-out fast-paced lifestyle of work and studying, with one of the highest suicide rates in the world. So, I was surrounded by water and green spaces, teaching little kids, on a go-go schedule with little time for dinner. In Korea, “Week-long vacations” in Korea are given mid-week to mid-week, so you’ll have seven days off, not nine. I’ve been unable to recover my voice for the past two weeks due to the combination of a cold and teaching some feisty kids. I went out with a bang, my last day of work a Halloween party.

In contrast…

Yesterday, I arrived in Riyadh, a city of about 12 million in the middle of the desert that is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Here Islam is the government and the religion, so at prayer times, businesses close. Calls to prayer can be heard anywhere you are, calling people to stop to pray five times a day. I arrived at 2 am, waited 2 hours for someone to meet me. The next day I was told, we’re on holiday so we’ll talk to you November 12th. From November 4th to November 11th, I’m free! Other teachers that arrived during this break may feel they’re being ignored, but me, I’m resting, listening to prayer calls floating in the air, and recharging. I’m A-ok.

Hiking Abundance!

The amount of variety, choice, range of scenery and difficulty, the amount of resources and trail maps, the access to trails by bus!!!  It’s all just overwhelming. And that’s a wonderful thing!

The picture here was taken by my friend Kris with the panoramic feature on her new camera, on a hike we did in early October to Geomunoreum. For this hike, you must reserve a spot and go with a guide. Was it free or a few bucks? I can’t remember. I just remember it was lovely.

There are also over a dozen Olle trails, which are marked trails that meander around the island, and an info booth at the airport with maps and help.

The coolest thing though is that you can take a local bus to the entrance of most national parks. This makes it easy even to hike in one way, and return from a different part. This is a good idea when doing an Olle trail or when hiking the ‘big mountain’ here, Mt. Halla.

There are also dozens of smaller hiking trails. Jeju is dotted with oreums, small volcanic burps. Walk up one and get a lovely view. You’ll also probably find some outdoor exercise equipment and a temple.

Not sure what do to? Ask a friend, ask the Olle information person at Family Mart, or call the tourist info line at 064-1330. Nice and easy.

Luxury of wasting time

Today I turned 51. For those of us born in places like the US, Korea or Saudi Arabia, the life expectancy for a woman is about 80, so I’m thinking about 30 years would be typical.

But when I was in Ghana, I learned that the life expectancy is a good 20 years less. Ghana women average age: 60. Ethiopia: 53   (life expectancy by country)

Does having an extra 20 years to live make you careless with time, the same way we are with money?

Seeing Korean kids getting shuttled from academy to academy, pushed to excel at any cost, it makes me think that here, people are bogged down under the luxury of wasting time when measured on the grand scale. Koreans are so hard-working they are wasting their lives away at schools and offices, leaving little time for being loving family and friends. If 50 year olds thought they had only another 3 to 10 more years alive, would they still continue with this focus?

My birthday wish is that we all find ways to savor our time here. US, Korean and many cultures may not value the time spent developing loving relationships, so you’re probably gonna be bucking the trend.

And your time may be  20 years more or less than that of friends born in another country. One can never know. Until it’s too late.

Maybe this sounds like a depressing message, but I’m hoping for the opposite effect. I wake up and whoop with joy pretty much daily, with the realization that it looks like I probably got myself another day on the planet.

Like a lot of luxuries that seem great but quickly feel ridiculous and weighty, who really wants the luxury of wasting time?

Happy birthday to you …today and every day

Life on Mars… getting better

The following week’s assignment, reflecting on life on Mars came up with some positive developments. (See previous post about life on Mars)

First, the students who had to study hard, go to so many academies to learn so many Alien language,  and reported that they couldn’t understand their Alien teacher’s accents… They later thought that actually people living on Mars will be able to read each other’s minds. Language is no longer a problem.

When you think of the countless hours Koreans spend learning English, and some also learn Chinese, this notion is mind-blowing.

Swimming season fades away…but mosquitoes don’t

The nights are getting chillier and the hopes of another warm day for swimming are evaporating.

The days now are more often blue skies and a slight breeze. The fish must be coming in closer to shore because at night the boardwalk is lined with men surf-casting in the few-feet high waves that break near the boardwalk wall. They’re pulling out 10-14″ glistening fish. No idea what kind.

In Colorado, when the weather gets this chilly, the mosquitoes drop off. It’s kind of a deal we have. Warm enough to swim, you get mosquitoes. Too cold to swim, no mosquitoes.

