Armadillo Class and Kim Jong Il's Countryside

Much has happened in the past week and highlights included my finding out that I will be switched to a full-time kindergarten teacher as of December, I came down with the second round of the deathly cold and have been left without a voice, and the DMZ tour I took with several friends (and contrary to what I so excitedly anticipated, Kim Jong Il did not greet me with open arms at the border).

First of all, I did not plan to be hailed as the Queen of Sheeba upon signing my first contract after completing a Bachelor's of Arts from the "Jesuit University in Cleveland," but this sudden job switch has left me a bit dissatisfied with my employer. After I decided that I needed a little stint abroad after graduation, I became co-teacher with some high school friends over here in Seoul. I came into the job with an open mind and with the view that it will be temporary until I return to the states to pursue a career more closely related to my areas of academic concentration. I have become settled in my ways (in terms of living, teaching, etc.) and on Monday, I was notified that I am going to be working as a full-time kindergarten teacher in Armadillo class as of December (when Mer1 leaves for home).

Since I began teaching, I have been working predominantly with older students who range from ages seven to about twelve, specifically from the hours of 11:30 am to 7:20 pm on a daily basis. In December, I will work longer days and with students who have never spoken English in their lives. It is not a surprise to me that this happens [not to me though! ha ha], but I thought I would at least have been asked of my comfort level with the change. I studied Political Science with a concentration on Latin America and it is quite obvious that I am a much more qualified candidate than those who have studied teaching, to teach "fresh out of the womb" Korean children how to speak English. As you scoff at my realization of how the real world functions, I will be over here adapting to the new change and learning to teach my little army of Korean kindergartners with their Hello Kitty pencil cases and lunch boxes :)

After the surprise at work, came the surprise victory lap of horrid cold. I was very sick about three weeks ago and this heinous bug has resurfaced. The trip that Carly, Darcie, Imee, Mer1 and I took to the DMZ yesterday probably did not help. Saturday was a very cold and rainy day in Korea. The five of us met at the United Service Organization (USO) at 7:15 am to catch our bus to the DMZ. I do not think I have been up that early on a Saturday since my sister, Rachel, and I woke up early to hurl damn newspapers on our neighborhood paper route when we were kids. The bus ride took a little over an hour and we stopped at Camp Bonifas, (located 2400 meters from North Korea) where we all exited our bus and boarded buses belonging to the military. Once we were on their buses, we were driven to the UN Security Building at Panmunjeom. We walked by this building and it hosts communication amongst the UN, North and South Korea. There were about five buildings. Three were blue buildings constructed as temporary buildings for talks between the north and the south in the 1950's. The buildings have remained in tact and are still used today.

The soldiers in the photos are all South Korean soldiers. Each male in South Korean is committed to two years of military service before the age of 30. Because of this, it is usual for men not to finish university at the age of 27 or 28.










Some Koreans I have spoken with have alluded to the potential unification of North and South Korea in the next ten years. After our tour on Saturday, it is very hard for me to see that happening anytime soon. North Korea has recently shown increased military power, making the south much more apprehensive to take any promises made by the North Korean government as sincere. The unification between North and South Korea would pose a significant threat to the free market economy of South Korea. South Korea's population is more than 48 million and North Korea has a population of more than 24 million people living under a communist dictatorship. South Korea is accepting of expatriates of North Korea and provide them with a haven once they safely arrive, however the North Korean government does all in its power to keep North Koreans in the country. Many families have been separated by the divide more than fifty years ago and if North Koreans attempt to escape to South Korea and are caught, family as far as three generations back are sentenced to death. South Korea even constructed a beautiful building for families to be reunited and that building has not been used for it's intended purpose due to the lack of cooperation from the north.


The building directly across the border had one North Korean guard visible to us on Saturday. On the tour, we were told not to point or make inappropriate gestures towards the north. There is one building to the far right of the three blue buildings that has curtains and is called the "Monkey House" because North Koreans would meet inside the building, close the curtains and make gestures such the slitting of the throat toward American and South Korean governments.
Darcie, myself, Mer1 and Imee stood beside a South Korean guard in one of the UN Security buildings. The flags of all countries who have been involved in talks were present in the room and had to be encased as of 2001 when immediately after 9/11 happened, North Korean soldiers went in the building and used the American flag to polish their boots.

