Video, May not have appropriate language for children

Derty Daegu Weekend / Big City - Small Town Comparison

This past weekend I went to Daegu, South Korea. It is the fourth largest city in Korea after Seoul, Busan and Incheon. The 2.5 million population really blows away my Gochang's ~78,000 people. I had to take a 1 hour bus to Gwangju, then a 3.5 hour bus to Daegu.

It was nice to visit James' family and some ETAs that were in Daegu.

The bus was really, really nice. Wide red leather seats and plenty of room to lean back for the small price of ~$19 one way. It wasn't too shabby at all. My one possible complaint is that it doesn't have a bathroom on board, but it does make 1 stop along the way for a bathroom break.

I got into the city around 8:00 pm on Friday. The first thing that hit me was the smell. Hot weather + urban setting + lots of trash + tons of people + a lot of traffic = the smell. I couldn't really take a deep breath (though this may be an isolated incident, it was the first thing I realized).

I went to Lotteria, a Korean version of McDonald's, and grabbed the crappiest burger I have ever eaten in my life. Afterwards, I met up with James coming back from Busan and we headed to his uncle's house. I met his grandma again and I think she vaguely recognized me. She made some comment about how James and I used to GAME HARD when we were little. Some Sega game where u have to recapture animals. Haha. We went and watched a Korean Movie, The Ultimate Weapon 활 (arrow). It was about revenge. A lot of Korean movies are about revenge/justice. A good theme if not slightly overplayed. I was talking to James about the movie and about how a lot of people could be saved if they just went home. The soldiers kept needlessly chasing one another when they could have just gone home.

The next day James' uncle took us hiking to some famous temple in Daegu. It had a huge Buddha. Your run of the mill hike. Though there were two funny episodes. 1st - I had to muster up a lot of courage to take one of those sitting on the edge pictures. James was too scurred. 2nd - James was rendered immobile by a bee on his shoe. The guy is deathly afraid of bees. He said that he never had been stung ever, and that he might have an allergic reaction and die. Goddang drama queen...

Somehow doing the course of the hike we got lost, but trail blazed our way back to the right trail and back down the lift.

That night, I had dinner with Art, Lauren, James, Sarah D and Sarah L for her birthday. Nice Italian place. I got the curry :D.

Daegu was a really big city. It also shocked me that I couldn't really understand what the people were saying. Their accent was really thick. It was like somebody killed my comprehension ability for the weekend.  I also realized that most grandma's are the same. James' grandma repeatedly woke us up because she thought we were hungry. She also tried to give us money and when we refused she gave us grapes instead. I guess if you're old school your show your love through reckless feeding. I thought it was really funny.

I got back home Sunday and bought some running shoes. They were mad expensive but I have found them to be really comfortable.

Here are some pictures from the weekend and the past. Enjoy.

View of the Gwangju - Daegu bus

Luxurious seats on the bus

The rest stop along the way

Very mountainous terrain

Um... this ain't me

Cable car front

Cable car back

Tauros would be proud.

The cable car itself

Nice lil mountain shot

Even better mountain shot

The pensive mountain thinker

Summoning my courage to sit on the edge

Looks stupid, but if I fell backwards, I would die. This was a courageous shot.

Mountain house at the cable car station

Other side

Sign for the mountain

Big temple

I think these were dragon eggs

Lanterns by monks

Same lanterns, different angle

Relaxation pond for monks

Huge Buddha

Huge Buddha up close

I took this picture because the last character on the bottom is 'Woon'

Videos I forgot to upload

Be warned, I am no expert in film making or editing.

This was an exercise to get them talking and having a threat to embarrass them with if anything ever comes up.

These are some of the students in my conversation class. 

Musings and Updates - Mega Entry (?)

Dear all,

I know that I have not updated in a while. I have not put up pictures in a while. Hopefully none of these pictures overlap with previous posts. Please enjoy them along with random thoughts that I have had so far...

- Anthony

Education in Korea

So most people already know that education in Korea is very intense. Having taught at school for 3 weeks and encountering bright (and not so bright) students, I began to think about the education system. Here are some facts that I see.

1. Students study a lot - A lot of my higher level students live in the school dormitory so that they can study more. Most students study in the evening in self-study class, a designated class where students must attend and they must do work/study. This is usually right before or after dinner time. I would say altogether students spend about 7 hours in actual class, and 4 more hours of compulsory self study. However, some students sleep in class and in compulsory self study. I would imagine to do the same if I were in forced to be in class around 6:00.

