How does it feel to disappear?

Hwagaesa Temple Stay

2009-07-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

Got to the temple around 11, they gave us clothes and showed us to our rooms. In our group, it was Julia, Ben (not my Ben, from Chicago), Ellie (from Scotland), and Alex (from Whales) and me. There were some other foreigners there too, a girl from the Ukraine and two boys from Singapore. Ok, so they split us up into boys and girls room.
We ate lunch of rice and veggies and kimchi. Then we were sent to meditation for two hours. They didn't really give us any instruction so I wasn't really sure what to do. I tried clearing my mind but it was tough. The meditation room was so hot and it was basically just a room with white walls, nothing to look at or anything. After that we took a hike up the mountain behind the temple. It was the head monk, the Ukrainian girl, the Singaporians and a lady who has been there for three months studying. About halfway up the mountain it started raining so hard, it was crazy. And we just kept on going! The monk was chanting the whole way up the mountain. We got to the top and I was so exhausted and soaked! We hiked back down.

It was pretty cool. So, then another round of meditation, then work which consisted of us cleaning the bathrooms. Then we ate dinner of rice veggies and kimchi. After dinner our main monk gave us some instruction on how to bow and why they bow and stuff. Then we had chanting then more meditation. After the last meditation of the day, we had tea and watermelon with the monk and the lady from the hike. They both spoke fluent English. We had a chat with them for awhile, I'll tell you more about this when in person, very interesting stuff. Then off to bed at 9pm. Wake up at 3am, straight to meditation. After meditation was bowing 108 times. I only made it to 43. It was tough. It's a full bow from standing to on hands and knees. I'll show you when I get home, pretty cool. Then off to chanting, then breakfast of rice veggies and kimchi at 6am. Then rest. We slept for a few hours then it was time to go home. We could have stayed through another dinner, but we were ready to go. I don't think any of us could do another meditation. I'm sure it sounds like a pretty relaxing weekend, but I was so worn out I slept Sunday night for 14 hours!!! It's really hard to explain the whole experience but basically it was intense. That's the only word that really encompasses the weekend. My favorite part of the weekend was the hike (even though my legs are still sore) and the chanting.

I <3 Kimchi!

2009-05-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a long while since I have posted a blog. Sorry. I have been so busy and lazy at the same time. I have really grown to love Korea as a place to live. I am so comfortable here. I don't get bored ever. My job is still good even though I am working so much! I still have so much fun with my kids. It's so cool to see so much progress in these kids that didn't know any English just a few months ago. I'll post some videos soon, they know Three Little Monkeys and Twinkle Twinkle now. I am learning Korean slowly, but I'm getting there. I can read it now which is good. I am learning a few phrases at a time. Hanging out with Koreans helps a lot. The food here is good, I really like kimchi now. It doesn't feel like a proper meal without kimchi and rice. I don't know what i am going to eat back in the States. I have made some awesome lifelong friends here. Life in Korea is just great.

I have gone on a few weekend trips which have been so amazing.

I went to Samcheok with some guys from my school. We had a blast, we went to some caves, the beach and a penis park. We stayed in a Minbak, which is like a guest house, right on the beach.

I went to An Heung last weekend with two Korean girlfriends, Angie and Gloria, and four guys from my school. Angie's grandparents have a pension, which is like a cottage, in the country. It was really cool. They had made some food for us and left it there. Homemade Korean food is amazing. We were only about an hour from the beach, so we drove there on Saturday. We took a boat ride, it was so beautiful. It was a blast. Last weekend was also Buddha's birthday. There was a big festival and parade. It was really cool. This weekend is the World DJ Festival. All of my friends will be attending, so that will be fun. Next weekend, I am
going on a wine cruise down the Han River with my friend Christie. And then Sunday, my friend
Wesley and I are going on the DMZ tour. There is so much to do here! I also have a trip to a Buddhist Temple stay soon, Mudfest at Boryeong Beach in July, then to Bali in late July! I will be there for my birthday! I am sooooooooo excited for that! Sorry, I had to rub it in.

Anyways, just wanted to check in. I am so bad at updating this thing! I think everyone should get a facebook account so you all can see my current pictures and we can chat! I still think everyone should come and visit me, if I come back for another year, someone better come and visit me! Anyways, I miss everyone! Send me stuff if you want. I don't really need anything, but getting letters and cards is always fun! And thank you Grandma for the Easter card and garland! I'll be home in six months! I can't believe it's been six months already!

