It is a busy and emotional time of year!
It's BEEN a busy and emotional school year so far.
Taking on some additional roles and making big decisions have made this first semester of school a memorable one. I've been at the extremes of my emotional range, for sure.
School's great - still love my kiddos and my work. Because I feel I still have more room to grow and like a lot about my life currently, I decided to stay another year at my school. So! Not going anywhere (permanently) until June 2016.
BUT! Between now and June 2016, who knows where I'll go.
We had two students accepted to the AMIS festival, so I'll be traveling to Singapore with them right before spring break. A visit to Toronto is on the calendar for this summer... and then who knows what'll happen next year.
I'm headed home for christmas, but not until we've had our two christmas concerts. ALL of my students will be performing - grades 6-12 on Wednesday evening, and then grades K-5 on Thursday morning. Can you tell I don't have any say in the scheduling of concerts? hahaha. I'm going to be seriously tired when I get onto that plane on Saturday morning. Scheduling complaints aside, I am really excited for my groups to perform - they just keep sounding better and better!
As a musician, I just finished up my first season with a chamber choir - we finished our year with a performance at the British Embassy on Tuesday. The rest of the week has been filled with rehearsals, preparing for Handel's Messiah. I sang in the chorus last year and really enjoyed it. This year I am playing in the orchestra and am really excited for our performance on Saturday! I felt like myself again after a 3 hour rehearsal - it is so therapeutic and soothing to make music with other humans. I felt challenged and determined... and I wasn't leading rehearsal (a nice break for a music teacher :P)!
Between ordering presents to be shipped to minnesota, rehearsing the Messiah, coordinating KIMEA honor festival details, getting the details for the AMIS festival travel in line, and leading classes I've had NO TIME to enter grades! Uff da. Does anybody know if Delta has wifi on the plane? Maybe I'll read my HS semester projects and listen to my MS playing test on plane ride home :P
SO many good things.
Happy Christmas, Harry!
just yes.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
You're my favorite book
Life keeps moving fast. I looked at my blog and realized my last post was in SEPTEMBER! It's now November which means a lot has happened.
I've had some crazy weeks - things that come to mind in the last 4 weeks include the SRC carnival, performances for the Camarata Chamber Singers, AMIS audition submissions, KAIAK large group competition, MS orchestra concert, and quarter grades being due.
I looked at my calendar and realized that between now and Christmas, I have one weekend that is open. I can't believe I have a life here! I remember having so many open weekends last year but that has definitely changed.
Everything's been going well, but I think everyone at my school is feeling stressed to the max. It just seems like we are more disorganized than in the past - more reactive. We're packing in too much. I think I've seen my Thursday after school group 3 times this year because THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON, like a school-wide hike for spiritual emphasis week, a volleyball pep-rally, or staff development days. ALWAYS.
Anyway - same old same old. Life's good. Goes too fast. Still love my job and my kiddos.
Looking forward to being home for Christmas :)
I'll be in the USA December 20th-January9th.
I've had some crazy weeks - things that come to mind in the last 4 weeks include the SRC carnival, performances for the Camarata Chamber Singers, AMIS audition submissions, KAIAK large group competition, MS orchestra concert, and quarter grades being due.
I looked at my calendar and realized that between now and Christmas, I have one weekend that is open. I can't believe I have a life here! I remember having so many open weekends last year but that has definitely changed.
Everything's been going well, but I think everyone at my school is feeling stressed to the max. It just seems like we are more disorganized than in the past - more reactive. We're packing in too much. I think I've seen my Thursday after school group 3 times this year because THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON, like a school-wide hike for spiritual emphasis week, a volleyball pep-rally, or staff development days. ALWAYS.
Anyway - same old same old. Life's good. Goes too fast. Still love my job and my kiddos.
Looking forward to being home for Christmas :)
I'll be in the USA December 20th-January9th.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Adventure Continues
The weather is changing, we continue to get to know our new coworkers, people are talking about grad school applications and different jobs for next year, and we've picked out our christmas concert repertoire.
Things keep changing, day by day..... and yet some things never change.
I still have random "adventures" - a euphemism for when I come to a screeching halt and remember that I am an American in South Korea.
Last Sunday I was baking up some scones and invited some of my friends up to eat one. I went to unlock my door so they could come in as they please and miserably failed. We use key codes on an electric lock - I irritated my lock so it started to beep at me. I, flustered by the beeping, found the batteries on my lock and took one out. The beeping stopped. I put the battery back in, and found myself essentially locked into my apartment. In taking the battery out, I had erased my lock's memory and therefore couldn't code into my apartment. Uff da. Once a friend arrived, I went down to the first floor to talk to our "security" dudes. I have never seen these men actually do anything.... they're usually sleeping with Korean tv going in their little booth. Not sure what we pay them for. Anyway! It took a lot of work, including an older man typing in Korean into HIS cell phone (because my iphone was beyond him), me typing what was on his screen into google translate, and then me translating a response. FINALLY one of them agreed to come look at my door. I was so frustrated. The man that came up with me couldn't read the directions on my lock, so he went back down to the first floor to get his partner. His partner came up 15 minutes later with a magnifying glass, as his vision also was poor. I had contacted one of my coworkers who is Korean and she talked to him on the phone. He handed the phone back to me and she said "I'll be there in 45 minutes". One she got to my apartment, she called the number on the lock - unscrewed something and found THE MAGIC BUTTON. I put in my code, and all was well. So. 4 hours and 3 helpers later, we got it.
I was incredibly frustrated when the translation apps were saying that the security guys wanted me to call an engineer. This was the equivalent of setting the time on your microwave, and I couldn't complete it because the directions were in Korean. You want me to call a locksmith/engineer!? AND PAY HIM MONEY!? no. absolutely not. Just come read the directions. They're ON THE DOOR.
nope. no. absolutely not. "Not our specialty" But by all means, keep speaking loudly at me in Korean, that will certainly help. It's so weird to feel like a self-sufficient person, and not be able to complete a simple task because of the language. I think that was where my frustration was coming from - I can do this, but I can't do it in korean. Uff da. I am SO thankful Llandy showed up and helped me get it fixed.
alternatively - last night Pendleton and I sat down to catch up on all our favorite american tv shows that returned this week (Scandal and Parenthood!) and ordered a pizza. I had been told that if you call Dominoe's and say "english", they'll hang up and call you back in a couple minutes, speaking english. We gave this method a try a couple weeks ago and had great success. I called last night and this is how the conversation goes:
Me: English?
Dominoe's: ....no. See & Me? 926?
Me: neeeee. deliver?
Dominoe's: Ne. pijja?
Me: Cheezuh.
Dominoe's: Medium? Largie?
Me: Largie.
Dominoe's: crust?
Me: Original
Dominoe's: carduh?
Me: Cashie
Dominoe's: (price in Korean) ok bye bye
yep. The pizza guy KNEW me and my residence.
The pizza showed up in 30 minutes and was delicious.
Two very different reminders that I am an American living in Korea, just one week apart.
I shake my head and laugh.
What a weird life.
Things keep changing, day by day..... and yet some things never change.
I still have random "adventures" - a euphemism for when I come to a screeching halt and remember that I am an American in South Korea.
Last Sunday I was baking up some scones and invited some of my friends up to eat one. I went to unlock my door so they could come in as they please and miserably failed. We use key codes on an electric lock - I irritated my lock so it started to beep at me. I, flustered by the beeping, found the batteries on my lock and took one out. The beeping stopped. I put the battery back in, and found myself essentially locked into my apartment. In taking the battery out, I had erased my lock's memory and therefore couldn't code into my apartment. Uff da. Once a friend arrived, I went down to the first floor to talk to our "security" dudes. I have never seen these men actually do anything.... they're usually sleeping with Korean tv going in their little booth. Not sure what we pay them for. Anyway! It took a lot of work, including an older man typing in Korean into HIS cell phone (because my iphone was beyond him), me typing what was on his screen into google translate, and then me translating a response. FINALLY one of them agreed to come look at my door. I was so frustrated. The man that came up with me couldn't read the directions on my lock, so he went back down to the first floor to get his partner. His partner came up 15 minutes later with a magnifying glass, as his vision also was poor. I had contacted one of my coworkers who is Korean and she talked to him on the phone. He handed the phone back to me and she said "I'll be there in 45 minutes". One she got to my apartment, she called the number on the lock - unscrewed something and found THE MAGIC BUTTON. I put in my code, and all was well. So. 4 hours and 3 helpers later, we got it.
I was incredibly frustrated when the translation apps were saying that the security guys wanted me to call an engineer. This was the equivalent of setting the time on your microwave, and I couldn't complete it because the directions were in Korean. You want me to call a locksmith/engineer!? AND PAY HIM MONEY!? no. absolutely not. Just come read the directions. They're ON THE DOOR.
nope. no. absolutely not. "Not our specialty" But by all means, keep speaking loudly at me in Korean, that will certainly help. It's so weird to feel like a self-sufficient person, and not be able to complete a simple task because of the language. I think that was where my frustration was coming from - I can do this, but I can't do it in korean. Uff da. I am SO thankful Llandy showed up and helped me get it fixed.
alternatively - last night Pendleton and I sat down to catch up on all our favorite american tv shows that returned this week (Scandal and Parenthood!) and ordered a pizza. I had been told that if you call Dominoe's and say "english", they'll hang up and call you back in a couple minutes, speaking english. We gave this method a try a couple weeks ago and had great success. I called last night and this is how the conversation goes:
Me: English?
Dominoe's: ....no. See & Me? 926?
Me: neeeee. deliver?
Dominoe's: Ne. pijja?
Me: Cheezuh.
Dominoe's: Medium? Largie?
Me: Largie.
Dominoe's: crust?
Me: Original
Dominoe's: carduh?
Me: Cashie
Dominoe's: (price in Korean) ok bye bye
yep. The pizza guy KNEW me and my residence.
The pizza showed up in 30 minutes and was delicious.
Two very different reminders that I am an American living in Korea, just one week apart.
I shake my head and laugh.
What a weird life.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Identity
Identity. Purpose. Plan. Priorities.
These worlds have been rolling around in my head for many reasons as of late.
They're seeping into my teaching as a result of personal happenings and questions.
And I like it.
I've started sharing music with my students to begin every class, just to open their eyes. My students have a pretty developed skills in and preference for classical music. I admire that, but don't understand it. As a high school student, I was in tears over classical music on the radio while riding up 35W north from a summer violin lesson. I remember telling my mom, "I realize that I would be completely happy playing the violin in an orchestra for the rest of my life. I however would NOT be happy for the many years it would take me to get there". My kids and I, we aren't that different, but 7 years later, I'm just trying to get them to shake out of their box. To enjoy ALL music. Not just 2 Chainz and Mozart. WHAT ABOUT THE IN BETWEEN!?
I'm trying to help my students to identify as musicians and artists. An assignment I gave them last Thursday was to email me a quote, image, or their own explanation of what music means to them, personally. Since then, I've been sharing examples along side the music videos at the beginning of class. I shared the stereotypical but very meaningful StoryPeople, along with this quote by Plato.
Most importantly, I remembered the following quote. I shared it with my students today and it might be the first time they've been silent since the beginning of the year. I hold a couple longer quotes close to my heart, and this is one of them because of how and when it came to me. I was struggling between my freshman and sophomore year of college, thinking I should drop out and do something crazy (like go organic farm in hawaii or go to mechanic school. yep.). I was in contact with my voice instructor about how I didn't feel any longer like I was a singer and was considering not going back to my college. I went to visit a friend in my college town over break and he agreed to meet with me. I had already started seeing a counselor (Thanks, Mom and Dad! It was hard for me to accept but it helped me so much!) but my voice teacher had something my counselor didn't - perspective. He knew me as an artist and he knew the community I wanted to identify with. He sat me down, printed off this quote and made me read it to myself. I've been much more at peace with myself since I read these words and I think I saw it hit some of my students straight in the heart during 8th period. So, here it is:
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.
No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
-Martha Graham
These worlds have been rolling around in my head for many reasons as of late.
They're seeping into my teaching as a result of personal happenings and questions.
And I like it.
I've started sharing music with my students to begin every class, just to open their eyes. My students have a pretty developed skills in and preference for classical music. I admire that, but don't understand it. As a high school student, I was in tears over classical music on the radio while riding up 35W north from a summer violin lesson. I remember telling my mom, "I realize that I would be completely happy playing the violin in an orchestra for the rest of my life. I however would NOT be happy for the many years it would take me to get there". My kids and I, we aren't that different, but 7 years later, I'm just trying to get them to shake out of their box. To enjoy ALL music. Not just 2 Chainz and Mozart. WHAT ABOUT THE IN BETWEEN!?
I'm trying to help my students to identify as musicians and artists. An assignment I gave them last Thursday was to email me a quote, image, or their own explanation of what music means to them, personally. Since then, I've been sharing examples along side the music videos at the beginning of class. I shared the stereotypical but very meaningful StoryPeople, along with this quote by Plato.
Most importantly, I remembered the following quote. I shared it with my students today and it might be the first time they've been silent since the beginning of the year. I hold a couple longer quotes close to my heart, and this is one of them because of how and when it came to me. I was struggling between my freshman and sophomore year of college, thinking I should drop out and do something crazy (like go organic farm in hawaii or go to mechanic school. yep.). I was in contact with my voice instructor about how I didn't feel any longer like I was a singer and was considering not going back to my college. I went to visit a friend in my college town over break and he agreed to meet with me. I had already started seeing a counselor (Thanks, Mom and Dad! It was hard for me to accept but it helped me so much!) but my voice teacher had something my counselor didn't - perspective. He knew me as an artist and he knew the community I wanted to identify with. He sat me down, printed off this quote and made me read it to myself. I've been much more at peace with myself since I read these words and I think I saw it hit some of my students straight in the heart during 8th period. So, here it is:
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time. This expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.
