Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Korea!!


We celebrated with the kids all month long during our Camps on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Here are some pictures from the 2nd grade camp last week. Tonight we are having a few people over for Halloween and we're baking an Apple PIE with our new oven!!!


We made pumpkin masks, skeletons, watched Winnie the Pooh Halloween, Charlie Brown, Disney, Sang songs about pumpkins and witches, and ran around like mummies! It was all quite exciting. Here's a few pictures from the camps.

Kate, "Make a witch hat if you are finished!"

"OK", says the cutest 2nd grader ever.

Everyone is almost finished, even teacher Chang!

I didn't really help much, I was just playing with the kids :)

But the pumpkin masks all got finished!!

They weren't happy then... but they were soon enough when we gave them candy!!

The sixth graders got to run around in toilet paper like they were mummies. This was mildly successful. :)

What a mess...

SAFEM Expo (and a piece of social commentary)

Tank, Chad, Kate, Teacher Joe (our main co-teacher) and some of the 6th Grade Girls

Two weeks ago Samcheok hosted the SAFEM Exposition. It happens every few years, no one was able to tell me how often. This week long event is the biggest safety fair in all of Asia. Samcheok was flooded with people from all over to visit booths about safety. Last Thursday our Camp was cancelled and we got to accompany the 5th and 6th graders on a field trip to the Expo.

Inside a Tank

Peace

I have to admit that on the surface this was all fun and games but I think I can speak for both myself and Chad in saying that the exposition of the military gear was a bit unsettling. A lot of what we encountered was very familiar. I do not know the specifics but I do know that the US was the designated country to help South Korea get on its feet after the Korean War. Considering how familiar these tanks were I assume that they might be one of the few American things we have encountered here.

Anyone know more about this?

Daddy, look! We got a new car!

Okay, so we got into it a little bit . . . For the kids.

Teacher Joe!

Teacher Cha-duh

Do you remember us mentioning the creepy mannequins that stand on the side of the road to direct traffic? Here are a couple of examples.

Another main highlight for us was the indoor cave reconstruction.

Kate the Stalagmite

This was really fun. We ran around the plastic rock with the students for a while but then we got separated which was great for a photo shoot.

Chad going down the Ice Shoot!

At least someone in Korea is painting!

Flash backs to the Knife Edge (inverted) on Capitol Peak!

Henry is back! Chad takes a fierce approach to conquering this gigantic bat!

Treasure Chest! I felt like the Little Mermaid but not as graceful. . . no mer-tail.

I took this picture for my Mom. Are they not too cute? I am not sure where they but their little sweaters.

Here is the stage that we could here from our apartment late at night. This is a Chilean band, it made me think of my boys back home. :)

Dancers from Thailand (Marlie do you have one of these outfits yet!?) (My friend Marlie is teaching Thailand right now. Chad and I want to go and visit her in January!)

This is the huge smoke stack-cake in Samcheok. I just thought you needed to see it.

This is our grounds keeper/bus driver! Check out his fancy bus driving outfit!

This brings me to an interesting and off topic point. I think that through out this blog you have probably picked up on the fact that the social system here is very different from in the States. AKA WOMEN ARE NOT SEEN AS EQUAL. Another piece of the social differences is the hierarchy of position. So, for example, this bus driver is supposed to treat me, a teacher, with more respect than he would treat a fellow bus driver. I am not supposed to treat him with the same respect as I do the principle. This has been incredibly difficult (possibly even more difficult than knowing that they are always going to go to Chad about anything and not me). I grew up with my parents pounding into me to treat everyone equally. Everyone should receive the same amount of respect. The fact that it is offensive to some that I treat someone "bellow" me with the same respect I give to someone "above" me has been incredibly difficult. This part of their culture is incredibly difficult to adjust because in my opinion it is WRONG!

Well, we are here to promote change, to help bring Korea into the Western World. How much of that can I do without offending everyone? A thin, wavering line. All I know is that I will not stop respecting people. i just need to figure out how to respect without offending others. Wow.

I just had to get that out there. One of the reasons I know I will never make Korea my permanent home.

Happy Sunday! We are off to play Badminton!

I still have no money.

So, I left the US for many reasons - one of which being to save up some money and pay off some debt. The plan was to send money home and pay credit cards and student loans and come home with some extra cash and no debt. That plan is looking less and less possible thanks to the markets and value of the Korean Won. Check this out..