XOXOXOXOXO

Winter Gala 2009

2009-02-28T23:57:00.000-08:00

We had our Winter Gala and graduation last week. All of the 7 year olds graduated and are moving on to elementary school and the other kids move up a grade. We had to put on a performance for the parents of all of the kids. We have been working on the plays and songs for two months. It is really nice to have it over with! It was a big success! So, I get my new 5 year olds on Wednesday, should be exciting. They won't speak any English so it will be a challenge. I am ready for it though.

새해 복 많이 받으세요

2009-01-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Seollal was today, which is the first day of the Lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important holiday in Korea. Many Koreans will spend this holiday with their families and perform ancestral rituals in the morning. Many Koreans will dress up in traditional hanbok and play traditional games and fly kites. Today, Ben and I went to Gyeongbok Palace. They had special games and crafts set up for the holiday. There were many more people there than I expected. All of the little kids were making kites or masks wearing their traditional hanbok. Some of the adults were wearing traditional Korean clothing as well.

Korea is such a beautiful place with such a rich and deep history. The Koreans have been through so much and have come such a long way, especially South Korea compared to their North Korea counterpart. I didn't really know much about this country before I came here, so I'd like to tell you all what i have learned. Korea is a peninsula in East Asia. South Korea occupies the southern half and North Korea occupies the northern half. North Korea is bordered by China to the north and South Korea is bordered by Japan to the south. Seoul is the capital of South Korea and is the second largest metropolitan city in the world. South Korea is in a temperate climate region with a mostly mountainous terrain. Seoul is surrounded by mountains.

Korea was founded in 2333B.C. from various tribes from Mongolia. The first dynasty ruled from Pyongyang (Northern Korea) from 2333BC to 1122BC. After that, the Chinese controlled much of the Northern part of Korea while three kingdoms emerged each controlling a part of the Southern part of the peninsula. The Chinese influence on Korea was great, bringing customs and Confucianism to the people. Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the fourth century AD and many temples were built. The Chinese and Mongolians occupied Korea and tried to control it many times throughout the years. In 1388, Korea was ruled by the Joseon Dynasty. The first 200 years of the Dynasty were relatively peaceful. It was during this period that King Sejong the Great created Hangul (the Korean language used today) and the influence of Confucianism became greater. He also moved the capital to Seoul. In the 16th century, Japan invaded Korea. Much of Korea was destroyed before the Japanese retreated. Then came another 200 years of relative peace. Korea did not trade with the rest of the world during this period, giving them the name "The Hermit Kingdom." They were trying to avoid Western imperialism.

Korea turned to Japan for trade. Eventually Korea fell under Japanese domination. In 1910, Japan turned Korea into a Japanese colony. The Japanese destroyed many Palaces and Temples. They made Koreans take Japanese names and forced them to speak Japanese. Japan wanted to make Korea a part of Japan and only failed when Japan surrendered to the allies in 1945. The Russians invaded Northern Korea in 1945, just when the Japanese were retreating and American were coming into Korea from the South. So, after World War II was over, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel with Communist Russia in the North and the Americans in the South. The two powers were planning on unifying the peninsula but the Cold War interrupted that plan. The Russians installed a Communist government in the north and the Americans a Democratic government for the south.

The North Korean army invaded the south on June 25th, 1950. They quickly drove south and captured Seoul. The U.N. and the U.S. sent troops over to help drive back the communists. They drove them back far over the 38th parallel until the Chinese jumped in to help the North Koreans. The war went on for three years and finally ended in a stalemate and a cease fire was signed. The once unified peninsula is still divided at the 38th parallel with one of the most heavily patrolled borders known as the Demilitarized Zone or DMZ. No peace treaty was ever signed and the two countries are technically still at war.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-04T04:13:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's already 2009! It still feels like October to me! I have been here for two months now. It feels like two weeks. I know two months isn't that long but considering I lasted in Chicago for about two weeks, two months is a very long time! I am still having a fabulous time here. I love my apartment and I love exploring a new city and doing new things. This past month has been especially nice since we got a lot of time off work. I know I have been slacking on blogging but I've been very busy doing stuff and being lazy. So, here is a rundown of what I have been doing all month.

I went snowboarding. It was amazing. I sucked and I fell a lot. I busted up my knees and they were bruised for days, but it was so worth it. I want to go again. I went with a friend named Christy and her friends. She is from the States. Darcie is from Australia, Ellie is from Scotland, Nayoung is from Korea, and Tim is from South Africa. It was quite a mix of people. It was a lot of fun.Taking a beer break before night session

The night before the Christmas break, the Director, Mr. Shin, took everyone out for dinner. We went to a meat restaurant. There was so much food on the table, it was crazy. Koreans love their sides. Mostly kimchi and radish though.Gloria, Joy, Rachel, and Jules. Korean teachers

So much food!