No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
-Martha Graham
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Miss Korea
We made it through the first week of school!
I was so so so happy to see my students from last year, and to make music with them again. There are definite challenges this year as we made some changes to the structure of our program overall, but I'm excited about the new opportunities and challenges those changes will bring.
I didn't spent much time thinking about this school year while I was home for the summer - I tend to avoid things I'm nervous about. Bad habit. I was nervous about this school year because even though I'm a returning teacher, there is still a lot of new stuff going on! I'm advising the Middle School Student Representative Council (SRC), co-leading our staff social committee, and am the KIMEA Orchestra Division Chair - on top of my increased teaching load. (That doesn't mean that much... I was pretty much half time last year.) After getting my hands metaphorically dirty with all of these tasks, I can say that I'm really excited about all of these things. Having a lighter teaching load was a great way to deal with being a first year teacher, but I am excited to have more challenges, more tasks, and more demands put on my skills and abilities.
The first social event we held (as the social committee) was a chill out time at a giant park near our school. I just sent out an email with a time, location, and invitation to bring whatever you want to eat or share and BOOM! it happened. We had a great time at the Dream Forest and it was really nice to get to have conversations with new and returning faculty now that they're out of beginning-of-the-year-freak-out mode. We posted up near the splash zone, playground, and stage with music (surprise!) and had a lovely time with badminton, chats, and yummy food.
Before heading up our event, I ventured to Dongdaemun with Melinda, Susan, Pat, and April. Melinda, April, and I are returning staff members, and we wanted to show Susan and Pat where to find lots of things in the markets. We journeyed around, finding sparkles, yarn, tons of fabric, and eventually made our way to the baking market. Baking is not typically done here, so finding materials can be hard. Things are becoming easier to find, but can be expensive. After marketing it up for 3 hours, we decided it was time for some yummy food! We were near to Everest, which is an expat favorite, here in Seoul - incredibly delicious indian and nepali food. yummmmmmmmmm. Throughout this morning I got to have some really great conversations with Susan and Pat about why we travel, what home means to us, and our transitions. I was asked "When did Seoul really start to feel like home?" after they'd heard alllll the horror stories about crying in a grocery store and other hilarious happenings. I couldn't tell them, but I guessed it was around February. Not that I'd call Seoul or Nowon-gu my "home", but for the time being, it's where I keep my books and underwear... so..... almost home ;). I was walking down busy market streets, very comfortable with the delivery mopeds and big trucks and people walking on all sides of me in whatever direction they pleased and realised "This isn't foreign to me anymore". Make no mistake, I never wake up and forget that I'm in Asia.... I know this isn't Minnesota... but it's not so shocking or weird.
What a difference a year makes, is what one of my colleagues said. They were remembering that they had a huddle when my mom left Seoul. I didn't know this happened, but all the people who moved to Seoul at the same time had some conversations about watching out for me after my mom left - like, "Is this girl going to be able to find anything to eat? Is she going to be okay now that she's alone in her apartment?" - I work with some INCREDIBLE people. Anyway, what they told me is that I went from shocked and scared to "Miss Seoul" in 6 months. I guess it wasn't a year. I think I FELT it after a year, but others saw my transition end around February. I think all of us become skilled and capable in these cities in our own way - some more visibly than others. Joining a choir and saying yes to most outings my friends proposed have been the two things that have helped me the most. I realized that we are all transitioning in our own way and on our own timeline, and I think it was a great thing to remember because even returning faculty are having trouble transitioning right now. I had a freak out on the beach on faculty retreat, one of my friends had some painful memories come back this week, many of us are finding new roles in our homes, classrooms, and our community, and we all miss people who left us for other opportunities. Just because it's not new to us returning teachers doesn't mean it's easy. I find it pretty inspiring, this process of acclimating, ourselves, while welcoming new people into our community and their own journey. It's so much to keep track of and manage, but it's all good :)
I guess I am continuously amazed at how many ways I get to know the people I work with - the ways we consistently support and learn about each other. We as a school are constantly in transition, and when people are going through things outside of our big community transition, we try our hardest to be aware and care for one another. It's been so fun to show people around, talk about our own transitions, and bring people to see our favorite spots and alleys. Life's always an adventure, here, and I love that there are so many people on these adventures with me.
Speaking of adventure.....we are headed to Vietnam in 13 days! WOOOOOO!
5 women I work with and two of their friends from home will be journeying to Hanoi, Da Neng, and Ho Chi Minh City over Chuseok break. I'm so excited for this 8 lady journey - we are going to have a great time and get to see a new part of the world!
Also, in less deep/thoughful news, I cooked up a storm last week. I made some black bean tomato soup, roasted buffalo chickpeas (yummy snack!), and made some broccoli cheddar quinoa bites. So much yumminess, and it all really kept me alive through this first week of school. I'm about to head out to lunch with Sophie and baby Cora, and plan to see The Giver tonight with Pendleton. What a great weekend!
I was so so so happy to see my students from last year, and to make music with them again. There are definite challenges this year as we made some changes to the structure of our program overall, but I'm excited about the new opportunities and challenges those changes will bring.
I didn't spent much time thinking about this school year while I was home for the summer - I tend to avoid things I'm nervous about. Bad habit. I was nervous about this school year because even though I'm a returning teacher, there is still a lot of new stuff going on! I'm advising the Middle School Student Representative Council (SRC), co-leading our staff social committee, and am the KIMEA Orchestra Division Chair - on top of my increased teaching load. (That doesn't mean that much... I was pretty much half time last year.) After getting my hands metaphorically dirty with all of these tasks, I can say that I'm really excited about all of these things. Having a lighter teaching load was a great way to deal with being a first year teacher, but I am excited to have more challenges, more tasks, and more demands put on my skills and abilities.
The first social event we held (as the social committee) was a chill out time at a giant park near our school. I just sent out an email with a time, location, and invitation to bring whatever you want to eat or share and BOOM! it happened. We had a great time at the Dream Forest and it was really nice to get to have conversations with new and returning faculty now that they're out of beginning-of-the-year-freak-out mode. We posted up near the splash zone, playground, and stage with music (surprise!) and had a lovely time with badminton, chats, and yummy food.
Before heading up our event, I ventured to Dongdaemun with Melinda, Susan, Pat, and April. Melinda, April, and I are returning staff members, and we wanted to show Susan and Pat where to find lots of things in the markets. We journeyed around, finding sparkles, yarn, tons of fabric, and eventually made our way to the baking market. Baking is not typically done here, so finding materials can be hard. Things are becoming easier to find, but can be expensive. After marketing it up for 3 hours, we decided it was time for some yummy food! We were near to Everest, which is an expat favorite, here in Seoul - incredibly delicious indian and nepali food. yummmmmmmmmm. Throughout this morning I got to have some really great conversations with Susan and Pat about why we travel, what home means to us, and our transitions. I was asked "When did Seoul really start to feel like home?" after they'd heard alllll the horror stories about crying in a grocery store and other hilarious happenings. I couldn't tell them, but I guessed it was around February. Not that I'd call Seoul or Nowon-gu my "home", but for the time being, it's where I keep my books and underwear... so..... almost home ;). I was walking down busy market streets, very comfortable with the delivery mopeds and big trucks and people walking on all sides of me in whatever direction they pleased and realised "This isn't foreign to me anymore". Make no mistake, I never wake up and forget that I'm in Asia.... I know this isn't Minnesota... but it's not so shocking or weird.
What a difference a year makes, is what one of my colleagues said. They were remembering that they had a huddle when my mom left Seoul. I didn't know this happened, but all the people who moved to Seoul at the same time had some conversations about watching out for me after my mom left - like, "Is this girl going to be able to find anything to eat? Is she going to be okay now that she's alone in her apartment?" - I work with some INCREDIBLE people. Anyway, what they told me is that I went from shocked and scared to "Miss Seoul" in 6 months. I guess it wasn't a year. I think I FELT it after a year, but others saw my transition end around February. I think all of us become skilled and capable in these cities in our own way - some more visibly than others. Joining a choir and saying yes to most outings my friends proposed have been the two things that have helped me the most. I realized that we are all transitioning in our own way and on our own timeline, and I think it was a great thing to remember because even returning faculty are having trouble transitioning right now. I had a freak out on the beach on faculty retreat, one of my friends had some painful memories come back this week, many of us are finding new roles in our homes, classrooms, and our community, and we all miss people who left us for other opportunities. Just because it's not new to us returning teachers doesn't mean it's easy. I find it pretty inspiring, this process of acclimating, ourselves, while welcoming new people into our community and their own journey. It's so much to keep track of and manage, but it's all good :)
I guess I am continuously amazed at how many ways I get to know the people I work with - the ways we consistently support and learn about each other. We as a school are constantly in transition, and when people are going through things outside of our big community transition, we try our hardest to be aware and care for one another. It's been so fun to show people around, talk about our own transitions, and bring people to see our favorite spots and alleys. Life's always an adventure, here, and I love that there are so many people on these adventures with me.
Speaking of adventure.....we are headed to Vietnam in 13 days! WOOOOOO!
5 women I work with and two of their friends from home will be journeying to Hanoi, Da Neng, and Ho Chi Minh City over Chuseok break. I'm so excited for this 8 lady journey - we are going to have a great time and get to see a new part of the world!
Also, in less deep/thoughful news, I cooked up a storm last week. I made some black bean tomato soup, roasted buffalo chickpeas (yummy snack!), and made some broccoli cheddar quinoa bites. So much yumminess, and it all really kept me alive through this first week of school. I'm about to head out to lunch with Sophie and baby Cora, and plan to see The Giver tonight with Pendleton. What a great weekend!
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Made it!
Hey, everybody!
Writing to you now from the great Korean peninsula.
I made it to Korea and am pleased to be in my own comfy zone. I made it without any issues or events to write home about.
My flight from Dallas to Seoul was 13.5 hours, and I think I slept for 8 of those hours. Not too bad. I have this strange ability to sleep in nearly any condition at any point of the day, but sometimes the extra noise and people make it a little more challenging to actually fall asleep. Once I'm asleep, I'm asleep - there's no issue there. So, I took some Benadryl with my two meals. Out cold 40 minutes after lunch/dinner/4ambrunch/whatever meal that was. I'd definitely recommend that.
Not a significant story, but one I find amusing:
Arrived at Incheon. Went through immigration, claimed by bags, went through customs, and out the arrival gate. I was squinting to find an ATM of my bank against the back wall and a Korean man approached me, asking "Where are you going? Taxi?" and I responded "Aniyo, kansahamnida" (no, thank you) and he started laughing and walked away. BOOOOOOOM! Waygukin success! (waygukin is Korean for foreigner, we often shorten it to "waygooks")
I've been back for just over 24 hours and it's been nice. Walked around to get to the bank and my favorite produce stand - it's strange how comfortable it is compared to exactly a year ago. When I got off the plane and went through immigration the man stamped my passport and I mumbled my 감사합니다 (kansahamnida / thank you) very uncomfortably. It was a serious process of adjusting when I moved here, but it seems I've slipped back into Korea easily and calmly (not at all like my initial transition, hahaha).
Now, I'm off to BBQ with Charlie in order to stay awake. What I've experienced is that evening time is the roughest part of jet lag.... the trick is to power through and stay awake the first two or three nights until a reasonable bed time. If you go to bed before 8pm, you're sunk for the next week.
Writing to you now from the great Korean peninsula.
I made it to Korea and am pleased to be in my own comfy zone. I made it without any issues or events to write home about.
My flight from Dallas to Seoul was 13.5 hours, and I think I slept for 8 of those hours. Not too bad. I have this strange ability to sleep in nearly any condition at any point of the day, but sometimes the extra noise and people make it a little more challenging to actually fall asleep. Once I'm asleep, I'm asleep - there's no issue there. So, I took some Benadryl with my two meals. Out cold 40 minutes after lunch/dinner/4ambrunch/whatever meal that was. I'd definitely recommend that.
Not a significant story, but one I find amusing:
Arrived at Incheon. Went through immigration, claimed by bags, went through customs, and out the arrival gate. I was squinting to find an ATM of my bank against the back wall and a Korean man approached me, asking "Where are you going? Taxi?" and I responded "Aniyo, kansahamnida" (no, thank you) and he started laughing and walked away. BOOOOOOOM! Waygukin success! (waygukin is Korean for foreigner, we often shorten it to "waygooks")
I've been back for just over 24 hours and it's been nice. Walked around to get to the bank and my favorite produce stand - it's strange how comfortable it is compared to exactly a year ago. When I got off the plane and went through immigration the man stamped my passport and I mumbled my 감사합니다 (kansahamnida / thank you) very uncomfortably. It was a serious process of adjusting when I moved here, but it seems I've slipped back into Korea easily and calmly (not at all like my initial transition, hahaha).
Now, I'm off to BBQ with Charlie in order to stay awake. What I've experienced is that evening time is the roughest part of jet lag.... the trick is to power through and stay awake the first two or three nights until a reasonable bed time. If you go to bed before 8pm, you're sunk for the next week.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Tried and True
I suck at transitions.
I probably shouldn't have gone into a life of long plane rides, going here and there, experiencing seriously different climates and ways of life as someone who historically sucks at transitions. Oh well! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Thanks Kelly Clarkson and Vince Lombardi....