North Korean building on the border. This building was originally only two stories high and when South Korea constructed a building directly across from it that was a bit taller, North Korea added the third story so their building was even taller. It is difficult to see, but on the first story out front, on the left, is a North Korean soldier standing his post. Many watch towers are spread throughout the DMZ and can overlook the military mobilization of the opposite country, in so far as about 24 km. The DMZ was an excellent area to see and I learned much more about the tension between North and South Korea. I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone who visits Korea. I hope that everyone has an excellent upcoming week and stay warm!

America!

First and foremost, I want to thank my family for sending me necessities which included: five pounds of swiss cheese (in wheel form), two pounds of smoked cheddar, two packs of corn tortillas, yellow rice, yogurt covered pretzels, chocolate, mints and Pringles potato chips. If you thought that I would get skinny while I'm over here living the Asian dream on rice, octopus and kimchi, don't hold your breath. I do not plan to ditch my American-ness so readily. As of now, I am listening to Fergalicious which always reminds me of how my brother loved to shake his rump when that jam came on. Unfortunately, baby Chris grew up a little bit and now seethes of inappropriate humor and sarcasm. Yes, Fergie, cheese and sarcasm are bits of American culture that I have found myself missing lately (well Fergie, not so much, but it's kind of a blast from the past).

Also in regards to American culture, I should probably touch base on the election which happened last week. I will be upfront and state that I have been registered as a Republican voter ever since I have been old enough to vote. More than anything else, my conservative approach stems from my preference for conservative economic policy. That being said, I want as little government intervention in personal finances, financial institutions, etc. I appreciate a free market and oppose increased taxes (as do many Americans). The American tendency is and has been to acquire as many material belongings, regardless of how much money exists in the bank account. Loans, credit, and leases are some "options" which have only perpetuated this American attitude. This attitude alone has obviously attributed significantly to the economic meltdown in the U.S. The irony of the bailout of the banks is that of course these institutions were not given specific caps of the amount they could rake in each year by the government, however when they teetered bankruptcy, it all of a sudden became the burden of taxpayers.

A Korean friend of mine who has just relocated back to Seoul after living for nine years in the U.S. and worked as an accountant said that loans for homes are rather uncommon and certainly not of the magnitude as in the U.S. Credit is becoming increasingly popular in Korea and to attract the right mates, the women over here must have their $2,000 hand bags (purchased via credit cards). American tendencies circumnavigate the globe and some of those tendencies may be detrimental to societies and economies. I could go on and on, but I have learned a lot over the past couple of years from my parents and their emphasis of living within your means and because of the loans I have taken out to go to a private university that was not as exciting or demanding as I thought when I was 18 and "ready to take on the world."

That being said, I voted absentee and I voted for John McCain. This was a ground breaking election and although the candidate that I did not vote for won, I am prepared to see how America will move forward as of January 20th, 2009. I want to see Mr. Obama steer America in the right direction, a path opposite from the current administration. The American people have been dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted a blantant change. I am eager to see what change transpires, how we are percieved by the rest of the world and to hold Mr. Obama to his inspiring words.

Godspeed America, and I hope all that jazz is turned around by the time I return :)

"Special Autumn Trekking"

Over this past weekend, Mer1 and I traveled with the "Adventure Korea" group to Uljin in Gyeongsangbuk-do. What an experience, let me tell you.

Per the text of the Adventure Korea website, Mer1 and I were to board a bus on Saturday, November 1st at 7 am. The birthday outing of a fellow teacher, and consequently Halloween, accounted for our Friday evening activities. Due to the fact that oftentimes Friday evening activities nonchalantly fade into the wee hours of Saturday morning...we missed the bus. Yes, Mer1 and I missed the bus that Kriss Kross rapped about in 1992 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhUx3ENL-RQ). I was a young lassie, about six years old, when that hot track was released and could (and can!) entirely relate to hard knocks such as frequent tardiness.

My alarm sounded at 5:45 am... in a lethargic, yet logical manner, I promised myself five more minutes of rest. I did not wake up again until 7:08 am and at that time, I thought 'heck, what can I do now?' and went back to sleep. Mer1 woke us both up again at 9:45 am and droned on and on and about enfuriated she was that we had slept past the departure time of our $85 trekking trip. She contacted the leader of this trekking escapade and low and behold, we were able to take a series of trains to meet up with the group, which was about 6 hours south east of Seoul.

