Teaching adventures 1: 왕따

Every school has them.

The outcasts, the loners, the person who just, for whatever reason, doesn't fit in. In Korean they are known as 왕따.

We had been forewarned about how to deal with the outcasts during orientation, as elementary and middle school kids can be particularly cruel. That is not to say, however, that my school is without its outcasts.

I was on the lookout early on to see if there was anyone who was picked on or left out during activities and the like. Seeing that most of the girls got along fine & worked well together, I don't know, I guess I just got it into my head that everyone, for the most part, got along. Sure, there were more popular students, there were vocal students, there were shy students, and others who distracted the class, but I honestly didn't pick up on any sort of negativity.

I was looking for the wrong things.

At the high school level being ostracized from others doesn't come in the form of taunting, blaming, or snickering. It's a quieter kind of ostracism. It's neglect. It's complete and utter indifference. It's not caring enough to even make fun of you.

I didn't even know that one of my student's was an outcast until it was pointed out to me. I knew she was a bit different than the other girls--but I thought she had some friends at least. She would come around my desk sometimes after school or in between classes, just wanting to talk. I thought she wanted to improve her english, and maybe she did, but after one of our chats, the teacher whose desk is next to mine turned to me and told me that it was nice that I chatted with her.

I was surprised at this. I will always talk with any student who wants to practice their english. I didn't see chatting with this particular student as being anything out of the ordinary. But then the teacher went on to mention that she doesn't have any friends. Not even one. In the entire school.

She was a 왕따.

I was so confused. I thought, at least, that she was friends with the girl who sat next to her in class. I had seen them talking during class. But then I thought, and then really observed, their interaction. They sat next to each other because of assigned seats. They talked, to clarify instructions/directions. The girl who sat next to her wasn't cruel in the slightest, but also, didn't make an effort either.

I couldn't believe I had missed her isolation. During activities, because she's so bright, she often leads the group giving them answers. The group accepts her, albeit temporarily, because she gives them answers. They include her, but again, don't make the effort to befriend her.

This girl puts on a damn brave face. Whenever I speak with her she always puts a smile on her face and she's bright and cheerful. But I also see her wandering the hallways by herself, or lingering around the teacher's room to talk to teachers because she doesn't have anyone else to talk with.

And it breaks my heart just a bit more every time I see it happen.

I mean, I was never the popular girl growing up. I was terribly shy, and while I wasn't a complete outcast, I mean, I definitely could have been. So I know what that loneliness--that sheer anxiety & loneliness--feels like.

And I also know there's nothing for me to do to make her not be the outcast. Such is the dynamic in any sort of school, between any set of students. The best I can do is speak with her--validate her thoughts and her feelings and her existence. Give her the attention she can't get from her peers, and make sure he self-confidence and self-esteem doesn't falter. I know that she'll find people, eventually, who accept her as she is. Unfortunately, it probably won't happen in high school. Considering that she's a second year, I'm hoping that things get better for her here, or that she'll survive the hell that is high school, and start anew at university. There, she can reinvent herself, be whoever she wants because no one will know anything about her.

In the meantime, I enjoy my talks with her.

Jongmyo Revisited: Daejae

I posted earlier about the Daejae ceremony that happens on the first sunday of May at the Jongmyo Shrine.

To recap, the Daejae is divided into three parts-- Greeting the Ancestral Spirits, Entertaining the Ancestral Spirits, and finally, Sending off the Ancestral Spirits. These rites are divided among the two halls of Jongmyo.

930-1130am: Ceremony at Yeongnyeongjeon
1-3pm: Ceremony at Jeongjeon (main hall)

The Daejae is only held once a year, and the actual family descended from the last emperor still facilitates over the ceremony. There are many things that cater to tourists in Korea, and in particular Seoul. Many rites/traditions and the like are "reenacted" for the sake of the foreigners here.

Jongmyo's Daejae is not one of those things.

It is a living testament to Korea's past. A reminder of its history and tradition in the wake of the modern world. It's unlike anything else in the entire world. It is not a reenactment. It's the real deal.

And in it's complexity, but also in it's striking simpleness, it's beautiful in ways that are so different from today's world--like the woman wearing a traditional hanbok, while strolling down a cement sidewalk.

on the left side were people standing and doing elaborate motions. In the middle were the musical performers playing traditional instruments. There was also someone chanting & in the background the offering was being made to the ancestors.

The women in the blue and white hanbok kindly remind you not to step on the sacred pathway.

It's interesting that people who are beggars think that they can be choosers.

Then they pass judgment as if they wouldn't do the same thing in your shoes.

Get off your high horse.

No more fan accounts, no more fancams.

Because beggars can't be choosers.

Black Day 2011

This is such a late post but for the sake of thoroughness, I'm including it and don't care what anyone says.

April 14 is designated in Korea as Black Day.

Another day that centers upon whether or not you are coupled up.

February 14 is Valentines Day---here the girls give gifts to the boys.

