Visitors...

Having friends visit always makes time fly by, so the last week or so did just that.  Last Saturday my friend Anna and her friend Sibel came to visit for the weekend.  They both work for the airlines, so visiting Asia for the weekend is doable for them.  I already had plans to visit the DMZ, so they spent the first day here just get oriented with Seoul.  They stayed at an awesome hotel right downtown named Hotel PJ.  It was really nice, great location, and priced really reasonably, in case anyone reading this decided to check out Seoul.  Saturday and Sunday were both rainy, so I was a bit worried that Anna and Sibel would not enjoy Seoul as much as they could on a nice weekend...but I didn't have to worry.  Anna has traveled all over Europe, and Sibel is from Turkey, so their ability to adjust to the weather was amazing.  All I wanted to do was curl up in my bed, but they were troopers, especially considering the jet lag.


On Sunday I met up with them and we went to a Korean Village, and then to Insa-dong.  The Korean village was really interesting - and I am so glad we went.  It basically is a village that was created from original Korean houses.  We took an English tour, which was free, and I gained a greater appreciation for what I previously thought was just aesthetic design.


After the folk village, we headed to Insa-dong, which is pretty much a must for anyone visiting Korea.  It is such a cute area, and has tons of great tourist shopping, restaurants, and tea houses.  I have been to Insa-dong several times now, but each time I love it just as much as the time before.


On Tuesday, my friend Elena arrived to stay with me for 2 nights.  I met Elena and her boyfriend Jason in China, and we became great friends.  They also taught in Korea, but had been traveling through Southeast Asia for 3 months.  Elena had a 3 day layover in Seoul on her way back to the States.  You can check out her blog here http://elenaworldtravels.blogspot.com/.  It was so nice to see her again, to hear her stories from her travels, and just to hang out with someone for a few days.  I miss having people over to my place and just hanging out - that doesn't happen much here.


Having visitors here is wonderful, but it is hard because I can't take any time off, and my work schedule during the week makes it difficult to do a whole lot.  So, if you didn't visit me in Korea, come visit in CO - much easier to entertain there!  :)

Busy, Busy...

Just a short post.  The last week or so has been super busy here.  A group of us all went to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between South and North Korea on Saturday, my friend Anna visited for the weekend from the States, and another friend, Elena, stayed with me for two days on her stopover from traveling in Southeast Asia back home to  Colorado.  Visiting the DMZ was really interesting, and I will post more about that later.  As of Friday I will have exactly 1 month left in Korea.  I will be flying back to the States on the 24th of June.  Crazy that a whole year has gone by.  Time really does fly...

Filling my time...Lost and Battlestar Galactica

I have fully enjoyed my time in South Korea, and I am looking  forward to having a great 6 weeks before I return home.  I have, however, found myself with way too much time by myself.  I am not one to always need to be around people, and I do a good job of filling my time when I am alone, but I have to say after a year living by myself in another country, I am slightly sick of myself at times... The problem is not that I am in another country exactly, but that I work from 1-9, and am on an opposite schedule from most of my friends.  When I first got here, it was amazing to have so much free time.  I read books, I wrote, I exercised, I scoured the internet.  It was great.   As time went on, though, I found myself becoming bored and restless.  Then I discovered Lost.  Laaaaaa...and I have discovered that I have a slightly addictive personality when it comes  to reading a good book (Twilight series come to mind...:) ) or watching a series that I really get into. 


 I have to back track a bit.  I don't watch TV.  Occasionally I will get sucked into Law & Order or House, and I do love Grey's Anatomy and Friends, but overall, I just can't stay interested long enough to actually watch a series regularly, let alone the entire season.  I typically feel that life is more interesting when you actually get out and live it, and so I watch TV sporadically.  In fact, I have not even turned my TV on in more than 6 months here in Korea.  