We packed our bags for one night and headed to the bus station. Mer1 and I caught bus that left at noon which was headed in the direction of our final destination. After hopping about three buses, we finally found ourselves in a shady bus station and waiting to be picked up by the hotel manager at 7 pm. We arrived at the "hotel" before the rest of the granolas, ahem, hikers in the group. The group had done an hour hike that afternoon but said that Mer1 and I had not missed much. We had dinner together at 7:30. Dinner consisted of pork on the grill (really fatty bacon) and the other typical Korean side dishes (which I really don't know what they are). I had a very nice time at dinner and we met some really nice people. I spoke with Lauren from Canada and her boyfriend, John, from England, about the presidential election. Pascal from France, who is a research fellow in Seoul, joined our conversation and acknowledged France's unbridled support for Senator Obama. I swear, these discussions always seem to find me but I get really excited to discuss American politics with people from all over the world.

We all finished dinner in about one hour and two ridiculous French boys, Remi and Charles, who are studying a semester in Korea for their MBA's coralled a group of us out to engage in a bit of norebong (Korean Karaoke). I must say that my two favorites of the evening entailed "Milkshake" by Kelis and "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. After some soju (choice Korean beverage) and songs, Mer1 and I decided that we really needed to get some sleep for the next day's journey...especially because we had missed the bus that morning. Our "hotel" was up a hill about a quarter of a mile away. We finally reached our humble abode for the evening and it was locked. The theme of the trip: "A day late and a dollar short." Then, we noticed a door bell and I laid into that bell like there was no tomorrow. After a continual push of the bell, an old man dressed in a brown suit and burnt orange polo came to our rescue. We entered the building, made it to the elevator and saw the man cuddle back into his "night watcher" couch turned bed.

Of course when we arrived to our room on the 5th floor, our random third roommate was nowhere to be found. A key was vital to achieve sleep that evening, therefore we found one of the two trip coordinators wandering through the hall in a rather inebriated state. I realized that this little man's English was extremely limited when I tried to explain that we did not have a key and needed help getting it from the night watcher. I grabbed the cuff of his little cute child's NY Yankees jacket and led him back downstairs where he hopped the front desk to get our key.

After we finally got our key, Mer1 and I scurried up to room 504 and went to sleep because we knew a full day was to come. The coordinators knocked on our door at 5:45 am in case we wanted to use the [public] sauna before the hike. So I snoozed some more. Anyway, the leaders knocked on our door again at 6:45 to get ready to leave for our hike at 7:30.

The group arrived at the trekking venue at about 8:30 am. Initially, it was a paved route and I thought that the trip was perfect for pansy such as myself. In time, I had to sling myself over rocks and jump over rivers...not ok. The scenary was absolutely beautiful and it was so nice to get out of the Seoul smog! The hike was nice, but I really enjoy focusing on people and their personalities. Two individuals in particular stood out to me on this journey. Joey from England was 31 years old and I had met him at the Karaoke bar the night before the hike. I knew that Joey like to wet his whistle, but this soul was "pissed" (British terminology for drunk) the entire trip. Prior to the hike, we stopped the bus for people to buy food, water, use the restroom. Joey came out from the convenient store at 8 am with some beers and a bottle of soju. Throughout the hike, Joey was boozing. After the hike, Joey purchased more alcohol for the ride home. On our way home, I was resting and listening to my ipod and I heard a huge 'thump!' I looked up and Joey was "tossed" out of his bus seat and laying in the aisle with his bottle of soju in hand. Needless to say, Joey was one of the most colorful characters on the trip and it would not have been as enjoyable without him.

The other individual was some red headed girl. I never knew her name or where she was from, but I knew that the lights were on and nobody was home. For the purpose of my story, she will be referred to as Pony Girl. Mer1 and I first met her at the hotel. The initial red flag was when we wanted to buy beverages at the hotel and she had suggested that we try the wine, for she had already drank three bottles alone in her room. When we got to the hike, we took a group photo and this girl was standing behind me. She asked if it was alright for her to include her My Little Pony doll with us in the photo. I was at a loss of what to say so I told her that Pony was more than welcome. Later on in the day, Pony Girl included her pony in every picture ever taken. Even on the way home, she had the pony riding in the very front of the bus with the bus driver...

All in all, I was very ready to arrive back to the comfort of my own apartment! It was a fun experience and an enjoyable weekend :)