After dinner, we went to a beer cabin and drank some more, on Mr. Shin. It was fun hanging out with all of the teachers.Christy, Jessica (my manager), Joy, Angie, Adam, Jules, and Jaqueline

John, his girlfriend, Jaqueline, Jimmie, Adam, Jules, Ben, and Me!

The next morning, Ben and I had to catch our train to Busan at 9am, it was a tough morning. Busan was pretty cool. It's on the Southern coast of Korea. During the summer, the beaches there are packed. Ben and I at Haeundae beach

We stayed in a hostel that was in a high rise apartment building.Our bunk beds, I got the top bunk

This is the view from the hostel

We went on a ferry ride around Busan.
After the ferry ride, we went to the fish market which is the biggest fish market in Korea.
You can buy fish there and take it upstairs, where they will cook it however you want it. We went to eat at Outback for Christmas dinner, it was yummy :)

Ben and I at Outback

Our Busan friends

We took the KTX train back which is the high speed train here. That was cool.

New Year's Eve was pretty low key. A few of my co-workers and I went out to dinner and then to our favorite bar, Woodstock. We drank and danced and toasted at midnight. It was a good time.

Today Ben and I went to Suwon Fortress. It's a fortress that was built by King Jeongjo in 1789. There is a palace there that was really cool to see. The fortress wall is about 5km all the way around and there are four gates along the wall. It was pretty cool.
So now I have to go back to school tomorrow after having two pretty decent little holidays. Lunar New Year is coming up at the end of the month though, so I'll have more time off then :) It's one of the biggest holidays in Korea. So, I'll sign off now, hope everyone had a great holiday and a Happy New Year! Love you all and miss everyone!

My School

2008-12-04T03:31:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! I am so glad that many of you are still checking my blog. It is getting harder to actually find time to sit down and write though! Things are going really well here. It is supposed to be a cold weekend though! They say it's going to be -7 degrees Celsius tomorrow. Brrrr.

I posted some pictures on my Flickr account. The link is to the left. I wanted to show everyone my students.
This is some of my Rainbow class. There are six kids all together. Their names are Oscar, James Kim, James Lee, Sophia, June and Boo Young. They are the youngest kids at ECC, korean age 5, which is Western age 3 and 4.

This is Oscar and June. Oscar is a riot. He is so goofy.

This is Boo Young. She is adorable.

These are the girls from my Yellow class. They are age 6. They are all really sweet and very smart.

These are the boys from my yellow class. They are really crazy and goofy.

So, my school is called a Hagwon called YBM/ECC or we just call it ECC. Schools here are a little different than in the U.S. Pre-school age kids go to "kindergarten" at Hagwons. There are English Hagwons and Korean Hagwons. A lot of Hagwons are chains, YBM is a chain with different purposes for each school, ECC is for children while YBM/SISA is for adults. Kids go to kindergarten Hagwons from 9:30am to 2:30pm from age 5-7 Korean age. (Click on the underlined words for wikipedia pages). So, then at age 7, kids start first grade at a public or private school. They usually go to school until about 3pm. There are also Hagwons for after school study. These can be for many subjects such as math, science, or English study. My Hagwon also does after school English study for Elementary school kids. They come from anywhere between 3pm and 8pm.

I teach two different kindergarten classes, Rainbow and Yellow classes. I teach each class for two periods. One period is always a language class and the second period is either story reading, science or art. Then I have four elementary classes that I teach language. Some of the elementary school kids go to ANOTHER Hagwon after mine. Some kids go to school from 9am to midnight and if they aren't in school, they are studying. Koreans put so much into their education, it is pretty intense. Here is a very interesting article from USA Today about the US education system vs. the South Korean system.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2008-11-18-korea-education-usa_N.htm

The kids here are super smart. Can you imagine sending your four or five year old to a school where they weren't allowed to speak their own language, only a foreign one? At my school, they have an English only policy. Kids are not allowed to speak Korean during my classes, only during Korean class, where they learn normal pre-school stuff. It gets a little tough with my Rainbow class since they are so young. All in all though, the kids here are like any other kid in the world, very sweet, very goofy, and they cry a lot. I am learning so much here. It's great. Re-Re- now I know why you teach this age!