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=USDKRW
It's crazy... The Dollar/Won ratio just broke 1,400 Won per dollar.
When we came 2 months ago the dollar was 1,063 Won per dollar. So basically the money
I make here is now worth 40% less than it was before when I send it home. It takes 40% more won to buy one dollar. So, I send home 2,000,000 won (which ideally should be $2,000) and I only will have about $1,500. This makes paying off debt and sending money home a lot harder. :(

We'll see, I'm sure it will get a little better before we leave, but will it get better in time for us to pay our bills in the US without loosing a lot of money in the process? Let's keep hoping for a speedy won recovery. The dollar is doing better, but until the Won catches up, it's only good if you're trying to send money to ME, not the other way around.... And feel free to do the former :)
-Chad

"I Smell Burning" ... "Kate's Making Dinner" :o)

Finally a tour of our Apartment!!

Here are some pictures from two weekends ago when we made Hummus and Pita Bread and hung our new clock and map!

Hummus and homemade pita.. and a bit from the broken Pink Blender :( (Sorry Kate)

Hanging the clock... Long Nails into Cement walls is no fun and proved to be quite dangerous, hence the Elton John Glasses :)

Adventure Fridays...

I'm writing this at my Friday school Kongcheun Elementary 공촌초교. Kate is sitting next to me after an unexpected trip here from her Friday school Jangho Elementary 장호초교. How did we arrive at this pleasant surprise? The story, I will tell...

This morning early, at about 8:20, Kate and I were picked up by Stephane (pronounced - [Stef-awn] - A 40 something single Korean man who enjoys going to singles night at his christian church. His nick-name is Stephane from the time he spent working as a missionary in a French speaking country. We drive the 25 minutes to my school Kongcheun listening to Korean Christian ballads and not really talking much at all. This is all part of the Friday Routine (if you can call it that). I get out at my school and walk up to find many extra cars in the parking lot. (No longer are we on a normal schedule - from here on out it gets more and more random). I walk in to find Principals from other schools, VP's from other schools and other high up administrators from the ministry of education in Samcheok. This was somewhat expected because today I was teaching in a Demonstration Co-teaching class. We practiced for this last week so that students were well rehearsed. I walked around a met some of the "powerful people" and then we practiced a bit before the class at 10:10. The back of our classroom filled up with observers and we taught a most perfectly rehearsed class. Even the Korean teacher, who doesn't speak much English, said most of her English directions without having to look at her script. We were all pleased. Then they started to move desks in for some bigger meeting, so I left and went back downstairs. One of the supervisors for Elementary Ed in Samcheok (who has introduced himself to me now, 3 - 5 times, he drinks a lot and already smelled of soju at 9am this morning) came into the office and asked me to come upstairs to discuss our lesson. I obliged and went to sit in on an hour meeting (ALL IN KOREAN) about my co-teacher's and my class. It was very exciting. :( Then I waited another hour doing nothing but chatting with Kate on gmail about how confused we both were, then ate lunch - a sprawling traditional Korean meal (made by the school cafeteria) including raw octopus, wheh (raw fish), snails, Noodle soup with beef (all I ate) and of course - rice and kimchi. Everyone ate and was merry for 15 minutes and then left. Seriously, it was that fast.
After everyone left, I sat and started to write this post. Then I hear "Chad? " Whoa it's Kate!!

Kate's day was less surprising in the morning. No large crowds of important people or raw Octopus. But, because her principal was at MY school, they had a very relaxed day and decided to out to eat and go fishing. Fishing however is MAN's Activity, so she was banished to the joy of Kongcheun. Stephane wanted Kate to come fishing, but no one else did :) So they all went out to eat, then drove her to my school and said "Go find your boyfriend". Then, "Hitting Bong" (seriously, that's his nick name - his last name is bong) came in and told us we are going to dinner with him and his principal. Then we find out it's the whole school in celebration of the morning. Now everyone is cleaning up the school, and we are sitting here bored and slightly confused. This is the tale of pretty much every Friday... It's always an Adventure.

If anything else crazy happens we'll be sure to update this post. But for now, wish us luck!

Hand Art

Intertwined, October 2008, Seoul, Korea

This blog post holds another quirky chunk of our trip to Seoul. The day after we experienced the amazing Hotdog Fry we took a walk to the palace near our hostel. On our way to the palace we noticed a little science museum. We decided to check out the little museum. Our two friends that we were with at the time, Eve and Dave, both worked in a Science museum for kids in England so they were very excited!

