zambia: hanging out with a friend in lusaka

When I lived in Korea, one of the people I met is Amanda; we met through rugby and running. After both of us left the country, we kept in touch. Later on, I visited her a couple times in Istanbul, and she came to Kyiv. She now lives in Lusaka, Zambia. As soon as I knew I was going to southern Africa for my trip, I knew I would figure out a way to spend a couple days with Amanda.
I flew from Victoria Falls to Lusaka. It was a short flight, and a small plane. I was thrilled when they gave me a sandwich and some crisps.

The airport in Lusaka isn't very exciting, but I enjoyed a bit of people watching before Amanda arrived to pick me up. She brought her boyfriend, who is originally from Zimbabwe.
They figured out I was hungry, and Amanda is a foodie, so they took me to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Lusaka has a good number of immigrants from around the world. Dinner was fantastic, in that both the food and company were good.
We went back to where Amanda lives, and stayed up chatting for a little longer, then going to sleep.
Amanda had to work the next day, and where she lived was nowhere close to the rest of the city. Lusaka doesn't have a lot to offer, according to the guidebook. Normally I would still go out into a city, but I didn't really care, since I was basically here to spend time with Amanda.

I spent the next couple days hanging out in her flat while she was working. I watched episodes of various TV shows, looked at Facebook a lot, etc... I still had my Zambian SIM card that I bought in Victoria Falls, so I added a few photos to Instagram during that time as well.
One day Amanda's boyfriend didn't have to work until later in the day so he and I sat around chatting for a while. It was nice to get to know him.
One evening Amanda cooked dinner at home. SO GOOD. As I said earlier, Amanda is a foodie. I've never had a bad food experience with her, whether cooking at home or eating at a restaurant. Another evening we all met up with some other friends at a Chinese restaurant. Great food there, and nice to meet a few more people.

One afternoon while I was in Amanda's flat I saw a bunch of peacocks walking around, of course I had to take photos.
The last afternoon I was in Lusaka, Amanda left work as soon as she was finished. We met up with another friend of hers, then went for a girlie afternoon. Ashton got a pedicure, while Amanda and I got massages. Hands down one of the most amazing massages of my life.
Afterward, we went to dinner at an Italian place. It was a bit of an adventure to get there, since traffic was a bit wonky on a couple streets. The route we had originally planned to use would've taken us close to the house of the president. Since election results had been announced a couple days earlier, and many people weren't pleased, security people had blocked off access to the house of the president. Good food, and I'm glad I got to spend a few more hours with Amanda.
That night Amanda drove me back to the airport, and I flew to Johannesburg for the last few days of my trip.

ukraine: chornobyl

When I visited Naples in July I met a bunch of people...then, in another visit in August, I met more people and saw people from the first visit again...
Sometime in September I got an email from one of those people asking about a visit to kyiv...obviously I was excited :) ...Megan and will have been in Naples for a year-ish, and one of their goals is to visit every country in Europe while there are on the continent...they've come close, despite the large number of countries...in talking about the visit, I mentioned the possibility of touring chornobyl, they were keen...

I had already done one tour of chornobyl, set up through the old information office of kyiv...that office has moved, I have never found where it is now located...in order to find the best company for the tour, I posted in a Facebook group, and got a phone number as a result...a few emails and phone calls back and forth, and we were good to go...it isn't a cheap tour, and has to be set up a bit in advance (payment in US dollars)...
The company we went with picked us up at my flat, so convenient...we started out 30 minutes earlier than normal, since we knew sunset happens around 1600 at this time of year...

the drive is a couple hours, pretty boring for most people...as we drove through one small town the driver mentioned two former famous residents: the klitschko brothers...one is now mayor of kyiv, the other is still a boxer, engaged to an American actress...
We arrived at the 30km checkpoint, and met our guide...his name was Sergei, only 23 yrs old...(we found out later in the tour that his brother works at chornobyl 15 days a month)...he checked our passports against the list he had...(if the names and numbers don't match, your tour doesn't happen...I wonder how often that happens?)

We were the second group to drive through the gates...as we continued driving along, our guide gave us some information on the area...he pointed out some of the abandoned villages on the side of the road, I would've loved to stop, get out of the car and explore a little...strange to see the trees growing through everything...
Anywho, the first stop was the memorial area in chornobyl...a sculpture of an angel, and town signs of all the villages that no longer exist...will and Megan wares to get ahead of the other group, we didn't stay long here...