But...I have been glued to my computer.  It started with Lost.  I always thought it was stupid.  It didn't make sense - they were on an island, weren't getting saved, end of story.  Then throw in a bunch of monsters and ... time travel?!?  What?!?  Oh, how little I knew back then.  I decided I would try to watch the series because I had time and everyone else was talking about it.  The first season was really good - by the end I was hooked.  There was so much more to the story than I had ever known. Fast forward a little over 2 months... and I was caught up - all 5 seasons.  It is an amazing show.  I thought it was the best show I had ever watched.  I was wrong.

About the time that I caught up with the current Lost episodes, several of my friends posted about Battlestar Galactica on FB.  They all said that it was amazing...the best.  I have never been into Sci-Fi.  I like Star Wars, but everybody likes Star Wars.  I like space...I wonder if there is life out there.  But I am not into Sci-Fi.  Or so I thought.  I can unequivocally say that Battlestar Galactica is the best show I have ever watched.  I loved it.  It makes me tear up writing about it.  I watched all 4 seasons in 3 weeks.  I stayed up until 3..4..5 am watching it.  I finished watching the finale last night at 4 am.  I loved the characters, the plot, the questions about humanity and our fate as a planet.  I really loved this show.  I want it to keep going, but the ending was so final, so profound, it can't go on.  This show made me think about space, what is really out there.  It made me think about Earth in a different way - realize that out of this huge universe of which we know almost nothing, there exists this amazing planet that has all of the perfect conditions to support not only life, but life as complicated as humans.  I really loved the relationships, the symbolism, the way that the characters changed roles and themselves repeatedly.  There were some slight disappointments at the end, but overall, amazing.  


I am done with the TV shows for now, though.  I only have a few weeks left to enjoy Asia.   I have friends visiting over the next week, and I have plans to make for when I get home.  I will still think about BSG though.  I will miss it.  

Trevor is going to Nationals!!!

(Trevor is the second runner in this photo)

Trevor will be competing in the 2009 NAIA Track & Field Championship beginning on May 21st!  I am so proud of him - he has worked so hard to get there!  This is an article that was published after he qualified at the end of April.  He is currently 13th in the nation in the Decathlon!  Good luck little brother!

Willis wins DAC decathlon

The Dickinson Press

Published Monday, April 27, 2009

JAMESTOWN — After fighting off injuries his first two seasons at Dickinson State, the potential coaches saw in Trevor Willis may have finally surfaced.

The sophomore won and set personal bests in five of 10 events en route to the decathlon title at the Dakota Athletic Conference Multi Championships, which began Sunday and ended Monday at Al Cassell Track at Rollie Greeno Field.

Willis compiled 6,080 points, defeating Jamestown College’s Nathan Horgeshimer by 100 points.

“He’s been snake bit the past couple years with injuries in both football and track,” DSU coach Pete Stanton said. “We knew he was certainly capable of doing it.”

Willis won two of his final three events — pole vault (12 feet, 10 inches) and javelin (171-3) — to give himself breathing room in the final event, the 1,500-meter run.

Horgeshimer won the race with a time of 4 minutes, 30.32 seconds but Willis had a fourth-place run of 5:00.75 to maintain a big enough lead.

Willis also won the high jump (6-4¾), the shot put (36-2¼) and the 100 (11.33 seconds).

DSU freshman Tanner Leak finished third with 5,195 points and junior Matt Quintus was fourth with 4,770. The trio compiled 21 points which go toward the conference meet on May 8 in Madison, S.D.

In the women’s heptathlon, DSU senior Ashley Emmons won her final three events but fell short of beating Jamestown’s Sarah Skipper.

Skipper won three events to total 4,291 points. Emmons had 4,187.

The former basketball standout won the 800 with a 2:30.54, the javelin with a toss of 107-8 and the long jump with a 16-8. She also finished second to Skipper in the 200 (27.49) and the 100 (15.54).

Because Emmons is only a month into her heptathlon training, Stanton walked away amazed by her performance.

“She’s just a winner and there’s really no other way to put it,” Stanton said.

