Seoul RMT FC

My soccer career in Korea has officially come to an end. It was a wonderful experience meeting and playing with this group of incredible women. It went too fast but it was a great season. Seoul RMT FC will always have a special place in my heart and I wish them the best of luck in the February tournament in Phuket, Thailand.

RMT FC vs Gwacheon Lioness'

Baker #4

Captain Teddi and I at the Trivia Fundraiser

DMZ

During my parents' visit, we went with the USO to tour the DMZ- De-Militarized Zone, the area between North Korea and South Korea. The USO did an excellent job of organizing the trip. We left Camp Kim in Seoul at 8am and arrived back around 3:30pm. I highly recommend going with the USO for anyone interested in a tour of the DMZ.

Dorasan Station, Republic of Korea

Dorasan Station, to Pyeongyang, North Korea

Third Tunnel

JSA, North Korea and South Korea joint security

North Korean industrial 'city'

'bridge of no return' crosses the MDL into North Korea

Police and Public Drunkenness

I can't vouch for all police officers in South Korea, so this post is focused on my limited exposure to police in Yeonsu Gu, Incheon. 

I am amazed every time I see how police officers deal with public drunkenness- drunk men in particular. There is no slamming of handcuffs and throwing them into the backseat of the cruiser. Instead, I've seen calmly talking with the man to encourage him to not sleep on the sidewalk corner. Walking home last night  a Tuesday!, I witnessed two police officers gently 'working with' a drunk man to help him sit up and, I think, talk to him about just getting home. He was almost completely passed out but the one officer had his hand gently holding the man up; almost babying the poor guy. Perhaps drinking large quantities of soju every night is a habit that should be avoided?

My friend's blog provides wonderful pictures to help better capture this situation.

Black Out Korea

Chicken Feet and Miller

Welcome!

For my parents arrival in Korea, to help in avoiding too much culture shock, we went to a western-style bar in Incheon called Miller Time. We ordered a spicy chicken platter, warned by two workers that it truly was very spicy! It was a bit lost in translation, but we ended up ordering (and eating) chicken feet.. other than being a bit chewy, they weren't bad.

Spicy Chicken Feet at Miller Time

Chuseok

East meets West... literally.

Korean Thanksgiving, 'Chuseok' is August 15th on the Lunar Calendar (this year, it fell on September 22nd). Since my parents are visiting from Pennsylvania, we traveled to Banghwa, Seoul to spend the holiday with our Korean relatives (through marriage).

a Chuseok toast

More pictures and stories to come, but while my parents are still here, not lots of time to write... too much fun traveling and sightseeing!

Destination tomorrow: DMZ followed by chicken and beer at my uncle's restaurant in Sillim, Seoul.

Bugs

These two students are anything but pests, but they did bring a cicada to class!

With only 35 days left in Korea, I realized today that I have successfully (and frustratingly) been dealing with household bugs the entire time I've lived here. I have a routine when I get home- turn on the lights, immediately look around for anything trying to find a hiding place and hopefully they all find somewhere to go until I fall asleep. There are some things I never thought I'd mentally be able to deal with, living with bugs is one of them. But, alas, the human mind adapts!

A little critter on Cheongryang Mountain in my neighborhood.

On another note, two of the biggest pests I know are coming to Korea tomorrow.... my parents! :) They aren't really pests, but felt it was a nice transition! They'll be here for ten days and it's sure to be interesting. Next week is Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving, and we've been invited to spend the holiday with my Korean relatives for authentic Chuseok festivities (food and games.) Updates next week!

They are in the air right now... Delta, don't mess it up!

62nd Emmy Awards

While living in Korea, I'm fortunate to be surrounded by so many interesting people and fashions every day. The 62nd Annual Emmy Awards was a great opportunity to see the fashion and interesting people back in the U.S.

However, after watching my two shows completely dominate (Mad Men & Modern Family), all I felt was a pull that, "shit, I could do that. I SHOULD do that." So as I sat in my tiny studio apartment in Korea, all I wanted to do was go audition in the equally as foreign territory, Los Angeles! Don't get me wrong, I know that the overwhelming majority of people currently on TV have put YEARS of hard work, dedication and endless auditions to get where they are. I'm in awe of their talent and drive. But, I also feel that they had to start somewhere. Actors are not born from a different species, they are 'normal' folks who one day decided to take that leap and put themselves out there for criticism. Through the endless critiques, however, they started to  specialize in their craft and eventually it paid off.

