The Internet Ramblings of the QiRanger

Kicking Back With The Flops

It’s Thursday here in Korea and I’m about ready to finish my first week of Summer Intensives. Now what does that mean? Well, in Korea schools end in July for about a month. Many kids sign up for special camps or take a month long holiday. To capture the former group, my hogwan has changed its schedule to include a 3 hour special program in the morning. We teach this for 4 weeks… then in the afternoon return to our normal classes.

The work is intensive for the students, but actually find it a much easier schedule and way of teaching.

Now please remember that my regular teaching schedule was M/W/F from 1.40pm to 10.05pm and Tu/Th from 3.40pm to 9.20pm. This new schedule is as follows M-F from 10am – 7.30pm. The summer classes run from 10am – 1pm M-F and then I have my normal classes in the afternoons on the same M/W/F or Tu/Th schedule (with a few time shifts to allow me to get done earlier).

The days go by quickly, but M/W/F is not fun. The reason being is that we have a one 45 minute lunch break/prep time between the two halves of the day. Which really means I need to get to school around 9am to prep for the day. Tu/Th is a bit easier, as I have a 3 hour chunk of time in the middle of the day that’s free. What’s also nice is that all instructors have my last “break” off. So we’ll hit lunch earlier and then go out for coffee before the afternoon classes.

During this summer session I teach three speaking classes and one writing course. Students stay in one room and the instructors rotate. The first two classes are the exact same. Which makes teaching it a breeze. In fact, all I do is show up, ask them how they are doing, have them recite their homework (they must memorize and repeat 5 lines of text each day (don’t even get me on the failure of educational design on that objective)), then we talk about the 10 questions in the book. The third speaking class requires a bit more work, but is essentially the same. The writing class is easy too. They have to read an essay, summarize it, then read another topic discussion and develop their own essay.

Because of the change-up in schedules, we have a lot of new students joining classes. And that sometimes means not being told until you walk into class and see someone new there. Most often without books. I had a new student join a 3.2 class recently. He’s a bright kid and should be at a level 4 class, but is in mine for the time being. Without books, he could only complete 1/3 of the homework. That’s not his fault, but when his mom asked him how hard the class was, he said it was easy. No duh. Hard to gauge a class when you don’t have the materials and don’t have to do all the work. I corrected that issue last night.

Probably the most frustrating thing about the Summer Program, was that no-one knew what we were teaching until 15 minutes before class started on Monday. This is normal for hogwans, but a little frustrating. Teaching here really teaches you, as an individual, to roll with the flow and not stress about things. I spoke with one ESL instructor who quit his job because of all these last minute changes. I chortled to myself, because after being in business for so many years, I’m used to scrambling and punting. I mean, it’s not that hard to entertain kids for 45 minutes with a text book. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing.

In many Christian Churches around the world, the weekly messages from the Clergy focus on two things: salvation through Christ and the spreading of the Gospel to non-believers. It’s the latter of these topics I’d like to discuss today, since many use Matthew 28:19-20 as justification to proselytize.

The NIV translates the passage as:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

On the surface, it appears these believers are doing what they are supposed to do. In fact in many cases they are; however, many who have taken up the cause of spreading the Word do more harm than good. The reason being is they glance over the passage and fail to adhere to it’s meaning. The key words of the passage are make disciples and teaching.

You see, simply announcing that “Jesus is Lord” on a street corner does nothing to spread the Gospel. It may be true, but people are not going to listen. Think back to school and to mentors in your career. Information was presented in a trusted environment and in a manner that allowed you to listen. Christians on a Mission need to remember this when they present the Gospels, for if they do not, no one will hear them, even if they are shouting.

Some of the best ways I’ve seen of individuals sharing their knowledge of God have been over a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Sitting in a non-threatening environment, with no expectations, and sharing information. Allowing questions… having a dialog.

One of the most least effective ways has to be this African-American Church I saw in March 2008. They had set up a booth near the entrance of country festival. It was a great location that could have been really utilized, but was not. The Church choose the opportunity to “sing” what I can only describe as Christian-Gangster-Rap-Gospel Music. Not that there’s anything wrong with that type of music, if you find it enjoyable… but when you’re in the middle of farmland with 90% white people, loud, jarring music is going to be thought of as noise and the words to the music are going to be ignored. Meaning that all the time and effort the Church put into it’s showing would be wasted.

A recent podcast said it very well… when you share the message… share it in a way incorporates the culture that your approaching. That is the way they will listen.