The next stop was quick as well, we saw the memorial to the liquidators killed by radiation within a couple weeks of the disaster...on the other side of this firehouse was an exhibit of vehicles used in cleanup just afterward...they looked like overgrown kids toys!
We also stopped at the kindergarten of chornobyl...this time we entered the building!!! the empty beds were so sad, as was the teachers room...strange to see the information board in the entry area, obviously not at all up to date...when the school was open i wonder how often everything was updated...

Our next stop was just after the 10km checkpoint, at which we didn't have to get out of the car, Sergei just showed the list...you have to have documentation for every checkpoint in the area if you want to go through...this stop was along the river, to see all the reactors; this includes reactor #5, which was never finished...the building cranes are still there, too contaminated to move...
Normally visitors feed catfish from a bridge over this river, but the fish don't visit when the weather is this cold :( ...our loaves of bread were if no use, booo...

We drove around to the other side of reactor #4, to see another memorial, and the new sarcophagus...the new sarcophagus was supposed to be finished in 2012, Sergei said they expect actual finishing to happen in 2020...I could see progress from when I last saw it in May 2012...
We stopped at the town sign for Pripyat, it feels like it is in the middle of nowhere...then on to the main platz of Pripyat...more overgrown than I remember from 2.5 yrs ago...I wonder if any of the growth will ever be stopped...trees growing through steps and all!

This is where our tour was different...we got to go in buildings! Our first entry was into the house of culture...during my last tour we had only stood on the front entry steps, maybe taken a couple steps in, but that was it...this time we went up the stairs to the 2nd floor...
there was once a movie theatre in this building, we saw the three remaining seats, as well as old reels of film...(how did all that end up on the ground? I'm sure when everyone left they didn't run around trashing everything and dumping everything on the floors...

We also saw what remains of the library...I was taught to love books and take care of them while I was growing up, it was surprisingly difficult to walk on so many of them...I even saw a few cards from the card catalogue...
There was also a big gymnasium, complete with a climbing rope hanging from the ceiling...it seemed to be in awfully good condition, is it really 30 yrs old? (Then again, it was hanging from the ceiling, I don't know that anyone would've climbed up there anytime after the accident to hang a new rope)...there were a couple frames for football goals, and a jumpy thing used by gymnasts...one side must've been all glass, it no longer exists...instead there are a couple trees growing in one corner...

We walked out the back of the culture building to the amusement park... Everyone has seen photos of this amusement park; the abandoned Ferris wheel and bumper cars...we got to make friends with a fox this time! I don't know whether this amusement park was open or not when the disaster occurred, I've been told it was supposed to open that coming weekend, or that it was already open...
We got back in the car and drove a little down a street...our guide took us in a school building...it was a big school, 1500-2000 kids of many ages...we saw a room where has mask drills took place, which was a bit creepy...(so many gas masks all over the floor)...we saw a room with a map of the former soviet empire still on the wall, complete with information about Lenin...we saw a science classroom, and a room dedicated to soviet heroes...

Next to the school was a sports building...we walked in, and saw the pool! The old pace clock was still on the wall, of course the pool was empty...there was a lot of trash on the bottom of the pool, who put it there? Will and I climbed down into the 'shallow' end of the pool, and would've gone to the bottom of the deep end except that we couldn't see a way to get down, or a way to get back up once we were down there...the deep end was under a 5m diving tower...unfortunately there were no steps to the first level of te tower, otherwise I would've climbed up the tower...

Our last sight was a bit of a workout...we all climbed up 16 floors to the roof of an apartment building on the edge of Pripyat...the view from the top was amazing...we could see the whole town, which really wasn't very big...we could see a former soviet anti missile radar off in the distance, and the sarcophagus being built for reactor #4...
After the roof we went into a couple flats, there wasn't much left...I noticed a fancy doorknob, and what was left of a chandelier...a couple ovens, and sinks...one sofa...no clothes or other personal effects...

