Our first week in Bundang

Our trip got off to a good start when the nice United representative at SFO kindly overlooked the fact that all our bags were about a pound or two over the maximum 50 lbs. Then, since United has a horrible policy of assigning seats in the order that they're booked, we were stuck with the middle two seats of the middle 5 seats in the second-to-last row on the plane... But when we asked if there were any other available seats, we were upgraded to United Plus for free (yay legroom) and had seats across from each other, next to the aisle. Good start!

The flight took about 12 hours and we arrived early in Seoul, breezed through customs (have any other Americans noticed how much easier it is to leave the country than to come home to the States?), and collected our luggage. This year (maybe it's a second-timer-bonus), instead of being driven to our school, our "driver" collected us, walked us to the appropriate bus, and told us the station that we should get off at (Jeongja). Hmmm. We napped for about an hour, then arrived at our new home at roughly 7pm, greeted by Helena (our school's director) and her brother, Mr. Na. They showed us our apartment, gave us food (Dunkin Donuts and fried chicken), and said that Mr. Na would come pick us up the next day at 9:00.  Would we be observing classes? Oh no, they said. Teaching. ...Great.

Fortunately, we were way too tired to be nervous, so we made a pitiful attempt at unpacking and crashed for the night. We woke up the next morning, had breakfast (Jay went shopping to find kimchi), and met Mr. Na at 9:00. He walked us to the school across the street from our apartment, explained the daily schedule, and gave us a vague idea of what we were going to do. 

If for some strange reason you're interested, our schedules look a little something like this: (if you're not interested, skip this part)

Time\Day	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
9:30-9:50	Prep for classes (the kids play and dance)
9:50-10:50	Kindergarten class
10:50-11:00	Break
11:00-11:50	Kindergarten class
11:50-1:00	Lunch (we normally leave for lunch, though there is a cook who cooks for the kids and the teachers)
1:00-1:30	Kindergarten class				Yoga
1:30-1:50	Break
1:50-2:20	Kindergarten class
2:20-2:30	Break
2:30-3:20	After-school class 1
3:20-3:30	Break
3:30-4:20	After-school class 2
4:20-4:30	Break
4:30-5:20	After-school class 3
5:20-5:30	Break
5:30-6:00	After-school class 4

Cynthia (the 3rd full-time foreign teacher) teaches the six 7-year-olds (6 outside of Korea, since Koreans consider their children to be 1 year old at birth), I teach four amazing 6-year olds (really only 5), and Jay has four 5-year-olds (4). His kids just started taking classes a few weeks ago, so their level is very basic, but the older kids can communicate quite well. We teach the same group all day, and the classes include phonics, reading, singing, science, math, and games. We have a huge amount of freedom over the curriculum (the only requisite book is the phonics book, which Jay's kids don't even have yet). 

Our after-school classes are all different: Jay has a group of 4 young elementary school students (maybe 1st or 2nd grade). He teaches them social studies, science, and reading and has them for the first two afternoon classes every day. He then has a break during the 3rd class and (just for July) will then teach my older students for half an hour at the end of the day (maybe a conversation class). 

I have two 7-year olds (at a very basic level) Monday and Wednesday for the first class. On Friday I lead the 6-year-olds and 7-year-olds in a conversation class, and Tuesdays and Thursdays (starting tomorrow), a conversation course for Jay's 5-year-olds. They can't speak, so I'm not sure how that one is going to work...  I then teach a great (practically fluent) group of 2nd-graders for 2 hours on MWF (reading) and 1 hour on TTH (science) and that's it.

We have a Korean co-teacher in the class with us for all of our kindergarten classes and most of our afternoon classes.

In total, we have very few students, a good amount of break time, and a lot of freedom in planning our lessons. This can be stressful as well as nice, but we're enjoying the change from last year so far. 

Additionally, our second day at work (Wednesday) was a field trip! We went to Seoul Forest with our kindergarten students (well, 12 of them - Jay and Cynthia were each missing a student). 

