Buddha's Birthday Hike

Thursday there was no school, and my host father was visiting from Busan for the holiday. He decided to take me, my younger sister, and her friend on a hiking excursion. I was excited, because I welcome any chance to get out of the city, but my sister would've preferred to spend her day off doing one of her three "hobbies": Watching television, text messaging friends, or playing the computer. We set out with snacks (dried squid and popcorn) against my host mother's warnings about rain. Before we left, I heard my mother speaking in her anxious/annoyed/almost angry voice about how it was going to rain and how we shouldn't be going hiking. This didn't seem to have any effect on my host father's mind, as he practically skipped out the door like a child on his way to a circus. My guess is that my host sister, Sujeon, didn't have a choice in the matter, and chose to bring a friend when faced with the possibility of spending the morning with two hike-crazed, nature-loving adults. We drove for awhile; at one point we pulled over and spoke briefly with a security guard at a set where they film a famous Korean drama (out in the middle of nowhere) and he said something about it being closed. I guess the mountain we were supposed to hike was closed, so we went to a different one. Anyways, I must clarify that "small mountain" is just the translation. In reality these "small mountains", odeum in Korean, are more like little hills (what should be a 20 minute hike both ways). Finally we arrived at the odeum, parked and literally within 3 minutes of starting our hike, my sister and her friend were talking about going back. In fact, they turned around and started to walk the other way, but my father and I noticed soon enough to encourage them to keep going. I will say there was a lot of wind, but it was still incredibly beautiful and it didn't start raining until we were already coming down the mountain. My host sister and her friend trudged along in almost identical outfits (completely unsuitable for hiking). My sister wore Converse sneakers and carried a purse, yelling "Apaaaaa!" the whole time, which is the Korean version of a whiney, high-pitched "Daaaaaaaad!" In the end we arrived at the top (my host dad practically had to push the two girls from the behind at one point.) Of course we didn't stay long, as Sujeon realized it was going to rain and was descending before we could snap 5 pictures. We arrived safe and just a little wet in the car about 15 minutes later. As we sat, munching on dried squid, my father asked each of us in turn, if we had had a good time. I said "Yes, it was beautiful" (in Korean) and my sister said: "So, so." in English.




My sister and her friend right before they turned around to go back, 3 minutes into the hike.

My host dad was definitely more excited than the two girls were about this hike! He was having a great time, as was I.

The clouds moved in quickly, but we were only caught in light rain for a few minutes.

Night at the Buddha's Temple

Thursday was Buddha's Birthday, which is a big holiday in Korea. There was no school, and many people go to the temple to pray. The idea is that the Buddha is likely to grant your wish, because it's his birthday (I guess that means he's in a good mood.) Jeehee told me to make 3 wishes, so I did, but I can't tell you what they were or they may not come true. Instead of going to the temple on Thursday we went on the eve of Buddha's birthday to see the lanterns. The temple was pretty deserted, which was really nice. We walked around for a couple of hours, Jeehee, me and her nephew, Een Baum. Een Baum is 6 years old and really cute. He ran around with us, practicing his English (which is really good) and showing off his Tae Kwon Do (he knows more than I do.) The temple that we visited is one of the prettiest temples that I've been to in Korea. It is at the base of Halla Mountain and has various small temples built at the base and on the side of the mountain (you walk up a long flight of stairs to reach them). Also, there is a huge stone buddha that sits outside with a bunch of small buddha statues surrounding it, very beautiful.

It was hard to catch Een Baum for a picture; he seemed adamantly opposed to being in one.

I was still wearing my Tae Kwon Do uniform, as I had a test earlier that night.

My good friend, Jeehee...

A Napa Valley Wedding

On Friday, May 18th, I flew to San Francisco via Tokyo for my cousin Stina's wedding. I arrived at 11am on Friday, May 18th and stayed for almost exactly three days before flying back to Jeju. It was a beautiful wedding! I am back on Jeju now recovering quite nicely after a great trip to California's wine country. I took pictures at Stina's wedding, which is something I don't normally do, but I really wanted to show my students what weddings are like in America and compare them to Korean weddings. I thought I'd post some of these pictures on my blog:

Stina looked beautiful! She is the third and last daughter to get married, and the wedding went off without a hitch!

Two of my other cousins' husbands (Chris and Drew) and my Uncle Tom!

