Summer Vacation on Jeju Island

Summer vacation options were limited this year. The corona-virus made going abroad impossible, and the shortened time-off made travelling far away impractical. Still, after playing it pretty safe and staying in Busan for the whole semester, I decided I needed to have some sort of holiday, even if it was a short one.

Jeju is an island off the southern coast of Korea famous for its warm weather, natural beauty, and is popular for vacationers and honeymooners from Korea, China, and Japan. Only a one-hour flight from Busan, I made Jeju my destination for a 4-day getaway in late-August.

With all the craziness of the end of term and the summer camps, I didn't have much time to plan my vacation. I made myself familiar with a few key sights and activities, and finally reserved my flight on Korean Air and booked a hotel room at the Ramada in Jeju City. 

The rise in corona-virus cases in Korea threatened my vacation and made me a little nervous about travelling, and my co-teacher dropped a few hints about cancelling the vacation. I decided to follow through with my plans and I'm glad that I did.

But things didn't start out very smoothly. I navigated to Gimhae International Airport by public bus well in advance of my domestic flight. And just sat there for hours. My one-hour flight was delayed by 2 hours due to a mechanical issue with the plane. They actually found an alternate plane for us. At least no one was sitting next to me on the flight. But by the time we were up in the air, we started our landing approach.

After landing in Jeju and passing through the corona-virus and security checks, an unfriendly taxi driver took me to my hotel in Jeju City. The Ramada was modern, comfortable, air-conditioned and supplied with soft pillows and blankets. I was really happy with the hotel and the view from my 9th-floor window.

Jeju is a relatively small island but the attractions are spread out. Everyone I spoke to recommended that I rent a car. That wasn't an option for me, so I took the bus everywhere. As a result, I couldn't see everything I would've liked to, but I did get a nice view of Jeju's countryside and a chance to mingle with the locals on the bus. It takes a certain amount of courage to get onto a bus you're not 100% sure is going where you need it to go, and not have the language skills to confirm.

My first outing took me to the Manjanggeul Cave, a mere 1.5 hours away by bus. The Manjanggeul Cave is a really cool cave and underground tunnel cut through by lava years ago. It's about 23 meters wide, 30 meters high, and 8 km long and is exceptionally cool. It was 14°C in the tunnel and +30° above ground. There was water dripping down from the rocks and puddles everywhere. You can see the markings on the wall indicating the various levels of the lava flow. At the end of the tunnel is a large column of hardened lava that flowed down from the ceiling and set in place. 

On day 2 of my vacation, I attempted to climb the highest peak in South Korea, Mt. Hallasan, a volcano in the center of Jeju Island. Standing 1947 metres tall, I was quite unsure about making the attempt, especially after looking at myself in the mirror. I think the exact thought that went through my mind was, "Are you serious?"

A 40-minute bus ride at 6:30AM took me to the start of the Seongpanak Trail. Described as the longest but easiest ascent trail, my goal was to climb to the summit and then descend on another trail that had better views of the mountain and surrounding area. Seongpanak trail winds through a forested area on the mountain until near the top.

The trail started easily enough with boardwalks, rope carpet and plenty of flat sections. I worked my way up the mountain and the air became hotter, and the steps steeper. There were markers showing your progress and noting how many meters in elevation you had attained. There were a few shelters along the way for a washroom break and a rest. However, it was not possible to buy water or snacks. You had to carry everything.

I brought a bunch of sweet snacks, beef jerky, and 3 litres of water which I thought was way too heavy at the start but was grateful for every last drop by the end of the hike. As a matter of fact, I saw Korean hikers begging for water at the shelters because they didn't bring enough.

I climbed for 5 hours and literally everyone passed me. I moved slow and steady but was becoming exhausted. I was a mere 2 kilometres from the summit but that final stretch was in the open sun and was steep and uneven. I had to take a break after every few meters. I stopped for a while to assess my situation and my water reserve. The choice was to push on to the summit and be in real danger on the way down, or turn back and ensure my safe return.

Disappointed that I wouldn't make the summit, I made the prudent choice to walk down the trail. It took 4 hours to descend. I was euphoric finally having gravity working in my favour. At first, I quickly moved down the mountain. But eventually, I was experiencing discomfort in my feet and legs. Going up produced sore muscles, burning lungs, and a light head. Going down ruined my feet and calves. I absolutely could not walk the next day, and I'm still feeling it a few days later. In total, it was a hike of 9 hours and 15 kilometres.

