TravelBio

Because of the Chinese New Year, I have three days (the past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) off from work. When I found out about the break I decided strait away that I would take a trip outside of Seoul. I won’t have many breaks this long during the year, so I have to take advantage of them when the opportunity arises. The group that I went hiking with the other weekend, Seoul Hiking Group, was organizing a tip to Jeju Island over the long weekend. Jeju Island is a region of Korea located south of the mainland and west of Japan. It is known for its natural beauty and mild climate and has a wide range of topographical features, from seaside cliffs to a large volcanic mountain at its center. Both Matt and I decided to sign up for the trip, which would last from Friday night until Tuesday evening. Jeju is south of the Korean peninsula, not far from Japan. Jeju during a more seasonal time of year. The first leg of the journey was an overnight bus ride from S...

The children at the school range in age from 5 to about 12. I should point out that ages work differently in the US and Korea – when a child is born here in South Korea , he or she is already one year old. Ages also change after New Year, but it gets a little complicated. Basically you just need to subtract one to get a kid ’ s Western age. So really the youngest students here at the ECC are actually only 4 years old! A kindy class - the kids are about 6 Some afternoon students The younger kids come in the morning, and their classes here could be considered equivalent to preschool back home (in structure, not necessarily content). They can come to ECC in the mornings until they are ready for a Korean primary school. At this point they are typically 7 or 8 in Korean ages (really 6 or 7), similar to the age that kids back home start kindergarten.   If their parents want them to continue with English studies here they can come after their primary sc...

On the weekend of the 14 th I went skiing with a group of Korean guys I had met in Seoul. A family friend from back home knows a Korean family well, so he got me in touch with the family’s son, Joon. He is around 30 and happens to live in Jamsil as well. I met up with him, his wife, and his sister at his apartment earlier in December, and then again on New Year’s Day. One Friday night I also went to dinner with a group of his friends. They had all gone to university in Seoul, but met each other while studying abroad in the US. They are really nice and can all speak English well, which makes it much easier for me! Pyeongchang, east of Seoul My skiing buddies Joon picked me up early on Saturday morning – at around 5 am! – and we arrived in the town of Pyongchang by 8 am. Our group took two cars and consisted of Joon, his wife, his 6 month old baby boy, four of his friends, and me. We ate breakfast at a restaurant near the slopes before stopping at a ski rental ...

Seoul, like many major cities, has some great spots for nightlife and entertainment. There are a ton of restaurants in Jamsil, plus a fair number of bars too. It tends to die down later in the night though. The area near my apartment is a good place to go for dinner and a few drinks, but not for a crazy night out. I’ve gone to several other areas of Seoul on the weekends, the best known of which are Hongdae and Gangnam. Hongdae, in the western part of Seoul, is known for its clubs and trendy art scene. From Jamsil (southeast part of the city) it takes a good 45 minutes on the subway. Gangnam is quite close to Jamsil – only about a 15 minute trip – and it is also a great place for bars and clubs. Gangnam, Seoul A nightclub in Hongdae I often go out with the other foreign teachers from my school, and I also have met up with the teachers from my training class a few times. On New Year’s Eve we got together in Hongdae first for drinks at a bar, and then for a la...

For the first week and a half I lived in temporary accommodations directly across from the school. I’m not sure if most of the people were living there permanently, or if many were just there for a short stay like me. I would guess that there were a lot of full time residents there. It kind of had the feel of a college dormitory in the US; the rooms were quite small, and there was a communal kitchen on each floor. My place came with a bathroom, washer, TV, refrigerator, and kitchen sink (as well as a bed and dresser of course). Like I said, it was small, but that was what I had been expecting. Space it at such a premium that people would much rather live in a dinky apartment in the city than a bigger place two hours outside of the city. And I’m sure the Korean definition of spacious is much different than the American one! A kitchen, laundry room, and entry way all in one! On my first day of school, after the other teacher had moved out, I finally got my own apartm...