At the end of our tour of the museum we noticed a bunch of kids crowded around this station. They were all getting these lovely little personal sculptures. Despite our fast approach to our mid-twenties we decided to koin in the Hand Sculpture fun!

1. Choose pose.

2. Cover hand in lots and LOTS of hand lotion.

3. Soak hand(s) in huge bucket of ice water.

4. Dip hands into the hot wax.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until your hand feels like it is being squished to death and the man helping you dip signals for you to stop.

(I clenched tighter and tighter as the wax got firmer and firmer. I've never really been to into sticking my body into hot wax. . .)

6. Watch the Master of Wax-Hand Sculpture shave away any random shoots of wax that protrude from your creation.


7. Pick your colors!



8. Place Hand Sculpture in clear plastic bag so that everyone you pass can see your beautiful creation.

It was fun! Now our Hand Sculpture is sitting on top of our huge TV, I hope it doesn't melt!

"We are the change we've been waiting for..." Part III

...But there is hope, and I'm thrilled...

Most of you know that I support Obama. I have from fairly early on in the race. I realize that I fall into the demographic of “young adult liberal” so why wouldn’t I support Obama? Good point, but there’s more to it than just that. I remember watching his speech in 2004 to the Democratic National Convention and saying to myself – why can’t every politician be like that? Precise, Hopeful, Genuine. Little did I know he would battle the Clinton machine and become the Democratic nominee only 4 years later. For the most part Obama also seems to abhor social conservatism as much as me and is taking that battle to the source (winning most of the time). He’s a masterful politician (and he’s only 47). He has been successfully running a campaign for the highest Washington office based on an anti-Washington platform (Clinton didn’t even try that... ). He actually seems to change his mind now and then when the circumstances require it after deliberating and consulting with his advisors. He’s willing to admit his faults and seems to be open to other options than just what he thinks is right. Most of all he brings dignity, change, and hope back to the table; three things that the country has needed and waited for, for the past 8 years. This notion that America could actually be proud of the way it conducts itself in the world again has gripped the nation. It’s sad that that’s even a necessary change, but no one will argue that it’s true. After the past 8 years of the politics of fear, the country is ready and in need of some hope. That’s why Obama routinely draws 40 thousand people to his rallies and amassed a crowd of over 200,000 people in Berlin, 99% of which can’t even help elect him. That’s why he has one of the largest ground campaigns in history with supporters flooding every state knocking on doors and hosting gatherings. Call it rhetoric, call it lofty, call him an “empty suit”, call him elite (and explain to me why that is bad?), but it’s caught on and gotten people excited about this year’s election. I have friends and family who never would have thought twice about politics normally, but Obama has made them feel like they can contribute and be a part of the process again. Granted much of this can be attributed to the disdain and unhappiness many feel with the current administration, but Obama is an exciting candidate and a great representative to seize the opportunity of change. For the first time in my brief political awareness I feel like what I stand for and believe in might be represented and fought for in Washington. And who knows, maybe in a few years it’ll be just a little bit easier to have health insurance, a little bit easier to buy gas, a little bit safer to travel abroad, a little bit easier to own a house, we’ll be a little bit closer to real energy independence, produce a little bit less pollution every day, and we’ll have a little bit more stable global economy.

Now I’m the first to admit that some of Obama’s proposals sound a little far-fetched and expensive, and that the challenges he faces are unmatched in history. Universal health care will be hard to make happen and may not work at first. Education in America needs a complete overhaul - good luck on that. Foreign policy needs to be redefined - We can’t continue to wage on war on states, when the enemy is a stateless entity. Social Security is disappearing - I’m not even expecting any money but my Parents still better get some. The Economy needs a good facelift - Please, make the korean Won go back up. The list goes on, but it is because Obama is ready and willing to try to change or fix even some of these problems that he gets my vote. When I hear Obama say we need to change Washington, I know (or hope) that it’s not just a political saying. When McCain says it, I feel like it’s only because he has to now, that’s the only thing this election can be about if you want to win. McCain might bring change to Washington, but more in the swift moving “Maverick” style of sudden jumps. I’d rather a steady swift overhaul - let’s step back and make sure this thing is right. Sitting here in Korea I can see that things are possible. I went to the Dentist today and only spent 5 dollars. I bought cold medicine last week for only 2. Universal health care can happen and it can work. Granted Korea got to restart and build up from scratch 60 years ago but it’s possible; and Korea is not the only one who’s gotten it right.