The Korean hikers were supportive and encouraging. Those who spoke English told me to "Fight!" and that I was "Almost there."  I got a lot of "Thank yous" when I stepped aside to let the faster hikers pass by. Something was lost in translation when a man told me "Nice steps. It's elemental. Have a good time. Hahaha!" 

That evening and the next day was all about recovery. I barely left the hotel to eat and get a latte. Walking would be painful for the next several days. Fun hike but I paid the price.

On my last day in Jeju, I decided to check out the Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) for a nice ocean view. I wasn't really expecting to have to climb again, but it was 180 metres up to the top and put my weary legs to the test. Bad idea but a nice view. Seongsan Ilchulbong supposedly brings good luck when you view the sunrise from its peak. I arrived shortly after 9am, so I missed out on the lucky sunrise. I was, however, completely soaked in sweat, and needed to make my way to the airport for my flight back to Busan.

I purchased some Jeju orange-flavoured chocolates for my coworkers and then landed safely in Busan. Ready for semester 2 of my life as an English teacher in South Korea. 

My timing for this holiday was perfect because the next week a typhoon would hit parts of Jeju and several flights were cancelled or delayed. 

Jeju is a beautiful island getaway and is well worth the visit. I would eagerly return given the chance.

English Summer Camp

During the winter and summer vacation periods there is usually a one-week summer camp held at school for a small group of students to engage with English learning in a fun, interactive, and casual setting. Often, the students choose between different camps such as history, math, English, etc. My co-teacher led a grammar-based English camp for students studying for exams. The native English teacher leads the conversational English camp and chooses a theme. In the past, teachers have held a mystery camp or a Harry Potter camp.

I decided the theme of my camps would be YouTube. The plan was to watch a variety of videos and expose students to different types of YouTube videos such as how-to tutorials, challenge videos, react videos, and music videos, among others. At the end of the camp, students would work together to make and record their own YouTube videos.

The corona-virus has greatly affected the school year and along with that, my English summer camp plans. The school year was initially delayed by nearly 6 weeks and then began with online lessons. As such, our summer vacation was severely reduced. The first compromise shrunk English summer camps to three half-days, but that was further reduced to two half-days when the Korean government decided to grant a special national holiday on Monday, August 17th to help people who were struggling due to the corona-virus restrictions.

Interestingly and frustratingly, despite my boys school not wanting an English camp this year because of the very short summer holiday and renovations at their school, they were over-ruled by the board of education. My contract requires a summer camp so they were going to have an English summer camp whether anyone wanted one or not. Truthfully, I would have preferred a longer break instead of having the camp. In any event, it was decided that I would host a live online camp with my boys school in the morning and a live in-person camp with my main school in the afternoon for two days. 

I was especially worried about the online English camp. How could I make it fun and interactive with the students logging in from their homes? And what about the inevitable technological problems? I felt it was a disaster waiting to happen. I expressed some of my concerns to my co-teacher at the boys school. I was relieved to hear that she was going to join the online camp, and we would be creative and make this work. What I should have been worried about was the in-person camp.

I organized the camp around watching videos of fun activities and then trying out the activities as a group. In fact, the lessons were so interactive that very little teaching would be involved. Good for me.

The semester ended on a Thursday. I had a nice long weekend before the camps were to start on Tuesday. After a few relaxing days, I got a text followed by a phone call from my co-teacher at my main school with urgent, emergency news. With the rise in corona-virus cases, the board of education decided, one day before camp was to open, that all camps would be conducted online. My day off, the national holiday had vanished. I needed to remake the camp and record 5 lessons by the next day. After that, I would need 5 more lessons for day two of the camp. Emergency was right.

After some intense work and lack of sleep, I was ready for the English camps. First was the live, online version with the boys school. We started with some inconvenient technical issues, but eventually, this moved along alright. Despite previous reassurances, my co-teacher was on the video call only to take attendance. Running the camp creatively was solely my responsibility. Bad for me.

Still, I think the boys enjoyed the videos I chose and we had some decent discussion afterwards. I had hoped that students would engage more and speak freely, but I think the online environment hampered that a little. Still, I was happy with their participation level overall. I really enjoyed showing the boys a short video clip of a minor hockey team dancing to Gangnam Style, which was a mega-hit song in Korea. It was a nice way to highlight our interconnections through music and YouTube.

