How could I not?

Lucky for you all, I can never sleep the night before I travel. As such, I will bring you a few insomnia induced photos from third and fourth grade Harry Potter English Camp ie: The Best/Cutest Thing Ever.

See what I mean??

Here's to being lost, or not.

At least not in that sense..

Well friends,
Summer Camp is over and, after two weeks of Pirates and Wizards and compulsive planning, I am off to Cambodia and Vietnam for 3 wonderful weeks of travel.  I am super pumped to poke around some new places, see some neat things, have some once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and obvi eat some delicious things. I'm doing a few days solo and meeting up with a few pretty rad people along the way. I am taking planes, trains, buses, and all sorts of 2-3 wheeled contraptions. I'm going to see Ankor Wat and explore the Mekong Delta and crawl through the tunnels used by the Vietcong. And I am SO EXCITED! Can you tell??

Anyeong[hikheseyo]. 
See you on the other side of Hanoi,
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A day that I love my job.

Almost done with Summer English Camps and, in honor of a really splendid day, I bring you.... 

What Emily Teacher and her 3rd graders do

when they are not pretending to be wizards:

2 days 'til Cambodia!

Anyeong[hikheseyo].
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Some things have no cultural boundaries...

And, as it turns out, making pirate ships out of cardboard boxes is one of those things...

 

I just finished teaching my first round of English camps, which were just fab. So much work but also so much fun. Lest you be concerned, we also did other things.... like make pizza, and turn ourselves into sea monsters. Remember how this is my job ?? nbd. 

언녕하새요, from Banji English Camp! One week until Cambodia and Vietnam!!

Dirty Little Secret

Ok, I have another confession and I apologize in advance. It's not that I have been lying to you. I just haven't been telling. Not because I don't want to. Not because I am trying to keep secrets from you. I have just forgotten to tell or haven't had enough information to tell. Now that I've remembered and I do (have slightly more information), I'll get on with it.

First, in my complete and total wonder over the genius that is a chicken-cola-cup and my excitement over the amazing display of badass-ness that was the last Harry Potter movie, I forgot to tell you that I got new glasses. Am I the most Korean ever now? It think so. Also, this is what happens when you move to Korea and don't cut your hair for a year...Also, I just realized there is probably a little to much pattern in this outfit to be acceptable. My bad.

The other thing. That nagging question. That source of a wildly amusing amount of confusion and rumors. "Emily!?!!?? When are you coming home?!?? I hear your coming to visit camp when you come home!! I heard your moving to Africa!!! What are you doing with your life!?!? Are you moving to the city!?! Are you going to teach in Chicago!?!? Oh, that other thing.

Well.... Unclear. No. No. Unclear, but most likely teaching with some other stuff mixed in along the way. No for now, yes eventually, to the last two. Fair?

That didn't make sense? Fine. I guess an explanation is in order. My contract in the ROK ends September first, at which point I will be going to Malaysia for 10 days with some chingus. From there things get a little murky. I will share eventually. Not today.

For now I will tell you that I will most likely find myself back in Chicago-land sometime in the fall. Woohooo, let's hang out! I will be home for a few months to absorb a bit of good old hometown American comfort, crash on people couches in the city and consume as much peanut butter, cheese and Diet Coke as I can get my hands on. I will also probably try to find some short term work and will definitely be doing a bit of personal fundraising beacauseee..........

Woohooooo! Surprise! I am going to India in January!!!!

Now, before you get all "OMG Emily this is so typical! I can't believe you're leaving again! Aren't you ever coming home for good!" let me elaborate because it's actually a really wonderful opportunity and something I am really excited about.

Last month I was accepted, and I recently sent my commitment letter, to the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) Volunteer Corps. Volunteer Corps places Jewish professionals (sometimes it's hard to believe I'm considered a professional...) with grassroots NGOs working to promote and advance social justice and international development, and fight poverty in the developing world. I will be volunteering for about three months in India, though the details of my placement have yet to be determined. I am extremely humbled to have been given such an opportunity and hope that whatever skills I have to offer will make a positive impact on the community in which I am working. I hope that you are as excited as I am about this opportunity and I look forward to sharing my experiences with as many people as possible when the time comes. Asaaaah! On to the next one!

