Meghan is Kimchi Love

“Meghan is kimchi love.” This quote is complements of my host brother, Sung Chan. Every meal Sung Chan likes to choose one food that he notices that I am eating a lot of and ask me if I think its delicious. We have a pretty regular routine in the morning; Sung Chan asks me if I think oatmeal is delicious, I say yes and then he tells me that he thinks it tastes like paper and goes back to his spam and red pepper paste covered chicken wings. The routine is pretty cute, except for when he thinks that I’m not eating enough of something that he thinks is delicious and he feeds me it himself. Today he fed me some of his spam dipped in hot sauce (grosss!!). Sung Chan is quite a character and we have developed a relationship based mostly on me giving him treats and him asking me about the Korean foods that I like. This past weekend I bought some of his love with the Easter candy that my mom sent from home.

My Little Sister Hee Won

I didn’t realize how much influence I have been having on my host sister until recently. Over the past few weeks we have been spending more time together, sharing snacks, watching tv on my computer and sometimes just sitting on my bed chatting. I had to smile to myself when around lunchtime on Sunday I wandered back into the kitchen to find Hee Won at the stove recreating our scrambled eggs recipe to eat again for lunch. About twenty minutes later I found her in the bathroom with her new hair straighter, the same kind I have. As the middle child between two boys, I have never had a little sister to be a role model for. I am flattered that Hee Won has started treating me like an older sister and has wanted to spend more time together.

Last night I went into Hee Won’s room to see how she was doing and she was sketching a picture. She is a great artist and always puts a lot of effort into her art projects for school. However, this picture was not only a great drawing, but it was also extremely insightful. It was a picture of the two Koreas sewn together with a needle and thread. It also includes a quote about becoming one again. Hee Won spent the rest of the night working on the drawing and painting the final product.

My host family has been a little it confused about my volunteer work at the North Korean refugee center and sometimes have made comments that I am “obsessed” with North Korea because I not only volunteer once a week, but I have been on the DMZ tour (something very few Koreans I know have done). It made me smile to think that Hee Won believes in reuniting Korea and has expressed that desire in such a beautiful way. She has shown that her generation, a generation that has been completely removed from the post war years that their parent’s lived through, has the desire for change.

I love having Hee Won in my life. She is always the first one to greet me at the door when I come home and she always has a big smile on her face when I see her in the hallway at school. I used to hesitate talking to Hee Won too much because she would get a little overwhelmed speaking English, but as her vocabulary has grown and she has become more comfortable speaking English we have been able to grow closer. All good things take time and my relationship with Hee Won is a perfect example of that.

Sunday Mornings

I love Sunday mornings. Hee Won, Sung Chan and I have created a new routine of playing games, making breakfast and relaxing together all morning. Living in a homestay is a constant reminder that big brother is watching. I have to appropriately wash my clothes, separate my delicates from the other clothes, wash them secretly and hang them to dry in my closet pretending they don’t exist. I cannot sleep in too late because I don’t want to worry my family that I will miss breakfast and only have two bowls of rice that day. Despite the silly things that I have adapted to in an effort to make living with me easier for my homestay family, I have also had to learn to be myself within my homestay.

For my first six months I ate very spicy foods and a bowl of rice for breakfast each morning. I never felt well after breakfast and told myself everyday for months that I was going to have a talk with my host family. Finally, in February, I had that talk. After months of tip-toeing around my apartment like a stranger, I am finally starting to incorporate more parts of “me” into my home life. For example, this weekend I awoke to find two plates of kimchi kimbap (a Korean sushi-like roll without the fish) on the kitchen table. My host sister pointed at one plate and said breakfast, then pointed at the other and said lunch. Her parents were at church for the day and it was just me and the kids hanging out at home. I love Sunday mornings because they are my chance to “secretly” do my laundry and make western breakfast. I could not bring myself to eat the kimbap when I knew that there were eggs in the house. The kids and I made scrambled eggs for the second Sunday in a row, and it wonderful.

