Rainy Day in Asia

When it rains, the street vendors, who sell everything from fruit and fish to toothbrushes and slippers, open up these giant rainbow umbrellas that remind me of summer at the beach in North Carolina. They sit beneath them, amidst their wares, chatting with their neighboring vendors, as the deluge pours down. I pass them on my way to and from work. The rainy day commute can be quite dangerous at times! Being a good head-and-a-half taller than the majority of the Koreans I meet, it seems my eyes are directly aligned with the pointed edges of their umbrellas, which fill the streets in a colorful pedestrian rainbow. I have suffered, on one such occasion, a tiny slice on my cheek, just below my eye, from the clawing edge of a pink-and-white Hello Kitty rainshield. And as umbrellas have a way of obscuring vision, both of the carrier and the raincoat-wearing individual, my walk to work involves more than the usual share of bumping and jostling, I have to duck and dodge as well!

Treading Water

I am, in fact, still alive. Contrary to popular belief. For those of you (ahem) five or so blog stalkers of this site, I would like to extend my apologies for the lack of posts. January is winter vacation month for my students, which in another country might mean they take a break from study and actually enjoy a much-deserved rest, but here in South Korea, they sign up for extra morning academies... Math, English, etc. Which means, I have been teaching morning classes, as well as my usual afternoon and evenings. Not much spare time/mental energy left for blogging at the end of the day, I'm afraid. I feel like I've been treading water all month, just barely staying on top of my work. We finished morning classes on Friday, however, so I am back to the usual routine tomorrow... and here's hoping... surfingsundays.blogspot.com is back in business too! More to come. Stay tuned. Peace, love, and kimchi. Out.

All I Want For Christmas Is... Skype!

I am currently in awe of the technological wonders of today! On my Christmas morning in South Korea, I was given a window through time zones, across oceans, and right into a friend's living room in Canada, where many of my loved ones had gathered to celebrate Christmas Eve together. I watched them cramming their little heads into the view of the webcam, all shouting and jostling at once, sending their hellos and best wishes and beautiful smiles across cyberspace. I was then passed from lap to lap, was given a whirling virtual tour of the house and all the party g uests present, also a not-so-lovely look up some unfortunate person's nose, and a birdseye view of Christmas cooking on a plate. There were threats of putting me in the fridge, so I would know how it felt to be a carton of orange juice! But in all of the madness and mayhem, I had the privilege of engaging in dialogue with people I know and love dearly. I was able to coo at a baby and see him smile back. I caught snippets of lively conversation on all sides. I could distinguish the voice of my littlest brother bantering, in his singular way, with the adults in the room. I watched the faces of people I love, interacting in front of me, like a beautiful movin g canvas of personalities, life and light. I was able to celebrate with them the joys of gatherings such of these. And all from this little window on my desktop. How rich is the gift of togetherness! I know it's not the same as "being there", but I am so very thankful for this ingenious invention called Skype..

Tired and Wired

My students are off-the-wall this week. They are all either really tired or really wired. As am I... but that's nothing new! Haha... here are some of the crazy critters I teach. My Tuesday/Thursday Fingerprints crew:

... Tired

This is Anna. She's a gem... always listening and paying attention, and I can count on her to translate for her less-attentive amigos. "This page!" "Here!" "Listen to Fiona-teacher!"

...Wired!

This little monkey earned himself the nickname "Bad Andy" before I got to Korea. He's actually not bad at all, just high-activity. Today he decided that instead of coloring in his book, he would use his pink marker to decorate my sweater... and camera lens. We have a special relationship. One minute I'm scolding him for throwing crayons around the classroom, the next minute he's running up to spontaneously hug me in the hallway.
My older classes are a bit silly these days too. Either falling asleep at their desks, or so chatty in Korean/English/Konglish that we get no book work done. I think they are all in need of a much-deserved holiday... which starts tomorrow! We have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day off, which will be lovely! Some of these kids won't really get a rest, though... their parents have signed them up to ski camps, English holiday programs, or another extra-curricular activity.
In one of my classes this week, we were having a discussion about hobbies, and I asked them what they like to do in their free time. One student thought about it and replied, "Teacher, we don't really have free time!" Sad but true. A Korean teacher, who I work closely with, told me that when she was in High School, she would leave her home at 6:30am and not return to it until 10:30pm. And then she would finish her homework. We are busy busy bees over here in Korea!