So, where exactly does that leave me? Ideally a bit of Albun Sisters adventures and a successful completion of my Volunteer Corps term of service will bring me to sometime around May 1, 2012. This is my self imposed deadline for being home for good-ish, pulling my Stateside life back together and starting the Windy City job search. Anyone know an Art teacher retiring next Spring? If so, we seriously need to talk....

Well, there you have it. I hope I've cleared the air a bit and, now that you've heard my out, feel free to go back to thinking I am completely ridiculous. 

See you around my friends... eventually. 

Anyeong[hikheseyo].
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Sharing is Caring: RRR [4]

While these next few nuggets aren't necessarily reflections, they certainly qualify as random and somewhat rambley. They are also quite amusing and/or exciting and I am in the mood for some sharing. SO, here are my latest "Random Rambles and Reflections."

Guess what I just did!

Yeah. That. And it was awesome. Jealous? The fact that it came out a few day earlier here almost makes up for the fact that I had to wait 3 months to see part 1. Not. Regardless. Amazing.

PYEONCHANG KOREA FIGHTING!!!
Last week 평창, South Korea (where I went snowboarding this winter) was named the official host of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Assaahhhh! Daehanminguk!!!! Perhaps I will come back....

Chi-cola-cup. 
It seems that recently I've been slipping just enough faux English into this here blog of an English teacher, to make people wonder how I ever got a job as an English teacher in the first place. What can I say? I must be charming; OR, I have a college degree and a somewhat firm command of the (conversational) English language. That whole degree in Education was just a bonus. Moving on, I will admit that Chi-cola isn't even acceptable English, Korean or Konglish in Korea, rather its the only term I could think of to describe what I was gifted this morning by one of my third grade classes. Have a look, maybe you can come up with a better term....

As I did not anticipate such a rad gift, my camera was nowhere to be found. Both of these images are credited to Snack to the Future.

Yeah, that's right. It's a soda. Its popcorn chicken. It's combined in a stroke of portability genius. And its delicious. What was even better was that, as a result of some craycray morning events, I had neglected to grab breakfast OR coffee before leaving the house. Third grade end of the semester pre-English class party to the rescue. Thanks Class 3-4 for satisfying my mid-morning battle with starvation and caffeine  addiction, and showing me that there are, in fact, some pretty creative people over here in the ROK.



Morning Events and Minor Heart Attacks
So, it's morning right? Let's say its about 8:10. I woke up at 8:00 and in order to be on time for school, I need to leave my apartment at 8:15. I am mostly dressed, the water for my coffee is boiling, and I have brushed my teeth. I am making pretty good time. I look at myself in the mirror and decide I have just enough time to run a flat iron through some major bedhead and perhaps apply some B.B. Cream to the circles under my eyes. This is when I start to hear someone pressing the numbers on a key pad (the doors in my building have electronic number pads rather than keys) for the apartment next door. Except... wait. Are they pressing my key pad!? It there someone trying to open my door!!??! Is that the chime telling me my door has just been unlocked!?? WHAM. My door is pushed open, slamming into the latch, which locks my door from the inside.  In the 30 seconds between hearing the first few beeps and a confused "Em!??!" called from the other side if the door, the following thoughts somehow crammed themselves into my brain. "SOMEONE IS TRYING TO BREAK INTO MY APARTMENT!!" "Oh No! There is some emergency and my co-teacher is coming to get me!" "Shit, the new building owner (who wants to use my apt as a home office, but has agreed to let me stay until the end my contract) thinks I am gone and is trying to get into the apartment!!"

Answer, none of the above. It was Alex. 

Alex works at the middle school next to my apartment and, on a miraculous day my first week in Korea, we crossed paths on the bridge to Wold-uh Ma-tuh. It was beautiful. She was the first non-Korea and English speaker I had seen since arriving in Korea and we've been friends ever since. Alex boyfriend is in the military and stationed in Pyeongtaek and, as such, they have both been living near the base in apts rented to soldiers. Long story slightly less rambley -- because Brandon's service ends this week, and Alex's contract does not end until the end of August she needs a place to live (or store her stuff while shes on vacation) for the next month and a half. Seeing as I have way more space than I need, spend way too much time talking to myself, and essentially live kiddie-corner to her school, I offered up my place. Woohooooo Roomies for life. She dropped of her stuff on Tuesday, I gave her the code, and we looked forward to the week and a half in August when we will be real roomies. Turns out she sent me a text this morning, when I was still somewhere between coma and fully alert (likely leaning more towards coma) letting me know she had a few more things to drop off. My B. In the end all was well because Brandon gave me a ride to school.