OK, this is getting long enough. Now that I showed you all my kids and explained my school and job, I can blog about the fun stuff I have been doing. So next blog I will tell you all about my trip up the death trap, known as the cable car up to Seoul Tower. Also, Ben and I were looking for Coex mall today and stumbled across a temple built in 794. No joke. I took some really cool pictures i will post soon. So, until next time- love and miss everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T20:32:00.000-08:00

Hello family and friends! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is having a good one! Eat some pumpkin pie for me! Korean Thanksgiving was in September I think, so we are not celebrating here. And they don't have turkey here either :( We might go out to dinner tonight, but nothing special.

Not too much going on here. It is almost the end of the month so we are giving a lot of tests and doing a lot of evaluations at school. School is going really well. I am getting to know all of my students better. I had one of my afternoon classes do a play yesterday and they had a lot of fun! They each wanted to read every part! It is fun watching the students learn English. I like having conversations with them. Today in my kindergarten class, we made snowmen for art class. They told me all about the winter here and how they each celebrate Christmas. I am happy to know that Koreans celebrate Christmas. The Christian population is pretty big here. I still haven't decided what I am going to do for the break yet. I get paid soon! It's going to be funny to see millions in my bank account. Too bad it's Won and not dollars!

Anyways, I should be getting my Alien Registration card any day now, which means, I will have internet at home! WHich also means, I can post pictures! I can't wait for you all to see my adorable students! We are taking class photos tomorrow. Should be fun! Hope everyone is having fun and eating lots!

xoxoxoxo
-Liz

Waiting...

2008-11-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long! I have been so busy! I still don't have the internet at home so I am having to use the school's computer and we all have to share. Everything here is still really good! I got a new camera and I have a ton of pictures to post once i get the internets.

I've been doing a lot of shopping and sight-seeing. Last weekend, Ben and I went to North Seoul Tower. It's a tower on the north side of Seoul that looks over the whole city. It's placed on a mountain that you can either hike up or take a cable car. We took the cable car up which was a really cool view. The fall here is really pretty. It was rainy that day so I didn't get too many good pictures. I want to go again at night because I heard it is really cool with all of the city lights. It's fun to see all of the mountains everywhere. It kind of reminds me of where Jenny lives in L.A. A lot of South Korea isn't even habitable because of all of the mountains. That is why they build up instead of out. I can't wait to have some time to write more about Korea. This country is really beautiful.

I am trying to figure out what to do for Christmas. I have five days off, Wednesday through Sunday. A few teachers are going to China but it's a little expensive for a plane ticket. Ben and I might go to Busan or Japan. It depends on price. We can take a train to Busan and then a boat to Japan. Or I could go to a resort where they have snowboarding. Any ideas? It will be weird being away from home for Christmas but I'll have fun anyways.

Okay, I need to prepare for my afternoon classes now. I can't wait to hear from everyone! If anyone wants to send me things, feel free. Here are a few things I wouldn't mind: Reese's peanutbutter cups, books (small paperback please), puzzles, burned dvds of tv shows (the Hills, Dexter, Californication, America's Next Top Model, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, etc), cereal bars, three muskateers and that's all I can think of right now.

Obama!!!

2008-11-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

Yeah for Obama! I am so glad I got to vote in such a historic election! A few of the teachers went out to celebrate the other night! The Koreans are very happy about our choice! It makes them feel like they can do anything! I'm so glad that America made the right choice!

I don't have internet anymore at my place so blogs will be scarce for a few weeks. I have been pretty busy! My first week of teaching is almost over. Just have my afternoon classes left. It went pretty well. I can't wait to show everyone pictures of my kids! My kindergarten kids are so adorable! All is well here, I don't really have too much to report. I'll write more when I have more time to think. It's pretty loud and busy here in the teacher's room.

Love everyone and miss you all! More to come soon, I promise!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T02:51:00.000-07:00

Hey there. I had a long day today. I found out what my classes are going to be today. I have Rainbow class and Yellow kindergarten classes in the morning then I have a three hour break then I have four elementary classes until 6 on Monday Wednesday Friday and two elementary classes on Tuesday Thursday. Rainbow class is the youngest class, they are Korean age 5 which is American age 3 and 4. They are still babies! I'll post pictures next week. I lost my camera last night. I just bought it too! Maybe I'm not meant to go digital. I'll go to Emart tomorrow and buy a new one. They are pretty cheap here. Hopefully they have the same one I had, I liked it! I got all of the pictures off of it yesterday though so that's good. Well, I am staying in tonight even though it's Halloween and there are parties going on, I need a night of rest. It has been a whirlwind since I got here. I'm going to eat Korea's idea of Mexican food now. Bye!