I returned to the good old USA on June 19th - welcomed by my two brothers, a pretty much sister-in-law and my mom. We wasted no time on that beautiful Minnesota afternoon, stopping by Chipotle on our way home from the air port - I couldn't have been happier. The weird thing is that I didn't expect to be happy. Even weirder is that I wasn't truthfully excited about coming home; I'd sort of become indifferent. (Let the record show - I was not actively UNexcited about coming home. I was, also, a blob at the end of the school year (to be fair)). I expected to grow tired of sharing a home with the people I love, of having to drive everywhere, of having to tip in restaurants, of having to schedule in all my friends and family like puzzle pieces, of feeling conflicted about wanting alone time. I expected these things in June because they had happened when I came home for christmas - and those feelings in December really surprised me. When I came home for christmas, I didn't think about experiencing transitions or culture shock. I thought it would all be a perfect christmas story book, complete with all my family drinking hot cocoa in our living room. The trouble there wasn't with the hot cocoa or rosy images of winter in Minnesota (hello, Polar Vortex!) - the trouble is that I had expectations.
When I moved to Seoul, I had very few expectations. I'd done my best, reading informative and current guides to Seoul and South Korea, watching the complete videography of Eat Your Kimchi, making a new Pinterest board about what I would come to call "SoKo". It was a GIANT change, but I had my mom and very few expectations. Those two elements helped that giant change to go pretty darn well. If you're facing a move, you should know that THAT large of a transition took me a lot of time (cue me, crying in a grocery store in October....), but the initial move to Korea went remarkably well. It seems that perhaps jumping into a pool of unknown might be easier than diving into a familiar pool....
So here I am - facing another transition.
I'm about to head back to Seoul to start my second year as a teacher.
To be 100% honest, at this very moment, I am not enthused about going back to Seoul on Monday. I could maybe be enthused about it if it was still 3 weeks away, but now it's 5 sleeps away, staring me in the face. I'm now thinking "okay, this will be my last load of laundry, so my dirty clothes need to go into a plastic bag that I'll pack in my suitcase". I'm now getting those stupid tasks done that I've been procrastinating for FAR too long (taxes? what are THOSE!?). I'm now scheduling social events in another time zone, on another continent... because all of these things are related to the fact that I'll be flying over the ocean in 5 days.
I guess I'm just here, babbling on, trying to get myself to let go of my expectations. I can't have expectations because that's what made transitions really hard. As an international teacher (or someone who lives abroad for an extended period of time) I'm at serious risk of never actually being in a place. I've felt pangs of "I miss..." no matter where I am. I've felt it so often, now, that I'm unsure of what it would feel like to be contained and completely comfortable in one place. It seems like something that would be inevitable as we grow up, with all our friends and family moving to new cities because of jobs or their loved ones. ....But how would I know if this stretched, nearly haunted existence is a normal 20-something experience?
After re-reading this post, I feel I may be painting a dreary picture of my life. I think it's fair for you to read this and know these aspects of my life and profession. The atypical choice I made to be an international teacher has led me to know beauty in ways I never imagined - but it has also stretched me in ways I never imagined. What I've written about in this post is a way that I'm being stretched and challenged.
Hope I can let go of some expectations and hit the ground running and smiling in Seoul :)
I probably shouldn't have gone into a life of long plane rides, going here and there, experiencing seriously different climates and ways of life as someone who historically sucks at transitions. Oh well! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Thanks Kelly Clarkson and Vince Lombardi....
I returned to the good old USA on June 19th - welcomed by my two brothers, a pretty much sister-in-law and my mom. We wasted no time on that beautiful Minnesota afternoon, stopping by Chipotle on our way home from the air port - I couldn't have been happier. The weird thing is that I didn't expect to be happy. Even weirder is that I wasn't truthfully excited about coming home; I'd sort of become indifferent. (Let the record show - I was not actively UNexcited about coming home. I was, also, a blob at the end of the school year (to be fair)). I expected to grow tired of sharing a home with the people I love, of having to drive everywhere, of having to tip in restaurants, of having to schedule in all my friends and family like puzzle pieces, of feeling conflicted about wanting alone time. I expected these things in June because they had happened when I came home for christmas - and those feelings in December really surprised me. When I came home for christmas, I didn't think about experiencing transitions or culture shock. I thought it would all be a perfect christmas story book, complete with all my family drinking hot cocoa in our living room. The trouble there wasn't with the hot cocoa or rosy images of winter in Minnesota (hello, Polar Vortex!) - the trouble is that I had expectations.
When I moved to Seoul, I had very few expectations. I'd done my best, reading informative and current guides to Seoul and South Korea, watching the complete videography of Eat Your Kimchi, making a new Pinterest board about what I would come to call "SoKo". It was a GIANT change, but I had my mom and very few expectations. Those two elements helped that giant change to go pretty darn well. If you're facing a move, you should know that THAT large of a transition took me a lot of time (cue me, crying in a grocery store in October....), but the initial move to Korea went remarkably well. It seems that perhaps jumping into a pool of unknown might be easier than diving into a familiar pool....
So here I am - facing another transition.
I'm about to head back to Seoul to start my second year as a teacher.
To be 100% honest, at this very moment, I am not enthused about going back to Seoul on Monday. I could maybe be enthused about it if it was still 3 weeks away, but now it's 5 sleeps away, staring me in the face. I'm now thinking "okay, this will be my last load of laundry, so my dirty clothes need to go into a plastic bag that I'll pack in my suitcase". I'm now getting those stupid tasks done that I've been procrastinating for FAR too long (taxes? what are THOSE!?). I'm now scheduling social events in another time zone, on another continent... because all of these things are related to the fact that I'll be flying over the ocean in 5 days.
I guess I'm just here, babbling on, trying to get myself to let go of my expectations. I can't have expectations because that's what made transitions really hard. As an international teacher (or someone who lives abroad for an extended period of time) I'm at serious risk of never actually being in a place. I've felt pangs of "I miss..." no matter where I am. I've felt it so often, now, that I'm unsure of what it would feel like to be contained and completely comfortable in one place. It seems like something that would be inevitable as we grow up, with all our friends and family moving to new cities because of jobs or their loved ones. ....But how would I know if this stretched, nearly haunted existence is a normal 20-something experience?
After re-reading this post, I feel I may be painting a dreary picture of my life. I think it's fair for you to read this and know these aspects of my life and profession. The atypical choice I made to be an international teacher has led me to know beauty in ways I never imagined - but it has also stretched me in ways I never imagined. What I've written about in this post is a way that I'm being stretched and challenged.
Hope I can let go of some expectations and hit the ground running and smiling in Seoul :)
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Lucky
Just can't believe how fortunate I've been in landing where I am.
Every school's got its issues - I have no doubts.
I've tried my best to keep positive and objective on this blog (I've also done my best not to specifically mention my place of employment :P), but I'll be honest with you. There are flaws with my school - but they're the kind of things that will be wherever you go.
My school is young - a lot of things are still being standardized and put in place. With a transient student AND teacher population, there are bound to be differences and unknowns. I was surprised throughout the year, coming up to tasks and conversations and realizing "There's no established norm or procedure for this!" or "This is new to ALL of us?".
A shocking realization occurred about a month ago, though. I realized that the director of my school has a knack for hiring people with Oomf. Chutspa. Gumption.
As a first year teacher, the women I work with (Sophie and Melinda) have taught me SO much. They've talked with me about what didn't work, come in and worked with my students on things they know more about than me, giving each other ideas, and we've supported each other at every performance. If we didn't teach classes at the same time, I know we'd be in each other's room, giving feedback and learning even MORE from each other.
There are people who I'm going to miss. These are the people who've had a hand in forming me as a teacher. We've had a hand in forming each other. It's just such a deeply human endeavor.
I get to work with people, their minds, their desires, and music 100% of the time, and I couldn't be more fortunate. Here in this place. What a beautiful and challenging existence.
... I just can't believe that they PAY me to do this. So fortunate, and even more thankful.
Every school's got its issues - I have no doubts.
I've tried my best to keep positive and objective on this blog (I've also done my best not to specifically mention my place of employment :P), but I'll be honest with you. There are flaws with my school - but they're the kind of things that will be wherever you go.
My school is young - a lot of things are still being standardized and put in place. With a transient student AND teacher population, there are bound to be differences and unknowns. I was surprised throughout the year, coming up to tasks and conversations and realizing "There's no established norm or procedure for this!" or "This is new to ALL of us?".
A shocking realization occurred about a month ago, though. I realized that the director of my school has a knack for hiring people with Oomf. Chutspa. Gumption.
As a first year teacher, the women I work with (Sophie and Melinda) have taught me SO much. They've talked with me about what didn't work, come in and worked with my students on things they know more about than me, giving each other ideas, and we've supported each other at every performance. If we didn't teach classes at the same time, I know we'd be in each other's room, giving feedback and learning even MORE from each other.
There are people who I'm going to miss. These are the people who've had a hand in forming me as a teacher. We've had a hand in forming each other. It's just such a deeply human endeavor.
I get to work with people, their minds, their desires, and music 100% of the time, and I couldn't be more fortunate. Here in this place. What a beautiful and challenging existence.
... I just can't believe that they PAY me to do this. So fortunate, and even more thankful.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Maps
I have this sort of cheesy belief in reoccurring themes - images and lessons that keep coming back to me. It's one of the many meanings behind my tattoo (an infinity symbol on the back of my kneck) - this belief in return and cycles. Anyway, one of my themes or favorite things so far in life is maps and directions. Growing up, I couldn't get lost. I have a specific memory of directing my family around Hawaii (as a 10 year old) when they'd made a wrong turn - against my direction. My older brother would ask me to go places with him just because he wasn't 100% sure where he was going. My friends here in SoKo know just to follow me and my google maps. I feel unsettled when I don't know where the cardinal directions are at any given moment. Once I got my iPhone all set up here in Korea, I felt so much more comfortable simply because I could map where I was. I couldn't necessarily READ the maps, but I could figure some more things out.
So, with that in mind, I spend a significant amount of time on Google Maps - looking up new restaurants, finding different routes to the same places I frequent, learning more about countries I dream of visiting, giving people directions, etc. I discovered some time this winter that I could Street View my school AND my apartment! The street views are from 2009, but it's still my Gu (the word for district/area). I thought I'd share little snippets of my gu witchoo, in case you wondered what my daily life looks like.
This is my school and this is my apartment. To those of you who are new to the wonders of Google Maps, look down at the bottom right corner of the map. There should be a little yellow man. Click on him, and drag him to the spot on the map I've indicated. It'll show you a street view of the location! Ba-Boom!
If you're a geo/directional weirdo like me, check this out: http://geoguessr.com/
Such a solid time waster. SO interesting!
Second on my list of random thoughts I considered worth sharing:
I was reading this post earlier today and thought it was really well written. I don't identify with everything written there, but I think it's great. I've been thinking a lot about #8 on that list - what it means to be a foreigner. Even though I grew up in white suburbia, I still lived in a fairly diverse city. I am now used to it, but for a while when I moved here I found myself surprised at how rarely I saw someone who isn't Korean (who doesn't work at my school). I live outside of the city center where you might see more foreigners. What I find totally interesting is that Seoul has a foreigner area - not a China Town, little Italy, Russian area, etc... just one area for all (there are some exceptions). So, if you want to eat non korean (or koreanized) food or see non korean people... chances are you'll have to go to Itaewon. It was a jarring experience at first, walking into a department store and seeing nothing and no one you recognized or identified with. Being foreign, being an outsider, approaching your whole existence as a learner with humility, asking for acceptance.... it's an incredible experience. Jerry Jones wrote in the blog post above, "It ain't always pretty. In fact it's often quite messy" and I couldn't agree more. Some days it's unendingly frustrating (these days usually have a lot to do with how much I've used a sidewalk... AGH!), and some days it's so blasé and normal. Either way, it's humbling. It's eye opening. Most of all, it's invaluable.
Third on my list of random thoughts I considered worth sharing:
8th period rolls around every week day and it's always an experience. 20 Korean(ish) high schoolers, their stringed instruments, and me. It happens on the daily. Recently they've been coming in and they've been nosier. Band kids are notoriously loud... and choir kids have a bit of reputation as well... but string kids are just a weird breed (in my opinion). The band teacher and choir teacher have come into my room at the beginning of class or right before the bell rings and have been struck with how quiet my students are. Not anymore! I think it's that AP tests are done and seniors only have 9 school days left (OH MY GOD, WHAT?!). Kids are getting antsy. Anyway.... it really hit me this last week that I'm going to miss my nuggets. I think that I will be in Minnesota this summer, really enjoying the low population density, the company of my family and friends, salty food, and the license to sing loudly in a car I'm driving..... and suddenly a pang of missing SoKo and my Korean kids will hit me. At some point, I'm going to want to be back in my 8th period class, hanging out with my awesome students, making music. It always goes this way, I think. As a teacher, I think you're supposed to get attached to kids. I'm not their parent... but it sort of feels like it (some days more than others). They have a way of wiggling their into your heart. I remember having so much trouble with this class of junior boys... ugh.. the frustration. Now, with three weeks left in the school year... they and I have both realized how much we'll miss each other if they can't be in orchestra next year (which is pretty likely going to happen with this crew and their scheduling issues). I believe I wrote about this earlier in the year - I thought when I moved to SoKo, it'd be the end of the goodbyes. WRONG! I learned in the winter that I needed to be preparing to say goodbye to my colleagues as they looked for new positions for the coming school year... and now I'm learning that I have to say goodbye to some of the people I spend my every day with. The people I essentially came here for (besides myself). I'm here because students want to learn. I'm here specifically because those 20 kids want to be in orchestra. I get up and go to school every day because those 60 kids (K-12) love music, and I have the joy of planning that little piece of their lives. And now it's almost time to say goodbye. What a journey it's been. First year of teaching, almost done. Holy balls, I can't believe it. Someone pinch me. More likely... someone please wake me up because I'll likely be a zombie by the time the end gets here!