Obama wants to try to get it right...
...and that’s why I support him.

I’m not asking people to agree with me. I’m not asking people to say I’m right or wrong. I am asking for people to think. To research. To examine all the options and then make up your mind. I don't care who you're rooting for, as long as you take a second to think about why you support them, what one position makes you stay on one side or the other, what one quality has steered you that way? What quote or policy? Now - go research it - make sure it's true, make sure the other guy doesn’t think the same thing and if they don’t – why? Once you sift through the rubble of American "journalism" make up your momentary mind. Then tomorrow – do it again. I’ll do the same. I’ll research both McCain and Obama, both Palin and Biden and everyone else on my ballot in an attempt to become better informed in the remaining days of the election. It’s the least we can do… Then, of course, go vote!

This manifesto of sorts is by no means an attack on anyone's beliefs or political leanings. Only an attack on apathy. Only a rally of support for what I believe in and a call for awareness of what has been and could be, that I can't let slide by as "policy" or "patriotism". Not this time - the problems of the world have only been accentuated by seeing how the other half lives. And I’ll be coming home soon...

The Tale of Hot Dog Fry

One evening in Seoul. . .

Behold Doota. This is the one tiny shopping maze we entered in the huge shopping district, Dung Dae Mun, in Seoul.

This is how we felt. Blurry Maze. Exhausting.

Chad loves shopping. :)

In hunter/gatherer fashion, he went in search of water and returned with news of nourishment never before seen by our Western eyes.

Which did we choose?

This - - a hot dog covered in batter and french fries.

One bite.

Bigger than my head.

Our friend Eve partaking in this artery hardening endeavor.

Dave took a bite, don't worry.

Phew, okay, after that dramatic presentation of a taste of the tastes we got in Seoul, hello! We had a marvelous weekend full of things we would like to share with you soon. Most of the pictures we took were of events such as these. So, you get to see the quirks of Seoul. I hope everyone is well!

Sleep time!

K

"We are the change we've been waiting for..." Part II

(We're in Seoul this weekend shopping and EATING. More when we get back!) Here is part II...

Old Mac…

I’ll spare the typical preface of “he’s a hero and honorable and has served the country for 800 years” bit because we all know I’m not questioning that. I’m not upset at McCain’s record, I’m upset at McCain NOW. More accurately I’m upset at people who believe everything he says. Much of his candidacy has been based in lies (especially the past few weeks); all this after a pledge to rise above the Republican playbook, to run a clean campaign, and a previous record of honest leadership. He is using trick tactics to try to win the election. I was listening to The New Yorker's election podcast the other day and someone was drawing a metaphor between the economy/stocks and McCain/Obama. Obama being the long term investment, his campaing being carefully calculated months in advance. McCain being the ultimate day trader only looking for the buy/sell of the day. I’ll just start with a few weeks ago…Sarah Palin. Who?! For someone who’s main attack on his opponent for the entire campaign has been Experience, to appoint someone with even less experience and more controversial views just because she will shock and awe the American people is a pretty backwards move. I was never the biggest fan of Hillary but at least she earned the right to be center stage and had to fight to get there. Palin had no struggle, no tests, and seemingly no vetting, before being thrust into the limelight on America’s Next Top President. I have no problem with women in seats of power, or women in politics --- but I do think anyone who is in that short list should at least have the capacity to answer a few questions with Katie Couric before being considered a viable candidate to run the country. People make the same case against Obama --- “he has the same or less experience than Palin…” --- The past 18 months have been a constant uphill battle for Obama and he has prevailed at every step. Beating the strongest political machine of modern history (The Clintons) along with other “seasoned veterans of Washington” is proof of his political chops and I think his ability to lead. He's got a movement behind him and I don't think much can stop that. And contrary to conservative attacks many of those people can actually think for themselves. Remember... "You may fool all the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all the time."