Apparently, that wasn’t in the contract with Jeju mosquitoes. They don’t seem to mind the cool weather. More than once I’ve gotten up in the middle of the night to put on bug spray after my hands and face have been bitten. I used a fan to keep them away in the hot weather, but now that’s a silly tactic since it’s too cold for me. I guess a mosquito net would have been a good investment. But I keep thinking the mosquitoes can’t last much longer. So far, that’s been a steady, but wrong guess.

Life on Mars …a lot like Korea?

I have a class of five middle school girls. The theme of the unit is Life on Mars. We did a brainstorming group doodle on the whiteboard first, where the students filled the board with images and words: domes, jetpacks, satellites, astronaut suits, comets, craters, asteroids.

We read an email dated 2028 from a boy on Mars, then they had to write an email describing their life on Mars. Does this sound like Korea to you?

  • By now, half the population of Earth has moved to Mars. We attend high school and university, just as on Earth, so now there is heavy competition to enter university.
  • On Mars, we go to schools and academies, but it’s hard to understand the accent of my teacher, who is an Alien.
  • It’s even worse than earth, on Mars, because we have to learn many new Alien languages (not just English)
  • There are many domes on Mars, but it’s boring here because you can never leave your dome to visit other domes. You are stuck in your dome.

Loving vegetables

Fast food and processed food are gaining ground in Korea, but it’s nothing close to the U.S.  In general, Koreans still have a better appreciation of ‘good food’ as nutritious food.

This is so simple, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit.  But the Korean way of eating has taught me many easy ways to include vegetables in my eating:

  • A friend was stealthily eating a cooked, whole sweet potato on the bus for her breakfast (eating in public is frowned on here)
  • Snorkeling trip snacks were boiled new potatoes and slices of steamed pumpkin. Neither were peeled, and both were warm and delicious treats as we stood devouring them, wet and shivering.
  • For lunch, our Korean teachers usually bring small containers of a variety of foods: rice, kimchi, and other stuff, which is then shared. So, bringing a small container of broccoli, zucchini, eggplant, or sauteed veggies is a welcome addition. Broccoli requires no seasoning. Zucchini and eggplant are always great with oregano or basil or a bit of tomato/spaghetti sauce.
  • Fruit is considered dessert: apple slices, or bananas sliced into yogurt.

But, I did come up with a new one they hadn’t tried. Apple slices dipped in peanut butter!

Neighborhood sounds

Here are some of the sounds I hear from my apartment:

Women pounding their clothes, washing them in the watering hole in front of my apartment. They use a flat wooden paddle, that looks like a weapon. The pounding isn’t a continuous rhythm. Just 5-8 beats, a pause to dip the clothes in the water, turn them or examine them, then a few more beats. Sometimes I hear a couple women pounding in alternating beats, like the “I’ve been working on the railroad” style. Then, it’s the voices of the women. Elderly Korean women are known as being strong, and pretty pushy. So their voices often sound like they’re giving each other a piece of their mind, but I can’t really tell.

The washing pounding sounds a lot like the pounding that Buddhist monks do, as part of their rituals. Out walking, you can tell you’re near a temple, when you hear a sharper sound than the washing pounding. The monk taps on a hollowed gourd, with a rhythm unidentifiable to me, but not Western 4/4 time. On a Sunday morning, a few neighbor ladies were chanting, beating the gourd, and holding what seemed to be an impromptu Buddhist ceremony in the shade of the garden shed, looking out to the garden adjacent to my apartment building.

There’s another sound that I hear often. When I first hear it, it always remind me of the “Call to Prayer” that I first heard regularly in Niger. It was so hot, we slept outside on the patio, and at 5am, the neighborhood mosque’s Iman would come over the loud speakers posted throughout  the neighborhood.

So, when I hear the trucks rolling through my neighborhood with their loudspeaker announcements going, it sounds like the same rhythm. But, I realized, with an entirely different purpose. The announcements are usually recorded (poorly), so you will see a man driving a truck, and hear the recording of his voice maybe?, again and again. He is selling produce or fish. The call sounds like umdumdadumbadadidum, kamsamnida. (Selling something, thanks!)

I’ve heard some trucks are selling dogs for meat, but haven’t seen this myself. I have heard the barking from a few dog farms, when out walking in the hills. People enjoy dog soup here. I’m a speciesist. I can’t even enjoy lamb because of the cuteness factor of the live animal,  I guess.  I have no desire to try dog soup.

Changing the subject, the other sounds are often the wind and rain. Island weather, I guess. Though, I’m next to the water, it’s rare to hear the waves crashing. Samyang Beach is on the side of the island facing mainland Korea so there aren’t big waves here.

