raddish town

Greetings from raddish town,

Some days, I love Korea and the opportunity of teaching. Other days, not so much. Occasionally, I wonder where the wind would carry me if I had not crossed such a strong ocean current. Whether I love it or hate it, I'm in Korea and am amazed at how fast time is going by. I peaced outta the USA nearly six weeks ago. In that time, I have taught long hours, been confused and frustrated by language barriers, and been upset at my present predicament. Where I wouldn't be in the U.S. these days is hiking foreign mountains, visiting ancient buddhist temples, visiting massive fish markets, nor enjoying the solitude of writing and reading. I dream of rooftop memories, though I admit, I did not have a mountain out my bedroom window in Minneapolis. By day, I stay put with a classroom of curious minds. By evening, I travel wherever the moon guides.

I've been dreaming anxiously of the coming weeks. I head back to the Pacific Ocean in two weeks time for a weekend excursion. The plan is to take a slow train to Busan on Friday night and arrive early in the morning on Saturday. Imagine beach gazing at 5 a.m. with not a soul in sight. Similar sights were gazed upon during my last trip, but this one is a little more planned out. Five weeks time, where would I be in Minnesota. In Asia, in five weeks time, I'll be in China visiting on Chuseok (a Korean holiday).

I teach of environmental values every opportunity I get. This country is built on materialism and accessories, I have to take my opportunities where I get them. "Macadamia, where do you think your food comes from!" "Grocery store, Mr. Jordan!" Kindergarten and pre-k classes at school all have a name system for each class, which I thoroughly enjoy. Perhaps it's not all in vain. I share one day an environmental truth, "don't cut down trees, etc." No wonder she's my favorite student (in any class, in any grade). Jenny writes in an assignment, "where would all the tanagers live and sing if the trees were cut down." She's a kindergartner...... I mentioned tanagers once. I don't prefer that all (or nearly all) my students have English names. Part of me feels like it is a Western trait for parents (or kids) to pick out an English name to pick out an English name to assimilate better. While the U.S. wasn't particularly colonial or imperial of Korea, I still become weary of declaring that are naming system is better than their Korean birth names.

I've settled well into Korean culture. Or, perhaps a better expression would be to say, I've settled well into learning how to avoid Korean culture. Pick one or the other; it all depends on the day. I bought a bicycle two weeks ago and ride to work every day. I greatly enjoy it, as I have consistently always loved anything related to such an economically-friendly, environmentally-friendly, health-and-exercise-friendly, city-congestion-friendly, and stress-friendly mode of transportation. Previously, my commute to work consisted of a thirty minutes of bus waiting, bus riding, subway waiting, subway riding. I typically make it to school in eight minutes, which will add an extra forty-five minutes of free time to each day. Forty-five minutes happens to each a lot more sleep or book reading time.

I previously wrote of phone contact in Korea. Again, you can call the Minnesota telephone number (612) 424-3774. Assuming I'm at my computer, it will connect your cell phone / landline to my computer. I picked up a cell phone a few weeks ago. Let me say that Koreans love their technology. When I first moved here, I said to myself, "hmmmm. cell phone use in the subway system, underground." Then, I noticed everyone watching satellite tv on their cell phones... in the subway. I got a kick-butt cell phone, which happens to be way better than my previous U.S. phone. It was the cheapest one I could find. Anyway, I set up call forwarding on my Korean cell phone. You call my that Minnesota phone number, if I'm not connected to my computer, the call will be forwarded to my Korean phone. It's awesome, because I have free incoming phone calls on it. Call me anytime, except when I'm at work (+14 to Central time).

i have mixed opinions of my korea stay. the people are imaginary, they pass along. most exist in my life only a moment. maybe one day i'll understand the language, but for now, i enjoy my books. my stride is quick in a never-ending city. the more individuals in sight, the faster i walk. i'm surprised by how much i enjoy teaching. i leave with a tired voice each evening. you have be excited every moment you are teaching. i primarily teach kindergartners, though i also have 1st, 2nd, and 4th graders. the days are very long, but not particularly stressful. i generally have enough time to prep for class, though sometimes i feel rushed. the curriculum is laid out, i only have to figure out what pages to teach and decide what is the best way to teach it. group, partner, solo, activity, game, youtube bill nye, etc. i have a computer in the classroom connected to a 30 monitor. anytime there is a vocab word they don't know and it's too hard to describe, i have google images at my disposal. similar to the past eight years of my life, running is my opportunity to unwind for a busy and stressful day. i work a long day, run as soon as i get home, eat dinner, and then do whatever i need to. i'll either read, write, skype, or hang out with friends.

my trip to busan really helped to adjust me to the country. i was able to learn many things about the culture without the craziness of work. swimming in the ocean, walking for miles along the beach, and sailing in the pacific. it's ironic that i live in seoul, but wherever i live, i need a large body of water. the han river is only a few miles away. so far, i've only been able to gaze on it on the subway. however, i intend to soon figure out good locations to gaze on the water. the solitude of water is comforting. back to busan. hiking high up in the clouds, visiting buddhist temples carved into the rock, and eating watermelon with the ajumma's (older korean women) behind beomosa temple; these memories will be with me long into my life. the hike to seokbulsa (the temple carved into the rock) was an intense one. very steep paths, a very strenuous hike. needless to say, because it is such a difficult hike, only 5 people were there for the entire hour i explored the temple grounds. i mostly don't feel at home here. i'm not sure i will, but perhaps it is good to travel away for a time.

if you wish to write, send to the address below: mailboxes are rather insecure, so most teachers have mail sent to the school.

j.groh, c/o korea poly school.

5th floor, 907-13 Gwang Jang 2 Building, Mok 5 dong,

Yang Chun Gu, Seoul 158-050, South Korea