Here are some videos and photos from the trip:

Video: On the bus - part one

Video: On the bus - part two

Video: Playground

Photos

Other than that, there's not much to report. Our apartment was pretty bare when we got here (no closet/sofa/shelf space), but since the community's so wealthy here, people in our apartment complex dump out perfectly good furniture. We picked up a sofa, mirror, shelf, and closet on our first weekend (with the help of the building's security guard, who pointed out the mirror once we expressed interest in the couch). That weekend, plus a couple trips to E-mart (a Korean department store) and now our apartment's looking pretty good. We're on the 3rd floor, overlooking the 탄천 (Tancheon), a stream that leads into the Han River in Seoul. It has biking and walking/running paths, so we've been running there every other day. Here are some photos and videos to give you an idea of our new home:

Video: Tour of our apartment - part one

Video: Tour of our apartment - part two

Photos: Our apartment

Photos: Around 정자/Jeongja (our neighborhood within Bundang)

Photos: Along the 탄천 (Tancheon, or Tan Stream)

Photos: Little River Day School

Photos: The area around E-mart, and inside E-mart (about 20 minutes from our apartment)

Video: A ridiculous music video on a TV in E-mart

That's about it. We're doing well and keeping busy, so I'm sure more updates will come in the future. 

From Korea, with love,

-J&J

Our last few days in the States and a note on the North

We've signed year-long contracts with a school in Korea. We sent our documents to Korea for the school to initiate the visa process. When their half was finished and they sent us our visa issuance numbers, we drove overnight from Mt. Shasta to Berkeley, slept for a few hours, dressed up all nice and took our passports and paperwork to the San Francisco consulate. Despite the hassle of new procedures that weren't necessary a couple years ago (background checks that must be notarized and have an apostille, in-person interviews at the consulate), we were surprised by the speed with which we received our visas. Although interviews are technically required now, since we were not first time applicants and we apparently didn't look murderous, the woman we spoke to simply told us to come back in 2 days to pick up our visas. No interview necessary. I'm not sure if it was our appearance, our experience, or the fact that we'd used some hangeul (Korean writing) on our applications... But we certainly weren't going to complain!

We are in the Bay Area now and pretty much packed - all our suitcases are maxed out at 50 pounds each (United Airlines' maximum allowance for free luggage) and we've just left a few articles of clothing out for our last weekend here. On Sunday afternoon, we'll fly out of SFO and (after crossing the international date line) arrive on Monday evening in Incheon.

Because of some attempted sabotage earlier in our job search (we worked for such lovely people...), we're not willing to post information about our new school or location until we arrive, but we're very excited about it and we'll hopefully post updates in the next week or so. We've been in contact with a current teacher there and it sounds like a good fit for us (though a lot of work). But hey, after a 10-month vacation, we should be plenty rested!

At the moment we're working on studying some Korean and getting ready to teach and live in Korea again. We're excited to return and see old friends, explore a new area, enjoy Korea, and get back to teaching. Of course, after such a long break, we're also a bit nervous about getting back into the classroom. Luckily, since we're arriving late on Monday, we probably won't start teaching until the next Monday, which would mean nearly a full week of observation. If we do in fact start teaching the day after we arrive.... We'll be too surprised to get nervous :-)

On a more serious note, I know that the Koreas have been in the news a bit recently. The North is (as always, it seems) being a bit impulsive, and the former South Korean president committed suicide last month. We've received a few concerned e-mails and calls from worried friends and family about returning to that region of the world. In response, I would like to point out a few things. First, North Korea was launching test missiles before we first went to South Korea in 2007 and yet our year there was uneventful. In fact, the South seemed relatively unperturbed by the launches. Second, North Korea's closest allies, Russia and China,joined the other members of the UN Security Council in unanimously imposing sanctions on North Korea after their recent nuclear test. 

In addition to an underground nuclear test, missile launches, and the capture and sentencing of 2 American journalists to 12 years in labor camps, the North routinely threatens to attack anyone who does not bow to their demands. The escalation of their rhetoric and actions is most likely a response to the new South Korean government's harder stance against (and discontinued aid to) North Korea and the ailing health of Kim Jong Il. It's a country of millions of people who are, for the most part, starving. The government clearly has no diplomatic tact whatsoever, and threats are a childish response to a difficult situation. However, childish and wacky as Kim Jong Il and his family may be, we do not believe that they are suicidal or stupid. They know that attacking South Korea would put them in an immediate war against South Korea and all its allies (including the U.S.). That's why they haven't attacked for years. Now more than ever, at a point where even their closest allies are disapproving of their actions, any attack against the South would be short-lived, disastrous and costly for the North, not to mention idiotic. More likely, they are just vying for attention and posturing in order to gain some sort of leverage to demand more international aid. 