Back to School and Freezing Hallways

It is funny celebrating the back to school season in March. I am used to spending my first few weeks of school secretly looking out the window wishing that I was outside and my tan wasn’t fading. This year, I am not finding myself gazing out the window and longing to be outside. The weather outside is still very cold and therefore it is also chilly inside school because the widows are left open most of the day. I still have extra layers of clothes at school to bundle up in when I can’t stand the cold anymore. The teachers at lunch the other day told me that most days I look like a polar bear because of how I bundle up in my white fleece to walk around the school. This is a picture from my walk to school last week on St. Patrick's Day.

I love my new schedule, which now includes teaching the first and second graders. Teaching all of the students in the school has allowed me to finally introduce myself to the younger students that used to run away from me in fear last semester. It is not everyday that children in Korea see a foreigner, and so to have one at school everyday that you never formally meet, must have seemed pretty strange to many of the students. Now, everyone knows my name, knows that I don’t bite and that I’m a normal person like them. I just happen to have been born in America and am a native English speaker.

Teaching so many different grades and such a wide variety of English ability levels has been a challenge, but a welcomed one. My lesson planning has become more creative and I have had to work very hard to create basic lessons where the directions for activities are pretty self-explanatory. If I say even one word of Korean in the classroom the students get so excited that I can speak Korean (in their eyes) that we end up off task for a minimum of five minutes while they quiz me about my language abilities. On the flip side, I also cannot say too many English words or I will lose their attention almost immediately. Clear communication skills are essential for teaching the young grades at my school.

As for the upper grades, it is great to have my students back in class. The Korean government has revised the third and fourth grade textbooks and I think that the new editions are a big improvement from the previous versions. The activities seem to be engaging the students better, and either that is because I am getting used to how to present them in an engaging way, or the material is stronger. My best guess is that it’s a mixture of both.

I am starting a research project with a professor from a local teaching university. She and I are implementing reading groups into fifth grade classes and teaching students strategies to help with their reading. We are using many methods of data collection that I learned in school and grouping students according to ability level. Reading groups and differentiated instruction are concepts that are not widely used in Korea and we are excited to see how our project works in the classroom. I will begin pretesting students this week and the study will continue throughout the rest of my time in Korea.

Singapore and Phuket

Kelly and I planned a one night stay in Singapore on our way to Phuket. Unfortunately, the trip was not so successful because our hotel was once again, over booked and we were sent to a new comparable hotel. The time that we wasted driving around town in cabs and dealing with hotels, did not allow us to see much of Singapore. We were able to see Arab street, walk around a huge shopping center and have dinner by the National Art Museum.

From Singapore, we went to Phuket, Thailand where we had plans to meet some of our friends at Patong Beach. Our first mistake in Thailand was choosing to take an airport shuttle because the man sitting next to Kelly told her that there might be a tsunami while we were visiting. I told her new friend to stop scaring her, but he just kept on giving her more details. Poor Kelly! She did not sleep much for the rest of the week. The hostel that we stayed at had a cute little coffee shop attached. Our friends just happened to be sitting outside eating lunch when Kelly and I rolled up in a tuk-tuk (a local rickshaw) because our airport van dropped us off too far from the hostel to walk. It was a funny sight.



We had lunch and unpacked, while everyone else headed down to the beach. As we were leaving for the beach Kelly and I stopped into the cafe to buy a bottle of water and a group of people recognized our Fulbright Korea tote bags. They were a group of seven Taiwan ETAs and were also staying at the hostel. After introducing ourselves and making plans to meet for dinner we headed down to the beach. Patong beach was definitely a tourist destination, but it was a fun place to be with friends. We all caught up with stories from home, the holidays in Korea and our travels before Thailand.