In the words of Rachel from GLEE, "I'm like TinkerBell ... I need applause to survive."

Here's to one day taking that chance and getting that applause!

Muuido / Muui Island

Bus, bus, ferry, bus... no more cootie fuss?

That was my creative attempt at mimicking the "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now I have my cootie shot!" It's all I could think of to segue into a wonderfully entertaining blog entry about my trip to Muuido (Muui Island), a small island off the coast of Incheon.

 
From Yeonsu dong, our group of 14 weiguks (incorrect korean grammar, sorry), took the 303 Bus to Incheon Airport. At the airport, we waited almost an hour for the 222 Bus to the ferry; for future reference, the 222 comes on the :20 of every hour. Once at the ferry, for a mere 3,000w we bought round trip ferry tickets to Muuido!

Muuido Ferry

The journey didn't stop there, however, after the ~2 minute ferry ride (I swear we could have swam), we boarded another bus to Hanagae beach- our final destination! We each paid another 2,000w to stay over night on the beach and then we set up shop- four tents right on the sand.

Incheon ESL teachers island getaway!

Probably one of the unique things about the trip was clam digging. Twice a day the tide goes out so far, took about 20 minutes of walking straight out before reaching the water's edge, that it's perfect for clam digging! I was new to this, having thought clam digging was going to the store for a pair of clam diggers.

Muuido, 8/21/2010

our group of newbies, giving it our all

two beauties

honesty time, didn't even get a clam, just stole someone's for the picture

I've never eaten so much ice cream in one weekend... thanks to this convenience store!

 The other amazing thing about the tide receding, was the chance to see some tiny ocean wildlife in action.

unfortunately, we found after the fact that this is a post-mortem pic

sea vegetation?

patterns

Muuido, Korea Sunset, 8/21/2010

Muuido, Korea, 8/21/2010

The Job Search, 2010 version

‎"Ahab did not like Micaiah, because he never prophesied good concerning him, but evil: probably he liked the sycophant son of Chenaanah better; yet might Ahab have escaped a bloody death, had he but stopped his ears to flattery, and opened them to faithful counsel." ~Currer Bell, 1847

Back on the job search (again) and it's quite a frustrating task. Yes, there ARE jobs out there, but none seem to be a good fit (or anywhere close).
If anyone is reading this, feel free to pass along any interesting jobs you see posted! I promise to give you a shout out for my millions of Blog subscribers :)

It's an interesting and challenging employment time for our generation, that's no secret, but it's the long term effects that worry me. One part of my mind says, 'challenging circumstances provide room for growth,' while the other part says, 'yeah, but didn't I spend a lot of time and money to get a degree that now seems to be worthless?' No, my mind does not really talk, at least I don't think it does...

But, the truth is there... long gone are the days of college degrees feeding into a career. We're forced to be more creative and take more chances, which CAN lead to more discouragement and loss, BUT there's always that chance that some company will notice what we've known all along.

Caterpillars

-September 2010-

Well folks, it's that time of year... the summer sun is fading, the weather is turning a bit cooler and the caterpillars are falling from the trees. That's right. My usually lovely commute from home to school is now filled with a duck and cover obstacle course of crawling (and falling) caterpillars. These photos were taken on my walk to work.

the little engine that could ... chugging a long

friends

almost feel bad for them- they must be confused

Nonverbal Communication

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”

-The importance of nonverbal communication while teaching in a foreign country-

I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I have been living and working in Korea for more than 10 months now and my Hangul is still next to nothing. Teaching English all day and living in an area termed an “English city” are not excuses, but they’re what help me sleep at night.

What I have learned, the hard way, is that even though I may not know the verb (or even the subject) of what my students may be talking about, there is the wonderful art of body language. One study at UCLA concluded that up to 93% of effective communication is nonverbal. I’m using that to my advantage while teaching. It’s obvious if someone has just made fun of someone or if they are talking about something serious, etc. There are key words I pick up to get the gist of the discussion and from there I go on body language. They are always taken aback when it appears that I understand them. And then they are more careful with what they talk about.

I’m not a teacher by nature and while I tried the “no speaking Korean in my classroom,” in the end, it hasn’t worked. They are taught in Korean by Korean teachers in every other class at my language school, so I can understand if they slip up every now and again. I’m not a disciplinarian, but I’m a tough academic… what my class lacks in discipline it makes up for in its difficulty level.

But I digress- it dawned on me the other day how important nonverbal communication is when traveling (and even in your home country). Not being able to speak a language is no reason to be impolite, and body language can scream rude.