So, with that in mind, I spend a significant amount of time on Google Maps - looking up new restaurants, finding different routes to the same places I frequent, learning more about countries I dream of visiting, giving people directions, etc. I discovered some time this winter that I could Street View my school AND my apartment! The street views are from 2009, but it's still my Gu (the word for district/area). I thought I'd share little snippets of my gu witchoo, in case you wondered what my daily life looks like.
This is my school and this is my apartment. To those of you who are new to the wonders of Google Maps, look down at the bottom right corner of the map. There should be a little yellow man. Click on him, and drag him to the spot on the map I've indicated. It'll show you a street view of the location! Ba-Boom!
If you're a geo/directional weirdo like me, check this out: http://geoguessr.com/
Such a solid time waster. SO interesting!
Second on my list of random thoughts I considered worth sharing:
I was reading this post earlier today and thought it was really well written. I don't identify with everything written there, but I think it's great. I've been thinking a lot about #8 on that list - what it means to be a foreigner. Even though I grew up in white suburbia, I still lived in a fairly diverse city. I am now used to it, but for a while when I moved here I found myself surprised at how rarely I saw someone who isn't Korean (who doesn't work at my school). I live outside of the city center where you might see more foreigners. What I find totally interesting is that Seoul has a foreigner area - not a China Town, little Italy, Russian area, etc... just one area for all (there are some exceptions). So, if you want to eat non korean (or koreanized) food or see non korean people... chances are you'll have to go to Itaewon. It was a jarring experience at first, walking into a department store and seeing nothing and no one you recognized or identified with. Being foreign, being an outsider, approaching your whole existence as a learner with humility, asking for acceptance.... it's an incredible experience. Jerry Jones wrote in the blog post above, "It ain't always pretty. In fact it's often quite messy" and I couldn't agree more. Some days it's unendingly frustrating (these days usually have a lot to do with how much I've used a sidewalk... AGH!), and some days it's so blasé and normal. Either way, it's humbling. It's eye opening. Most of all, it's invaluable.
Third on my list of random thoughts I considered worth sharing:
8th period rolls around every week day and it's always an experience. 20 Korean(ish) high schoolers, their stringed instruments, and me. It happens on the daily. Recently they've been coming in and they've been nosier. Band kids are notoriously loud... and choir kids have a bit of reputation as well... but string kids are just a weird breed (in my opinion). The band teacher and choir teacher have come into my room at the beginning of class or right before the bell rings and have been struck with how quiet my students are. Not anymore! I think it's that AP tests are done and seniors only have 9 school days left (OH MY GOD, WHAT?!). Kids are getting antsy. Anyway.... it really hit me this last week that I'm going to miss my nuggets. I think that I will be in Minnesota this summer, really enjoying the low population density, the company of my family and friends, salty food, and the license to sing loudly in a car I'm driving..... and suddenly a pang of missing SoKo and my Korean kids will hit me. At some point, I'm going to want to be back in my 8th period class, hanging out with my awesome students, making music. It always goes this way, I think. As a teacher, I think you're supposed to get attached to kids. I'm not their parent... but it sort of feels like it (some days more than others). They have a way of wiggling their into your heart. I remember having so much trouble with this class of junior boys... ugh.. the frustration. Now, with three weeks left in the school year... they and I have both realized how much we'll miss each other if they can't be in orchestra next year (which is pretty likely going to happen with this crew and their scheduling issues). I believe I wrote about this earlier in the year - I thought when I moved to SoKo, it'd be the end of the goodbyes. WRONG! I learned in the winter that I needed to be preparing to say goodbye to my colleagues as they looked for new positions for the coming school year... and now I'm learning that I have to say goodbye to some of the people I spend my every day with. The people I essentially came here for (besides myself). I'm here because students want to learn. I'm here specifically because those 20 kids want to be in orchestra. I get up and go to school every day because those 60 kids (K-12) love music, and I have the joy of planning that little piece of their lives. And now it's almost time to say goodbye. What a journey it's been. First year of teaching, almost done. Holy balls, I can't believe it. Someone pinch me. More likely... someone please wake me up because I'll likely be a zombie by the time the end gets here!
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Outsourced
I think this is pretty fair.
http://www.cracked.com/article_21097_the-6-strangest-things-nobody-tells-you-about-life-in-korea.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_21097_the-6-strangest-things-nobody-tells-you-about-life-in-korea.html
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Making up for lost time
In the fall I went to Tsushima and blogged about it, and now I'd like to tell you about my more recent travel! For spring break I went to Bali with my friend (a fellow Luther alum!), Sydnie. She's been teaching band in Tokyo at an international school and I visited her for Thanksgiving! Sydnie and I traveled separately to Bali, meeting up in the airport just after immigration. Once we grabbed our luggage, we found Sydnie's cousin, Annie, who lives in Ubud. She had come to the airport with her 2-ish year old daughter, Lantana (Nana for short) in a taxi. A big reason this vacation was SO incredible is that Annie and her husband Made live in Bali and speak Indonesian (or was it Balinese? I couldn't really keep the two languages apart). Annie met Made when she was performing or studying in Bali, and they both know a lot about Balinese performance arts (theatre, dance, and music). Made is from Bali and Annie studied Asian Theatre for her master's degree - smart and wonderfully welcoming people.
I sort of want to give you a day by day, but I could write about this vacation for pages and pages… so I think it'd be best to just give you "the best of" in case you decide to visit this incredible place.
Sydnie and I planned to split our time on the island between two locations - Ubud and Sanur. I think this was an excellent choice - we loved the different sides of Bali that we got to see, and the balance we struck between seeing it all and getting to relax :) Ubud is more of an artsy, cultural center and Sanur was more resort-y. We steered clear of Kuta, the absolute resort center and enjoyed Sanur's calm and more natural feel. Sydnie and I found our hotels/home stays on Airbnb.com - I heard about this website from my friend Meg and decided to give it a go. There are a lot of "home stays" on this website, and I wasn't really sure what that meant. We chose a hotel in Sanur and a home stay in Ubud. The home stay was very much a hotel - it's just that one family owned and operated it. We had our own cabin/hut/building (Balinese compounds are hard for me to explain) with a bathroom and two beds. Breakfast was included, and it was just outside of Ubud with a beautiful view of the rice paddies. The only thing I would have done differently is to have chosen a home stay or hotel in Ubud that also had a pool. It got HOT and that would've been so nice. It was SO reasonably priced. In Sanur, we stayed in a very straightforward hotel. One thing I will say about Sanur is that it felt a little empty - that may be because we were traveling during a non-peak time (peak travel time in Bali is December and January), or because we stayed there on a Wednesday through Saturday… but it was a little TOO quiet for me. Anyway, still a really positive experience.
While we were in Ubud, Annie and Made drove and showed us around - we were so fortunate to have them as our guides. It was just perfect that we, a pair of music teachers, had performers and musically minded people to show us Balinese culture. Here's some of the stuff we experienced in Bali:
Wayang:
We met a wayang (puppet) maker who was preparing for his debut as a wayang performer. Nana was playing with the puppets while Made was goofing around, telling stories with the puppets for fun. The puppets we learned about were hand made from leather and generally last 40 or 50 years.
Wayangs (as they were explained to me) can take many forms. The one we attended was part of a temple's annual celebration. The Balinese calendar is different, and the community celebrates their temple's birthday, sort of. The Wayang can be hours long and is a big event - shutting down the streets for the performance. What's going on in this photo above is a puppet performance. You can see the large flame behind the fabric. Also behind the fabric is a team - a couple gamelan players and the main puppet guy. The puppet guy is a huge deal - He moves the puppets, does their voices, and uses little wooden hammers held by his toes to give cues, punctuate sentences, and for sound effects. All while sitting under a flame. Intense.
Costume Shop:
Annie and Made are in the process of preparing to be professors at The Univeristy of Hawaii (starting in January 2015, if I remember correctly). Part of their job while they'll be there is to coordinate and put together a large performance, so they've been ordering costume pieces to bring to Hawaii for the performance. They took us to their preferred costume shop, which they said is definitely the best in Bali. A lot of businesses and stores are also the homes of the people who run them. We spent time in their courtyard behind the store front which was also their main work area. After trying some pieces on and looking at them in the display area we went to their work area to see them working on things. I was particularly interested in the beautiful gold patterned fabric and how that was made. Luckily, they had just returned from lunch and were willing to let me watch! You can learn a ton more about this stuff here, in case you're curious.
We also went to a flute maker's home, learning about modes from Made while the flute maker made us flutes to take home. Homes are very communal and different than what I'm used to - they live in compounds with their families (like, I'd live in a different building but right next to my parents, and my brothers would each have their own building, but we'd all share a kitchen or bathroom, depending on the size of the family). I didn't take many photos there - focused more on the music and not invading their privacy.
Musical performances:
One thing you NEED to do if you visit Bali is see the performance around sunset at Uluwatu Temple. It's totally touristy, but so worth it. We hired a cab driver for the day (more on that, later) and he took us around the grounds, wielding stick to scare off the monkeys. Yep. Anyway, he timed it pretty perfectly. We had a great time looking around, taking photos, and got good seats for the performance. This performance was a kecak dance - done without instruments, but instead with a group of men chanting and singing rhythmically. (Because it's such a popular tourist thing, you can find video of the performance I attended here - about 4 minutes in you can see them accompanying dance). Really beautiful to see this performance as the sun was setting.
Food:
Going to indonesia, I was a little nervous. As someone who doesn't eat a lot of seafood in the past, I was not anticipating an easy time. I was wrong. Indonesia is the home of tempeh, they love chicken satay, the seafood I did consume was deliciously fresh, and they were big fans of fresh juices (hell yeah!). I loved every single meal I ate in Bali - seriously. It was easier for us to just eat out, not really having a kitchen in our home stays or hotels and ended up trying lots of things. Annie and Made definitely helped in that department, taking us to their favorite warungs. Nearly every meal came with a delicious fruit salad (papaya, banana, pineapple, dragon fruit, and lychee) and you could get pretty much any fresh juice at all the warungs. I eventually tried avocado juice - I don't know that I'd consume that regularly, but it was pretty tasty!
Suggested Reading:
While I was in Bali I read Fragrant Rice - a book recommended to me by the college counselor at my school. She read it when she visited Bali some years ago and said it enriched her experience. Even though buying english books in Korea are more expensive… I decided it was worth it, and I was right! I loved reading about Balinese culture from a western (Australian) perspective while experiencing it. The author married a Balinese man and they own a hotel and a couple restaurants in Ubud. We went to their restaurant, Casa Luna and it was seriously incredible. If you go, you must get the black rice pudding. Anyway, it was helpful to have cultural/spiritual things explained as I experiencing them. The spiritual life is so intertwined with daily life in Bali - it's part of what makes the air and feeling so different on the island. I felt awful, continuously stepping on beautiful flowers on the ground… but it was so unavoidable. These offerings are made so regularly, you see them EVERYWHERE.
All in all - such a wonderfully enriching and relaxing vacation. I had a great time traveling with Sydnie, and her family was so welcoming and helpful. I learned a lot and had a great time. Flights to Bali can be pretty spendy, but once you get there everything is super cheap. I think I ended up paying $20 a night for hotels and home stays - and they absolutely fine quality. Meals were always under 5 dollars, unless I went nuts with a fresh juice AND a beer with my dinner. Seriously - you all should go.
Hit me up if you plan on going, I'd love to go back with you! :)
I sort of want to give you a day by day, but I could write about this vacation for pages and pages… so I think it'd be best to just give you "the best of" in case you decide to visit this incredible place.
Sydnie and I planned to split our time on the island between two locations - Ubud and Sanur. I think this was an excellent choice - we loved the different sides of Bali that we got to see, and the balance we struck between seeing it all and getting to relax :) Ubud is more of an artsy, cultural center and Sanur was more resort-y. We steered clear of Kuta, the absolute resort center and enjoyed Sanur's calm and more natural feel. Sydnie and I found our hotels/home stays on Airbnb.com - I heard about this website from my friend Meg and decided to give it a go. There are a lot of "home stays" on this website, and I wasn't really sure what that meant. We chose a hotel in Sanur and a home stay in Ubud. The home stay was very much a hotel - it's just that one family owned and operated it. We had our own cabin/hut/building (Balinese compounds are hard for me to explain) with a bathroom and two beds. Breakfast was included, and it was just outside of Ubud with a beautiful view of the rice paddies. The only thing I would have done differently is to have chosen a home stay or hotel in Ubud that also had a pool. It got HOT and that would've been so nice. It was SO reasonably priced. In Sanur, we stayed in a very straightforward hotel. One thing I will say about Sanur is that it felt a little empty - that may be because we were traveling during a non-peak time (peak travel time in Bali is December and January), or because we stayed there on a Wednesday through Saturday… but it was a little TOO quiet for me. Anyway, still a really positive experience.
While we were in Ubud, Annie and Made drove and showed us around - we were so fortunate to have them as our guides. It was just perfect that we, a pair of music teachers, had performers and musically minded people to show us Balinese culture. Here's some of the stuff we experienced in Bali:
Wayang:
We met a wayang (puppet) maker who was preparing for his debut as a wayang performer. Nana was playing with the puppets while Made was goofing around, telling stories with the puppets for fun. The puppets we learned about were hand made from leather and generally last 40 or 50 years.
These are two puppets of the same character - one is a Balinese representation and one
is a Javanese representation. So cool.
Here you see Nana and Annie hanging out in the puppet shop :)
Made playing with the puppets. So funny.
A day later we went to the puppet maker's debut as a Wayang performer.
