James and His Harem

A musical clacking sound came from somewhere within the Nuribang, like castanets, but in a Middle Eastern setting. Carved stone and pseudo-ivory lined the walls. Ornate wall furnishings and decorations with carved elephants and embellishments towered over us on all sides. Led down the hall and asked to remove our shoes, the 9 women and James scuffled in our bare feet or socks to the room. Two large platform beds with oversized pillows and elaborate canopies filled the space. Three weaved cushions were scattered on the floor. A basket of tambourines and marracas sat at the front of the room.

On the beds were three thick books. It was time to get started. With a push of a few buttons, the ambience grew more exciting. Music came blaring out of the speakers, a few of the girls started to dance, and then one of the Korean teachers picked up the microphone and began to sing along! Yes, folks - a Nuribang is a private Karaoke room! Equipped with an excellent sound system, two screens, a mirrored wall, and... wait for it.... a laser light show! After the semiannual workshop for my school, my director took several staff members out for dinner, drinks, and a bit of self-created entertainment! He bailed on us partway through dinner, but left our Vice Director, James, there to pay the bills! The setting was hilarious since he was the only male! It was James and his harem, for sure.

Nearly 2 km of stairs up a mountain

As the sticky season has just about ended, the mountain-hiking season has commenced. My first attempt to hike Inwansan a month ago was met with disaster. Poor air quality, high humidity, and intense sunlight caused me to abandon my quest before even reaching the halfway point. With burning lungs, I headed back down the stairs.

Saturday, I finally made it to the top. The humidity has gone, and the air quality was much better - I could see the whole city from the top of the mountain. The trek up the mountain: nearly 2 km of stairs! My butt was definitely worked! I actually made a pact with a friend to come hike the mountain every weekend - we are going to have the most toned glutes ever! Ha!


This picture is from a flat area after the first section of the ascent. If you look closely, you can see the path of stairs going up the mountain as it follows the telephone poles. The wall on the left is the reconstructed wall that once surrounded Seoul. Final destination: The tallest peak.


At this point, you can see part of Seoul through the trees. The views of the city are quite impressive as you get higher and higer up the mountain.


At some points, the stairs are as tall as my knees! The entire path in this section is lined with a rope.... just in case! I had to grab on several times when coming down.











At other times, the stairs aren't so defined... It's choose- your- own- footing time!

I'm on top of the world!

Views of Seoul from the top of the mountain

Update on Work

Chaos: the perfect description for the past few days and probably the next few. The Korean school year begins in March, so September is the semester break. We don't have a vacation at this time, but classes change on September 1st. I went from teaching 5 disctinct courses in the afternoon (I taught each course to more than one class of students, but I only had to plan for 5 courses) to teaching 8 different courses, all of which are more intensive and require more planning! I didn't receive my books for the courses until yesterday, which didn't leave much time to wrap my head around these new classes. So I felt a bit like that headless chicken today.
Our afternoon schedule is broken up into 3 blocks of classes. A distinct group of students comes to the school for each block, and they sit through 2 classes in that block. I'm used to teaching the same course twice in one block (to 2 different classes). So, in one day, I only have to prepare for 3 courses. Now, I only have that situation during one of the blocks. During the other blocks, I teach different courses each period. Meaning I have to prep for 5 courses everyday. It's a HUGE difference! I'm teaching more reading classes now, though, which I'm quite excited about.

The big news for me is that I earned a promotion to Kindergarten Supervisor. I will be responsible for curriculum management and new teacher training on top of my regular morning teaching duties. It comes with a wonderful (ha!) raise of 50,000 Won a month (a whole $50! I know, I know - don't spend it all in one place!). Money is not the incentive to take the position - now I have the authority to implement some programs/practices that I've been anxious to see across the board. We'll see how it goes. Today was my first "official" day as Supervisor. Slowly, I'll manipulate things to work my way (I'm the only trained early childhood teacher on staff).

I'm looking forward to the weekend - it will be a nice relief from the chaotic atmosphere of work the past few days. Though, I do have a rather large pile of books staring at me.... I feel like I'm back in school with all of these textbooks laying around and no time to read for pleasure! That's an exaggeration. I do have plenty of downtime. In fact, a mountain is calling my name, wanting to be hiked tomorrow. A bit cooler now, the sticky season seems to have ended. Thank GOODness!

In case you haven't noticed, I've placed a link on the right to my online photo albums. On this site, I've posted the most interesting photos to tell of my adventures concisely. If you have any interest in perusing hundreds of photos (or you need to kill some time), click on the links to see more. Unfortunately, the first 3 I uploaded did not upload the descriptions. There are just too many photos to go through and re-do it. I'll be more careful from here on out.

I'll leave you with some photos of Hwajeong! Anyeonghikasayo!



My apartment building

I live on the 3rd floor, which is the floor right above all of the signs. You can't see my window, as I face the back of the building (and can have a conversation with the neighbors in the building across the narrow alley). On the 2nd floor, there is a Kumdo studio. This is a form of martial arts that I highly recommend googling (it's worth looking at the photos!... Imagine my face when I went to see what it was all about and saw strange figures dressed in hooded robes, metal masks, and large sword-like sticks!).

The entrance to my work building is a large ad for the Gestapo Hof Bar. WHAT???? This makes me laugh daily. I work in a building with a Nazi bar. Sad, sad, sad.

My work building at night (when I get off work). Notice the blue POLY written on one of the higher floors (the 7th). This is a view of the side of the building. The windows under the Y are those of the computer room. My room is around the corner to the left.

The "center" of town... at least, the transit hub. The structure in front of you is the top of the subway station. I go down into the bit with the curved roof on the left. The square fountain in front has only been active once since I arrived. There is a homeless man who lives in a tent that sells interesting, abstract paintings here in the plaza. After payday, I'm considering making a purchase... as a conversation piece if nothing else!

The main drag at night. We have dubbed it "Rodeo," as it's a pedestrian zone full of shops. This is a pretty typical Korean suburb, with the neon lights and busy pathways. Everything here is open quite late, so there are people milling about until well after midnight. This photo was taken close to 10pm on a weekday.