We don't think that traveling to and living in South Korea is any more dangerous than it was a few years ago. In fact, given some of the crazy and scary things that have been happening in the U.S., it may be safer than staying here. To tip the scales a bit more, there are people in Korea that we love, places that we miss, and an amazing culture that calls to us even in our dreams (I may be so deeply in kimchi withdrawal that it affects my sleep). 

So, dear friends and family, don't worry. Things look crazy in the media. They always do - it's how newspapers sell, after all. Bad things happen all over the world, but it's not a reason to hide out at home. The actual risk of going to Korea is far lower than the risk involved in visiting many other places (some of which we have been to in the past few months). We'll keep an eye on the situation and we'll keep you updated as much as possible. Also, if you want to come see things from the other side of the pond (no, the other pond. The BIG one), we're always happy to introduce people to Korea :-)

We're excited to continue our Korean adventure - Part 2 commence!

-J&J

A quick update

Hi all. We're back in the States again, working on getting back to Korea in the next month or so. 

After spending a couple days in Panama City, we flew into Bogotá, Colombia. It was beautiful and very, very cold (thanks to the elevation). The plane barely descended below cloud level before we landed.  We stayed in a cute hostel in La Candelaria (a district of downtown Bogotá), where the owner's cat had just given birth to a litter of kittens! Photos to come eventually, but suffice to say we were very entertained.

Also, we got a private double at the top of the hostel that looked out over the rooftops of the surrounding area and the city. One whole wall was a giant window (not so great for privacy, but good for views) with a huge platform to sit on and a hanging chair to read in. We had a lovely few days in Bogotá, although we did spend a significant amount of time running away from pretty amazing thunderstorms.

When it was time to fly home, we took a taxi to the airport, enjoyed our last super-fresh tropical fruit juices (although I rather doubt the fruit came from Bogotá), and flew into Miami. Our luck had us at a hostel on Ocean Drive in South Beach so it was an interesting (if sensory-overloading) welcome home. We had a couple days to find non-travel clothes and wrapping paper, then flew to Minneapolis/St. Paul to visit Jay's uncle Joe, meet up with Jay's parents, and go to Steph's wedding. Jay, true to tradition, got terribly sick right before we flew into Oakland and spent the first few days at my house (including his birthday) throwing up. Fortunately, he got over whatever it was (which wasn't malaria) and is all better now. We spent a few weeks here in Berkeley, then he headed up to Mt. Shasta to be best man for Keith and Lisa's wedding (yay!). 

So now we're with our respective families, waiting to return to the land of delicious kimchi. Yum.

There are thousands and thousands of photos and probably nearly 100 movies to filter through, but we'll post links when they're up. :-)

Where we are now (an internet cafe in David, Panama)

After visiting Tikal and spending a few days in Flores, we got bored of our lovely little island and took a bus to Rio Dulce. The ride was long and uneventful, apart from the constant kicking and hair-pulling courtesy of the 2 kids sitting behind us. (New rule that we propose: When traveling with children, please notice what their hands and feet are doing to other passengers). We hopped off and made our way across the bridge to Hotel Backpackers, a decent place with a great idea: They donate their procedes to their partner, Casa Guatemala (an orphanage and school). We got a private room with a shower, although the privacy is questionable, as the walls were made of mesh wire and we could see the people in the yard from our room and the kitchen from our bathroom. Plus, we ended up bunking with quite a couple mosquitoes. Gotta love spring in the jungle. :-) Aside from the bugs, we enjoyed the few days we spent in Rio Dulce - gorgeous views from the bridge and a generally relaxing few days.

We'd decided that we were both feeling tired and travel weary so, instead of traveling slowly through Central America as we'd planned, we instead booked a bus to San Pedro Sula (Honduras, just across the border) to catch another bus direct to Panama City. When we arrived in SPS, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the bus stations that apparently were once scattered around the not-terribly-safe city were now consolidated into a single, huge terminal that doubled as a mall (food court included). We headed to the Tica Bus counter to buy tickets for the 5:00 bus in the morning but, because it was Saturday afternoon, the attendants had already left.