Busy week!

2008-10-30T01:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! It has been really busy the past few days! I've been doing a lot of observing classes and eating Korean food! There is a place right by the school that all the teachers go to on lunch. It's pretty good and really cheap. I got ramen with dumplings today for 3000W. I've gotten Bibimbap also, which is basically vegetables and rice with some other stuff. They serve kimchi with everything here. Some kimchi is really good and some is gross. I like the food here though. I'm just trying new dishes every day. After work today, Ben and I went to Kraze Burger. They have really good burgers. We needed a break from the korean food. There are Starbucks and Dunkin Dounuts everywhere here. We had to go to the hospital today for our drug and AIDS test. The hospital was really nice but the bathroom was a hole in the ground. I guess that is traditional bathrooms here. I had to give a urine sample and I wasn't sure how to use the toilet. It was wierd.

So, last night one of the teachers who is leaving took me and Ben out to GangNam. It's a pretty cool place. Lots of western bars. We ate some chicken Korean dish. Then we went to a bar called Woodstock. It was pretty cool. They were playing really good music and they take requests too.
This is Ben, the other new teacher

After that, we went to a hookah bar. You had to take off your shoes. They had mats on the floor you sit on. It was cool, they had a DJ.

This is Christen Teacher, she leaves on Friday and I take over her kids.

All of the kids call teachers by their first name followed by teacher. I'm Liz Teacher.

Here are some pictures of my apartment:

Kitchen, cool cabinets huh?

Living room

My bedroom

Bathroom, see the drain? That is the "shower" drain

The shower aka the whole bathroom

This is the bedroom/living room/kitchen (it's all one room)

Ok, time to get ready for school. TGIF! And Happy Halloween!

I made it!

2008-10-28T04:55:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I am very excited about being here! The plane ride was soooo long! 13 hours from New York. We flew over Canada and Alaska and I think I saw Russia at some point! Now i have more foreign policy experience than Sarah Palin. The plane ride was exhausting. The first half wasn't too bad but the second was just very boring. I watched a lot of movies. I finally saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Getting to Korea took a long time (including all of the paperwork and such) but as soon as I got off the plane I was super excited to be here.

This city is huge! I will post pictures soon, I haven't taken very many yet, I keep forgetting I have a digital camera. The school president picked me up from the airport last night and we went out to dinner. Then he took me to my apartment. It is very small, just a studio but big enough for me. The bathroom is Korean-style which means no bathtub or shower, just a shower head coming out from the wall. Essentially the whole bathroom is a shower. It is very cozy though. The area I am living in is very nice. It is one of the richest areas in Seoul. It is a short walk to school and there are many markets and little shops everywhere.

Today I woke up and realized I didn't bring a towel, so I went on an adventure to Lotte, which is a high end department store and spent way too much on a towel. Then I went to school and had orientation which is just me observing classes. There is another new teacher that got here on Monday as well. The kids here are so cute! Some are very well behaved and really enjoy the classes and some are very shy and don't like speaking english in front of the class. I think that I will have a pretty easy time teaching these students. I am teaching at a Hagwon which is basically like an after school private school that teaches English. Older students are there after public school for about two hours. Little kids go in the morning, most don't go to public school yet. I am going to be teaching a few different ages which will be fun. All of the other teachers are really nice. We went out to lunch today.

After school, the other new teacher, Ben, and I went on an adventure to find alarm clocks. We ended up at a bar and had some Soju and chicken. At the bars here you have to order food with your drinks. The language barrier was a big problem. I think the waitress was getting annoyed with us, but I am learning a few words pretty quickly, such as thank you and I'm sorry. We wandered the streets for a little longer and finally found alarm clocks. So, now I am back at home, trying not to go to sleep too early. It is only 9 here and i haven't felt the effects of jet lag yet. I am hoping that I won't at all.

I am so glad I came here. This city is really cool. I can't wait to post pictures. I will take some tomorrow. I miss everyone and please feel free to post comments and send me emails. My email address is lizlib62@gmail.com. Here is my physical address if you want to send me anything ^^

Liz Liberatore
765-15, Youksam-2Dong
ChunkwangJoo Taek Ga-Dong 101-2
KangNam-Gu, Seoul, Rep. of Korea

Love you all!
-Liz