Because the camp at my main school ended up being completely online and the lessons were pre-recorded, I didn't have much interaction with the students apart from correcting some of their homework assignments. This was a disappointing format for a summer camp because I couldn't get to know the students or spend time with them in a small group. But I was very happy with their homework.

In my lesson on how-to tutorials on YouTube, I assigned an origami video and the students were to submit a photo of the end result. They did really well with their folded butterflies. Hopefully, it was more fun than regular English class.

With all of the changes, both in advance and last minute, to the summer camp format, I think I was pretty lucky to have chosen YouTube as a theme. YouTube was the perfect choice for the online format. Since the camps were online anyway, it allowed the students to use that medium to explore English and Western culture. Unfortunately, the key activity of the camp, planning and recording a YouTube video was not possible. Perhaps I'll save that activity for another camp.

6 Month Update

Hard to believe that I've been in Korea for 6 months. Give or take, my contact is about halfway complete. I think time goes especially quickly when everything is new and you're learning each day. Also, when you're having fun.

And it has mostly been fun, although the pandemic has greatly shaped my experience and opportunities in Korea. Many people are wondering when things will go back to normal but for me, I don't really know what the Korean normal is. I only know what my brief experience in the country has shown me. Gradually, I would like to explore more of Korea and get the full experience, but I am content taking things slow.

I have a routine but there are always surprises that keep me on my toes. Specifically, at work, there is something we foreign teachers call the 'Korean Surprise'. I experience it as 'getting jerked around'. 

Essentially, the Korean surprise is unexpected and last-minute changes that impact my day. I learned that my class was cancelled from the students when I arrived in the classroom. The entire day's schedule had been changed, and I didn't find out until it was too late. Other times, I was assigned some work that came with a note asking me to please finish it in an extremely rushed timeframe.

I was recently asked to comment on students' written articles that were uploaded to the school website in a frustratingly tight timeline, even though the articles had been posted there for weeks. Likewise, I was asked to judge the student writing competition. I was given a few days to complete the task by Friday afternoon, but the teachers didn't give me the written submission until days later, with only 60 minutes left in the workday on Friday. I barely had enough time to read the students' papers, let alone give them enough careful consideration to select the winners. 

The writing competition was extra frustrating because the teachers already had an idea of who they thought should win the contest for each grade, so when my choices didn't align with theirs, they just over-ruled me.

There have been plenty of good surprises to keep things fresh and interesting as well. There was a surprise pizza party for teachers at the end of the term. Well, a surprise for me. My co-teacher forgot to tell me about it. We had pizza topped with shrimp, bacon, and barbecued beef. Also, chicken (bones removed) with savoury and spicy dipping sauce. This all came from Dominos with two hard-boiled eggs, a side order of pickles, and a 1.5-litre bottle of coke to share between six people. Shrimp on pizza isn't bad. By the way, whereas we pronounce Dominos 'DOM-i-nos', the Koreans pronounce it as 'doe-MI-nos'.

Also, the teachers wrote a nice card and bought me a piece of cake and ice coffee on my birthday, which was really kind. I actually put the teachers in an awkward position where they had to scramble to save face. I gave out some cookies and said this was a tradition back in Canada. When someone has a birthday in the office, they bring in donuts or treats for their co-workers. Well, the teachers were in a tizzy when they learned it was my birthday. They rushed out to get me something. I wasn't trying to make them look bad. I only wanted to do something nice.

Yes, I turned 40 years old in Korea. I enjoyed the video calls and messages I received from my family, friends, and well-wishers. Staying in touch while abroad is essential. Had my 40th birthday in Korea and 30th in Japan. Where will I be for my 50th?

Speaking of surprises, I've been getting acquainted with some of the local wildlife here in Busan. I stepped outside my apartment only to see a crab walking down the street. Not sure if it came up from the port somehow or escaped from the nearby seafood restaurant. 

Also, I had the nightmarish experience of having a damn cockroach crawl across my arm while I was sleeping. Still half-dreaming, I swiped it off me and jumped out of bed. I thought I had flicked whatever it was across the room. I looked by the floor around my desk and computer but saw nothing. So, as I was about to get back into bed I lifted up my blanket when the cockroach popped out. Utterly disturbed, I tightly rolled up a towel and went on the hunt. The cockroach was KIA but now I sleep uneasily, dreading that this will happen again.