Wayangs (as they were explained to me) can take many forms. The one we attended was part of a temple's annual celebration. The Balinese calendar is different, and the community celebrates their temple's birthday, sort of. The Wayang can be hours long and is a big event - shutting down the streets for the performance. What's going on in this photo above is a puppet performance. You can see the large flame behind the fabric. Also behind the fabric is a team - a couple gamelan players and the main puppet guy. The puppet guy is a huge deal - He moves the puppets, does their voices, and uses little wooden hammers held by his toes to give cues, punctuate sentences, and for sound effects. All while sitting under a flame. Intense.
Costume Shop:
Annie and Made are in the process of preparing to be professors at The Univeristy of Hawaii (starting in January 2015, if I remember correctly). Part of their job while they'll be there is to coordinate and put together a large performance, so they've been ordering costume pieces to bring to Hawaii for the performance. They took us to their preferred costume shop, which they said is definitely the best in Bali. A lot of businesses and stores are also the homes of the people who run them. We spent time in their courtyard behind the store front which was also their main work area. After trying some pieces on and looking at them in the display area we went to their work area to see them working on things. I was particularly interested in the beautiful gold patterned fabric and how that was made. Luckily, they had just returned from lunch and were willing to let me watch! You can learn a ton more about this stuff here, in case you're curious.
Here are Nana and Sydnie trying on some costume pieces.
This was them decorating the fabric - I was all kinds of snoopy. The fabric is woven in Bali - they decorated it with gold foil. You can see them putting glue onto the fabric through a plastic pattern. They take away the plastic pattern, roll on the foil, and then rip it off.
Work space. Costume pieces everywhere you look.
We also went to a flute maker's home, learning about modes from Made while the flute maker made us flutes to take home. Homes are very communal and different than what I'm used to - they live in compounds with their families (like, I'd live in a different building but right next to my parents, and my brothers would each have their own building, but we'd all share a kitchen or bathroom, depending on the size of the family). I didn't take many photos there - focused more on the music and not invading their privacy.
Musical performances:
Nana showed us Gamelan. This set was typically used for funerals - I initially
thought it was because of how they were decorated, but was wrong.
It actually had to do with the mode/notes of the instrument.
This is the entrance to the performance space we visited. We saw a women's gamelan rehearsal - Nana danced her way through the session and I was in awe. There were some traditional songs and a new composition. Super neat. Because these spaces are spiritual, you must have your shoulders covered and there were suggestions (but not rules) about wearing a sarang and belt.
Later on in the week we went to see a gamelan and dance performance Made was performing in.
His sister taught the dancers and even performed - really neat.
This is Jegog - a type of music performed on bamboo instruments, ranging in size.
One thing you NEED to do if you visit Bali is see the performance around sunset at Uluwatu Temple. It's totally touristy, but so worth it. We hired a cab driver for the day (more on that, later) and he took us around the grounds, wielding stick to scare off the monkeys. Yep. Anyway, he timed it pretty perfectly. We had a great time looking around, taking photos, and got good seats for the performance. This performance was a kecak dance - done without instruments, but instead with a group of men chanting and singing rhythmically. (Because it's such a popular tourist thing, you can find video of the performance I attended here - about 4 minutes in you can see them accompanying dance). Really beautiful to see this performance as the sun was setting.
Food:
Going to indonesia, I was a little nervous. As someone who doesn't eat a lot of seafood in the past, I was not anticipating an easy time. I was wrong. Indonesia is the home of tempeh, they love chicken satay, the seafood I did consume was deliciously fresh, and they were big fans of fresh juices (hell yeah!). I loved every single meal I ate in Bali - seriously. It was easier for us to just eat out, not really having a kitchen in our home stays or hotels and ended up trying lots of things. Annie and Made definitely helped in that department, taking us to their favorite warungs. Nearly every meal came with a delicious fruit salad (papaya, banana, pineapple, dragon fruit, and lychee) and you could get pretty much any fresh juice at all the warungs. I eventually tried avocado juice - I don't know that I'd consume that regularly, but it was pretty tasty!
The cab driver pretty much planned a day for us, and dropped us off at a restaurant literally ON THE BEACH where we had the opportunity to pick out the animals we wanted to consume for dinner. This was just outside of my comfort zone, but whatever. I picked out some shrimp and called it good. Super tasty, nice relaxing time on the beach just after dark.
Wow. Early morning visit to the market - what an over stimulating experience!
One of Annie and Made's favorites - really spicy fish. These fishes and their faces were a little out of my comfort zone, but I went for it. I think it was spicy enough that even if the fish was bad, I wouldn't have noticed :)
For lunch one day we stopped at one of Annie's favorite spots from when she was studying in Bali. Everything on the menu was vegetarian… we had no clue. They ordered us a sampler platter sort of thing and everything I tasted was delicious, and some things were strangely meat like!
Drinkin a young coconut. Yummers.
Suggested Reading:
While I was in Bali I read Fragrant Rice - a book recommended to me by the college counselor at my school. She read it when she visited Bali some years ago and said it enriched her experience. Even though buying english books in Korea are more expensive… I decided it was worth it, and I was right! I loved reading about Balinese culture from a western (Australian) perspective while experiencing it. The author married a Balinese man and they own a hotel and a couple restaurants in Ubud. We went to their restaurant, Casa Luna and it was seriously incredible. If you go, you must get the black rice pudding. Anyway, it was helpful to have cultural/spiritual things explained as I experiencing them. The spiritual life is so intertwined with daily life in Bali - it's part of what makes the air and feeling so different on the island. I felt awful, continuously stepping on beautiful flowers on the ground… but it was so unavoidable. These offerings are made so regularly, you see them EVERYWHERE.
Offerings in a temple:
Offerings on the sidewalk (partially squashed):
Decorated entrance to our home stay:
Another shot of the over-stimulating market - many materials for offerings sold at the market :)
All in all - such a wonderfully enriching and relaxing vacation. I had a great time traveling with Sydnie, and her family was so welcoming and helpful. I learned a lot and had a great time. Flights to Bali can be pretty spendy, but once you get there everything is super cheap. I think I ended up paying $20 a night for hotels and home stays - and they absolutely fine quality. Meals were always under 5 dollars, unless I went nuts with a fresh juice AND a beer with my dinner. Seriously - you all should go.
Hit me up if you plan on going, I'd love to go back with you! :)
Friday, May 2, 2014
Uniqueness and Replacements
Living in a foreign country teaches you about replacements and uniqueness in a way that living far from home just doesn't.
It's something a lot of my peers, colleagues, and friends are doing these days - moving away from home. It's a trying time, attempting to define yourself outside of the college classroom in a setting you've read about, talked about, and looked forward to for quite a while. A lot of my friends have said things about finding "their target" or a coffee shop that makes lattes just like our college coffee shop. We all are, in some way, in a new place trying to find our way - it helps to find things that are familiar. (Why did I cry when I found Caribou Coffee in Seoul? I'm unsure… but I wasn't about to fight it. They were happy tears.) Moving out of the midwest or out of the city you grew up in can be hard, and moving to a country or continent that isn't your own can seriously add to those challenges. What's really neat to me is thinking about the things that I will eventually miss about South Korea. When I went home for Christmas I was so excited to eat cheese and drive a car and go to chipotle and pump my own gas and have normal sized napkins and cups at tables (the list could go on and on), but I also found myself wishing for some steamed mandu from the place across the street and being able to speak freely about any topic (assuming most around me couldn't understand what I was saying). There are so many great things about both the USA and Korea, and it's been so interesting to see what holds its place in my heart, and what can trade with another or join the party alongside other comforts.
So, onto literal replacements:
I was making 300 Kringla for my school's Culture Fair and learned about sour milk. Sour milk is a common replacement for buttermilk, which was required for the aforementioned Kringla recipe. These cookies were a commitment. Seriously. Not knowing how to read the milk containers (okay, I can find milk and soy milk, now…), I just went the replacement route. I soured my own milk - super easy, worked well in the recipe, and I felt great about myself as an adult. Look, mom! I can follow a recipe AND replace ingredients in a foreign country! I bought all the ingredients, mixed up 3 batches in my bowl that was probably intended to be a children's cereal bowl (I'm exaggerating, but the struggle was real, friends) and refrigerated it over night. Brought my heavy triple batch of dough to school, kept it in the faculty fridge, and brought it over to Melinda's apartment after school, because she has an oven. I jumped ship and didn't make them into pretty knots because it was entirely to challenging and time consuming, but the cookies were well received.
One night this week Meg and I took a long time to get home, stopping at a bunch of places for a drink or a snack and conversation. We ended up talking a lot about our job and our students. She has such a unique view of our school, knowing our students as artists and through student government. We had student elections this week and one of the candidates speeches cited our school as home. She broke it down for me. As students who have feet in two countries (often South Korea and the USA), they are unique. I've had students tell me that they weren't accepted in Korean public or private schools - other students knew they were "from" another country, even though they spoke Korean, have Korean parents, eat Korean food, and had lived in Korea for part of their childhood. Our students are generally pretty accepting of each other, knowing that life outside our school grounds and outside of South Korea is very different for each person. We, as mostly American teachers, end up aiding students in walking social boundaries, helping them to see the world through two lenses at the same time, learning how to compare and evaluate objectively. I talk so often about the differences between Korea and America with my students - they're all planning on/hoping to go to college in the US, so why not prepare them thoroughly. From my VERY American perspective, my students seem so Korean… but I'm sure from Korea's very Korean perspective, my students seem so foreign (not all have a specifically American influence). It's all relative, but when you're a child of two cultures, you can end up feeling like you don't belong in either one of them.
We, as an adult community have a similar experience. I know I've written about it before, but it's such an invaluable and all encompassing part of my life, it's hard to NOT talk about it. The place where I work is where I have all of my friends (except like, 3 who I met in an expat choir), it's where I work out, it's where I eat a third of my meals, it's who I spend my weeknight dinners with, it's who I bring to the hospital with me, it's who I pick up medicine for, it's the birthdays and transitions I help with. I barely have friends who I don't work with. I don't see my family except through Skype or on visits home. This is college, guys. But it's college on crack because nothing is hypothetical - it's all real.
We, too, as teachers belong to a community of "others"- we're away from home, dedicated to a life of unknown and adventure in a subtle way. Without our own families or a serious pool of humans to reach out to (sorry - I haven't learned enough Korean to make friends with the scores of people I'm surrounded by), we understand each other's homes and past in a way that no one else does.
On a much less poetic note - life keeps moving fast.
-Sophie and Jeff's baby was born almost two weeks ago! Cora is such a sweet little baby and it has been a really heart warming experience to visit them at the hospital and be a there for Cora's baptism.
-Solo & Ensemble Festival is coming up - Melinda, Stephen, and I are hosting and it's been such a large task. Last year our school hosted last year, so we have a lot of great resources to use, but it's nearly doubled in size. Organizing a lot of humans and locations is sort of fun - but it's been a lot of work. I'm so excited for a week from today, seeing students from all over Seoul making music at my school.
-Long weekend! Buddha's Birthday and Children's Day are monday and tuesday so we get a sweet four day weekend. I'm filling my time with noraebong (karaoke), eating at a lot of places I normally wouldn't get to during the work week, and spending time with friends.
-Seriously, only like 4 weeks of school left. Ridiculous! This school year has gone SO FAST!
-I've got plane tickets home for the summer - I'll be getting back to the USA on June 28th and returning to Seoul on August 4th.
It's something a lot of my peers, colleagues, and friends are doing these days - moving away from home. It's a trying time, attempting to define yourself outside of the college classroom in a setting you've read about, talked about, and looked forward to for quite a while. A lot of my friends have said things about finding "their target" or a coffee shop that makes lattes just like our college coffee shop. We all are, in some way, in a new place trying to find our way - it helps to find things that are familiar. (Why did I cry when I found Caribou Coffee in Seoul? I'm unsure… but I wasn't about to fight it. They were happy tears.) Moving out of the midwest or out of the city you grew up in can be hard, and moving to a country or continent that isn't your own can seriously add to those challenges. What's really neat to me is thinking about the things that I will eventually miss about South Korea. When I went home for Christmas I was so excited to eat cheese and drive a car and go to chipotle and pump my own gas and have normal sized napkins and cups at tables (the list could go on and on), but I also found myself wishing for some steamed mandu from the place across the street and being able to speak freely about any topic (assuming most around me couldn't understand what I was saying). There are so many great things about both the USA and Korea, and it's been so interesting to see what holds its place in my heart, and what can trade with another or join the party alongside other comforts.
So, onto literal replacements:
I was making 300 Kringla for my school's Culture Fair and learned about sour milk. Sour milk is a common replacement for buttermilk, which was required for the aforementioned Kringla recipe. These cookies were a commitment. Seriously. Not knowing how to read the milk containers (okay, I can find milk and soy milk, now…), I just went the replacement route. I soured my own milk - super easy, worked well in the recipe, and I felt great about myself as an adult. Look, mom! I can follow a recipe AND replace ingredients in a foreign country! I bought all the ingredients, mixed up 3 batches in my bowl that was probably intended to be a children's cereal bowl (I'm exaggerating, but the struggle was real, friends) and refrigerated it over night. Brought my heavy triple batch of dough to school, kept it in the faculty fridge, and brought it over to Melinda's apartment after school, because she has an oven. I jumped ship and didn't make them into pretty knots because it was entirely to challenging and time consuming, but the cookies were well received.