From there we drove back to the 10km checkpoint and had our first radiation check...then a small cafe where we had a pretty good lunch (food brought from elsewhere in Ukraine) an I bought a few postcards...then back to the 30km checkpoint, and another radiation check...finally we dropped off the guide who was spending the night in the area as he had another tour the next day...
Driving back to kyiv took a couple hours, all three of us dozed off for most of it :)

adjustment

There are three subway lines currently, though I’ve seen plans for another two lines, as well as extending the current lines…the plan I saw said 2015, but I don’t know if that’s the year when they plan to start, or if that’s the year by which the building is supposed to be finished…hmmm…subway rides currently cost the equivalent of 25cents, no matter how long you’re on the train…there are three transfer stations, all within the city center…most of the stations are underground, with the trains coming on the outsides of the central platform areas…the trains seem old school to me, but maybe that’s just cause I’m used to the system in Korea…

Some of the metro stations are REALLY DEEP…as in, riding an escalator for more than two minutes deep…the city itself is built on hills, and the original subway system was built as a combo metro system and bomb shelter network…some of the stations are more ornate than others, and each has it’s own decoration scheme…there is almost no signage in English, which was a bit alarming the first few times I rode the trains…some of the trains have tv screens that show the station names in English and Ukrainian, but not all the trains have this system…the announcements are only in Ukrainian…given that this is Ukraine, I can’t complain…though if Ukraine really wants to join the EU, they’re going to have to do a lot to make the country easily accessible to people who speak other languages…

The train rides are never silent, though not because of people talking…you hear the train as it goes through  all the tunnels…sometimes it’s almost a roar, and you can’t hear the station announcement at all…you have to learn what each station looks like, or count stops…

There are three stations in the city centre where the subway lines intersect with each other…it seems a bit strange to me, but at these intersection stations, each line has a different station name…as opposed to say, choosing from the green line or blue line in one station, you choose from different station names…the very first time I rode the trains, I started in what I thought was one station, but in fact it was the other station there…whoops…I figured out my mistake almost immediately, and was able to come back, wander through the station and find the other line, making it to my destination only a few minutes late…now that I’ve figured out how to read a little, I can usually figure out where I need to go if I’m in a station that has two lines…

Subway isn’t the only way to get around in Kyiv…there are also buses, trolleys, and something called matrushkas…matrushkas are basically large minivans, and often go long distances…there is a web site to figure out where all the buses, trolleys and such go, but it’s entirely in Ukrainian, and I don’t know the city well enough to figure it out anywho…soon, I hope…you can buy monthly transport cards, which is handy…I get one that is good for unlimited metro rides each month, it’s less than $15USD/month…awesome!!

I’ve slowly been learning to read the alphabet here…Russian and Ukrainian use Cyrillic letters, and most of the letters in the languages are the same, though there are a few differences…in Kyiv, Russian is the majority spoken language, as it is in the eastern half of the country…Ukrainian is also spoken in the city, though not as much, and in the eastern half of the country…I hope to start Russian language lessons soon, because there is very little English here…it’s a good thing, as it forces me to learn a new language instead of relying so much on English…but it makes it challenging when I don’t understand anything…right now, my only Russian vocabulary is VERY basic…yes, no, thank you, 1,2 and please/you’re welcome…let’s just say that won’t get me very far…foreigners do get charged slightly higher prices here, but it isn’t so bad…I know that speaking Russian will help a lot in that regard…if I ever get to a point where I feel comfortable with Russian, I’d also like to learn Ukrainian…

My school is a quadrilingual preschool…English, French, Russian and Ukrainian…the parents choose between Russian and Ukrainian, and they can also have English and French…we don’t currently have any students who come all day every day of the week…we have one 4 year old who attends 5 mornings a week, and two students who come three full days a week…other students attend just a few half days a week, which isn’t great…its hard to teach a class when the students in that class don’t attend every class…figuring out how to make sure each child gets all the information, and gets to participate in enough activities is a challenge, to say the least…

My school is a brand new branch of a school that already exists in three cities in Russia…the methodology is well thought out, which I love…since this branch is brand new, it means we have to prepare EVERYTHING… classroom decorations, ordering basic supplies, creating heaps of visual materials for our lessons, etc…it’s a lot of work, but at the same time I love that I can immediately see the results of my work…since we’re new, we don’t have too many students, which means we don’t have many teachers…so we’re all teaching many different levels of kids, and doing all the paperwork for each class…at the other branches, teachers have two levels at most, to teach…since we’re new, we are also still working out the kinks of scheduling and various routines…as new students come to class, random things change, and we have had plenty of discussions about how we want to do various things…