March 14 is White Day---on this day it's the boys who give gifts to the girls.

April 14 is Black Day---where singles get together with the friends and eat jjajangmyeon (짜장면), which is a noodle dish with a dark soybean sauce that looks, fittingly, black.

If people back home like to think of Valentine's Day as singles awareness day, imagine having a single awareness day thrice in one year, with one day literally set aside so single people everywhere can cry into their bowls of jjajangmyeon!

I have to say that while I appreciate Korea giving Singles everywhere their own day to celebrate their singledom, because if couples get their day (days) then singles should get theirs too, right? But I think it's also quite funny because in giving singles Black Day, they are essentially pointing out their singleness as if they weren't aware of it on both Vday & White Day! And in Korea, everyone prefers to be in a couple instead of not, so being reminded three times a year is a bitter sort of pill to swallow. For Koreans. I however, love being single and jjajangmyeon is delicious so I waved my single flag proudly as I finally partook on in the festivities of a colored day. On Black Day I ate myself full with a bunch of other single friends.

And none of us were crying into our jjajangmyeon.

A Meeting with Dr. Fish

Last week I was on a shopping excursion with some friends when we decided to make an impromptu visit with Dr. Fish.

"Dr. Fish" is the name of the treatment where the little fishes come and eat off the dead skin of your feet.

I've actually been wanting to try this out for awhile, and managed to rope friends Christina and Andrea to going with me. Since we were shopping in myeongdong, we visited a place called "The Foot Shop."

It was really nice inside lots of wood design, which I love. They spoke japanese and korean at "The Foot Shop," I'm not sure how great their english is. When you walk inside the first thing you see is the reception area, and just next to it, the seating area where guests are allowed to soak/wash their feet after changing (the provide lockers to store your things & complimentary clothing just like a jimjilbang [찜질방]). We opted for a 40 minute session that included a foot massage that was 29,000--which you pay upfront.

Everything was all fine and well until the three of us were sitting around the small basin that held the fish. Then nerves set in and none of us wanted to be the first to put our feet in. We were a bunch of nervous giggles and squeals, so much so, that the man in charge told us we were wasting time (we only had 40 minutes & the clock was running!) I don't know what it was, I knew that the fish didn't have teeth and that they would be doing me a favor, but everytime I tried to put my feet in, they would all rush to that spot and all I could see were their mouths opening and closing, waiting to be fed.

Andrea was the brave soul who went in first. I followed shortly after, then Christina. It was a gradual process, dipping your feet just a bit at a time in order to get used to the sensation. I knew it was going to tickle but it wasn't so much ticklish for me as it was just... odd. And in the beginning I couldn't look at the fish feeding on my skin. If I did, I would psych myself out and in the next moment I was pulling my feet out of the water. For the first 5ish minutes, I had to turn away and watch the TV next to me to distract myself from the fact that the odd prickling feeling on my feet was due to a small school of hungry fish.

But after awhile I got used to it and it everything was a-okay between me and the fish. It actually felt kind of nice. After a while, we each got moved to a different room where we got foot massages. As Andrea said, "I'm kinda a slut for foot massages."

At the end of the treatment, as well as during, we were served some tea & by the end of it, the three of us were all very relaxed.

It wasn't until later that I read online about the risk of infections due to the "Dr. Fish" treatment. But I talked to a friend of mine back home, and she told me that the fish can spread infections from other guests, but that it was probably the same risk as going to get a mani/pedi.

Nonetheless, it was a memorable experience for me that was both hilarious and very much needed. A pampering session is always good in my book!

Subway Directions:
- Myeongdong Station, line 4 exit 6.
- Walk down the center road of the shopping district, hang a left at the second street.
- Located at the "T" at the end of the street.

Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival

This year from April 13th to April 17th was the annual Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul. During this time of year there are several cherry blossom festivals held across Korea, the most famous one being the Jinhae festival located in the south, near Busan. However, being the busy person that I am, I couldn’t, wouldn’t, make the time to take the hours long train ride down to Jinhae.

However, Seoul has it’s own cherry blossom festival held on Yeouido island—home of the National Assembly, Hangang Park, an the 63 Building. There is a main road that snakes behind the National Assembly Building and follows the curve of the Han River, and is blocked off so no vehicles are allowed to pass. Only pedestrians.

If taking the subway, you can get off at either the Yeouido Sation or Yeouinaru sation.
I went with my co-teachers, one of whom lives on Yeouido, and she suggested the Yeouinaru station.

Be warned, the subways will be incredibly packed.

Also, the streets will be incredibly packed.

From Yeoinaru, walk west along the river and you’ll be in the heart of Hangang Park. There are bike rentals here with bike paths, and what I’ve been told is the “”Piano Stream”—named so because at the bottom of the shallow, man made stream, are little bars that resemble the black keys of a piano.

At Hangang Park.