One night this week Meg and I took a long time to get home, stopping at a bunch of places for a drink or a snack and conversation. We ended up talking a lot about our job and our students. She has such a unique view of our school, knowing our students as artists and through student government. We had student elections this week and one of the candidates speeches cited our school as home. She broke it down for me. As students who have feet in two countries (often South Korea and the USA), they are unique. I've had students tell me that they weren't accepted in Korean public or private schools - other students knew they were "from" another country, even though they spoke Korean, have Korean parents, eat Korean food, and had lived in Korea for part of their childhood. Our students are generally pretty accepting of each other, knowing that life outside our school grounds and outside of South Korea is very different for each person. We, as mostly American teachers, end up aiding students in walking social boundaries, helping them to see the world through two lenses at the same time, learning how to compare and evaluate objectively. I talk so often about the differences between Korea and America with my students - they're all planning on/hoping to go to college in the US, so why not prepare them thoroughly. From my VERY American perspective, my students seem so Korean… but I'm sure from Korea's very Korean perspective, my students seem so foreign (not all have a specifically American influence). It's all relative, but when you're a child of two cultures, you can end up feeling like you don't belong in either one of them.
We, as an adult community have a similar experience. I know I've written about it before, but it's such an invaluable and all encompassing part of my life, it's hard to NOT talk about it. The place where I work is where I have all of my friends (except like, 3 who I met in an expat choir), it's where I work out, it's where I eat a third of my meals, it's who I spend my weeknight dinners with, it's who I bring to the hospital with me, it's who I pick up medicine for, it's the birthdays and transitions I help with. I barely have friends who I don't work with. I don't see my family except through Skype or on visits home. This is college, guys. But it's college on crack because nothing is hypothetical - it's all real.
We, too, as teachers belong to a community of "others"- we're away from home, dedicated to a life of unknown and adventure in a subtle way. Without our own families or a serious pool of humans to reach out to (sorry - I haven't learned enough Korean to make friends with the scores of people I'm surrounded by), we understand each other's homes and past in a way that no one else does.
On a much less poetic note - life keeps moving fast.
-Sophie and Jeff's baby was born almost two weeks ago! Cora is such a sweet little baby and it has been a really heart warming experience to visit them at the hospital and be a there for Cora's baptism.
-Solo & Ensemble Festival is coming up - Melinda, Stephen, and I are hosting and it's been such a large task. Last year our school hosted last year, so we have a lot of great resources to use, but it's nearly doubled in size. Organizing a lot of humans and locations is sort of fun - but it's been a lot of work. I'm so excited for a week from today, seeing students from all over Seoul making music at my school.
-Long weekend! Buddha's Birthday and Children's Day are monday and tuesday so we get a sweet four day weekend. I'm filling my time with noraebong (karaoke), eating at a lot of places I normally wouldn't get to during the work week, and spending time with friends.
-Seriously, only like 4 weeks of school left. Ridiculous! This school year has gone SO FAST!
-I've got plane tickets home for the summer - I'll be getting back to the USA on June 28th and returning to Seoul on August 4th.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Messy
Two student concerts in one week - done. Boom.
One more concert cycle left in my school year, which is seriously hard to believe.
My middle school orchestra students and I were doing our final run through in class on Thursday, and they knocked it out of the park; their bowings were together, they actually used accents, the dynamic contrast was apparent, and they actually watched me during the big time changes. After the last note, I did a little happy dance and made some squealy/giggly noises - I was so happy for them. They had achieved a really high performance level! After I put down my baton, I looked at them and said "Do you feel good about that?" No real response. Typical. Teenagers and their lack of expression. le sigh.
I puzzled for a second weather it was because of the parenting these students are used to, lack of interest in the subject, or inappropriate approach that caused a lack of response. I asked them - "Do you think that was good?". No real response, yet again. So I laid it out for them. I told them that if I wanted something that was perfect, exactly right, I would have gone into math. I loved math in school - everything ended up in the right place through a system that made sense to me. I told them that I never look for perfect and that perfect doesn't make me happy. I went on to say "I don't know that you will remember this for the rest of your life, but I hope you do. It is important for you to find satisfaction in something you invest yourself in, even if it doesn't go perfectly". I repeated myself, just in case they had checked out. No change in facial expression, but they were generally quiet so here's hoping some tidbit of that exchange stuck.
I think that working in a different culture is incredibly hard - I rarely know if what I'm doing as a teacher is working (or not working) because I chose a bad approach, or because it doesn't translate culturally. I have been told by my students and colleagues that my kids' parents rarely say positive things to their children - only negative words when there's a B+ or lower on the report card, and when there's an A, no "good job!" or "You should be proud of yourself" or "I'm proud of you".
It's all so messy. Who am I to tell people how to treat their child? I am not a parent. I have not raised a child. I haven't done the psychological research. However, what I do see is incredibly capable students being down on themselves. They come in tired, they come in upset about an A- to the point of tears (and this is not just a rare high strung student, this is all of them), they talk about their private lesson teachers hitting them, they speak of additional homework their parents assign them because the homework our school assigns isn't enough for their parents. I think this experience will forever impact my decision making - in the second semester, I've found that I focus much more on telling stories and expressing feelings than I do on rhythmic values and bow holds. Who knows if similar choices in the future will be appropriate… or where I'll be. I'm always thinking about the future and the past - will I be able to be a good teacher of rhythm and bow holds in the next place/school I find myself in? I think that ever new job will make me a first year teacher all over again. It's a puzzle - teaching my students in a way that helps them to be a whole human, smearing over the cracks in their existence or education.
Wandering post. My apologies.
We had a great week of performances - I chose some really technically challenging my high school orchestra and challenged them to put feelings into their playing. I think it worked. None of them would tell me that, but their performance was solid (with a few intonation issues. I need to up my cello and bass shifting game….). Middle school freaking rocked the house. After school orchestra performed with very few rehearsals, and we did well (or so I'm told). Also, I made my performance debut on the bass AND the cello. I played bass with the a cappella group to help out the middle school boys, and played the cello part in "Sweet Child O' Mine" for after school orchestra. Although I wasn't there as a performer, it did really feel good to be performing and presenting our work as a team… unified and connected. plus, a parent legitimately thought I was a cellist! VICTORY!
So now its one school week and then I'm jetting off to Bali with Sydnie. I am SOOOOO excited to have a nice relaxing week in a different culture. Korea's great. America's great. But sometimes you need a little island get away :)
but first, my fiddling debut.
I'll be playing at a Hooley at Rocky Mountain Tavern tonight and I'm jacked. Should be a grand time.
P.S. who celebrates an irish holiday at a canadian bar in korea? apparently I do.
One more concert cycle left in my school year, which is seriously hard to believe.
My middle school orchestra students and I were doing our final run through in class on Thursday, and they knocked it out of the park; their bowings were together, they actually used accents, the dynamic contrast was apparent, and they actually watched me during the big time changes. After the last note, I did a little happy dance and made some squealy/giggly noises - I was so happy for them. They had achieved a really high performance level! After I put down my baton, I looked at them and said "Do you feel good about that?" No real response. Typical. Teenagers and their lack of expression. le sigh.
I puzzled for a second weather it was because of the parenting these students are used to, lack of interest in the subject, or inappropriate approach that caused a lack of response. I asked them - "Do you think that was good?". No real response, yet again. So I laid it out for them. I told them that if I wanted something that was perfect, exactly right, I would have gone into math. I loved math in school - everything ended up in the right place through a system that made sense to me. I told them that I never look for perfect and that perfect doesn't make me happy. I went on to say "I don't know that you will remember this for the rest of your life, but I hope you do. It is important for you to find satisfaction in something you invest yourself in, even if it doesn't go perfectly". I repeated myself, just in case they had checked out. No change in facial expression, but they were generally quiet so here's hoping some tidbit of that exchange stuck.
I think that working in a different culture is incredibly hard - I rarely know if what I'm doing as a teacher is working (or not working) because I chose a bad approach, or because it doesn't translate culturally. I have been told by my students and colleagues that my kids' parents rarely say positive things to their children - only negative words when there's a B+ or lower on the report card, and when there's an A, no "good job!" or "You should be proud of yourself" or "I'm proud of you".
It's all so messy. Who am I to tell people how to treat their child? I am not a parent. I have not raised a child. I haven't done the psychological research. However, what I do see is incredibly capable students being down on themselves. They come in tired, they come in upset about an A- to the point of tears (and this is not just a rare high strung student, this is all of them), they talk about their private lesson teachers hitting them, they speak of additional homework their parents assign them because the homework our school assigns isn't enough for their parents. I think this experience will forever impact my decision making - in the second semester, I've found that I focus much more on telling stories and expressing feelings than I do on rhythmic values and bow holds. Who knows if similar choices in the future will be appropriate… or where I'll be. I'm always thinking about the future and the past - will I be able to be a good teacher of rhythm and bow holds in the next place/school I find myself in? I think that ever new job will make me a first year teacher all over again. It's a puzzle - teaching my students in a way that helps them to be a whole human, smearing over the cracks in their existence or education.
Wandering post. My apologies.
We had a great week of performances - I chose some really technically challenging my high school orchestra and challenged them to put feelings into their playing. I think it worked. None of them would tell me that, but their performance was solid (with a few intonation issues. I need to up my cello and bass shifting game….). Middle school freaking rocked the house. After school orchestra performed with very few rehearsals, and we did well (or so I'm told). Also, I made my performance debut on the bass AND the cello. I played bass with the a cappella group to help out the middle school boys, and played the cello part in "Sweet Child O' Mine" for after school orchestra. Although I wasn't there as a performer, it did really feel good to be performing and presenting our work as a team… unified and connected. plus, a parent legitimately thought I was a cellist! VICTORY!
So now its one school week and then I'm jetting off to Bali with Sydnie. I am SOOOOO excited to have a nice relaxing week in a different culture. Korea's great. America's great. But sometimes you need a little island get away :)
but first, my fiddling debut.
I'll be playing at a Hooley at Rocky Mountain Tavern tonight and I'm jacked. Should be a grand time.
P.S. who celebrates an irish holiday at a canadian bar in korea? apparently I do.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Things you need.
I've seen these lists in blogs before, but never really paid much attention to them.
(short version found below)
Life's been going on, classes keep happening, strings keep snapping, bridges keep falling (stringed instrument bridges, not major road ways over water), and Ms. Johnson keeps cracking bad jokes.
But what I've been paying attention to is what makes me happy. So, here's a list of things that are very much responsible for my quality of life right now:
1) Cooking nights. Once a week, Sophie and I pick out a recipe or two and cook up a storm. In the past we've made ravioli and marinara from scratch, chicken and dumplings, a Mediterranean feast (including pita bread from scratch), and other delicious things. This week was chicken pot pie and Chocolate Brownie Cookies. Let me post that again, because these Chocolate Brownie Cookies were THAT good. Do it. Make those. Eat them. We enjoyed our first cookie with a glass of milk, and then Sophie upped our game for round two, serving them with fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries.
2) The OK Factor. These lovely ladies recently released their first album, Water Street. It feels like a good talk with your parents on the couch or a run after a stressful day at work - comforting and inspiring. Pushing and pulling the right amount, like a much needed massage. Go listen. Seriously. Click on it NOW.
3) I'm currently reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I read this on the bus or subway almost every day, and it is so interesting. It's about a corner of the world I'm not very familiar with, and additionally it takes place when I was a child - focusing on Pakistan before 9/11. It's written beautifully, describing mountainous and foreign terrain alongside the challenges and successes of visiting and aiding people of many different cultures. Read more about it here?
4) This video. My friend Sydnie teaches band in Tokyo and posted this video. Ira Glass is the (beautiful and amazing) host of This American Life and is featured in this video speaking about creativity and perseverance. I know it's more about writing, but I found it to be very applicable to me as a first year teacher and musician. I love it. Watch it.
5) Fiddle Lessons. St Patrick's Day is coming up, so I'm getting ready! Could be performing at the Canadian Bar... so I decided to find some resources and a teacher. I had my first lesson last Saturday and it went really well. Learned some tunes, straight and normal... and then how to ornament and change it to make it more Irish. I'm glad to be a musician in more than one sense, as a teacher, as a singer (in the Camarata Chamber Singers!), and now as a beginning fiddler.
So! Here's the short version:
Make these cookies.
Listen to The OK Factor.
Read a good book (I'm diggin' this book)
Watch this video.
Go learn something new.
love,
emm
(short version found below)
Life's been going on, classes keep happening, strings keep snapping, bridges keep falling (stringed instrument bridges, not major road ways over water), and Ms. Johnson keeps cracking bad jokes.
But what I've been paying attention to is what makes me happy. So, here's a list of things that are very much responsible for my quality of life right now:
1) Cooking nights. Once a week, Sophie and I pick out a recipe or two and cook up a storm. In the past we've made ravioli and marinara from scratch, chicken and dumplings, a Mediterranean feast (including pita bread from scratch), and other delicious things. This week was chicken pot pie and Chocolate Brownie Cookies. Let me post that again, because these Chocolate Brownie Cookies were THAT good. Do it. Make those. Eat them. We enjoyed our first cookie with a glass of milk, and then Sophie upped our game for round two, serving them with fresh whipped cream and sliced strawberries.
2) The OK Factor. These lovely ladies recently released their first album, Water Street. It feels like a good talk with your parents on the couch or a run after a stressful day at work - comforting and inspiring. Pushing and pulling the right amount, like a much needed massage. Go listen. Seriously. Click on it NOW.
3) I'm currently reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I read this on the bus or subway almost every day, and it is so interesting. It's about a corner of the world I'm not very familiar with, and additionally it takes place when I was a child - focusing on Pakistan before 9/11. It's written beautifully, describing mountainous and foreign terrain alongside the challenges and successes of visiting and aiding people of many different cultures. Read more about it here?
4) This video. My friend Sydnie teaches band in Tokyo and posted this video. Ira Glass is the (beautiful and amazing) host of This American Life and is featured in this video speaking about creativity and perseverance. I know it's more about writing, but I found it to be very applicable to me as a first year teacher and musician. I love it. Watch it.
