Small blessings

I don't have a religion, but I believe in gratitude as a practice. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Real life friends again, at last!

First of all, Dani, because I can't express how happy I am to live so close to her again! Not only is she one of my favorite people, we share a lot of geeky interests and she is a perfect traveling buddy. I am terrible with directions and logistics, so it's been wonderful to follow around a seasoned traveler in Korea and see all the best things with someone who likes the same things I do! She's been taking such good care of me, giving me advice about the best way to handle things smoothly and checking in with me almost every day.

I got a cold over the weekend, probably from my Nasan kids on Friday because there's no hand soap in the bathrooms. I sent a message to the Hampyeong crew asking where I could buy jook to eat. Jong Min, one of our local Korean friends, offers to COOK SOME FOR ME and brings it right to my building.

Yes please!!!

It is really hard to be sick and alone in a new country and if there is ONE thing that could make me feel better, it's homemade jook like my mom always made for me when I'm sick. Sorry mom, but Jong Min's jook was actually tastier?

Made from ground unicorn horn

Later that night, I was messaging with Alissa and telling her that I was out of food, but I was too miserable to trek out to the market in the cold. As we're talking, Hyeonseon sends me a stealthy text message to tell me to check my door handle. I open the door and there is a bag of food and medicine hanging on my knob!! There's no way she could have known! It's like she read my mind! I was so happy I could have cried. I was instructed to pour the medicine from its little glass bottle and heat it in a cup for a bit before drinking. I don't know what's in it, but it cleared out my chest congestion instantly.

A perfect pair

For another bit of surprise mind-reading, I've been telling Dani that I wanted to buy a travel mug to bring to my schools and a pretty ceramic cup to use at home. We even went to three stores in Gwangju last weekend to look for them, but I wasn't happy with the prices or styles. On Monday, my vice principal presents me with the PERFECT purple travel mug. I wish I knew more Korean to tell her just how floored I was, but I hope my facial expression did it for me. Later, one of the really friendly teachers comes over to my desk looking a bit sad. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she actually bought me a cup too, but now she's embarrassed because someone else just got one for me. She showed me the cup and it's this adorable ceramic mug with a matching lid. She did know some English, so I did not spare any words in telling her just how perfect her gift was!!

My heart is full from meeting new and old friends. The Hampyeong group has been so welcoming and kind, right from the first night when they treated me and Michelle to dinner and drinks and showed us around town. They're the type of folks who know how to have a proper noraebang night into the wee morning hours, but will also share coffee and honey bread and chat about our day. I'm excited to get to know them better. I'm also glad to come here with Michelle, my roommate from orientation. She is such a fierce person (seriously, she is a bodybuilder and a bombshell), but also so open and warm. She inspires me to push to be my best self too.

Roomies!

Life is good. :) I hope I can give back as much as I am receiving.

Citron moon

I had citron tea (yujacha) during my first week in Korea, a bright, tangy syrup with slices of rind in a glass jar like marmalade. I arrived here one month ago today and I'm still flying high on what's known as the honeymoon phase from the stages of culture shock or living abroad. It reminds me of sipping tea that is too sweet, but I can't stop because it's like liquid sunlight.

Compared to my life in New York, there is a sense of buoyancy that pervades my every moment here. Every basic thing, from staring down my heating control panel or knowing when to push the stop request button on the bus, makes me feel giddy. I know, textbook honeymoon phase, but I fully plan to enjoy it while it lasts. I have some great friends here, but I really treasure those small alone moments of triumph. I want to become more independent. Ironically, it's hard to do anything here without relying on others to teach you at first, so I am absurdly proud of myself for the smallest things.

First time I went to a restaurant alone. At least I can feed myself now -- level 1 complete!

My favorite project from my time in AmeriCorps was building a 1000 feet bridge in a national park in Alabama. It was my last project with my team and the monotony of outdoor labor, isolation, and homesickness was making us act truly terrible to each other. No one had much compassion left for anyone anymore and I frustrated myself and my team for being so physically weak.

Working that nail gun.

I have really fond memories of this time, even though I think I cried myself to sleep most nights from every kind of fatigue. It was a rare opportunity to face the best and worst parts of myself and others. It felt like being really alive, better than hot showers or cushy office chairs. I knew I was getting stronger in one way or another. Each day, I could see how many boards I laid down. Stronger people could have done the job faster or better, but it wasn't about that. Nothing was at stake. We had the time to finish the job slowly or quickly, with no rewards attached to reaching the end early. Life was just practice, not a performance. Practice was the means and the end.

Everything is challenging here too, but it's a contracted position so it gives me the freedom to treat everything as a practice. I'm doing BETTER and working harder. I've been on time every day. I wake up early enough to do my hair and makeup nicely and get compliments on being so polished. I'm a new teacher, but I can learn and I don't feel like I have to be perfect right away. I can try and learn and grow.

I've been a walking beacon of positive energy here and not surprisingly, everyone I've met has been so warm and friendly. My cup is overflowing with small kindnesses and beautiful things. I'm glad I have made it a habit to push myself out of my comfort zone, because I can enjoy the good times without worrying whether I can handle what comes next.