We walked along the river path instead of the sidewalk as it was less crowded. However, if you are hungry for some street food—ohdang, ddukbokki, hotdongs, silkworms, meat skewers, squid, thos sugar cookie things—take the sidewalk. A second attraction is that cherry blossom trees line the sidewalk, and who doesn’t want to walk under a canopy of almost snowflake life flowers?

Once you get to the main road of the festival, the street vendors cease and you are plunged, head first, into a sea of people—each equipped with their own DSLR cameras taking pictures with just about every and anything. There are cherry blossom trees lining one side of the street, and on the opposite side is either some performance act—there were stages set up periodically along the road, or a walking art exhibition centerd around, you guessed it, flowers.

Along the sidewalks on the main road there are art exhibitions on display.

But basically everyone wants to take about a million pictures of themselves with the cherry blossom trees.

And for good reason too. They are simply gorgeous.



If you stay around long enough, or want to see the trees in a new light, come to the festival after sunset. At night, the trees are lit with different coloured LED lights—orange, green, blue, purple—and they just make the pretty, prettier.


It can be a little tough, dealing with the crowds, and on the legs too, because you’ll be walking. Its roughly a 15 minute walk from the subway station to the main road, and the main road stretches on for awhile.

But if you can deal with the crowds, it and don’t mind the walk, you can take a blanket with you and sit at the Hangang Park. Also, if you want to see the cherry blossoms but don't mind the crowds, go a week before or a week after the festival, the flowers will still be there :)

Dongdaemun & Jongmyo Shrine

Thus begins a series of posts to get me all caught up with DoReMiFa.

I have to apologize ahead of time for the low quality pictures of this post. I stupidly didn't know my camera was low on battery when I set out this day, thus everything is cameraphone quality.

About two weeks ago I ventured out to see Dongdaemun Gate, also known as the Great East Gate, also known as Heunginjimun, also known as the Gate of Rising Benevolence, also known as 흥인지문, also known as 동대문.

phew.

To be brief, Seoul, as the capital city of the Joseon dynasty, is surrounded by mountains, was fortified by walls, and had four main gates to the city: north, south, east, and west. In the present day, only 3 of the great gates remain (there were also 4 smaller gates). Dongdaemun being one of them, with Namdaemun in the South and Seokjeongmun in the North.

Dongdaemun, or rather, Heunginjimun as it was called in historical records & what it's called on all the street signs, is the Great East Gate that it located in the Dongdaemun shopping district.

You can't get a decent picture up close because the gate doesn't fit into the frame when you stand on the sidewalk. To get the whole gate, you have to cross the street, but then there's that street in the way. To get a decent picture, take a photo in the middle of the street...like when you are mid-way through the crosswalk. It's unfortunate that theres a busy street so close to the gate.

Sorry for my suuper bad photos. I only now realized that the pictures I actually took with my camera, I think I deleted without downloading them, so I only have these super crappy pictures I took with my phone. This is taken on the sidewalk edge--what I was talking about when I said you couldn't get a proper picture in a single frame.

And now onto Jongmyo Shrine.

The shrine itself is located a stone’s throw away from the main palace: Gyeongbokgung, and the shrine houses the spirit tablets of Korea’s past kings and queens. It was created in the late 14th century during the Joseon Dynasty.

It was at Jongmyo that the King himself would perform in the Confucian Jerye--ceremony to honor deceased ancestors. It was held 5 times a year, but since the 1970s is only held once a year, on May 1st. Jongmyo and it's Jerye have, respectively, been named to UNESCO's World Heritage as well as Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity lists.

The entrance to the shrine is set in Jongmyo park, which is currently undergoing a dig, so the main walkway has up a walking exhibition. Also in the park you can find a bunch of families, as well as ahjummas and ahjussi’s exercising. If you have the ticket booklet, no need to go to the ticket window, you can just walk right up to the main entrance and hand the guard your ticket book and he will take out the appropriate ticket. There is an English tour but not on the day I went, so you are free to wander the grounds and see the shrine’s different buildings.

The first thing you that greets you once you pass the main entrance is this interesting stone walkway that criss-crosses the grounds. It is one walkway, divided into three parts, the center aisle slightly raised.

This was this stone walkway that only the King, Crown Prince, and those carrying the sacred tablets (symbolic also of the walkway for the Kings of the past) could walk upon. The center, raised aisle was for those carrying in the tablets/ the Kings of the past, the right was for the King, the left was for the Crown Prince. If you follow the walkway, you will follow the path the tablets and the King and Prince took when performing the ancestral rights.

The main building and the highlight of Jongmyo is Jeongeon--the hall housing the spirit tablets.

I am planning on attending the May 1st Jerye ceremony, so hopefully I can update with better pictures :)

Directions:

-Subway: Jongro 3(sam)-ga station, exit 8 (from line 5)

-When you exit the subway station, go straight about 5 minutes until you reach Jongmyo park. Go through at one of the entrances and approach the main gate.