I've had some nice moments with students recently. Because we've finished the set curriculum, we've been having fun classes and playing games. Also, the students are more available to chat at lunchtime. My end of term fun-class idea was the English Olympics. Students were divided into teams and we played a series of simple English games. 

Winners of the gold, silver, and bronze prizes received stickers, chocolates, and choco-pies. I bought several large boxes of choco-pies at the grocery store (reasonably priced). Unfortunately, some sections had their final class unexpectedly cancelled, so they didn't get to play English Olympics. I'll save that for an opportune time next semester.  

With the good, comes the bad. There were several students who intentionally tried to ruin the English Olympics by sabotaging the games and teasing those students who wanted to participate, and by purposefully distracting or shouting down students. This is extremely disheartening because you try to make a fun lesson for students and, in turn, they make it impossible for others to play. Middle school students, boys especially, are the worst of humanity, but at times, they are capable of also being the best to teach. You never know what you're going to get.

My 6-month update would not be complete without a comment or two about COVID-19, which seems to be under control here for now, although there is a spike in numbers every so often. My schools maintain their safety precautions, but the students are inconsistent with their face masks, and social distancing is imperfectly practiced except during lunch when students sit apart. There are typically 30-60 new cases each day in Korea. Many of those are imported and caught at various ports and airports. Still, there are restrictions on travelling abroad and it doesn't look like I'll be able to visit nearby countries any time soon.

Such a strange six months. It's hard to evaluate it because everything is new to me, but also this is a completely atypical time in Korea. Everyone (students and teachers, included) are figuring things out as we go along. Obviously, it has been quite challenging for someone new to the country to also adapt to a pandemic. But I'm optimistic about semester two and anticipate having better classes and more free time to experience Korean life. 

I Joined a Gym

I had wanted to join a gym since I first arrived in Korea. In my first days in Busan, my co-teacher took me on a little tour of the neighbourhood and showed me where the gym was located. Unfortunately, due to the corona-virus, it was closed for a few months.

My co-teacher said that she would help me sign up for the gym membership. "Don't go to the gym without me," she said. Grateful for the assistance, I knew it would be much easier to have someone translate the Korean on the application forms and explain the rules and procedures of the gym. So, I waited a few months and periodically walked past the gym to see if it was open. One day in late May, I discovered that the gym was open! I peeked in and saw a few people working out and wearing masks.

I had been trying to exercise at home and on the outdoor equipment at the nearby park, but I much prefer a gym. You don't need to worry about the weather. And it's hard to maintain motivation working out at home.

I asked my co-teacher for help signing up for a gym and to my surprise, she had a mini freak-out. She looked at me like I was crazy. Didn't I know that the corona-virus was very dangerous? The gym is not safe. Would you even be wearing a mask? It's not good to go into indoor spaces with people.

This was surprising given her earlier offers to help me sign up. My arguments were ineffective. I said there are more people in the teacher's office without masks and I have to come here every day. But alas, she worried that people would be "breathing heavily" at the gym. I explained that people were wearing masks at the gym. No matter. Joining a gym seemed to be a big problem for my co-teacher, so I dropped it. The core issue, she explained, was that it would put her in an awkward position if I got sick and it was discovered that she was the one who helped me register at the gym. She suggested that if I waited until June, then she would help me.

June came and went with no mention of the gym from my co-teacher. I was secretly enjoying my lazy lifestyle but decided it was time to get active and join a gym, and I would have to do it myself. Well, sort of.

I explained to another Korean English teacher at my boys' school that I was planning to join a gym and wondered if she could translate a note for me. I wrote a few sentences about what I wanted and she translated it for the gym staff to help facilitate communication and hopefully bridge the language divide so I could join the gym. She kindly wrote her phone number on the note saying that I could call her if I ran into difficulty.

The note was essential because once I entered the gym and asked the staff if he spoke English, his eyes bugged out when he said, "a little."  I could tell he was very nervous and not confident with English. We muddled through some of the particulars with the assistance of Google translate, but when our communication hit a barrier, we called my coworker on speakerphone who translated. It was a success, I signed the contract and got a brief tour of the gym.

I saved 10% on the membership fee by paying in cash, so I made a quick trip over to the nearest ATM and withdrew the 270,000 won (approx $50 CAD per month) which covers the fee for a 6-month membership. My picture was taken and entered into the system. I push a 4-digit code on the touchscreen when I arrive, and I'm set to workout.