That's for now from the ROK. Hope its less monsoony wherever you are.

Anyeong[hikheseyo].
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War Zones and Broken Promises.

Dear Mom, 
I know I when I left for South Korea I promised I wouldn't do it; but, I did  it and it was pretty sweet. Forgive me?

사랑하는,
Emily

For those who do not share 50% of my DNA, the 'it' in question is also a partial answer to the trivia questions in my last two posts.

I will give you the answers and a clue.
You see if you can guess what I did last weekend.

According to his own statements during interviews, Kim Jong Il has the largest personal DVD collection in the world, numbering over one point five million. He also got eleven holes-in-one the first time he ever played golf. (source: U.S. Military guide) (image source.)

Do you know the answer??? If, perhaps, my verbal smoke screen was too thick to penetrate, I will help you out. Last weekend Amanda and I made a long overdue trip to the DMZ, or the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea ( officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea). In doing so, I also broke the only promise I made to my mother before coming to Korea; but, to be fair, I told her months ago I was going to do it. Sorry Mom!!

For those unfamiliar with the situation over here on the peninsula, a brief history lesson can be found here. I am way to tired to type it all out.

So, where does that leave us? Well, with us referring to Amanda and I, it leaves us waking up at 5:30 a.m. in a Hongdae Jimmjilbang. Although we had both made the trek to Seoul the previous night, the 7 a.m. check in time for our USO tour still required a groggy morning subway ride across the city. So, after changing out of our Jimmji jumpsuits and grabbing some much needed caffeine from a coffee shop just closing up for the night (morning??), we hopped on the subway and made it to the USO office with time to spare. We had both signed up at the last minute, after learning some friends were already registered for the trip; but, in an slight complication to the plan, they actually ended up assigned to a tour leaving 30 minutes later than ours. Thankfully, we were both assigned to the same bus and were able to enjoy a lovely day in the warzone with a travel buddy. We did get drive by hugs outside of the 3rd tunnel, for what its worth.

Our first reminder that North and South Korea are very much still at war came even sooner than expected. Given the overall lack of a car in my life the last ten months, my views of Seoul have been restricted to those afforded by the subway, my own two feet, and the view from Namsan Tower. This being the case, I've never before noticed the tall barbed wire fences flanking the Han River, which divides Seoul north from south and runs south from the DMZ. Apparently the fences were constructed in the late 60's after a group of North Korean operatives were able to sneak into South Korea by walking on the frozen river and made it nearly all the way to Seoul before being apprehended. It is believed the DPRK soldiers were attempting an attack on the South Korean 'Blue House' (presidential) district. Ever since, the fences have been in place, along with manned watch posts hundred yards or so, in order to protect against further infiltration via the river.

The first official stop on the tour was Camp Bonifas and the JSA, or Joint Security Area, which lies directly over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) dividing the North and South. After joining our U.S. Military tour guide, and signing a waiver declaring that if we died it was our own fault for coming (yikes.. but true) we were led through the South Korean Freedom house into the JSA. This is the area where South and North Korean soldiers stand on edge, about 100 feet from each other, at all times. It is also a "neutral ground" of sorts were official talks between the two nations are held. Before leaving the freedom house we were given strict instructions against any eye contact or communication with the North Korean side (just in case we were fancied a chat) as well as turning our backs towards the North Korean boarder, entering any of the buildings controlled by NK (no thanks), leaving the two lines we were instructed to stand in, and/or gesturing in the direction of NK or any of the buildings. Our vision was also directed to the North Korean soldier peering at us through a pair of binoculars, and the drawn curtain revealing the location of cameras used to take pictures of all soldiers and visitors on the South Korean side. Now I'm in the books and can probably never visit North Korea. Shit. I'll add that to the list of places I can't go because I have an Israeli stamp in my passport. Looks like my North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen tour is canceled.

I digress..the JSA is basically the most tense and intense place I have ever been. And justifiably so. On the tour I learned about various incidents that have occured in the JSA and greater DMZ, since the 'end' of the Korean War. Such incidents include (but are not limited to) a firefight which insued after a Russian citizen attempted to defect from the North Korean side by sprinting over the MDL while on a North Korean tour and a pair of North Korean soldiers attempting to pull a South Korean soldier out of the conference room door onto their side of the MDL, as he attempted to unlock the door after a tour.