Right now there is only one guy working at the school, our office manager…everyone else is a woman…our director, head teacher, three teachers, and two assistants…for the most part, we all get along…there are more heated discussions when communication is lacking, or when there are too many questions as to who is in charge of certain things…it’s frustrating to me when I feel like I’m doing work three times over because different people are being put in charge of something, and I have to redo something I’ve already done…argh…but, as routines/schedules/chain of command gets worked out, this should get better…

The weather has been amazing…blue skies nearly every day…chilly-ish in the mornings and at night, absolutely lovely during the day…photos are great when there is a blue sky…love love love!! Winter here is long, cold, and snowy, so I’m enjoying the wonderful weather while it’s here…I’ve been told that October and November are likely to be rainy and cloudy, so we’ll see…I hate hate hate rain, so I hope it isn’t as bad as I’ve heard…I love snow, so I’ll be thrilled when that comes around…I’ve also been told that snow sometimes comes as early as October, woo hoo!!

My sister has been sending me the stuff I shipped home from Korea, it’s been great to have a bit of variety in my wardrobe again…my room doesn’t look like MY bedroom, it’s just a bedroom…I hope people send me postcards so I have something to put on my walls!

see you later, see you soon

february 28th was the end of the school year...this class photo is of my oldest students, (korean 8 year olds, they're only 6 the way the rest of the world counts)...they start elementary school, first grade on 2 march...

i was absolutely freezing, as you can probably tell...the building behind us is the seoul civil preparation something or another...the kids learned what to do in case of an earthquake, what typhoon force winds feel like, etc...you've probably noticed the open doors behind us? yup, those were open the whole time we were in the building...no wonder i was frozen!! this was the middle of january, it was NOT spring weather...anywho...

 these are my youngest students...i'll be teaching them for a little while longer, maybe a month? these photos are from the january theme day, called polar adventure...the kids learned about animals that live in polar climates (for whateva reason, the school chose polar bears and penguins, which of course live nowhere near each other, but that's beside the point)...

 they also learned about the proper clothing to wear during cold and warm weather...well, they actually already know this stuff, but it was fun for them (and me!) to have activities to reinforce the knowledge...the kids in these photos are only 3 years old:)...

part of theme day for the kids was to wear gloves/hats/scarves/etc in school...i don't know how they did it, i was roasting just from wearing my normal clothes...on the other hand, i was moving around a whole lot more than they were...now that these kids have moved up to 5 year old (korean age that is,) classes, it'll be interesting to see how they do...they won't have an assistant teacher in the classroom at all times anymore...

the end of march/beginning of april

it's funny how your mood can change when a kid who normally drives you crazy is really good for a class or two...toward the end of last week, and the first part of this week, the kid i've mentioned earlier has behaved much better...he's still not good, nor will he ever be, but he's been a whole lot better...
it's hard to believe it's already april, which means i've been teaching again for over a month...time flies here..my opinions of different classes and different students have changed numerous times during that month..
last friday we had the monthly birthday party..every kid in the school who has a birthday in april (all 5 of them) got a bit of attention..you could tell some kids really DON"T like being the center of attention, while others absolutely love it..it's funny..i don't have much to do on birthday party days, so i use the time to catch up on paperwork, and do other class prep work..lunches on birthday party days aren't all that great..kimbap (lots of varieties,) and strawberries, cap cay, and a few other items...and cake of course..the cake always looks good, but the taste is never as good as the aesthetic appeal..argh..
the weekend was great..to start with, the weather was awesome..well, it was sunny anywho, and we haven't had much of that lately..still pretty chilly (most everyone thinks it should be a whole lot warmer by now) but definitely sunny, and that makes all the difference in the world..saturday morning i went to touch rugby practice, and contact rugby practice..i'm getting better at touch in a number of ways..better at defending, better at seeing the places i can run, and getting a little faster..(though when i quick guy is chasing me, it doesn't really matter..and i still have no real skill at changing direction)..there were more girls out for touch, which was nice to see..for touch we don't really do drills, it's just a couple hours of game play..love it..that's the best way to learn, even if i'm not always sure of what i should do..contact practice was good too..22 girls came out, which is a good crowd..hopefully they all continue to come out, as many are completely new to the sport..the bigger our numbers, the more fun everyone has..we did some drills, some specific game situations, and more..one poor girl got whacked in the face with a ball, and everyone saw/heard it..you could hear all of us breath in, it was that sort of silent shock..she recovered well though, and hopefully didn't end up with a bruise..all of us are keen to tackle and go full on contact, which should happen soon..coach said we'll be splitting into backs and forwards next week, which means more running for me..i think that's good?
after practice i headed north in the city heading to a buddhist temple, called jogyesa..(sa means temple, so it's jogye temple)..before entering the temple area, i saw a statue of min yeong-hwan..he was also known by his pen name of gyejeong..he was a patriot during the early years of the japanese colonial period, in the early 20th century..he was a member of several underground organizations all geared toward throwing off the powerful japanese, and after his death was decorated with several high honors..(none of which can i remember the names)..