After the beach, we met the Taiwan ETAs for dinner and I had my first true pad thai. It was delicious! Dinner was funny because we were comparing everything about our experiences in Taiwan and Korea, from how we live, to what we eat and what our students are like. It was really interesting to hear how different our experiences were, yet how many of us were facing similar challenges. Following dinner we went to a bar with live music to talk some more. As the night got later the streets filled with all sorts of different shenanigans. I'm glad we were in a big group, because Patong beach at night is not somewhere I would want to be alone. We jumped from place to place trying to get a feel for the area. Two men with iguanas walked up to Kelly and Dave and put the iguanas on their shoulders. Then, they tried to make them pay to have the iguanas taken off. It was strange. At the end of the night we walked down to the beach and put our feet in the ocean. Locals were selling lanterns that people were buying, lighting and setting free over the water. The beach was really pretty at night. Overall we had a great night filled with good food, great company and lots of fun.



Our friends left the next morning for a kayaking trip around Phuket and Kelly and I explored some shopping areas in Patong. We had dinner with the Taiwan ETAs again and prepared to leave for our next destination in the morning. Our last stop was Surin Beach. We spent the remainder of our week stationed at Surin, but taking day trips to explore the island of Phuket.

Our first day trip was to a national park where we rode elephants around to see the park and its beautiful views. I was worried the whole time that we were hurting the elephant, but we decided that we probably just felt like a backpack tried to feel better about the situation. The elephants seemed to be well taken care of and were very cute throughout the whole trip.



Our next excursion was to Ko Phi Phi island. When we arrived at the tour company's office we began to worry. We were the only people in the room who were not Russian. As the office got more crowded we headed outside and found ourselves among only swedes. Luckily, our hotel pulled through and we were put on an English tour. We took a speedboat about an hour and a half south of Phuket to get to the island where Leonardo Dicaprio filmed the movie The Beach. Our day included touring white sand beaches, visiting a monkey beach, snorkeling around some beautiful coral and in a cove where James Bond was filmed, and having a seaside lunch on the island. The speedboat definitely was the best way to see so much of the island in one day.



Kelly and I enjoyed our stay at Surin and spent every sunset sitting on the beach. We found some really cheap places to get some delicious thai dishes. I think that our best night was our last night when we went to a really pretty beach bar to have a glass of wine and watch the sunset. We had our last plate of pad thai and said goodbye to the beach for the last time before leaving for Korea. Overall it was the best vacation we could have asked for, relaxing and exciting, adventurous and comfortable.

Bali

Fulbright created a spectacular contract for their ETAs. In Korea, students have a winter vacation from school during the months of January and February. The new school year starts in March. The ETA contract states that despite the school’s vacation schedule, all ETAs must be free from their teaching duties from December 22nd until March 2nd. Our contract also states that we can travel outside of Korea for a maximum of twenty-eight days during our grant year. After traveling home, I had plans to travel with my friend Kelly to some spots in Southeast Asia. When I returned to Korea from America, I had just enough time to unpack, catch up on sleep and do my laundry before leaving again.

Kelly and I planned portions of our trip before we left, but allowed for flexibility in our travels. Our trip started with an early morning flight from Incheon, so we slept at the airport spa the night before we left. Kelly was a seasoned veteran at sleeping at the airport spa, but it was my first time. For about $25 dollars we were led into a private room with two massage tables. In typical Korean spa fashion, we were given a set of pajamas to wear and provided with a towel and pillow. It was sort of silly sleeping on the tables trying to keep our heads out of the holes designed for the massage, but it was super convenient to be at the check-in desk within fifteen minutes of waking up.