I do hear a big ship blowing it’s horn once in awhile, and I wonder, is that a real means of communication these days? What does it mean? “Hey, I’m a really big ship and I’ll be there in an hour.” I hope there’s a more sophisticated communication scheme behind that horn blast.

Crickets and locusts are also pretty constant, at least at this time of year. And it’s pretty common to get a cricket in my apartment. My own personal Jimminy Cricket.

The most striking sound is what’s not heard. There is no background traffic noise here. I’ll hear a car or truck drive by, or several, but there’s no traffic hum. That part is really lovely!

 

 

 

 

Bowing

Here in Korea, there’s a heck of a lot of bowing goin’ on. The deeper the bow, the more respect is being shown.

  • At the end of the newscast, the man and woman announcers make nearly a full bow to the audience, then to each other. (Well as far as you can go without bumping your head on the desk, I guess!
  • After I get out of the taxi, I close the door, then turn to face the driver. I do a small head bow, as I say thank you. He returns a small head bow, then drives off.
  • When you walk into E-Mart or Lotte Mart, the Korean equivalent of a Wal-Mart greeter is there. Usually a man or less often a woman in her 20′s, welcomes you with a hello and bow deeper than a simple head bow.
  • When you leave a sit-down restaurant, it’s common to turn to face the proprietor and offer a thank you and small head bow. This is especially the case if you’re slipping your shoes back on. You have to think about how to get your shoes on, turn around then say your polite goodbye.
  • When you pass an elder on the street, or someone that wants to greet you, you want to be ready with a small head bow, and maybe a hello (ahnyeonhaseyeo) or just ‘neh’ (yes/nod)

I think in the West, we often look back over our shoulder, smile and say Bye, with a little wave. The problem with this form is that is gives the person you’re leaving the view of your backside. When a front bow is most polite, the backside …isn’t.

There are bunches of rules about what politeness form you use with others, and how you bow, depending on age, situation, etc.  I seem to get by okay with lots of little bows all day long, and still just the most basic command of Korean.  (‘command’ seems a bit strong for the reality of what I do!)

(I’m surprised that students don’t bow to teachers. It’s not a problem for me, but I’d heard they probably would! Who knew, you’d get bows at E-Mart and watching the news, but not from student to teacher?)

Jeju-style fishing

Jeju is known for it’s women divers. Haenyeos (hen-yuh) are women that dive for shellfish, using minimal equipment. It’s pretty common to see them around Jeju, and

we’ve see them around Samyang area, when we went snorkeling near Hamdeok and here and there.

They use only a wetsuit, weighted vest and goggles, and stay under for 2-3 minutes collecting seaweed, abalone or clams with a digging hoe. Because of this physical and economic strength, these diving Jeju women have had more of a leadership and environmental advocate role than elsewhere. This article has more info, which I recommend!

…then there are the men…

At night, it’s easiest to see how the men fish. The squid trawlers dot the horizon with bright lights that attract the squid. So, when you look out to sea, bright lights look back at you. (Too far and too big to take out with a beebee gun!)

I also see men fishing anytime of day, but I hang out near the fishing area myself on these waning summer evenings. Night fishing here, the guys use a dual red and green glowing set up. The red glow looks like an LED-illuminated float. The green glowing part sinks below the surface a foot or so, with some combination of hooks and weights, I guess.

I’ve never once seen a woman fishing from the shore, though I’m sure it happens. I have seen women accompanying men. The women sit on the side watching a video on their phone, play with the kids of read a book.

But don’t you think it’s kinda funny. Women dive underwater and gather their catch. Men either drive big boats or sit on the shore.

Are men and women are equal, but different? Are men lazy or are they just smart? Are women strong or are they just overdoing it? Why do women dive and men drive?

Not sure about you, but it does make me wonder!

Chuseok gifts

I was wandering around in E-Mart two days before the Korean holiday of Chuseok. (This would be like being in SuperTarget two days before Thanksgiving or maybe even Christmas.)

I was first surprised because there were dozens of women throughout the store dressed in traditional Korean clothing, called Hanbok.

Occasionally, I’ve seen women wearing these at a wedding hall or cultural performance, but in this case, I realized, they were sales representatives for various Chuseok gift lines.

Last year I received toothpaste and soap from my employer and a small suitcase-sized box of dried seaweed from friends. This year, I received a gift certificate for a restaurant. Cool!