according to the literature, jogyesa is the head temple of the jogye order of buddhism, which is apparently pretty popular in korea..there are thousands of temples that are part of this order throughout the country..unlike other temples, this wasn't such a large complex..just a main temple with three large gold buddhas inside..a 7 leveled stupa in the courtyard..i don't remember what it's for..a drum tower of sorts, and a couple other buildings i didn't know..an information center for foreigners, which was really good for once..LOTS of pamphlets, and people who speak good english, and plenty of smiling..YAY!! i want to do a temple stay while i'm here, and one of the pamphlets i picked up listed a number of temples where it's possible to do that..hopefully it works out at some point..i'd like to see how things are different compared to the mediation retreat i did in thailand..i wandered into the main temple (taking off my shoes outside and going in through the side door, as the front door is only for the monks) and meditated for half an hour..there were lots of people in there, and a monk chanting the whole time..unlike in thailand where the monks are always chanting in pali (the language of the buddha) the monks here chant in korean..and they use a pa system, which i didn't really like..it wasn't nearly as peaceful..but still, half an hour of meditation left me feeling relaxed..
from jogyesa i walked to jongmyo, which is a royal shrine..before entering the area, i saw a statue, which of course made me wonder..the sign told me it was there to honor lee, sang-jae, who was also known by his pen name of wolnam..he is called a patriot, and lived during the time of japanese colonization, during the first half of the 20th century..he died as a martyr, for his work in promoting korean independence..
jongmyo is where most of the kings (and queens? i don't know) from the joseon dynasty are enshrined..according to the main plaque at the beginning, jongmyo is the supreme shrine of the state where the tablets of the royal ancestors are enshrined and memorial services are performed for deceased kings and queens..it was built (the whole thing was founded with just 7 spirit chambers in 1395) four years after the dynasty was founded, even before the first main palace (gyeongbukgong) of seoul was built..(though the location of the palace had been designated)..according to confucian philosophy, the shrine was built on the east side of the royal palace...building started just after seoul (hanyang back then) was designated as the capital of the new dynasty..(is it me, or is it crazy to designate the location of the new capital, then the location of the palace, then the location of the shrine, but start with the building of the shrine before anything else?)...
in one of the first buildings you see when you walk into the area, there is also a tiny shrine to a king from the guryeo dynasty there, and the plaque says it's unknown why it's there..king gongmin and his wife (who was a princess from mongolia, are known for leading the independence of the guryeo dynasty from the yuan in china..in these buildings and it's courtyard are a couple exhibits of things used during those times for visits to the shrine..the rooms which now hold the exhibits were originally storage rooms for all the stuff needed for an official visit to the shrine..incense, paper and other offerings..there is a little pavilion near these rooms, which was originally used by the kings for rests while they were visiting the shrine..apparently the visits were pretty long, if rests were needed!! i wonder what an official visit entailed??
after the resting area, a tourist comes to a set of three buildings, called jaegung..these buildings are where the king and crown prince made their preparations for an official visit..(why did they need a separate building for resting when they already had a building in which to prepare themselves for the visit?)..one building for the king, one building for the prince, and one building as a bath house..before an official visit, the king and crown prince stayed in jaegung in order to purify their minds and bodies..
i should mention that the path in between all these sets of buildings is trifurcated..i took that word from the plaque..it means the path is three fold..the middle was only for the king, and the sides for the prince/queen..
after the kings and queens died, a three year period of mouring started at the palaces..after the mourning period was over, the memorial tablets were moved to the shrine..there are two shrine halls..the first is jeongjeon, the main hall..there are 19 spirit chambers, which house a total of 49 tablets..jeongjeon is for the kings who did something outstanding or particularly virtuous..