 

With a South Korean solder, but, on the North Korean side of the MDL

After the JSA, we drove to a lookout point, where we were surrounded on three sides by North Korea. From there we were able to look out at Kijong-dong, North Korea's "Propaganda Village" filled with empty buidlings and boasting what was once the worlds longest flagpole. A while back, KJI got mad that the flagpole and flag in South Korea's "Freedom Village" was larger than his and ordered the construction of a 160m flagpole to support a 600 pound DPRK flag. Unfortunately the wind was not blowing so we didn't get to see the flag. What can you do?

 

After the Kijong-dong look out we passed the 1976 "Axe Murder" site commemorating the place where two South Korean soldiers trying to prune the trees (on their side of the MDL) in order the increase visibility between their lookouts, were brutally axed to death by North Korean Soldiers.  We also went to the "Bridge of No Return" where POWs where exchanged in 1953.  The POWs were given a choice to remain in their country of captivity or to cross over the bridge into the other country. Once the POWs made their decision, it was understood that they could never return to the other country, hence the name.

After Camp Bonifas, we got on the bus and headed to the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel, which we were able to climb through for about 300m (on the South Korea side only). These tunnels, in concept and reality, are actually pretty terrifying. The armistice agreement between  North and South Korea was signed in 1953. Basically, from that point onward, North and South Korea were to be divided along the MDL and stop attacking one and other. North Korea, as it turns out, doesn't really like the play by the rules. There have been several attacks, or attempted attacks, on South Korea by the North (the most recent being this fall),  though the North flatly denies or insists all such attacks were the result of prior South Korean provocation. Since the armistice, and with the help a few key North Korean defectors, South Korea has discovered four subterrainean tunnels reaching from North Korea, through the DMZ, and into South Korea. Based on the proximity and direction of the tunnels, it is believed the intended purpose was an attack on Seoul. The North, after finally admitting they had created them, insists they were for coal mining. As it turns out, the tunnels were blasted through solid granite rock. The walls were later smeared with a thin layer of charcoal in order to corroborate the mining explanation.  One tunnel was discovered accidentally by a South Korean army patrol in 1974. Since that first discovery, the South has discovered three additional tunnels. It is believed, however, that there are up to 17 tunnels in total, the bulk of which obviously remain hidden. Which is Insane. Also, terrifying considering it is estimated that up to 2,000 DPRK soldiers could pass into South Korea, and further into Seoul within one hour.

After an anti climatic visit to the Dora observatory (it was too hazy to see into another North Korean village and check out one of the 34,000+ golden statues of Kim Il Sung positioned around the country. The statue which can be viewed from the observatory is 20 m tall) we headed to the last stop on the tour, Dorasan Station. Dorasan, while not currently in use, is the last stop on the South Korean railway, which could potentially link the South with Pyeongyang and the rest of North Korea. Actually, if the two countries do manage to reunite (something that many South Koreans claim to pray for) or, if they  peacefully end the worlds longest war, this line would eventually link the Southernmost point of the peninsula with the Tran-Siberian Railway. Essentially one could ride the train from Busan, SK, into Russia, and all the way through Europe. Pretty Rad. At the present, however, the fully functional and modern station is used for tourism purposes only. Though, even in the present state of tension, hope remains that on day citizens willy ride freely throughout a united peninsula.

 

Dorisan Station was the final stop on our tour as well. The whole day was really, educational and eye-opening.  I learned a lot about the history of the DMZ and the events that have occurred there over the last sixty years. Though I do recognize that, even though all signs point to Dear Leader being off the charts totally insane, the information I was given came from the mouths of South Korea and the United States - not exactly impartial sources. Even though the JSA was a little nerve wracking (especially after signing my in case of death waiver) the whole day was very informative, and totally safe. It is definitely a must do for anyone coming to Korea (don't let your parents convince you otherwise ^.^) and really gave me a better understanding of the situation between the two countries. I can never pretend to understand the pain of families separated by the Korean War and resulting demarcation, nor the realities of life for those living in North Korea. I can't even imagine living within the restrictions placed on those in the "Freedom Village" the only South Korean village within the DMZ. But, after spending a year in this country, and now having seen the DMZ with my own eyes, I truly hope for a solution that benefits both the South and North Korean citizens (not governments). Hopefully one day there will be permanent peace between North and South Korea, be it through reunification, or a truly and completely peaceful and respectful separation. At present, however, it seems the leadership in North Korea is more concerned about itself, than its people or its neighbors to the South.