More than the issue of experience, I disagree with 99 % of everything Palin says and in some ways McCain does too. So why did he pick her? It seems to me it was merely a sly political hail mary. A "Maverick" Move. Let us not forget that Beau Maverick was a gambler - who bluffed, and lied to win his hands. Palin believes that the world was literally created in 7 days, 6,000 years ago, Women who were raped should not be allowed an abortion (and even charges rape victims money for rape tests in her own town), M-16s and assault rifles are every citizens right for protection and “hunting”, homosexuals shouldn't be allowed any civic rights, Christianity is the only religion in America, stem cell research is a crime, and that “thanks, I’ll take 453 million dollars in ear marks for my state” means “Thanks, but no thanks”. Garrison Keillor wrote this a few weeks ago for Salon.com, “And a former mayor of a town of 7,000 who hired a lobbyist to get $26 million in federal earmarks is now running against the old-boy network in Washington who gave her that money to build the teen rec center and other good things so she could keep taxes low in Wasilla. Stunning. And if you question her qualifications to be the leader of the free world, you are an elitist. This is a beautiful maneuver.” He then followed it up with… “When you check the actuarial tables on a 72-year-old guy who's had three bouts with cancer, you guess you may be looking at the first woman president, a hustling Evangelical with ethics issues and a chip on her shoulder who, not counting Canada, has set foot outside the country once -- a trip to Germany, Iraq and Kuwait in 2007 to visit Alaskans in the armed service. And who listed a refueling stop in Ireland as a fourth country visited. She's like the Current Occupant but with big hair. If you want inexperience, there were better choices.”

As if that wasn’t enough, people are actually buying into this. McCain and Palin have distorted everything Obama has said or stands for in the past few weeks and people actually believe it. Even when they know it's not true...(<--read the bottom paragraph of that page) which brings me to my next and more important beef with America. How is it possible that people actually agree with these stances? How are people still so ignorant or stubborn to even acknowledge the idea of evolution or global warming? To say that the world was actually created in 7- 24 hour periods after which the lord sat on his butt and watched tv is so absurd it’s laughable. Remember this is coming from a Preachers kid and know that I’m not trivializing religion or the Christian creation myth. I’m just pointing out that that’s what it is… a myth, a story, a parable to help explain why we’re here to people of that religion thousands of years ago. We (more accurately Palin and the neo-cons) are the only people in the developed world who believe and fight for a literal interpretation of their creation myth, blatantly dismissing evidence and scientific explanation regarding evolution as false. And they want to teach your children about it… How is that still possible? How are people still so prejudice to not allow people of different sexual orientations to get married, claim co-dependency for taxes or finances, and have visitation rights at hospitals? How is that still possible? How are people still capable of support policies that allow water boarding, and other torture tactics to interrogate other humans? When did the U.S. digress to such atrocities? How are people so closed minded that candidates for the highest office still have to combat sexism, racism, and ageism? How are people so blissfully unaware of what is happening in the world around them? How many Americans do you know that have no idea where Iraq is on a map? What is happening in Tibet? Georgia? North Korea? Venezuela? And they don’t want to know… What does that have to do with me? What does that have to do with my job, my money, my Sunday night football? Although this is probably not the case for most of the people you know, it’s still scary how many people actually think that way. And it seems like more and more people fall into that mindset every election cycle. America is a place where those ideas and lifestyles should be tollerated but it is okay for America to promote that as the status quo? It's like we have to find a lowest common denominator... Maybe we can blame Fox news and Bill O’rielly? Or apathy. Wake up!! And with those issues above that are distinctly tied to social conservatives and Republican leaders in this election, I ask how are people able, in good conscience, to support their platform. I completely understand supporting a Republican ticket for issues that are truly Republican, like responsible applications of small government, fiscal responsibility, watching but not governing free markets, and foreign policies of speaking softly and carrying big sticks. I agree with many truly Republican ideals and surely will someday support them, but this Republican ticket and the current administration exemplify a modified breed of Republicans… one of hyper-social-conservatism. Their odious social stances should sound the alarm for all Democrats and right-minded Republicans. (and luckily it seems to be... in some circles.) There are many reasons that the Democrats aren’t perfect either… Obama has only publicly supported Civil Unions between homosexuals – not marriage (a good step, but come on!). Democrats have trouble acknowledging that completely universal health care is practically a pipedream. Obama has changed his mind on issues like offshore drilling, and supports another stimulous package that I feel is just a distraction from the bigger tasks at hand. Dems have inconsistant stances on foreign policy and in this election in particular they have pandered to the center on a lot of social issues to get votes. But the Democrat’s demons lie predominantly in public policy differences, not social – different ideas on how to best manage the country – not ideas on how repress, revoke, or reject people’s human and social rights. Even if Democrats have all the wrong answers for global terrorism, the economy, health care, and education – if it means more open social pluralism and awareness around our country and the world I can only support their cause. Granted, I happen to believe that more of the 2008 Democratic policies are what we need right now, but that’s neither here nor there.

(Next post... Why I'm thrilled...)