the secondary shrine hall is yeongnyoengjeon, where there are 16 spirit chambers and 34 tablets..in yeongnyoengjeon are the tablets of king taejo's ancestors, going back 4 generations...apparently some of them were designated king after they died..i have no idea why..there were two kings deposed from the throne during the dynasty, and their tablets are not kept in jongmyo..the plaque didn't say where those tablets are kept, or whether they're kept at all for that matter...
jongmyo shrine was added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1995..
after leaving the shrine, i walked through a small park area filled with men playing traditional games..no women to be seen, they were all probably at home..i watched for a little while; one of the games i understood, one of them not so much..none of the men i watched even noticed i was there, they were all focused on their games and looked down the entire time..
by the time i got home saturday evening, i was exhausted, and my feet were TIRED..
the next morning i got up and went to church..i actually like going to an early service most of the time..since it was easter, there were actually quite a few people at the service..after the service was a potluck, yay!! a nice chance to talk to people, which i don't normally get to do..
after church i went to the seoul museum of art..it was the last day of an exhibition of work by andy warhol..he was a pop artist who died not too long ago..he's best known for his portraits of people well known in pop culture, though he did other work as well..people also know of his work with ordinary objects, like campbell's soup cans..

most of his portraits used colours that wouldn't seem normal, and he often did the same portrait on more than one colour..there were a lot of very bright colours throughout the exhibition..what i didn't know until i went to the exhibit was his work with stuff related to death..i didn't particularly enjoy that part of the exhibit..i don't enjoy thinking about death, and even less enjoy seeing art that is in any way related to death..there were a lot of people at the exhibit, and the area in which they were selling souvenirs was packed..i thought the line was long when i first got there, but when i walked out of the museum, it was a whole lot longer..i wonder how many of the pop culture portraits koreans recognized before reading the names..and after reading the names, did they know who they were?
i don't think i'd ever spent any time in the area around the art museum, so i wandered around for a while after leaving the exhibit..i even found the zero spot marker..i don't know if that's the proper name, (it's probably not) but it's the spot from which all distances to/from seoul are measured..at one point it was probably the middle of the city, but i doubt it is now..
after arriving home, i grabbed a book and made my way to a nearby coffee bean..it's my favourite coffee chain in the country..unfortunately, it's also one of the most expensive..they have the best chai latte ever..and they have an amazing snack called chocolate mousse cake..sooooooo good...so good it's worth 18 weight watchers points!! i love it, even though i shouldn't..hee hee..it was nice to relax there for a little while..it was my first visit to a coffee bean since returning to seoul, i'm amazed that i held out that long!! after coffee bean i went grocery shopping, cleaned up my flat, and eventually went to bed..