Lesson? If you come to Korea, go to the DMZ. But, remember not to point at the North Korean's. KJI doesn't like when people make fun of him.


Anyeong[hikheseyo].
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The least American I've ever been.

Some of you may have noticed that this past Monday was the Fourth of July. As such, many of your weekends/Mondays were probably filled with this..

this...

and maybe a little bit of this...

source .  source .  source.

Not mine, my friends. Not mine.
How did I commemorate America's independence??
Like this...

[ In the top picture, the principal is wearing a white shirt, three seats in from the window. The woman in pink shirt is one of my Co-teachers Julie and the man in the front staring into the camera may or may not have told Julie he wants me to convert to Christianity. So there's that.]

Yeah, that's right! Teacher Dinner! Surprise!

Literally.

Monday afternoon, I was midway through deciding whether or not I was going to trek into Itaewon, Seoul's foreigner hub, or try to hit up one of the army bases in Pyeongtaek for some good old 'Merican festivities, when I was informed that the 3rd grade, 6th grade, and English teachers would be going out to dinner with the principal and asked if I would like to join?

After a few moments of trying to figure out whether the other English [read: English Speaking] teachers would be attending, and realizing that I really didn't want to spend four hours of my evening on the subway, I was in.

Fast forward to 4 o'clock. I hopped into the back seat of my co-teacher Julie's car, and sat chatting with her and the other teacher we were driving. Next thing I knew, we were pulling into my little block in Jangdang and picking up the principal. Yeah, the principal. The man who apparently lives on my block. Also, the man I have spoken to approximately 4 times since my arrival. That isn't to say he is unfriendly, I have simply only seen the man a total of 5 times since I came to Banji, all of which have been pleasant, but slightly awkward, encounters. A point of interest is that one of those times was around noon on the same day as said dinner. Having arrived at lunch earlier than usual, Juha and I ended up sitting directly across from the head-hancho himself. I made a valiant attempt to gracefully eat my BBQ chicken wings with the provided metal chopsticks; but, really, I think that's asking a little too much.

Moving on. After a short carpool-to-soccer-practice-esque backseat ride with 교감선생님, we pulled into a restaurant a bit further of the beaten track than I have ventured thus far in Songtan. As it turns out, on this particular  evening we would be eating a super traditional Korean meal called 한정식 (hanjeongsik) or "set meal." A set meal is comprised of upwards of 30 small dishes serving a variety of traditional Korean foods. Many of these dishes are considered Banchan (side dishes) but our meal also included hot plates of Bulgogi (thin marinated beef) as well as steaming bowls of Samgaetang (Chicken Ginseng soup ^.^) and Dwenjangjiggae (Spicy Soybean broth, with tofu, peppers, and zuchini).

NomNomNomNomNom.

Overall, a large quantity of deliciousness was consumed and a good time was had. The principal even attempted to make conversation and then proceeded to drill Julie about my life story. He then poured me a few glasses of Makgoli (rice wine) and demanded a do-over when I did not finish my last glass (which is actually a small bowl) in "one shot."

In the absence of Disco Papa, I rounded out the night with a bit of Pyeongtaek convenience store loitering, before hopping on the subway and crashing like a sack of Korean taters on the princess bed.

Looking back, this may have been the least American (and most Korean) way I could have possibly spent the fourth; but, I have to say, the entire afternoon/evening was great.  I have recently (read: since the onset of Monsoon Season) been feeling a bit nostalgic for bonfires, lakes, and American BBQ, but then something will happen which reminds me that Korea wont last forever. All those other things, they will be back in my life before I know it. Korea, on the other hand, will be ocean's away. ㅠ.ㅠ

Also, I realized this afternoon that I have 4 weekends... Yeah. 4. TOTAL. weekends. left in Korealand.
I almost started crying in my office. On that note...


Dear life, 
If you could chill out for just moment that would be great.
감사합니다,
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