I can handle anything if there is honey bread to be had...

If this post made you thirsty, check out this great infograph on 12 kinds of tea you can find in Korea.

Jeollanamdo Language Program

Today marks my first week in Hampyeong and so far, I have taught at 3 out of 4 of my schools. I have the day off because of the most important milestone in Korean education: high school seniors are taking the College Scholastic Ability Test, which will pretty much determine the course of their future success. This is the day when all the endless hours of studying and hard work starting from age 5 pay off. This website has a good overview of just how big a deal this exam is for Korean students.

For me, this means catching up on this blog and doing all my lesson planning for next week because Dani and I are going to Seoul this weekend!

This entry is mainly geared for people interested in teaching in Korea, who might stumble across my blog someday in their fervid internet sleuthing, like me a few months ago. Friends, I will write an actual update on my life here in Hampyeong soon, I promise. :) If anyone has any specific questions about my program, feel free to leave me a comment.

Overview of the Jeollanamdo Language Program

You may have heard of EPIK, which is Korea's major government-run recruitment program for native English teachers in public elementary and secondary schools. The Jeollanamdo Language Program functions essentially the same way, except it is run by the Jeollanamdo Office of Education and places teachers only within public schools in the Jeollanamdo province. No other province has their own language program, so that makes JLP quite unique.

Jeollanamdo's location in Korea

I only stumbled across an open JLP position because I was trying to find a job near Gwangju, but I would highly recommend this program if you are interested in teaching in Korea. Unfortunately, there isn't a main website for the JLP, but I posted the contract details for my current intake year at the end if you are interested in the  specific timeframe and benefits. They hire for positions with start dates in August and November and post open positions on forums like Waygook and Dave's ESL. You can also contact their main recruitment agencies, Canadian Connections and Jeolla Jobs (jeollajobs@gmail.com).

Differences from EPIK

JLP offers the same public school benefits as EPIK, with a few key differences. Since you work with one of their recruiters for specific positions, you can have some say over your location and type of school, more so than with EPIK. They offer 32 vacation days, versus EPIK's standard 21 days. They also have a native English coordinator, which I think is a significant highlight to the program. I was accepted to EPIK initially and the application process for both programs was like night and day.

Please bear in mind that working with a recruiter who would communicate with EPIK on your behalf would likely eliminate the issues I encountered by applying to EPIK directly, even though they recommend applying directly.

Both offices were very professional, but I struggled with communication problems with the Korea-based EPIK coordinators. I sent them a few emails which were intended as polite requests for clarification regarding my salary range eligibility, only to be rebuffed for "not understanding Korean culture." By comparison, I had an incredibly positive experience working with Jeolla Jobs. One of my goals of being in Korea is to learn more about Korean culture, but it is REALLY helpful to have a native English liaison serve as a buffer between your Korean employer so any communication missteps do not impact minor things like your living and working situation. Both EPIK and the JLP have full-time English coordinators who lead the orientations and support teachers throughout their contracts. I can personally vouch for Chris Devison from JLP, who has been highly approachable and knowledgeable.

JLP positions are provincial, so they tend to be rural and range from being among a handful of foreigners on an island to being among a dozen or so in a small city. Yeosu, the largest city in the province, has a population of about 250,000. EPIK hires for everywhere else in Korea, including all the major cities. I think SMOE and GEPIK hire for public schools in Seoul and its suburbs. It is also not uncommon to teach at multiple schools since they are mostly rural placements.

Orientation Week

There were only 26 of us in the November intake group, compared to the group of 90 in August, so it was easy to get to know the other teachers. We had a full schedule for the whole nine days, including lectures on Korean culture, teaching methods, and a few field trips. I was a bit antsy to get settled in my new home and start working, but the programming was designed to help new teachers slowly acclimate to Korea, especially for those new to living abroad and/or teaching.

I really appreciated that the presenters were mostly current or previous native English teachers who could relate directly to our experience. I was expecting a lot of bureaucratic mandated lectures, but all the information was interesting and quite candid.

Some highlights from orientation week:

• The Korean music teacher sang a sorrowful ballad typical to a certain region of Korea so masterfully that it made a girl start crying.
• Visiting the hospital for the required HIV and marijuana tests. Everyone was worried because there are quite a few things that could set off a false-positive result, such as ibuprofen, Midol, dental anesthesia, vitamins, or recent vaccinations. False positive results are very rare though, and all of us made it through. You have an opportunity to voice any concerns in advance during your private meeting with the doctor.
• Raising my hand for every question during the Korean Wave (pop culture) presentation. All those hours watching kpop on Youtube finally paid off...
• Meditating during a visit to a nearby temple. I included a bunch of photos below because it was easily the best part of orientation week.

Art as a meditative practice.

Check out our handiwork! Mine is the green one.

Tea ceremony with lotus blossom tea and rice cakes.

The remains of a famous monk, now a national treasure.

All 26 of us! Plus an adorable adjumma