My mother and I outside of the restaurant where the reception was held. The food and wine were excellent (something that held true the entire weekend)!

My older brother, Chris, his wife, Becky and my Aunt Susie at the reception.

Here I am standing in front of the resort where we stayed, The Silverado Resort and Spa. It was in a beautiful location in Napa Valley. It was remote enough to feel like you were away from it all, yet only a 15 min. drive to town.

The morning after the brunch we threw the same "Stege Family Brunch" that we've thrown at every other wedding. As usual it was a hit and really nice to see people one last time before going our separate ways.

My mom and my cousin Kate. Kate was married last June, and I attended her wedding in Minneapolis before leaving for Korea.

My two cousins, Alejandra and Alyssa, came all the way from Cholula, Mexico! I was so happy to see them! The last time I saw them was at their 15th birthday party (they're twins); they have REALLY grown up (they are 19 now!).

2nd Grade Picnic and Field Trip!

Today we had no school, because today was the once a semester field trip day (it also happens to be "Teachers' Day"). For weeks teachers had been referring to it as a "picnic," but once I heard what the itinerary entailed, I realized the more adequate term was a "field trip that included a picnic." Yesterday it was near impossible to teach any of my classes, because my students were so excited about today's picnic. They were all making plans, telling each other what they would wear, what they would do after the picnic, whose mother would make lunch for them and their firends, etc. The teachers told me that because "field trip day" is the only day when students are allowed to wear their own clothes (instead of the uniform) they all go out and buy a new outfit to "show off their style" as one teacher put it. Some girls showed up in mini skirts, heels, earings, etc. I watched as girls tripped and shuffled along in their 3 inch heels, sometimes just giving up completely and going barefoot. The main objective of the day seemed to be to get as many photos as possible, with as many people as possible. We took pictures on the bus, we took pictures at the Teddy Bear Museum, at the buddhist temple, at the Convention Center, in the hallways, outside of the bus, etc. I must have posed for at least 300 pictures with students. Three of the teachers joked, saying that I was like a famous movie star, because I couldn't go three feet without a group of 5 or 6 girls approaching me with their camera or cell phone dangling from their hand and a pleading look, saying something along the lines of: "Ahhhh...Jennipa, picture, take together?" Of course I smiled and said "kimchi" like I'm supposed to (instead of "cheese"). In the end I got some really nice photos too, and I enjoyed spending the day with my students outside the confines of school. They're so cute and friendly, and they so rarely get to do anything fun, so I was happy to be with them as they paraded around in their new outfits, giggling and talking like the American high school students I was accustomed to before coming to Korea, rather than the over-worked Korean students that I am now familiar with.

10 buses transported a total of 369 students and about 20 teachers to the other side of the island. First we stopped at this beautiful buddhist temple, one of the 5 largest temples in Asia and the largest in Korea.

Inside the temple two monks were performing a ceremony. I could've easily fallen asleep to the soft murmur of their voices...

Posing with some students outside of the temple...

Posing at the Teddy Bear Museum...

Posing with more students at the Teddy Bear Museum...

Here I am with some of my favorite students. These are some of the top English speakers in our school, and the girls with the highest grades/scores. We made a date to go and eat potpingsu soon.

These are lava rock formations that formed when the lava cooled after the volcano (Halla) erupted. The lava solidified when it hit the ocean and formed these weird column/block like lava rocks. It was hard to believe they weren't manmade.

Because it was Teachers' Day, some parents ordered a very elaborate picnic lunch for all of the teachers. They were these very expensive box lunches complete with kimchi and white rice (of course!)

Me and more students...notice the way they cover their mouths...this is a Korean high school girl thing... I'm not sure what it means, but I think it's to convey that they are shy, and also a way of making their faces look smaller...

At the end of the day my fellow teachers and I went out to eat potpingsu (Korean dessert, basically like a huge ice cream sundae with fruit and ice in it). We had a good time gossiping about the day and the students!