Check-in was a breeze and after grabbing spaghetti for breakfast (there are not many traditional breakfast options in Korea) we were on our way to Singapore. Our first stop for the trip was the island of Bali in Indonesia. From Singapore we had another two hour flight to Bali. At the Changi International airport in Singapore I called our hotel in Bali to see where we would be meeting the van we set up for airport pick-up. The hotel not so kindly informed me that they were overbooked and cancelled our reservation. I have still yet to receive the e-mail that they claim they sent to inform me of this cancellation. Oh Crap. Kelly and I were heading to Bali, due to arrive after 11pm and had no place to stay. This was exactly the situation that I was trying to avoid by booking an airport pick-up at an overpriced hotel for the first night. Things only got worse when I asked the overbooked hotel for a recommendation of another place to stay for the night and the customs agent in Bali laughed when we mentioned the new hotel. Shortly after that while I was admiring my new shiny Indonesian visa, Kelly saw a sign that said that Indonesia enforces the death penalty for anyone carrying illegal drugs. Now, to a girl that has never done a drug in her life, this sign should not have bothered Kelly. I was wrong assuming that and she was immediately concerned about someone planting drugs in our bags without us knowing. I’m not going to lie, she even had me worked up over it.

So there we were, two young Caucasian girls with one huge suitcase headed to a taxi stand without a destination. I picked one of the towns from our travel book that said there are many hotels where you can walk up book a room, found a taxi and prepaid for our ride to Kuta. While I was browsing through the book, Kelly met a guy from our plane. He was a surfer from New Zealand and was also going to Kuta. Figuring he might be able to help us, we allowed him to share our taxi and picked his brain about the area during the taxi ride. He had been to Bali before, but when the taxi dropped us off on the wrong street, our new friend had to make a guess at which direction we needed to walk to get to hotels. Kelly and I gripped our bags tightly and walked down some really creepy, dark streets. The next day we discovered we were passing though a big market in Kuta, but at night the market was just a bunch of empty stalls all in a row on a street without any lights. When we turned a corner, saw three girls walking out of a hotel with a security guard Kelly and without saying a word Kelly and I knew this is where we would stay. We departed from our New Zealand tour guide and walked inside. The Bounty Hotel turned out to be a huge destination for young Australian party-goers. One guy sort of gawked at Kelly when she told him she was a twenty-four year old teacher. He also told her that we were the only Americans he had ever seen at the hotel before.



The hotel itself turned out to be fine. It had a pretty pool and a free breakfast buffet. Our first morning at the Bounty, we put on our bathing suites, lathered up with SPF 70 and headed to the beach. We couldn’t figure out why no one else was walking to the beach, but we quickly learned. We arrived to the beach and were greeted with signs saying that the water was dangerous because of rip tides. As we walked down the beach to find the “pretty” part we were quickly disappointed. Not only were we walking through sand filled with trash, but also there were huge piles of trash all along the sides of the beach and locals haggling us to buy anything and everything they were selling.

We eventually settled in two overpriced chairs. Kelly and I knew that we would not be staying here another day. At least we had our books. We spent the day getting a little bit of sun and reading. That night we went online and booked a new hotel for the rest of our stay in Bali. Our guidebook called the new beach, Nusa Dua, a bit sterile, a quiet destination and perfect for honeymooners. When I was checking out of the Bounty the man behind the desk laughed when I told him where we were going. He said it was a bit boring. I told him that’s exactly what we were looking for. We spent our last few hours in Kuta walking through the markets and shopping, which is what our guidebook said Kuta is best known for. The market and little shops were definitely the best part of our time in Kuta.



Kelly and I spent the rest of our week swimming in the ocean, reading books, and eating delicious Balinese food. For two nights we met up with our friends Josh and Kate. It was fun to have them around to join us for dinner at the beach restaurant while we watched the sunset and listened to the quartet that played music each night on the beach.





Kelly and I saw two weddings on the beach that week and were completely outnumbered by couples, but we didn’t mind. We knew that the more adventurous part of our trip lied ahead in Thailand and we relished in relaxation while we could. At the end of the week we gave such a great review to the hotel that they have asked us to be on their testimonial page. I can honestly day that our week in Bali was one the best weeks of my life. We left excited for the next portion of our trip, Singapore and Thailand.

Home!