DSU’s Vanessa Escobar finished fifth with 3,587 points but finished second in both the shot put (27-6½) and the javelin (104-7).

Emmons and Escobar put 12 points toward the team’s total at the conference championships.

The Blue Hawks are back in action Saturday at the Ron Masanz Invitational at Minnesota State Moorhead.

Results Monday

Dakota Athletic Conference Multi Championships

At Jamestown College

Decathlon

Total points: 1, Trevor Willis, Dickinson State, 6,080. 3, Tanner Leak, Dickinson State, 5,195. 4, Matt Quintus, Dickinson State, 4,770.

Events (winners and DSU finishers are listed)

100: 1, Trevor Willis, Dickinson State, 11.33 (789 points). 3, Tanner Leak, Dickinson State, 11.7 (711). 4, Matt Quintus, Dickinson State, 11.77 (697).

Long jump: 1, Nathan Horgeshimer, Jamestown, 6.4m (675). 2, Willis, Dickinson State, 6.28m (648). 4, Leak, Dickinson State, 5.8m (544). 5, Quintus, Dickinson State, 5.72m (527).

Shot put: 1, Willis, Dickinson State, 11.03m (548). 2, Quintus, Dickinson State, 10.7m (528). 4, Leak, Dickinson State, 9.21m (438).

High jump: 1, Willis, Dickinson State, 1.95m (758). 3, Leak, 1.77m (602). 4, Quintus, Dickinson State, 1.65m (504).

400: 1, Horgeshimer, Jamestown, 52.3 (706). 2, Leak, Dickinson State, 55.3 (581). 3, Willis, Dickinson State, 56.1 (550). 5, Quintus, 58.8 (450).

110 hurdles: 1, Horgeshimer, Jamestown, 15.68 (769). 2, Quintus, 17.12 (612). 3, Willis, Dickinson State, 17.22 (602). 5, Leak, Dickinson State, 19.74 (370).

Discus: 1, Alan Muhs, Jamestown, 31.22m (488). 2, Willis, Dickinson State, 27.57m (417). 3, Quintus, Dickinson State, 27.4m (414). 6, Leak, Dickinson State, 22.12m (312).

Pole vault: 1, Willis, Dickinson State, 3.91m (592). 2, Leak, Dickinson State, 3.71m (538). 4, Quintus, Dickinson State, 3.01m (359).

Javelin: 1, Willis, Dickinson State, 52.21m (621). 2, Leak, Dickinson State, 43.89m (499). 3, Quintus, Dickinson State, 38.5m (420).

1,500: 1, Horgeshimer, Jamestown, 4:30.32 (743). 2, Leak, Dickinson State, 4:53.18 (600). 4, Willis, Dickinson State, 5:00.75. 6, Quintus, Dickinson State, 6:01.21 (259).

Heptathlon

Total points: 1, Sarah Skipper, Jamestown, 4,291. 2, Ashley Emmons, Dickinson State, 4,187. 3, Lisa Koch, Black Hills, 3,772. 4, Kallie Merrill, Jamestown, 3,618. 5, Vanessa Escobar, Dickinson State, 3,587. 6, Ashleigh Anderson, Jamestown, 2,368.

Events (winners and DSU finishers are listed)

100: 1, Skipper, Jamestown, 15.14 (823). 2, Emmons, Dickinson State, 15.54 (772). 5, Escobar, Dickinson State, 18.01 (487).

High jump: 1, Skipper, Jamestown, 1.59m (724). 4, Emmons, Dickinson State, 1.41m (523). 5, Escobar, Dickinson State, 1.38m (491).

Shot put: 1, Lisa Koch, Black Hills, 9.16m (475). 2, Escobar, Dickinson State, 8.39m (425). 3, Emmons, Dickinson State, 8.36m (423).

200: 1, Skipper, Jamestown, 27.03 (709). 2, Emmons, Dickinson State, 27.49 (672). 5, Escobar, Dickinson State, 29.5 (518).