settling in

i've continued to be massively in love with my flat, if such a thing is possible...looking out the ceiling to floor length window over the city is amazing...considering the city never completely sleeps, it's really relaxing just to look out and watch...i get to watch the weather, something i've never been able to do before...this isn't always a good thing, as it also means i can see all the smog, and the yellow dust...(we've just entered yellow dust season)...i can see (and usually hear) storms (rain anywho) coming in...and the snow too..
i've been getting to know my neighborhood a bit better...i've found two ice cream stores, a couple theaters, plenty of stalls with street food, lots of convenience stores, and more..there is a starbucks (and at least 4 other coffee chains i've found so far) pretty much next door, several banks, lots of little fuit/veggie stands, etc..
i've adjusted to my "new" school as well..it's been open since 2002, and has been kept in good shape, it doesn't look at all grungy..korean kindergardens differ from american kindergardens in that they are basically little schools..the kids have homework starting as early as two years old!! they're learning to write, both english and korean from 2-3 yrs old...they're doing simple math from 4 yrs old or so..this school is different from my other schools (in addition to not being english immersion) in that they don't encourage me to give very much homework...hardly any at all, actually..this has been a challenge for me because some of the kids could really use the practice at things like forming their letters properly..some of the kids write really well, and some still write letters backward, in all sizes, and not necessarily on a line..at my other two schools, i taught kids who were in their second year of english immersion kindergarten, so they already knew how to write properly..here i've got kids who don't know the sounds each letter makes..i've got kids who think the vowels only make one sound..sometimes i feel like i'm starting all over from scratch..i've got some kids who are so used to not knowing what's going on that they don't even try when we have assignments in class..as soon as i finish giving instructions, they just look at me and say "teacher help".. even though i know they can complete it, they don't even try..one kid in particular starts looking at other student's pages before i finish giving directions..he doesn't yet understand that cheating is not okay..when he says teacher help, he just wants the teacher to tell him the answer, he doesn't want to try at all..it can be really frustrating..on the other hand, some of the kids have been extremely rewarding to teach..one girl is pretty much fluent (her speaking is sometimes a little halting, but her sentences are almost always perfectly constructed) so when she speaks up it's fun..i had two students who started out not recognizing their own (english) written names, but now they can answer some questions, and they understand basic directions..the first day with my 2 yr olds, one of the classes was dead silent, and just stared at me..the other class cried..the first class is still pretty quiet, but they've started to follow me in some of the hand motions, and i've actually heard their voices a few times..(not many, but still, it's progress)..the second class is now all smiles, they sing along with me, and they do the motions..they're almost always a joy..and they have a LONG attention span, it's great..i wonder if i had that kind of attention span when i was that little? probably not..lol..i've got one kid who has a behavioural disorder..i don't know what it is, but he has one..out of all the kids at this school, he's the only one who actually has a behavioural problem..he understands everything i say, and can talk to me about anything..howeva, when i tell him not to do something (which happens at least 10 times in a half hour class) he immediately does it again..i know he understands what i'm telling him, he's very deliberate in doing exactly the opposite of what i tell him to do..he antagonizes the other students in the class, and is rarely quiet..most days i feel as though very little is accomplished in that class because i spend most of the time trying to get the other kids to ignore him and focus on their own work..he is remarkably effective at holding up an entire class..he's been at this school over a year, and no teacher has been able to control him..he's so bad most of the time that even when he's good it doesn't come close to making up for the awfulness..thank goodness i don't have that class all the time! overall, my good/rewarding students FAR outweigh the students who drive me crazy..
this time i feel like i'm learning a little more korean..not a lot, but definitely more than i have previously..part of it is because my school isn't all english, so i hear a whole lot more korean during the day..i think another part of it is because i'm much more comfortable with the language..when i first came here in 2005 it was all new and strange sounding, but now i recognize the sounds and flow, and occasionally even know what's being said!! i practice my reading on the street and when watching tv all the time..(but i still don't read fast enough for that)
i joined the gym, which is a couple blocks down from my building..it's open until midnight during the week, which is super convenient..when i'm busy directly after school i can go to the gym later and not have to worry about rushing..next on my list of things to find in the neighborhood is a jim jil bang, (a sauna)..
i've also gotten back into rugby..i still don't know what i'm doing most of the time, but i'm not a total newbie anymore..i've been able to gain some fitness at the gym (and going out running) so i'm not gasping for breath quite so much..i want to tour with the team, but don't know if i'll be able to afford it..a weekend tour ends up being more expensive than it seems like it should be..i found a web site with a calendar of a bunch of races in korea, and the links to the web sites for those races..i've already entered two half marathons, and i plan to enter many more..a marathon sometime during this year..with all the races i found listed, i could run almost every weekend!! i'd end up with a great collection of race t-shirts and whatnot..i don't go for training runs nearly as much as i should, but i love weekend races..
tomorrow is a theme day at my school..this month the theme is spring picnic..the kids will sing a couple songs, have a "lesson" and play some spring related games..all in all, it's fun..really high energy, but fun..the korean teachers at the school put a lot of effort and time into the decorations..

it's supposed to be the land of the morning calm...