5) Fiddle Lessons. St Patrick's Day is coming up, so I'm getting ready! Could be performing at the Canadian Bar... so I decided to find some resources and a teacher. I had my first lesson last Saturday and it went really well. Learned some tunes, straight and normal... and then how to ornament and change it to make it more Irish. I'm glad to be a musician in more than one sense, as a teacher, as a singer (in the Camarata Chamber Singers!), and now as a beginning fiddler.
So! Here's the short version:
Make these cookies.
Listen to The OK Factor.
Read a good book (I'm diggin' this book)
Watch this video.
Go learn something new.
love,
emm
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Lists. I bet you're tired of these.
Reasons I Was Meant To Move To Asia:
1) Soup. Soup is one of my favorite foods, in general. Chicken soup, potato soup, chicken and dumplings, navy bean soup, tomato basil soup, black bean vegetable soup, corn chowder, and don't even get me started on chili. Since moving to Korea, I've had approximately 80 million bowls of soup. Korea (and other Asian countries) seem to be big on side dishes (banchan or 반찬 in Korean), and many meals start with a bowl of broth or soup. Every day in the school cafeteria there is soup - sometimes two options. Yummers.
2) Cartoons. I've liked Hello Kitty for a long time, but for that same amount of time my mom has loved that I like Hello Kitty. Thusly, I have entirely too many thing that are inappropriately covered or adorned with that beloved cat. Well, the trend continues in Asia out of necessity. Sophie (band teacher at my school) told me she went to buy a new toilet seat after she moved and couldn't find one without a cartoon on it. I love it… why not get a note pad, spatula, or baskets to organize your cupboard WITH CARTOONS ON THEM!?
3) FOOD Okay, I probably should've started with cartoons and then made #3 food, because I was about to make it chicken, but then I realized that donuts also needs to be on this list…. Anyway. I really like eating. There's always a ton of food around, and usually lots and lots of options (including donuts or spicy grilled skewers of chicken….. OR silkworm larva (번데기)). So yep, as much as it sucks paying a ton for string cheese or having to go to one certain grocery store that's out of your way because they're rumored to consistently have cilantro (mislabeled as hot pepper, but WHATEVER)…. the food situation over here is pretty awesome :)
4) Sparkles This sort of goes with cartoons, but not really. It's a little bit of a challenge to find things without sparkles on them. I love sparkles, so its like heaven here. However, I recently wanted a clip for my hair. A plain black barrette. No can do, baba-loo. The plainest one I could find was bright green. There were hundreds of barrettes with feathers, crystals, bows, cartoons (see reason #2), and other random things on them… and then three plain ones. I've seriously had to restrain myself on the streets of myeong-dong because there are so many excessively ornate cell phone cases for ridiculously cheap (like these. holy moly.). I like sparkles, and so does Asia. We were meant to be, apparently.
5) The violin Seriously, it's like everyone listens to classical music here. I think if you quizzed a random Korean person on the subway they'd know more orchestral rep than me. Partly because I didn't really pay attention in Music History, but also because they go nuts for classical music here. I mean, about half of my stand partners in my 7 years of youth symphony (NERD ALERT!) were asian. I've been to two Seoul Philharmonic concerts and a couple other classical concerts here in Seoul, and the average age of the attendees is SO much lower than in the states. Way to go, Korea!
Also, one of my violin teachers had a typed list of famous violinists that she took out during one of our lessons, pointing to each name and telling me if they were asian or jewish. No famous violinists were ever or will ever be anything BUT asian or jewish… according to her. That seems reasonable and not racist, right?
1) Soup. Soup is one of my favorite foods, in general. Chicken soup, potato soup, chicken and dumplings, navy bean soup, tomato basil soup, black bean vegetable soup, corn chowder, and don't even get me started on chili. Since moving to Korea, I've had approximately 80 million bowls of soup. Korea (and other Asian countries) seem to be big on side dishes (banchan or 반찬 in Korean), and many meals start with a bowl of broth or soup. Every day in the school cafeteria there is soup - sometimes two options. Yummers.
2) Cartoons. I've liked Hello Kitty for a long time, but for that same amount of time my mom has loved that I like Hello Kitty. Thusly, I have entirely too many thing that are inappropriately covered or adorned with that beloved cat. Well, the trend continues in Asia out of necessity. Sophie (band teacher at my school) told me she went to buy a new toilet seat after she moved and couldn't find one without a cartoon on it. I love it… why not get a note pad, spatula, or baskets to organize your cupboard WITH CARTOONS ON THEM!?
3) FOOD Okay, I probably should've started with cartoons and then made #3 food, because I was about to make it chicken, but then I realized that donuts also needs to be on this list…. Anyway. I really like eating. There's always a ton of food around, and usually lots and lots of options (including donuts or spicy grilled skewers of chicken….. OR silkworm larva (번데기)). So yep, as much as it sucks paying a ton for string cheese or having to go to one certain grocery store that's out of your way because they're rumored to consistently have cilantro (mislabeled as hot pepper, but WHATEVER)…. the food situation over here is pretty awesome :)
4) Sparkles This sort of goes with cartoons, but not really. It's a little bit of a challenge to find things without sparkles on them. I love sparkles, so its like heaven here. However, I recently wanted a clip for my hair. A plain black barrette. No can do, baba-loo. The plainest one I could find was bright green. There were hundreds of barrettes with feathers, crystals, bows, cartoons (see reason #2), and other random things on them… and then three plain ones. I've seriously had to restrain myself on the streets of myeong-dong because there are so many excessively ornate cell phone cases for ridiculously cheap (like these. holy moly.). I like sparkles, and so does Asia. We were meant to be, apparently.
5) The violin Seriously, it's like everyone listens to classical music here. I think if you quizzed a random Korean person on the subway they'd know more orchestral rep than me. Partly because I didn't really pay attention in Music History, but also because they go nuts for classical music here. I mean, about half of my stand partners in my 7 years of youth symphony (NERD ALERT!) were asian. I've been to two Seoul Philharmonic concerts and a couple other classical concerts here in Seoul, and the average age of the attendees is SO much lower than in the states. Way to go, Korea!
Also, one of my violin teachers had a typed list of famous violinists that she took out during one of our lessons, pointing to each name and telling me if they were asian or jewish. No famous violinists were ever or will ever be anything BUT asian or jewish… according to her. That seems reasonable and not racist, right?
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
"Everything Happens For A Reason"
So, first of all, I am not in Hong Kong as I was scheduled to be.
This is why it came to be, and later you'll find out why I'm not crying tears of disappointment.
(background info: came down with cough and dull headache on Sunday)
Wednesday:
7:30am on day of alleged departure: stressful acquisition of taxi with suitcase in tow. seriously? you're going to yell at ME while you're blocking two lanes of traffic and I have a suitcase to put in your trunk. Into the back seat I flung my suitcase, crawling in after it. Becky followed. Squished and stressed, we made it to school.
7:50am: Visit to nurse's office. Wanted her to check my ear to see if it was infected or just congested. Woke up with a really full sensation in my right ear. She scheduled me an appointment for 10:10 just around the block.
8:30am: try to check in online to my flight that was scheduled to be at 8:50pm that evening. No luck. Uh ohhhhh. Write an email to my travel partners, alerting them.
9:00am: 5th grade arrives. we have anawesome rough class. WHY YOU NO PLAY ARTICULATION!? uff da.
9:45am: Sara (grade 5 teacher and travel partner) comes to pick them up and says "I got your email. I tried it too, and it didn't work because we bought them through a flight finder. I emailed you the phone number to call - it's our airline at Incheon airport."
9:50am: call airline at Incheon. Discover flight scheduled for MARCH and not January. (I'm a dumb dumb) Proceed to FREAK OUT. Call and ask about rescheduling. Costs are over $1,000 (tickets from seoul to hong kong are generally $300-500). Have a desperate need to pee.
10:15am: arrive at Dr.'s office. Am seen within 5 minutes. Visit with doctor lasts less than 2 minutes and is free of charge. She says "No infection. Membrane OK"
10:25am: return to school. Two Skype calls to Priceline and one email to Kayak later, I've cancelled my initial (incorrect) flight. Only a $25 charge. HALLELUJAH. Spend roughly the next hour and 15 minutes on flight finders trying to purchase a ticket around the same time but on a different airline. Find reasonable prices (similar to what Sara and Sarah paid). Input payment information. Price changes to nearly $1,000. Begin process over again. Same thing happens.
11:25am: Tell Sophie (band teacher, classroom neighbor who's been on flight finders to help me find replacement tickets) that I've given up. Email travel partners of disappointing news. Feel like a ninny.
The rest of the school day passes.
5:45pm: take a taxi, solo, with my suitcase… back to my apartment. Not a walk of shame, a taxi of disappointment and shame (half joking about the shame.)
6:30pm: Quick visit to pharmacist in my apartment building. He gives me some tea and pills. sweet.
7:00pm: taxi with Jen and Charlie to Meyong-Dong for Jen's laser eye surgery. Drink weird tea mixed with green tea while Jen gets her eyes sliced open. Pressure on ears increases. Sleep most of the way home in the taxi.
11ish: back in my apartment. In incredible pain. Resist tylenol, because I'm sort of dumb. Try dropping warm olive oil in my ear and resting on my side for 7 minutes. Some relief comes, but not enough. Try laying on a steaming towel. Same result. Call father in tears. (I could not survive without Skype credit). Pops tells me to take the tylenol and mystery pill Jen gave me (which turned out to be sudaphed, thank the lawd above) and lay down with my painful ear facing up. I do just that, accompanied by a crappy netflix movie. Wake up every 15 minutes or so to popping or sliding noises in my ear, accompanied by painful and odd sensations. Sit up, tip head other way…. drain weird colored things onto my tshirt. excellent. I think I got about 4 hours of sleep.
9am Wednesday: Meg P (my downstairs neighbor and school art teacher) comes up to do Ear Candling on me. I wikipedia'd it… read it didn't work… but thought, "I've got nothing to lose, so why not". After that yields minimal and odd results, I decide to seek legitimate health care. Meg commits to accompanying me - BLESS HER. I call dad, cry some more (it's fine… I guess I cry a lot).
11:21am on Wednesday: In the waiting line at the Emergency Room at some hospital near by. This happens after a taxi ride to a closed hospital and two phone calls to my school nurse. While at the hospital we are tracked down and minded by many incredibly kind Korean nurses and doctors. Wait in an area, walk to get some X-rays, go back and wait in area. Random man comes and motions for us to follow him. Alright. Why not. We go up into a desolate part of the hospital (because it's a national holiday, the only thing open was the emergency room) and find an ENT doctor. Incredible. Seriously? all the lights off except in this office… nobody else up there… they must have called him in just to see me. He looks in my good ear with the image up on a TV screen. Takes a photo. Next up, bad ear - same thing. HOLY LORD MY RIGHT EAR LOOKS LIKE THE LAGOON IN PRINCESS BRIDE. He tells me I've got acute otitis medium, but also later says that it's severe. Perforation but no rupture, infection in the middle ear.
12:45pm: Meg goes with me to McDonalds (because that's what I want when I'm unhealthy, duh!). We walk home. I am now in recovery mode.
Total of $155 for an X-ray, ENT visit, and medication - Without insurance!
For the record, I do have health insurance… but the card is in english and I was at a fully Korean hospital, so that was NOT getting me far.
While Meg and I were nomming on our Spicy Chicken Fingers (Hell YEAH, Korea has those at McDonalds) she said "Seriously, though, everything happens for a reason. When you mistakenly scheduled your flight for March… this is why." and I stopped and thought about it. I'm sure we've all heard that phrase many times, trying to poetically legitimize shitty stuff, but seriously… there was a reason. I already am at moderate risk of hearing loss, and I can't imagine how awful and terrified I'd be feeling going through this in Hong Kong after FLYING with intense pain.
So that's why this is all okay.
Silver linings.
I get to be lazy without guilt.
I get to legitimize renting iTunes movies (because I only do that when I'm sick).
I get to recover at my own pace.
I get to maybe keep my hearing?
I get to save my monies.
I get to go on an eating adventure around Seoul! Once I'm recovered, Melinda and I mapped out some yummy Korean and International restaurants that we normally wouldn't seek out.
Everything happens for a reason.
And seriously, big thanks to the Korean health care system for being FREAKING AWESOME. I had such anxiety going into this situation. Google translate only does so much (and you best believe I DID use that resource.)
Even bigger thanks to Meg who went with me and figuratively held my hand through all of this - even when they vacuumed out my ear! It was scary to think about going to the hospital by myself with a potential language barrier but she came with, calmed me down, and monitored everything going on. It was invaluable to have her along with me. In the international community, we really do become a family. Baby-sitting for new mothers so they can be prepared for their in-laws' arrival, cooking meals for new mothers, shepherding each other to laser eye surgery, loaning CostCo membership cards to each other (because all white people look the same, I guess), moving each others mattresses down to the main floor when stairs aren't doable…. I work with some great people and am lucky to have them as family, especially when I've got such an incomparable family back home. Standards are high in my life, and Korea and my friends/family aren't disappointing.
:)
P.S. this is a photo of a normal ear drum:
and this is a photo of MY ear drum (after it had been vacuumed out.) You can see some blood/discharge coming out of the tiny hole on the lower right. Because it was in video, I could see the discharge moving with my heart beat. Weird.
This is why it came to be, and later you'll find out why I'm not crying tears of disappointment.
(background info: came down with cough and dull headache on Sunday)
Wednesday:
7:30am on day of alleged departure: stressful acquisition of taxi with suitcase in tow. seriously? you're going to yell at ME while you're blocking two lanes of traffic and I have a suitcase to put in your trunk. Into the back seat I flung my suitcase, crawling in after it. Becky followed. Squished and stressed, we made it to school.
7:50am: Visit to nurse's office. Wanted her to check my ear to see if it was infected or just congested. Woke up with a really full sensation in my right ear. She scheduled me an appointment for 10:10 just around the block.