Long jump: 1, Emmons, Dickinson State, 5.08m (581). 3, Escobar, Dickinson State, 4.81m (508).

Javelin: 1, Emmons, Dickinson State, 32.82m (530). 2, Escobar, Dickinson State, 31.88m (512).

800: 1, Emmons, Dickinson State, 2:30.54 (686). 4, Escobar, Dickinson State, 2:33.78 (646).

Children's Day...what a nice idea...

Yesterday was Children's Day here in South Korea. It is a day that children are given a reprieve from the responsibilities of their stressful little lives. Some kids get presents...money, toys, Wii's...the usual. Some kids take family vacations. A few kids don't do anything special. I went for a walk at a nearby park, trying to get some sunshine and exercise, though I soon found the exercise bit was going to be harder than I had at first imagined. When Koreans have a holiday, they go outside. I am sure a lot of them also go to the mall, and to the movies, but for the most part - they are at parks, in the mountains, on the beach, on islands, you name it. My walk at the park became instead an obstacle course (getting around bikes, strollers, kites, rollerblades)and an observation of people - both of which were quite enjoyable.

As a westerner in South Korea, it is easy to pick apart various parts of the culture, mostly because in many ways it is vastly different from my own. I don't agree with sending children to hagwon after hagwon in pursuit of the highest test score, or with allowing children to sacrifice sleep, friendships, play, a childhood, in the name of getting ahead. But, again, I am not Korean, and I was not raised with the value system that exists in South Korea. So, rather than focusing only on what I don't agree with, I have spent a significant amount of time looking at the things I, and my western ideals, could learn a thing or two about. Korea is a healthier country, by far, than America. Koreans value eating healthy, exercising, family structure, elders in the community, hard work. They really teach their children, they take the responsibility of being a parent seriously, they value the environment, they are proud of who they are, they still subscribe to many of their traditions, and they don't steal. And on Children's Day, you really get to see family life.

This was not my first walk through parks here, and I have always been amazed by the same things every time I observe the way people interact. It is different than at home. I really feel that when people are at the park here, relaxing with the family, that is where they really are. They aren't worrying about what they have to do at the office, or if their children are going to be first on the monthly test, or what they are going to make for dinner, or how they are possibly going to get through a whole afternoon without updates from SportsCenter. Now, I am sure some people are thinking those very thoughts, but for the most part, people are just happy, enjoying their families, something that often seems to be in short supply in the States. I see whole families together, dad's playing with babies, nonchalantly pushing strollers to nowhere in particular. Pregnant women with their husbands carrying their shoes and bag. Couples sleeping together under a tree. A little girl teaching her younger brother how to hold the flowers she picked for him. Grandparents walking with their grandchildren, entire families biking together, playing badminton together. Everywhere. Hundreds of people. Just out to have a good day. We could use a little more of that back home.

It is interesting to look at the place you come from through the eyes of a person far removed. Looking at America through the eyes of Korea, I see that we are unhealthy, we are stressed, we are often violent. Some of us are uber-productive ALL of the time, and some of us are leeching off of a system that doesn't work. We are divided, confused, defensive, tired, disenchanted. Yet we are still pushing forward, putting one foot in front of the other, and hoping against all hope that there is a brighter future. We are at a cross-road, struggling to find an identity that encompasses cultures that are as diverse as the entire world, and not at all sure that the American Dream exists anymore. We are grappling with the question that if the American Dream no longer exists, what is to become of the "New World"? I love many things about Korea, but with all its flaws, I still love America. Maybe Children's Day would help us realize that sometimes...it really is just all about the family.

Next year's plans...

I enjoy being spontaneous and adventurous, but when push comes to shove, I want to know what is going to happen next in life.  Granted, some things in life are uncontrollable, and there are some things for which I  will never receive an answer.  But for those things such as jobs, living arrangements, etc., not knowing what comes next is a reckless, powerless feeling for me.  Some have said that it is a liberating feeling.  Maybe.  For me though, I need to have one foot on the ground, and when I don't - life is stressful.  Therefore, the last few months for me have been filled with varying degrees of stress related to how my plans in life would unfold.  A part of me would love to live in another country, explore more, see the world.  The stronger part of me knows that I need a base , a place to truly call home, and that I need to go back there now.  A year away from everything I love in my life is just to long for me. 