it took 14 hours to fly from atlanta, GA to incheon, south korea...the flight left atlanta late, but still landed earlier than scheduled in incheon..i wonder how often that happens? getting through immigration/customs took almost no time at all, and i quickly found the person who was waiting for me..i had thought it was someone from the school, but it wasn't...it was a taxi they had hired, so there was no conversation to be had..at all..over an hour (an hour and a half?) of total silence...i don't know why, but he turned down the radio, and even turned WAY down the sound on the gps..awkward much? i'm glad i know the city a bit, i was able to watch the signs on the highways and know where we were..the driver took me to a motel where they seemed to know what to do..again, it was fortunate that i've spent time here previously..the taxi driver was somehow able to contact the teacher i was replacing, so she arranged a time to come over later that evening..we ended up chatting for an hour, then she had to go help a friend pack..(i arrived at the time of year when there is a lot of turnover, as the school year starts 1 March)..we also arranged when and where to meet the next morning..
soooo, the next morning i got ready and was waiting at our arranged meeting point, not particularly enjoying the rain..ugh..typical winter weather here, gray skies and chilly..ugh..
getting to school took less than 10 minutes..it's really nice to live so much closer to my school than i did when i last lived in seoul..at my first school, 4 years ago, i could walk to school in 12 minutes..at my second school it took me 35 minutes to walk and take the subway to work..not fun..anywho, my new school is close, YAY!! my first day of work was actually the second to last day of the school year..(it was originally intended that i get to seoul earlier than i did, but all sorts of things were crazy, and the whole process took far longer than expected)..the way the schedule of this school works, thursday is the last regular day of the week..fridays are always "special days"..that means anything from birthday parties to field trips to theme days to just about anything else..so i only had one normal day to observe and figure out how the school works on a regular day..i followed sara to her classes, met some of the kids, and figure out which students i'd have in my own classes..the way the schedule works out, it's basically two hours of teaching, lunch, two hours of teaching, snack, then another hour..i don't eat lunch with the kids, though i do eat the same food..it's korean food, which i like, and is healthy..woo hoo:)..the day went well, there wasn't much to it..
the next day was my frist field trip..we went to the soma art museum, which is in Olympic Park..which just happens to be about a 5 minute drive down the street from the school..(which, i found out a week later, is only a 12 minute run from where i live)..i'm assuming this museum is one that changes it's exhibit every so often, because that day the entire museum was all about robots..from some of the first robots, to popular robots, to contemporary robots, etc..it was fun, and i think the kids liked it..on fridays lunch is longer, as is the afternoon snack..the whole day is much more relaxed..another easy day..after the day ended, sara helped me bring my boxes (i had shipped my things to korea the day before i left bloomington)..
the next day i got up early and went to touch rugby..i had gotten the email not too long after arriving saying that touch was starting up for the new season..touch is much more informal than contact, i'm not sure there is an official coach..it's also often mixed with the guys who play touch..basically, a touch game is started, and people sub in and go out for a couple hours..it's a game with a LOT of running, and i quickly realized i am WAY out of shape..sure, i can run a long way, but i can't do it fast..i was sucking air, badly..(not to mention the AWFUL quality of seoul air)..motivation to get in shape!!
i went home and attempted to sleep..after running around for a couple hours, i was knackered..of course, it didn't happen..so far i hadn't slept through the night, i kept waking up really really really early in the morning, after going to bed at a reasonable hour..waking up at 0300, and staying awake until 2300, then doing it all over again..i kept thinking my body would crash, but it never did..i just slowly slept later and later each morning, and after a week and a half finally slept all the way through the night..that evening (a saturday) i met up with sara and a couple other teachers at a brazilian all you can eat steak restaurant..sara wanted to eat there, and since it was her last weekend, she had every right to do whateva she wanted..i've been to this place before, and i love it..i'm not usually big on all you can eat places, but all you can eat steak is AWESOME..brazilian steak to boot..(sorry if you're vegetarian)..i definitely ate my money's worth..soooooo good..needless to say, by the end of the meal (pretty much non stop eating on my part) i was done eating meat..there were side dishes on the table, but none of us ate large portions of those, why fill up on those when we could eat steak?
sunday was a day of rest..i took the subway to a few areas i used to love, just to see how they've changed..

monday was a holiday..one of korea's two celebrated independence days..since sara was leaving that day, i got to move from the motel into the flat..while still a studio flat, it's soooooooooooo much nicer than anything i've lived in previously..it's on the 12th floor, and i have a view over a good portion of the city..beautiful..or at least as beautiful as any view can be in seoul..it's way bigger than my previous flat, i love it..there is enough storage, room for my bed, a laundry rack, a bookshelf, a small table and two chairs, as well as a small couch..and the bathroom is super nice!! there is a wall between the shower and the rest of the bathroom..to most of you this doesn't sound like anything out of the norm, but here most showers just come out of the wall, and everything in the bathroom gets wet when you take a shower..the building is connected by elevator to the subway station, i don't even have to go outside..across the street is a large grocery store, and the gym is just down the street..a huge department store is also across the street, as is a coldstone creamery..what more could a girl want? life in this flat is going to be good:)