South Entrance - Hwaseong Fortress

One of the most amazing things I’ve found out about my area, is that there are a ton of very cool things to see in the immediate area. I recently took a trip out to Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, something that i’ve been looking forward to since I began planning my vacation. The funny thing was, that many of my Korean friends looked at me with the expression, “You’re going to the fortress? Why?” “Um… because it’s a national treasure. Because it’s a historic landmark. Because it’s in my backyard.” With all the traveling I do, I’m always amazed when people dont’ take advantage of their surroundings. It was probably the biggest thing that pissed me off about living in Arizona. I mean, I had friend that had lived in Arizona for 20 years and had never been to the Grand Canyon. THE GRAND CANYON. One of the seven wonders of the world and they never made a 3 hour day-trip to see it. But I digress…

Northeastern Sentry Post

The Suwon Hwaseong Fortress has an amazing history, and let’s face it.. it’s huge. I had no idea when I planned this trip and completely misjudged how vast this place was. Construction began in 1392 and continued all the way up until 1910. Many improvements to the fortress’ design were made in 1794-96. Over the years, some area were destroyed (even during the Korean War) and a major restoration push was made in the latter part of the 1970s. The fortress itself was built to signal a shift in power. When King Jeongjo assumed the mantle of power from his father, he wanted to usher in his own destiny and moved the seat of power from Seoul to Suwon. In addition the fortress served to be an economic center of the nation. It’s this latter fact that is quite impressive. Many Koreans are unaware that this was the purpose of the fortress.

Fortress Walls

The walls of the fortress are also quite unique. They run a total of 3.4 miles (5.52km) and have several holes built into them. These small openings allowed Suwon defenders to chuck spears, shoot arrows, and other firearms at attackers. To get an idea how massive the wall is, guides recommend taking 3 or more hours to walk the circumference. Along the way you get an excellent opportunity to see modern Suwon, both inside the fortress and outside its walls. For while it is a historic site, it’s still functioning as it was intended with people living inside its walls as well as thousands of businesses continuing to operate. More to come… for now enjoy the album.

Chogysea Temple

On days like this, I can get used to being on vacation, because I got to do what I enjoy most… explore. The day started off normally. I got up, enjoyed a pot of coffee and went for a run. Then I got dressed and walked the fifteen minutes to the subway station. My first stop today was the Chogysea Temple in the heart of Seoul.

It took about an hour to get there from where I live, but that was all right. The subway ride gave me time to relax and just collect my thoughts. I was also able to purchase one of my favorite treats along the way for breakfast: an egg and toast sandwich for $1.50. But I digress.

Small Buddha

The Temple is located within a 5 minute walk from the Anguk Station (Orange Line) and well worth the trip, as it is the only major temple within the old city walls of Seoul. The temple itself was built in 1910 and became the official home of the Chogye order in 1936 (the largest Buddhist order in Korea). The name was chosen after the last Japanese incursion, as a way to purge any linkage to the occupying forces and was chosen to honor the Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Ch’an Buddhism, Huineng (the mountain on which he lived was called Chogysea).

This is a Temple that still functions today. Seeing people come to practice their faith in the middle of the day, and in the middle of hundreds of tourists is amazing. In fact, anyone who wanted to experience the Temple could do so. Simply by taking off your shoes at any one of the side entrances, you were welcomed to enter the main hall.

Buddhas

Now, not being a practicing member of the order, or knowing that much about Ch’an Buddhism (other than it was the founding method of the Temples for Kung-Fu), I elected just to watch. People that were praying, seemed to bow to different directions and then get down on their knees or sit and meditate and pray to the three large, central Buddhas. One of the modern enhancements to the Temple has been a series of fans that constantly circulate the air inside.

White Pine

Unfortunately, I was unable to hear any of the ritual chanting or drum beating. That must be an awesome sight. The other thing that really catches your eye is the enormous white pine that resides in front of the Temple. It’s said to be 500 years old and to have been brought over from China. It’s stunning.

This was a fantastic way to start the day, as I admire people who can take the time to worship the way they feel is appropriate, anytime, anywhere, especially in the heart of a city and at the end of Tourist’s destination.

After taking my pictures and paying my respects to the various visages of the Buddha, I took my leave and made my way back to the subway station for a short little transfer to City Hall Plaza. The next Destination on today’s journey was Deoksugung Palace.

Deoksugung Palace

Now this was really something to see. Literally when you exit the subway, you’re up against the Palace wall. In fact, the Palace is in the middle of Seoul’s busiest intersection. How’s that for prime time real estate?