The decision to head back home was made quite awhile ago, but then came the question of where to go.  When I left Colorado to come to Korea, I was burnt out on teaching, on being surrounded by a negative atmosphere at work, and the unending politics that accompany teaching in public schools.  I had looked at changing career paths, going back for my masters, just changing schools, and obviously, teaching overseas.   I went with teaching in Korea because the pay was decent, it was something I knew as far as the teaching, and I felt that I needed a new perspective.  I think that immersing yourself in another culture always brings a greater perspective, and so, 10 months later, here I am.  I have had a great year, have met amazing people, enjoyed my students, and have seen a part of the world I knew relatively little about prior to coming here.  And I have gained a new perspective.  


Working in hagwons in Korea is a precarious thing.  Some people end up victims of an imperfect system that does not always align with western standards. Some people are incredibly lucky and end up with amazing jobs.  I am somewhere in the middle.  The hours in many schools are quite long, and vacation time is limited.  For me, the most difficult part was a result of the fact that I actually have a teaching background.  In my classrooms at home,  I had a great deal of independence, I made decisions for my classroom and students, I was free to express my opinion, and I was part of a team of professionals.  Here, I am just another person who can speak English and teach a preset curriculum that allows for no creativity, and no professional requirements.    Now, my job is not the same as everyone's in Korea, and it is a good job in many ways.  It is just not right for me.  It has, however, given me the perspective that I sought.


I have realized that despite all the flaws of my previous school,  it was a place where I was able to be a professional, I was treated as such, and there was a common sense of respect.  I have realized that the hours I worked were amazing, and that having vacations and  summers off are privileges I never quite appreciated properly.  I have realized that I need to be able to work with my administration, not just for them.  There were some very difficult aspects of my previous school, but with a new perspective, I see that many of those difficulties were a result of my attitude, and things that I can control.  


So, with that said, back to the plans for next year.  As the economy crumbled this year, I began thinking of what would be the best choice for my job security.  I came to Korea on a year long leave of absence, with no real intention of returning to my school district.  I wanted a fresh start if and when I returned, and barely gave returning to the same district, much less the same school, a passing thought.  As I read headline after headline of jobs being slashed, teachers being cut, companies folding, I realized that the fact that I have a guaranteed job, with tenure, was something I couldn't take for granted.  I decided that I would in fact return to my school district - but to a different school this time.  Someplace where I could put my newfound perspective to good use.  That was not to be, though.  After weeks of waiting to find out where I would be placed in the district, I found out recently that I will be returning to the same school I have taught at the last 3 years.  Ahhh...life certainly holds surprises sometimes.  Had someone asked me a few months ago if I would consider returning to my school, I would have responded flatly, unequivocally - NO.  Now that I am going back, and I have had some time to adjust, I think this is the best choice for me at this time.  Funny how things turn out sometimes.  I struggled for a bit with the feeling that I have been gone for a year, have experienced so much, and now I will be returning to the same place, as if nothing had changed at all.  The truth is, it is not the situation that determines happiness, but what is inside a person; and I know that I return to Colorado a different person in many ways.


I have loved so much about my time in Korea, but it has not been the easiest year of my life.  I have learned, again, that sometimes the things that seem to be the very worst, are the very things you need to grow and become a better person.  Working here in Korea has been a constant battle for me in some ways, and I wish that I had looked more seriously at teaching in a true International School.  But, if I had done that, I would not have learned many of the things I have this year.  My job might have been more satisfying  to me, but I believe I needed to gain some appreciation for the job I left back home.  Maybe an International School would be a good choice for the next time I get the itch to travel...