8:30am: try to check in online to my flight that was scheduled to be at 8:50pm that evening. No luck. Uh ohhhhh. Write an email to my travel partners, alerting them.
9:00am: 5th grade arrives. we have an
9:45am: Sara (grade 5 teacher and travel partner) comes to pick them up and says "I got your email. I tried it too, and it didn't work because we bought them through a flight finder. I emailed you the phone number to call - it's our airline at Incheon airport."
9:50am: call airline at Incheon. Discover flight scheduled for MARCH and not January. (I'm a dumb dumb) Proceed to FREAK OUT. Call and ask about rescheduling. Costs are over $1,000 (tickets from seoul to hong kong are generally $300-500). Have a desperate need to pee.
10:15am: arrive at Dr.'s office. Am seen within 5 minutes. Visit with doctor lasts less than 2 minutes and is free of charge. She says "No infection. Membrane OK"
10:25am: return to school. Two Skype calls to Priceline and one email to Kayak later, I've cancelled my initial (incorrect) flight. Only a $25 charge. HALLELUJAH. Spend roughly the next hour and 15 minutes on flight finders trying to purchase a ticket around the same time but on a different airline. Find reasonable prices (similar to what Sara and Sarah paid). Input payment information. Price changes to nearly $1,000. Begin process over again. Same thing happens.
11:25am: Tell Sophie (band teacher, classroom neighbor who's been on flight finders to help me find replacement tickets) that I've given up. Email travel partners of disappointing news. Feel like a ninny.
The rest of the school day passes.
5:45pm: take a taxi, solo, with my suitcase… back to my apartment. Not a walk of shame, a taxi of disappointment and shame (half joking about the shame.)
6:30pm: Quick visit to pharmacist in my apartment building. He gives me some tea and pills. sweet.
7:00pm: taxi with Jen and Charlie to Meyong-Dong for Jen's laser eye surgery. Drink weird tea mixed with green tea while Jen gets her eyes sliced open. Pressure on ears increases. Sleep most of the way home in the taxi.
11ish: back in my apartment. In incredible pain. Resist tylenol, because I'm sort of dumb. Try dropping warm olive oil in my ear and resting on my side for 7 minutes. Some relief comes, but not enough. Try laying on a steaming towel. Same result. Call father in tears. (I could not survive without Skype credit). Pops tells me to take the tylenol and mystery pill Jen gave me (which turned out to be sudaphed, thank the lawd above) and lay down with my painful ear facing up. I do just that, accompanied by a crappy netflix movie. Wake up every 15 minutes or so to popping or sliding noises in my ear, accompanied by painful and odd sensations. Sit up, tip head other way…. drain weird colored things onto my tshirt. excellent. I think I got about 4 hours of sleep.
9am Wednesday: Meg P (my downstairs neighbor and school art teacher) comes up to do Ear Candling on me. I wikipedia'd it… read it didn't work… but thought, "I've got nothing to lose, so why not". After that yields minimal and odd results, I decide to seek legitimate health care. Meg commits to accompanying me - BLESS HER. I call dad, cry some more (it's fine… I guess I cry a lot).
11:21am on Wednesday: In the waiting line at the Emergency Room at some hospital near by. This happens after a taxi ride to a closed hospital and two phone calls to my school nurse. While at the hospital we are tracked down and minded by many incredibly kind Korean nurses and doctors. Wait in an area, walk to get some X-rays, go back and wait in area. Random man comes and motions for us to follow him. Alright. Why not. We go up into a desolate part of the hospital (because it's a national holiday, the only thing open was the emergency room) and find an ENT doctor. Incredible. Seriously? all the lights off except in this office… nobody else up there… they must have called him in just to see me. He looks in my good ear with the image up on a TV screen. Takes a photo. Next up, bad ear - same thing. HOLY LORD MY RIGHT EAR LOOKS LIKE THE LAGOON IN PRINCESS BRIDE. He tells me I've got acute otitis medium, but also later says that it's severe. Perforation but no rupture, infection in the middle ear.
12:45pm: Meg goes with me to McDonalds (because that's what I want when I'm unhealthy, duh!). We walk home. I am now in recovery mode.
Total of $155 for an X-ray, ENT visit, and medication - Without insurance!
For the record, I do have health insurance… but the card is in english and I was at a fully Korean hospital, so that was NOT getting me far.
While Meg and I were nomming on our Spicy Chicken Fingers (Hell YEAH, Korea has those at McDonalds) she said "Seriously, though, everything happens for a reason. When you mistakenly scheduled your flight for March… this is why." and I stopped and thought about it. I'm sure we've all heard that phrase many times, trying to poetically legitimize shitty stuff, but seriously… there was a reason. I already am at moderate risk of hearing loss, and I can't imagine how awful and terrified I'd be feeling going through this in Hong Kong after FLYING with intense pain.
So that's why this is all okay.
Silver linings.
I get to be lazy without guilt.
I get to legitimize renting iTunes movies (because I only do that when I'm sick).
I get to recover at my own pace.
I get to maybe keep my hearing?
I get to save my monies.
I get to go on an eating adventure around Seoul! Once I'm recovered, Melinda and I mapped out some yummy Korean and International restaurants that we normally wouldn't seek out.
Everything happens for a reason.
And seriously, big thanks to the Korean health care system for being FREAKING AWESOME. I had such anxiety going into this situation. Google translate only does so much (and you best believe I DID use that resource.)
Even bigger thanks to Meg who went with me and figuratively held my hand through all of this - even when they vacuumed out my ear! It was scary to think about going to the hospital by myself with a potential language barrier but she came with, calmed me down, and monitored everything going on. It was invaluable to have her along with me. In the international community, we really do become a family. Baby-sitting for new mothers so they can be prepared for their in-laws' arrival, cooking meals for new mothers, shepherding each other to laser eye surgery, loaning CostCo membership cards to each other (because all white people look the same, I guess), moving each others mattresses down to the main floor when stairs aren't doable…. I work with some great people and am lucky to have them as family, especially when I've got such an incomparable family back home. Standards are high in my life, and Korea and my friends/family aren't disappointing.
:)
P.S. this is a photo of a normal ear drum:
and this is a photo of MY ear drum (after it had been vacuumed out.) You can see some blood/discharge coming out of the tiny hole on the lower right. Because it was in video, I could see the discharge moving with my heart beat. Weird.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Part 2?
I believe I've written about this aspect of international life before, but I find it interesting and awesome… so whatever.
Being an international school school with mostly Korean students and Canadian and American teachers IN Korea, my school gives days off for Korean AND (some) American holidays. This week is 3 days for me, with Thursday through Sunday off for "Lunar New Year" (Chinese New Year?). I'm traveling with Sara and Sarah (Grade 5 and 4 teachers) to Hong Kong after an impulsive visit to KAYAK.com to check into airfare. Get this: I'm flying Ethiopian Air from Seoul… to Hong Kong. What?
So, I'm wondering… do I get to do New Years Resolutions again!?
Awesome.
As previously stated, I love me some goals and opportunities for reflection.
New Years Resolutions Part 2 begins on… Monday?
Anyway, I've heard really wonderful things about HK and am pretty excited about exploring with some new friends :) We'll be flying out Wednesday at 9pm and landing around 11:30pm (with a one hour time difference), spend all of thursday, friday, saturday in HK, and then fly back to Seoul on Sunday. I can't wait for dim sum, chinese hot pot, celebrating Chinese New Year (sort of) in China, and getting a peak into a different culture!
What's been happening lately:
-Started our music for spring concerts (after waiting for them to be shipped here, agh!)
-Ice Trekking near north korea. So fun to get out and not see signs of civilization. A bit odd to walk on a frozen river for a couple hours, but whatever. Beautiful weather, and I got to learn about the Korean version of ice skating. Instead of standing, they sit on sleds and scoot around, moving themselves with pokey sticks. We had races and relays… good times were had.
-I've started watching The Bachelor. I know, right? It started out as more of a social thing - Just watching it because one of my coworkers hosts a ladies night every week where we get tougher to eat, chat… and watch the bachelor. But I think even if I couldn't make it to Ashley's on Tuesday nights… I'd still watch it on Hulu on my own. WOOPS. Rumor has it this weeks episode includes a date in Seoul! WHAT THE HECK!? THATS WHERE I LIVE!
-I am sick for the first time since coming to Seoul. Felt sort of run down on Friday evening… and by the time Sunday afternoon came around I was down for the count. Missed a half day of work on Tuesday (my today) in order to get some more rest. Hopefully I'm feeling better and can fully enjoy Hong Kong!
-I'll be starting an online reading class through Hamline University (St. Paul, MN!) next week that is required in order for me to get a 5 year teaching license in MN.
-Countdown to Honor Festivals have begun. 14 days to high school and 33 days to middle school. which means 40 days until concert week at my school. Uff da.
Being an international school school with mostly Korean students and Canadian and American teachers IN Korea, my school gives days off for Korean AND (some) American holidays. This week is 3 days for me, with Thursday through Sunday off for "Lunar New Year" (Chinese New Year?). I'm traveling with Sara and Sarah (Grade 5 and 4 teachers) to Hong Kong after an impulsive visit to KAYAK.com to check into airfare. Get this: I'm flying Ethiopian Air from Seoul… to Hong Kong. What?
So, I'm wondering… do I get to do New Years Resolutions again!?
Awesome.
As previously stated, I love me some goals and opportunities for reflection.
New Years Resolutions Part 2 begins on… Monday?
Anyway, I've heard really wonderful things about HK and am pretty excited about exploring with some new friends :) We'll be flying out Wednesday at 9pm and landing around 11:30pm (with a one hour time difference), spend all of thursday, friday, saturday in HK, and then fly back to Seoul on Sunday. I can't wait for dim sum, chinese hot pot, celebrating Chinese New Year (sort of) in China, and getting a peak into a different culture!
What's been happening lately:
-Started our music for spring concerts (after waiting for them to be shipped here, agh!)
-Ice Trekking near north korea. So fun to get out and not see signs of civilization. A bit odd to walk on a frozen river for a couple hours, but whatever. Beautiful weather, and I got to learn about the Korean version of ice skating. Instead of standing, they sit on sleds and scoot around, moving themselves with pokey sticks. We had races and relays… good times were had.
-I've started watching The Bachelor. I know, right? It started out as more of a social thing - Just watching it because one of my coworkers hosts a ladies night every week where we get tougher to eat, chat… and watch the bachelor. But I think even if I couldn't make it to Ashley's on Tuesday nights… I'd still watch it on Hulu on my own. WOOPS. Rumor has it this weeks episode includes a date in Seoul! WHAT THE HECK!? THATS WHERE I LIVE!
-I am sick for the first time since coming to Seoul. Felt sort of run down on Friday evening… and by the time Sunday afternoon came around I was down for the count. Missed a half day of work on Tuesday (my today) in order to get some more rest. Hopefully I'm feeling better and can fully enjoy Hong Kong!
-I'll be starting an online reading class through Hamline University (St. Paul, MN!) next week that is required in order for me to get a 5 year teaching license in MN.
-Countdown to Honor Festivals have begun. 14 days to high school and 33 days to middle school. which means 40 days until concert week at my school. Uff da.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Resolve
Written on the plane from Minnesota to Denver, January 7th?
Usually I don't remember them by the time I'm watching the ball drop next December, but I always remember how i felt and what albums I was listening to when I was last breathing in the holidays. I've heard people say things like "I don't believe in New Years resolutions". I'm not here to pass judgement on those people or their statements, but I will be reflecting on my year that passed and what I hope will come. I think this comes from my love of being reflective and aware. I think that my affinity for goals, lists, reflection, and evaluation is what makes me a better teacher and human. So here goes.
In 2013 I:
Worked as a church youth choir director
Got a job immediately following student teaching.
Evaded speeding tickets!
Started paying off my student loans
Traveled to San Francisco with Maren
Discovered the joy of SkyZone
Got my skin eaten off by Mosquitos in the boundary waters. Sweesh yeah.
Moved to South Korea with 5 suitcases and my mom.
Long term subbed general elementary music in Minnetonka.
Paid bills in a foreign language.
Ate a short armed octopus. Not that bad....
Lost many people. Aunt Marvel, Anthony's dad, Danielle's mom, and both of Megan's maternal grandparents.
First semester of teaching - two concert cycles and only one crash and burn!
Played in the pit for a musical.
Subbed in my student teaching district.
Visited Charlie, Katie, and uncle Harold in Kansas City.
Took 5 test for my educational licensure.
Obtained licensure in vocal and instrumental music in Minnesota AND Iowa!
Took my youth groups self written show to St. Louis. Definitely a high point of the year.
Traveled to Tsushima and Tokyo.
Burped a lot.
Joined a choir in Korea.
Saw Beyoncé live.
Didn't go Black Friday shopping and didn't mind....
Got a lot better at miming.
Cried my way through a lot of goodbyes and hellos.
Missed playing the violin. Because that makes sense, as I spend most of my day making music.
Went to a Missouri synod Lutheran church.
Hopes for 2014:
No crash and burn it's my performances
Learn more Korean.
Experiment with looping and fiddling. For fun.
More regular assessment for my students.
Visit canada.
Boundary waters canoe area adventure part two!
Write letters.
Family and friends visits to seoul!
Read a book a month.
Buy a rotisserie chicken from the rotisserie trucks on the road.
Very incomplete, but that's where I'm at.
Always will be in transition and relatively incomplete... And I love that concept.
Resolve.
Make goals.
Try something new.
Recent happenings:
Purchased tickets to Hong Kong for lunar new year (4 day weekend, January 30- February 2)
Purchased tickets to Bali for spring break!
Look out, world! I'm comin for ya!
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