Tornado Season 5

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. One of the teachers at my school had some discounted tickets to a Muay Thai boxing match last night, and a whole crew of us ended up going. Muay Thai is Thailand's national sport, and is a form of martial arts, in which fighters use eight points of contact; their hands, shins, elbows and knees. This is the main way it differs from Western boxing, where only two points of contact are used (the fists) or other common forms, where four points are used (the fists and feet). The rounds started off with two young boys... who didn't look any older than seven or eight! The audience was so well-behaved. There were no screaming soccer moms or ranting hockey fans to be seen! There was some polite clapping and a little cheering, but for anyone who has been to a hockey game in Canada or a rugby match in New Zealand, you might have mistaken this sports arena for a movie theater, everyone sitting so still and staring at the screen. Their silence is not to be mistaken for disinterest, however, because there were moments where the Koreans were so intense on what was happening in the ring, it felt like a whole room full of people all holding their breath at the same time! There were competitors from various countries; Thailand, Japan, Korea, and one guy from Canada, to name a few. Things got a little bloodier as the rounds progressed, one instance in particular where a bloody nose made foot placement a little slippery, and they had to pause the round to wipe up the mess with a white towel. My stomach got a little queasy at that point! I observed some interesting pre-round rituals that various individuals practiced, some kneeling down before entering the ring, some head to head with their teacher/coach for a moment of prayer before beginning, some parading around to four corners of the ring, giving their respect to spectators in each direction. A few fighters wore interesting headdresses, that circled their heads and jutted out at the back, with colorful tassels hanging from the ends. This was removed by the fighter's coach before they began the match. It was all very interesting.... witnessing my first boxing match, a Muay Thai event in South Korea. Anyways, here are some more pics...

Night Hike

I tried to fit in a hike before sunset last night, and made it to the top of a nearby mountain just in time to capture some of these sweet shots of a glowing Geoje city and the sun setting over the water. The ships looked amazing all lit up. Geoje Island boasts two major shipyards; Daewoo (or DSME) Shipyard which is in nearby city, Okpo, and Samsung Heavy Industries, which is pictured below. It was a lovely end to the day, but I had to scramble down in the dark, and my cat-eye night vision wasn't working... I ended up slipping and twisting my ankle. Nothing too serious (and I didn't smash the camera, thankfully!) but my foot is still quite stiff and sore today, so I think I'll be giving 'er a rest for awhile.

A Weekend Wandering

Spent a lazy Saturday exploring the bustling metropolis of Busan, with Jen and AJ, Dan and Lindz (whom I will henceforth refer to as "The Marrieds") and Kate, one of the teachers I work with. It was a rather overcast day so we mostly just passed the time window-shopping, people-watching, and browsing through some art galleries. Highlights of my day include:

1. The wonderful man who nearly drove into us on his bicycle, grinned at us and yelled something in Korean... then proceeded to make faces and peace signs at us until AJ walked over to talk to him, at which point he hugged AJ's arm like he was clutching a teddy bear and didn't look like he would ever let go. AJ, kindhearted bloke that he is, simply hugged the man back.

2. These young lads who were jammin' it out on a park bench. I recognized the Once soundtrack from a distance... they were singing in English! Couldn't resist joining them...

3. Our $3-apiece Galbi meal at this restaurant Kate found; it was very inexpensive and it tasted great! Galbi is a popular Korean meal, usually pork or beef ribs marinated in garlic, soy sauce, and ginger and cooked on a grill in front of you. Actually, they usually bring you the meat raw, and you cook it yourself. You wrap the meat in a leaf, adding some veggies, kimchi, and various sauces, and then munch on it. Rabbit-style. All the little side dishes are shared amongst the diners, and everyone dips their chopsticks into the communal bowls.

4. And last but not least, this cozy grandpa sweater I bought from a second-hand market stall... I love it because it has little grey kiwi birds knitted into it! Anyone who knows my fondness for New Zealand, will understand my delight in finding this treasure of a sweater, just at the turning of the seasons...

...although some of my comrades seem to think they look like malnourished elephants. Perhaps you can settle the argument. Cast your vote here in the comments section, if you so desire! Kiwi, elephant, or... other?