I was giddy with excitement when our flight landed at JFK international. One of the biggest shocks for me as I stood in line at customs was seeing so much diversity. After spending six months in one of the most homogeneous countries in the world it was wonderful to blend into a line of individuals. I had plenty of time to observe the people around me because US customs shut down nationwide for over an hour. Anxiety was getting the best of me and I was ready to be out of the airport and with my friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve. My parents were very understanding and dropped me off with James before driving themselves home. When I left my parents we had been traveling for almost twenty-four hours and I was a little bit jealous that they were going home and going to bed. My adrenaline kept me moving and before I knew it my friend Babs and I were yapping away in the car headed down to the shore. We kept our night simple by making dinner at home, sitting by the fireplace with gin and tonics and exchanging Christmas presents. Babs and Ross were determined to keep up the New Years spirit with hats, champagne and noise makers. By the time we rang in 2010 I was delirious with both exhaustion and happiness.




The weather on New Years day was beautiful. We woke up too late to make it to the annual Ocean City polar bear plunge, but we were able to make it to a diner for a delicious American style breakfast. There was no squid anywhere to be found on the table and that fact in itself made me happy. Friday night, my friend Colleen came over, we pregamed with North Korean Soju and Bananagrams, and then headed out to Atlantic City. It was a memorable night, but no one came out on top.


Saturday, my parents had a party for me at our house in Pennsylvania. It was wonderful to see some of the family and friends that I have missed so much over the past few months. My mother ordered some delicious Cappriotti's sandwiches and served lots of Korean cookies and tea that she brought back from their visit. One of my favorite things in the world to do is sit around with my extended family and friends all day without any plans. That is exactly what we did. My cousins and I played endless rounds of Apples to Apples (Kasey won every time!) and my dad showed everyone lots of pictures from Korea. Mom and Dad, thank you for a great day. I'm so lucky!

I went down to DC for a few nights and visit James’ apartment. It was freezing outside and despite his attempts to do some outside touring, I was happiest when I was inside eating spaghetti. It was that visit that was the turning point in our relationship. After years of not keeping in touch, an undefined bond brought us together again before I left for Korea. Without knowing what the year held for either of us we left things to fate. Despite the distance we grew closer when we were apart. Life is full of surprises and having James in my life again is one surprise that I am pretty excited about. I am already counting down the days until he arrives in Korea and we can go down to Jeju Island for vacation and to celebrate Buddha’s birthday.

The rest of my visit home was very busy trying to fit in doctor appointments and catching up with friends. I must have been back luck because the Eagles lost both of their games, which ended their season, when I was home. No offence Dad, but my favorite part of the games was getting to eat Mom’s chili. Babs and I were able to have a successful King of Prussia shopping trip and a tasty bowl of chowder at Legal Sea Foods with my family. Despite my affinity for many Korean foods, I really missed the diversity of food from home and therefore my trip home was marked by the food I enjoyed.

My last meal with my family was at our favorite Mexican restaurant. I forgot that in America we don’t communally eat. Sorry Mom, I didn’t mean to be so gross by eating directly off of the fajita plate we were sharing. After dinner we went to mass. It was so comforting to hear mass in English and being at my hometown parish with my family made me feel remarkably at peace.

My flight back to Korea was out of JFK and so I spent my last night in New York City. Unfortunately, my brother, Mike, was out of town and I couldn’t stay at his apartment. But, I was able to meet up with the lovely Kathleen Madigan and her sister for some drinks at an Irish pub and some delicious brick oven pizza. Kathleen’s stories made me so jealous that she is already teaching. I love teaching in Korea, but I really love special ed and miss how rewarding it can be. After our conversations that night all I want to do is look for jobs and get ready to teach my American kiddos again. I can’t wait for our next visit in the city when we can exchange more classroom stories!
The next morning, I raided the new stands at the airport for English magazines that don’t cost 20,000 won and spent my last few hours chatting with my mother Gladys on the phone. My trip home was perfect, but I was excited to get back to Korea and on to my next adventure.