That staff member has been kind and friendly whenever I see him in the gym even though his English isn't great. He struggled to answer my question, "How are you?" Still, he is welcoming. I haven't seen any other foreigners at the gym so far. It's possible that I'm the only one, or perhaps if there are others, they work out at different times.

I couldn't take many good photos of the gym because people were exercising but it's basically a standard, although somewhat under-equipped, fitness center. So far no old people using the machines barefoot or sitting on the exercise bikes for an hour like at my gym in Japan, so that's nice. 

There are these weird pieces of equipment that essentially vibrate and jiggle your body, presumably to loosen up your muscles. Otherwise, standard stuff. The gym also supplies exercise clothes for those who want it, so most people in the gym are dressed alike. And of course, people are wearing their face masks, although that is a little inconsistent.

Because the co-teacher at the main school was so against me joining a gym, I thought I would try to keep it on the down-low. I'd just start my exercise program and not advertise it. That didn't work because on the first day I went to the gym I saw one of the school groundskeepers working out there. He is a member too. We spoke, about what, I have no idea, but surely my secret gym membership has now been discovered. Don't know if he has shared this information with anyone else. Time will tell. I'm not concerned, just happy to be getting active again.

 

Studying Korean

It's stressful not being able to understand what is going on around you, and even simple interactions can be problematic. Life gets easier the more of the language you know. But learning the language is no simple thing.

While I am obviously exposed to the Korean language while living in Busan, very little of the language is naturally absorbed simply by being here. In fact, most of my day is spent speaking English. I am an English teacher and my classes are taught in English. Teachers and students communicate with me in English as much as they can. My free time is mostly spent interacting with English language media or conversing with English-speaking friends. Even while living in Korea, it takes a focused effort to learn Korean here.

I will say that English seems to be less essential here in Busan than my life in rural Japan. Busan is a large city so it's fairly common to see English menus or signage. Most people I interact with have some basic level of English understanding, at least, and many people can communicate quite well. It's surprising how many people can speak English here.

I've done a fair amount of studying Korean since I've been here but, unfortunately, I haven't really learned that much. At least, I haven't as of yet been able to convert my learning into practical communication skills and I'm still unable to understand most of what is being said around me.

Since May, I've been enrolled in an online Korean language course for beginners offered through the University of Waterloo. During my first few months in Korea I dabbled in self-study online but wasn't making much progress and preferring the structure of a class, I decided to try the online course. Normally, the introductory Korean course is only offered on campus in Waterloo, but because of the corona-virus this year, all courses are offered online, which was great for me because I'm nowhere near the Waterloo campus at the moment.

The course is pretty interesting and the professor noted that this was the first time he had ever taught an online course. He felt, and I agree, that learning a language is best done in-person, but we make do with what we have during these unique times.

Thankfully the course utilizes an asynchronous format, so I didn't need to attend lectures at a specified time. I could just log in at my convenience each week to view the pre-recorded lectures and tutorial sessions. I've been pretty consistent with my studying habits by watching the lectures after work on Thursday evenings, watching the tutorial videos on Saturdays, and completing the weekly homework worksheets on Monday. Each lecture is 60 minutes, and the review tutorials are also 60 minutes. It usually takes me about 1 hour to do the homework and submit it through the online portal.

There have been a few interesting assignments in the course. For the two reading exercises, I was provided with a short passage that I recorded myself reading and sent off to the Teaching Assistant for grading. Also, there is a presentation at the end of the course, which I just completed. I needed to produce a short script about myself and record myself speaking it Korean. Take a look if you'd like to hear some choppy, bad Korean.

The problem with studying online is that tests are set at a specific time. Students need to log in at 1pm on a Wednesday and have one hour to complete the test. However, that is 1pm Eastern Standard time. For me in Korea, that means I have to write the test at 2am. I go to bed early and then wake up around 1:30am in time for the test. I spend about an hour or so writing the test, and then somehow go back to sleep and wake up once again for work the next morning.

I'm getting better at writing and sounding out the letters and syllables but my comprehension and speaking are still very poor. Even though my online course has finished, I'll continue studying and try to improve throughout the year. Becoming fluent in Korean by the time my contract ends is not realistic. It's a struggle but I think the more I learn, the easier life will become. If I learn a few of the basics, I'll be satisfied.