The original buildings were constructed in 1454 for Wolsandaegun. The grounds are not as impressive as Gyeongbokgung, but considering that this was the official palace for more than 600 years, the implications for Korean history are far greater. In fact the stonework for the main roads is amazing (and something the Palace is known for).

The path to Jeonggwanheon

Now there were two thing that impressed my about this palace… well maybe three. First, Jeonggwanheon was build by Go Joeng in 1900. It was the first European influenced building on the premises. In fact, Go Jeong loved to sit on the porch of this facility and drink coffee. how cool is that? The second, is that some of the other building constructed in the 1900s were used by a joint commission of the US and USSR. BRILLIANT! Finally, there’s a small display of a water clock. It would fill with water and then at specific intervals ring a bell. It’s a scientific and cultural relic, as it is the oldest known clock of its type known.

Here’s a link to the full album…. video to come.

Going for a walk in Korea

Well today did not go as planed. For starters, on Sunday, I learned that the hot springs I had been looking forward to visiting in Incheon was closed. not just closed on Monday (as many places are), but closed until August 7th. I had been dreaming of spending a day in the hot oceanic waters… steaming my face… taking it easy on a rainy day. I was bound to find another way to experience bliss.

So I opted to located a Jjimjilbang, or a traditional Korean Bath House. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to find one close by, or for that matter, one that was good. But the Internet is a great resource and from Skype, I’ve met a few new friends that live in the area, so they were able to tell me one that was only a few subway stops away.

Considering that I was willing to travel to Incheon, get on a bus, then a ferry, and then another bus to get to the hot springs, traveling a half dozen train stops was a no brainer for me.

But just what is a Jjimjilbang? In short it’s awesome. But if you’re a modest person, this may not be the place for you. For while the men and women’s sides are kept separate, for the most part, you are nude the entire time.

And it is glorious.

You arrive and pay your money. This was a rather nice one I went to and cost me 7000 won for the day. I took my robe and went to the men’s locker room. After placing my footwear in the shoe locker, I was taken into the changing area and shown the locker for my belongings. I stripped down to my birthday suit and left the Jjimjilbang attire in the locker for later.

I then proceeded into the spa area and proceeded to follow the custom of taking a shower and making sure I was absolutely clean before entering the water. There were four large spas. One was jade-green and had signs noting that it was a special herbal bath. This one was seriously neon-green and I wish I could have taken a picture of it… as it was unreal. Two other spas were set at 40C (104F) and one last one at 45C (113F). A large cooling bath was against the back wall to help cool you. There were also two wet steam rooms set at 60C (140F) and 65C (149F) respectively.

It was awesome. I stayed down there for about an hour. It was also nice seeing people not being hung up about being nude. I loved it.

Then I decided to shower up again and put my Jjimjilbang clothes on and head downstairs to the co-ed dry saunas.

As with most Jjimjilbangs, the facility is open 24 hours a day. This area had massage areas, work-out rooms, and two restaurants, in addition to three heated rooms and one air conditioned room. It was in these heated rooms I was able to take a really nice nap.

This is a great cultural experience and one I plan to repeat several times a month over the next year.

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Chillin' Today.

So after nearly a full day of rain and a month of working, I find myself with one thought… I miss the kids. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my weekends being free and I love the fact that over the next week, I’ll finally get a chance to explore some of Korea, but I do miss that educational environment.

It’s a feeling that I’ve had before. There’s just something about being around learning that I really enjoy. The process of generating lessons, of sharing information, and being there when someone gets it. Over the course of the next week, I get to play the student and learn more about Korea’s heritage and what makes it special in the region. I’m really looking forward to being on the learning side of the equation for a while.

This past week has also been very interesting from a teaching perspective as well. You see, while each classroom is outfitted with CCTVs, and the video fed to the web, Mothers are invited to sit in and observe the classes every few months. Many of the teachers freak out about this, but I don’t. Not because I don’t care, but because I can’t change how I teach just because someone else is in the room. I always try to prepare my best and elicit the best in the students. Sometimes we have great classes, sometimes we don’t. But for the most part, each lesson is a fantastic experience in which I get to help four young minds grow.

When my contract is up next summer and I return home, I wonder if I will feel the same way. I hope I do, as I really enjoy teaching. I’m not sure if it will be teaching in classroom I pursue or some other educational endeavor (because I would love to travel the world and teach people about it), but I know I will continue to learn and assist others in their educational goals.