2. Students don't get a lot of homework - I have never heard any of my students say, "Teacher I have so much homework!". I don't think that teachers really assign homework. The life of the students is based on preparing for exams and assessments. This happens very regularly, probably at least 1 or 2 tests a week. This means that students can put things off for a while but then must cram before a test.

3. Students perform poorly on most national tests - Nationalized tests include Math, Korean, English + 2 or 3 elective portions that the students choose (Science, Ethics, Social Studies etc...)I have some students that test in the 80-90 out of 100 range. Most of my students test in the 40 to 70 range, with some scoring in the 20s. 

So, in summation: Students have ample time to study and don't have daily assignments yet do poorly on national test. Why? I have a theory... involving teachers. More to come on this later. I should probably do some research before making wild, based on my hunch conjectures.

Korean Thanksgiving

This weekend is Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving. Its our autumnal harvest festival. Everything shuts down as people go to their hometowns in the countryside. A lot of families leave the bustling cities to visit their grandparent's or to the eldest uncle's house. I will be going to my maternal grandmother's house this weekend.

This used to be more socially enforced in the past, but I hear that a lot families do not upload this tradition of traveling to your ancestral home.

My dad's older brother came and picked me up yesterday after school to go visit my paternal grandfather's grave site. He came down earlier to avoid the traffic as traveling time usually doubles or triples this weekend. I went to visit my grandfather (who died before I was born), my grandmother (whom I can recollect but cannot recall her voice..), my grandfather's younger brother (died young without any heirs), my cousin (who passed away young) and my great-grandfather & grandmother. It was a sobering experience as their relatively unkempt graves reminded me of people I never really knew yet were so important in my life.

Afterwards, we went by my father's family's old home. It has been renovated, but the original shape is still in tact. It was funny to see some of the very, very old people who still live there. I met a 92 year old woman who treated my uncle as his wife as if they were babies. I was introduced as the one in America's son. They pretended to know who I was and greeted me very cordially. These people saw my dad run around when he was a child, and they have not moved. I don't want to say time has passed them by, but they really were living relics. They lived through WWII and years of Japanese occupation. Here they are now in one of the richest countries in the world, still plowing their fields. The world has changed, but their reality has not. They did make fun of some Seoulites who came to live down in the rural area only to find out it is not as relaxing as they thought it would be. I chuckled along with them as if I understood their lives. Haha.

English Club Class

Every morning from 8:00 - 8:40, I teach an English club class for the more advanced students. I don't really establish a real lesson for this class; I just want to use English and have fun with the students. They are required to write an English diary everyday which I check during the school day and give back to them. I think this really helped me understand the lives of the students and what they are going through. They tell me all kinds of stuff. I like it. It is very fun.The students are also very responsive. As my face has become more familiar at school, I get approached more by the students to talk or just ask questions. The game of whether I can speak Korean or not continues to some degree. Most have figured out I can speak and understand, but don't know how much I can really understand. This is a fun game of cat and house that keeps them (and me) on their toes. 

Another power that comes with being a teacher is that I can demand that students buy me ice cream. I have gotten two bars of ice cream this way. I didn't think it would work, but it does. I fear my newly discovered power. :)

I hope I didn't ramble too much. Nobody reads long posts anyway. Enjoy the pictures!

Getting ready to play Mafia

1st Grade Students waiting patiently

The game begins

I narrate, students listen. 

Blood will be spilled

Making my face skinnier

Now it is night.

Police investigation. I'm not really sure if the students knew what the police was supposed to do.

 

Kill this one?

Students discuss and defend themselves!

I'm sorry, you're dead.

Strike while the iron is hot. End of story.

#3

A hair salon I saw in Jeongeup. Thought it was hilarious.

HUGE gummy cup things. Eric, Stephen, and Steven would have made some real bank off these in middle school if we had em. Haha.

The front yard of my father's old house

One of the 4 rooms in my father's old house

My father's old house!

My bus stop in the afternoon. I blend like a chameleon here.

A fountain in downtown Gochang. The fortress wall lit up in the back. :)

Same thing 3 seconds later.

Typical lunch at school.

Was waiting for the bus this morning when this BOSS rolled down the street in this vehicle trying to deliver some red peppers.

The view from my grandfather's grave site.

My aunt and uncle at the burial sites.