The Teddy Bear Museum

Today we had our class field trip, and I've described it above in detail; however, I really felt that it was important to dedicate an entire post to one attraction in particular: the Teddy Bear Museum. Your initial reaction might be similar to mine; you might be asking yourself "What exactly do you see in a Teddy Bear Museum?" Before I visited the Teddy Bear Museum today, I wondered if I would see how teddy bears are made or perhaps the history of how they have been marketed... It's hard to describe what I saw with words, so I've included some photos of different exhibits at the Teddy Bear Museum that I believe are a good representation of the overall experience. What was perhaps the most intriguing part of the experience, was the attitude about the museum. It seemed to be viewed as just any other tourist attraction. No less important than visiting the Jeju Natural History Museum or a temple. One teacher asked me: "Are teddy bears famous in America too?" I had never really thought about a toy being famous before... it's sort of like asking me if hamburgers are famous. I mean, everyone knows what they are, so if that's the definition of famous, then yes... teddy bears are "famous" in America. What I didn't know was that Korea had an entire television series where the actors were teddy bears. It was not animated, rather they were actual teddy bears dressed in traditional Korean clothing from the Chosun Dynasty, and they talked, but their lips didn't move. I guess I can see the amusing side to this if it's supposed to be a joke. I can imagine that watching a sitcom about George Washington and his family during colonial times could be amusing if the actors were teddy bears rather than people...right? Just when I was about to write off the Teddy Bear Museum as another crazy Korean thing that doesn't totally make sense to me, one of my students asked me if we have a Teddy Bear Museum in the USA, and my response was an ignorant one. I said I didn't think so, and if there was one I hadn't heard of it. No more than 5 minutes later we were standing in front of a poster that talked about other teddy bear museums around the world including one in Germany, Japan, and of course Naples, Florida, USA! The same teacher asked me if I would go there when I returned to America. I said that I didn't go to Florida often, but promised him that if I ever found myself in that area, I would be sure to stop by the teddy bear museum in order to compare Korea's museum to America's. O.K. It was then that I realized Americans are just as crazy about meaningless museums as Koreans are, perhaps we're just a little better at hiding it? O.K., enough commentary! Without further ado...I give you the Teddy Bear Museum:

The museum starts off tame enough... here are some teddy bears in an old fashioned 20th century American town... at least that was my interpretation...

There's an entire wall dedicated to Winnie the Pooh and a place to take your picture with a bear who owns a produce stand...

Here is Snow White bear, reading to the 7 dwarves...

A Teddybearific interpretation of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" from the Sistine Chapel...

Louis Vuitton Bear... apparently the most expensive bear in the world... worth $229,000 dollars (229,000,000 Korean won)! The clothes and suitcase were made specifically for this bear, for this museum...

This is where things began to get interesting... the bears invade Normandy...

Marilyn Monroe Bear... complete with air coming out of the air vent that she is standing on, conveniently blowing up her skirt...

Elvis Bear Presley... but where's Bearscilla?

The Bearacotta Warriors in China... complete with tourists snapping photos... I was going to visit the Terracotta Warriors this summer, but to be honest, I'm not sure it would be worth the long train ride from Beijing, at least not after seeing this bear replica...

American bears landing on the moon...

The Beatle Bears, before they broke up...

Disneyland with bears instead of ducks and mice... an interesting concept...

And of course, the most important part of the museum is saved for last...the gift shop! It was a huge gift shop and NO PICTURES were allowed to be taken inside... you must purchase the cute replica teddy bears before you can pose with them...

More Photos from Sports Day!

Here I am with my notoriously strict principal. He makes me very nervous, because he has a tendency to yell and be very displeased with the teacher and students most of the time; however, I heard from many Korean teachers that he was very pleased to see me spending the day talking with students and participating. The face he is wearing in this picture is about as close to a smile as I've ever seen on him.

Here my principal is handing out the awards (toilet paper) to the winning teams in each category.

The students sat on the lawn with their respective teams and piled their awards (packages of toilet paper) in front of them, a tangible measure of their success.

Toilet paper waiting to be handed out... I just couldn't get over how normal this was. For me it was like watching someone walk naked down the street in broad daylight with shoes, a purse, makeup and a watch on. As if it were the most normal thing in the world... I mean it's toilet paper! My students spent their whole day cheering and competing for toilet paper!?!

Here I am with two of my students who are also student council members. They were in charge of organizing the entire day! The teachers were in charge of very little; most of the behind the scenes organizational stuff was all coordinated by students.

Tug-of-war was really fun to watch. Even if it does only last about 45 seconds; it's a thrilling 45 seconds!