Boxed Chuseok gifts were hot sellers at E-Mart that day, as shoppers filled their carts with a diverse selection of items:

  • Alcohol: Korean traditional soju or Makgeolli, or Jack Daniels or Chivas whiskey
  • Drinks: Korean ginseng tea, aloe vera juice, or Minute Maid or Del Monte brand orange & grape juice sets
  • Coffee & Tea: Expensive loose green tea sets or instant Maxim or Taster’s choice coffee
  • Oil: Grapeseed oil bottles
  • Herbs: Fresh ginseng roots in boxed sets, set on an elegant red or gold cloth
  • Canned food: Boxed sets of tuna or spam, or combinations of SPAM and dried seaweed packets artfully arranged
  • Fresh fruit: Boxes sets of three large peaches, or a whole flat of purple grapes

 

Smuggled food

Students aren’t allowed to eat in the classroom. And teachers aren’t allowed to bring in any snacks or treats. The only exception is the occasional piece of candy they get taped to a test or assignment, and they’re under strict orders to put it away and eat it later.

So, when a student sneaks food to me, is it a ploy to let them eat in class; is it bribery or a sincere gift? Quite possibly all the above.

Here are a few recent examples…

One of my eight-year old students was at school almost 30 minutes early. Bored to bits, pacing the halls like a caged tiger, peeking his head into the strictly off-limits teacher’s room and saying “Teacher, Teacher, Hi Teacher!”. About the fifth time ‘greeting’ me, he added, “Come! Please!”

“No, (thanks!), I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Teacher, please! Come!” He motions that he has to something to give me.

Finally, I go to the door. He transfers from his hands to mine, a heap of somewhat worse for wear, potato chips. “For you!,” he says triumphantly.

What do I do with this ‘gift’? I stuffed the whole handful of chips directly in my mouth.  While wondering why were the chips slightly moist and not really crunchy, I made a note to myself, figure out another option for next time.

—–

The next day, I was walking out of the restroom. One of my former students, a seven-year-old girl, grabbed my hand, dashed into the restroom, pulling me with her and closed the door. Oh no, what mishap?, I wondered. She held the door closed with her body, while she wrangled a lollipop from her pants pocket. She tucked it into my hand with a quick smile, then opened the door and darted off to her class.

—-

I walked into a middle school class before the bell rang, and ‘busted’ them eating. No thanks, I said, when they offered me some. Here, you’ve got to try it! It’s a Korean snack! It’s so good! It looks like uncooked ramen noodles, broken up. (The package even has directions with a warning, don’t cook this!) Ignoring my ‘no’, they tried to stuff some in my mouth for me, insisting I’d love it. That time, I was quick enough to get away!

—

Finally, a new student joined a middle school class. The other students were griping about the class, as they had to do a pretty difficult listening test. But the new guy enjoyed the thrill of the new environment, the students, the class and maybe even the teacher. Standing in line, waiting for the bell to ring, the others whined about life or edged in front of each other to leave class a fraction of a second earlier.

The new guy was oblivious to all of that. He stood there glowing. Suddenly, he reached into his bag and produced a piece of gum, wrapped and new looking in ‘mint’ condition (haha). I accepted the gift, said thanks and mumbled that I couldn’t eat it now, but would keep it.  When I looked back at him, he had a sad look then a smile flashed. He must have thought that one piece wasn’t quite enough. He dug around and quickly produced a second piece of unscathed, beautifully wrapped gum, placed it in my hand and then smiled contently.

The bell rang, the other students left in a mob, he made a quick headbow goodbye, smiled and floated out the door and down the hall.

—-

 

 

Sunday afternoon for students

After swimming at the far beach (two blocks away instead of one), I ran into a couple of my rascally students. They were wet and peering over the edge of the seawall to the water below, excitedly pointing at fish below.  One had a fishing pole, the surfcast style with no reel. He had a green piece of plastic with a bunch of string wrapped around it (fishing line or kite string?). He leaned back and launched his ‘hook’. It was then that I saw a really big rusty nail tied to the end of the string.

“What, do you actually catch fish with that?,” I asked

“Yes!,” he said.

“No!,” his friend said.

“Teacher, Teacher,” the friend said, “My diary tomorrow: ‘I dived in the beach”’ He pointed to the beach beyond. Cool, he’s already composing his diary in English.

Hollow win

Well, I won the song battle with my students. I learned Someday by IU, I’m the Best by 2NE1, and Love in the Milky Way by 10cm.