Asking around, we discovered that they wouldn't be back until 4:00 AM. We contemplated going to a hostel, but since the terminal never technically closed, we instead decided to spend the night in the station. We had lunch, used the computers in the internet cafe, and crashed on a bench in front of the TicaBus counter, taking turns sleeping (okay, I drifted in and out of sleep and Jay stayed up all night), occasionally glanced at by the security guards that prowled at night.

In the morning, people started arriving to check in for their already-reserved tickets around 4:00. The attendents told us that there was no room on the bus and we'd have to wait to see if someone didn't show up, so we sat, desperately hoping that someone had changed their plans, until the bus driver came in, told us that there were in fact tons of seats, and helped us with our bags. Relieved, we climbed in for the ride. The bus left SPS at 5:00 AM and arrived in Managua, Nicaragua in the late afternoon. For the duration of the bus, this was the only overnight pause and, as Managua is considered a rather dangerous city (especially near the TicaBus station), the company had a hotel in the station itself. We gladly booked a room, as they were very cheap and the next leg of our trip left at 6:00 AM.

Hungry and reassured by the Ticabus attendents that it was pretty safe to walk a block over for food while it was light, we went out in search of food. After getting our menus, the 2 tables of teens near us seemed to have some sort of disagreement that resulted in two of the boys beating the crap out of each other, scattering chairs, customers and tables in the process. We picked up our menus and stepped aside for a couple moments while they figured out their issues, and then returned for our meal. Lovely. We ate pretty quickly before heading back to our hotel for the night and a early start to the South.

The rest of our trip was uneventful - we stopped in San Jose, Costa Rica for a few hours before continuing on to the border with Panama. This one was the only difficult crossing, as we arrived before 5:00 am (despite the San Jose pause) and the Costa Rican exit border crossing didn't open until 6:00. Once across, we had to jump from window to window on the Panama side to buy a tourist card, get a sticker, and get our stamps before lining up in a room to have our luggage hand checked. Luckily, the Ticabus attendant basically held our hands and led us through the whole process.

Once we were approved for entrance to Panama, we headed on towards the capital. Here again, the bus terminal was amazing. I've read that the Panama City bus terminal is the most modern in Latin America and I believe it - it's the best I've seen in the Western Hemisphere! Similar to the terminal in San Pedro Sula, it's large, clean and modern and attached to a mall. Additionally, this one has left-luggage services, great restaurants, and a movie theater. We were ready to move in, but we checked our luggage for the rest of the day, bought tickets to Almirante, and had a nice walk and an amazing lunch of gormet salads and crepes with (as always in Central America), amazing fresh fruit juice (passion fruit and pineapple).

At night, we picked up our luggage and boarded our overnight bus (the last for a while) to Almirante in the Northwest along the Atlantic coast. From there, we caught a taxi to the water taxi service, which took us to Bocas del Toro, on a nearby island. We spent almost a week there, enjoying the sunny beach (for the first and last days), delicious cheap food, and general relaxation. We did not bother to walk to the internet cafes, so that's why we've been out of contact for the past week.

When we finally tired of island life this morning, we retraced our steps to Almirante, and then took a short bus (another mini-van, similar to the one in Guatemala) to David, where we are sitting right now in an internet cafe. Tonight we'll take our last forseeable overnight bus back to Panama City in preparation for our flight to Bogotá and then back to the States. Photos from Rio Dulce and Bocas del Toro are on their way. In the meantime, enjoy the recently uploaded photos and updates and take care!

-JJ

Tikal, Guatemala

On Wednesday we took a shuttle bus from Flores to the Maya ruins of Tikal. Before our tickets were even checked, we were held up by a huge group of monkey-like creatures walking across the path. Nice way to start the day!

When the spectacle of the monkeys had passed, we walked for about 30 minutes through lush jungle foliage and small remains of an old empire before arriving at the gran plaza, the location of the majority of the temples (and tourists).

After exploring the area and climbing a number of exessively-tall steps (I refuse to belive the Mayans were any taller than us, so they must have had some incredible thighs), we continued north towards Templo V through a quieter path, occasionally egged on by howler monkeys, until we reached the temple.

While almost all of the verticle temples in the gran plaza had been off-limits to climbers, this one had a wooden ladder allowing people to climb to the top (as many of the original stone steps had eroded). Flipping the bird to his fear of heights, Jay made his way up the ladder to see the view from the top.

I stayed safely on the ground for documentation purposes.

Tikal, Guatemala