Blogs from Kunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, Asia

South Korea, Kunsan AB Traveling is one of the most wonderious things; it provides an escape from reality, a drastic change from everything you know. The language, the food, the types of people - you don't know where the Hell you are, how to express that you are lost or why everyone stares at you when you decide to wear sweatpants in public. THAT is what makes traveling and living in a foreign country so amazing; it is like you are in a different world, but have simply hopped on a plane instead of a spaceship. Except, what if you are not in another world? What if you have traveled to another country, but nothing has changed? You may be aware that that you are somehow in Korea, but the need to adapt, figure out where ... read more

We wanted to wish everybody a Happy New Year and share some pictures from the first month of the year. So far January has been a very cold and snowy month, right before New Year’s Day we received about 16” of snow and the temperature has not been above freezing the entire month, last weekend another 6” of snow fell, I know for many of you this is not very much snow, but for the lack of snow removal equipment and the style of removal, it is a lot here. For removal they plow the farthest lane from the highway on-ramp, so if it is a three lane expressway, you have to drive over two lanes of deep snow to get on or off the highway. We have taken a few hikes in the snow, one ... read more

I haven't written in a while because my life's been relatively low-key since the mud festival. Normal social outings with fellow teachers and Koreans, nothing really to brag about. I have gone over to my friend James' house a couple times and we've cooked up some stellar dishes in the past week. I miss having American ingredients at the ready. I had a Korean co-worker go to live and study at Mizzou University for a month, she came back saying that most American food tastes really salty. I wonder if I will experience the same effect upon my return... I have had an incredibly un-American ingredient twice now in Korea. It is called boshintang, or dog stew. I'm not sure what kind of dog we're dealing with here but I never got to meet him/her, I ... read more

This week's entry comes a little late. I was hoping some friends who had cameras with them would snap some pics and put them on Facebook but none have surfaced yet. Sorry guys for another text-rich, picture poor entry. I'll try to remember to snap some photos more often...I've never been much of a shutterbug though. All week I revisited cooking with my 6pm adults class. It was something we covered way back in December but the students cycle through consistently enough that it was new for almost all of them and Kyong Yun forgot it so it was like the material was all fresh! We traded recipe advice and went over the steps of prep and cooking. We made a visit to a grocery store near the school to review ingredients and on Friday we ... read more

This week was all about getting stuff done. It was a wave of relief to get the contract I wanted from my boss. I was fairly uncertain I was not going to be able to negotiate what I wanted. The most important thing I think was that I was not overly confrontational. In the US this might work but it's not a good tactic when dealing with Koreans I don't think. They are looking for a win-win and value commitments far more than their Stateside counterparts. As of Monday I will officially end my teaching career in Gunsan on October 1st. I pre-emptively went to the dentist last week not knowing how my contract talks would go. I was informed that my four back teeth are going to shit. The other 24 soldiers are tip top ... read more

This was a split week. Started out okay. I had the day off on Wednesday so I went with Jen and James to Costco in Daejon. It was a nice trip, they're pretty cool people...I could see myself kicking it with them back in the States. I overspent at Costco but I won't need toothbrushes again in the foreseeable future. :) Getting back to school on Thursday I tried to do some contract negotiation regarding Rachel and Evan's wedding in October. It didn't go as I'd hope. I really miss the common respect bosses and employers have for each other that I've experienced at jobs in the past. At this point I'm exploring options but will probably just sit on this for a while, it's all I can safely do. This weekend I decided to be ... read more

It's interesting how my routines and lifestyle and social circles all have changed in the past six months. Living here is completely unlike being home. Every habit, every friendship ebbs and flows. People leave and new ones come. Classes change, students leave, new ones come to fill their spots. I feel like I'm in a stasis being removed from my 22 year progression towards some great career path to happiness. Even though everything is changing here and now, none of these changes will matter to my life in six months. I think it was put well by a friend who recently returned home, "it's as if Korea was just a dream". I went through the week so quickly and quietly there is virtually nothing exciting to report. I sat down earlier today intending to write a ... read more

After my crazy and expensive week of DJ fest and Children's day I tried to be a little bit more scaled back this week. I pretty much just had a normal work week, nothing too special. Friday was the last teaching day before Teacher's Day (Saturday) so I got a couple of gifts from my adult students including a nice button up shirt and a cake I shared with the office. It was very nice and definitely made me feel appreciated because I often don't. Teaching kids and middle schoolers is a thankless job! On Friday night I went to dinner with Andrew and our co-worker Rira. She had interviewed us for a project she's doing in a university class and got a perfect score on the project so she wanted to thank us. We of ... read more