But, they didn’t have time to do it. The three of them, fifth and sixth graders, they were staying up until midnight to complete their ‘vacation homework’. After their rounds studying flute, piano. calligraphy, abacus, science, math and more, they were exhausted. During that week, for the first time ever, I saw these students struggling to keep their eyes open in class.

So, I didn’t have the heart to extract my payment of pizza from them, if they failed to learn the three songs they chose: Lemon Tree (done), You Are My Sunshine (done), Puff the Magic Dragon (fail).

Think it’s easy? Try singing along with this one: Someday by IU. (It’s the easiest of the three.)

It took me roughly 100-200 listens to get each song down, plus lots of writing down the pronunciation so I could do it. Then, it took multiple tries to get a song down, as I recorded my singing track on top of the original using the free audio program, Audacity.

What did you do on your summer vacation?

On his 40-day summer vacation, one 11-year old boy attends classes various days throughout the week at Chinese Academy (beginning at 8 am), Science Academy, Flute and Abacus classes (summer school at his regular school), English class at our academy, and a special class studying for a Math competition.

An 11-year old girl has a similar schedule with flute, calligraphy, Math Academy, English role play, English at our academy, then a private tutor at home who teaches Math, English and Science.

In addition to these classes, students have ‘vacation homework’. The boy said he had to read 50 novels (in Korean); the girl had to read 20 novels. There is other homework in addition to that.

We are expected to assign 30 minutes of homework at the end of class and check it at the beginning of the next class. When they beg me, “Teacher, little homework please!,” it’s a lot more convincing than when I was a kid and begged my teacher for the same thing.

Students …everywhere

I do like being part of a community. That means that when I’m out and about, I might just run into one of my students.

Like today, when I went to the small beach in town, I was surprised to see dozens of kids in red shirts & red life jackets. Out swimming, I heard, Hi teacher (and my name!). It took me awhile to identify my wet students in the crowd. But then, got to splash and practice swimming with them and 38 of their church group friends.

Being an English speaker in Korea makes you the envy of most. Add to that, some basic swimming skill, and wow, you’re amazing!

 

Two of these kids are my students

Typhoon Muifa passes by

Having been raised in a mountain desert, I have no clue for what to do during a typhoon.

Local wisdom is …stay home! If the windows rattle too much, tape them to prevent them from breaking.

On Sunday, August 7th, Typhoon Mufia passed near Jeju. With heavy rains starting early in the morning and continuing until after 11 pm, there wasn’t much to do that day.

The rains and wind were so heavy, it made it seem silly to make that trip to empty the compost just outside our building. So, I didn’t until midnight.

“Living at the beach’ seems a lot less desirable on a day like this. When the wind and rain get going, you have to wonder if this is your last day on the planet. And if it is, should I be doing something more important than learning a Korean song, and taking another nap?Meh, can’t think of anything!

Several students said their homes had pretty severe water damage and flooding. (I didn’t understand at first, because in Korean there’s no ‘f’ sound so it’s tai-poon mui-pa).

Typhoon Muifa did cause a lot of damage in Asia as a whole, and 22 deaths in China.

At times like this, you do notice that you’re alive and that’s not guaranteed to be the case every day!

 

Bathing naked with the neighbors

Yeo-Tang (Women's Bathing Area)

A few days ago, I found a gem of a place right in front of my apartment. My friend and I literally stumbled onto it. We were trying to find our way in the dark, to get out to a quieter area of the rock wall. We headed to one passageway, and discovered nearly too late that it was the men’s bathing area. A woman directed us instead to the passageway marked “여탕”. We thought she was showing us a way to get out to the further sections, so were surprised when we walked into an outdoor bathing area for women.

Old women, little girls, women of all ages use this bathing area to wash themselves, each other and clothes. The place is so ingeniously designed. Rock and concrete form courses for the spring water to flow through, as it gradually mixes with the sea beyond the wall. Flat paths and a couple more levels form an array of places to stand, wash, set things and sit.

The water is cold! At low tide, about five inches of water is all you have to wash your body and your hair. To wash your hair, women take an interesting stance. Lean forward, dip your hair and head in (for an instant head freeze!) Do it, then the view is looking back thru your legs to the far wall and the water heading out to the sea.

A streetlight above provides light until late at night. The first night, we sang the song we were learning, Moon River (in English) while women around us bathed.  It’s such a cool option to be able to bathe outdoors.

Today, on the way home from swimming, I stopped in and bathed. An elderly woman was bathing, and a young woman was washing a few clothes and helping her 5-year old daughter bathe and wash her hair.

Somehow, I didn't notice the women's bathing area (left) at the watering hole across from my apt (center, gold color)