Weekend Staff Trip
Today is Christmas Eve in Korea and all the students have gone home after morning classes to start their winter vacation. All the staff however must stay until our usual home time. As frustrating as that may be, it gives me time to write in this blog and I will have plenty of spare time in the next couple of months over the winter break.
Last weekend was my first overnight trip with the staff of my main school. In Korea, these kinds of trips are called MTs (member training). The "training" aspect is very minimal and these trips are designed to be more of a fun bonding experience than training.
We left the school at 1:30 pm on Friday afternoon. The students also got a bonus of only having a half day of school. We took a coach bus from our town of Taebaek to the beautiful coastal city of Sokcho about 3 hours north.
Let's just say this was more of a culinary tour than anything else. There's little more that Korean love than food. Before the bus even left the school we were each given huge ziplock bags full of snacks for the trip plus a roll of kimbap (a lot like a california roll except in a log form) each. When we arrived we had a short "training" session which consisted of a few speeches and some motivational clips of Hollywood movies with subtitles. Then we all headed off for some delicious food and drink.
I love living in a country surrounded by ocean. Access to fresh fish is just outside your door, even for me living in the mountains, the ocean is only a little over an hour away. But in Sokcho, fresh fish is the cuisine to eat. I have never eaten so much fresh seafood in my life as I did on this trip. Raw, cooked, boiled, fried, any way you can eat seafood, I ate it. And all kinds of seafood too, some I couldn't identify but I ate it anyways. Apparently I ate so well that my principal, upon seeing me tuck into a delicious mussel soup, commented that I must have been Korean in my past life. Needless to say, I when I returned home Saturday night, I really didn't need supper that night and I probably could have skipped eating Sunday as well.
The best part of the trip besides the beautiful scenery and the delicious food was getting closer with the other teachers at the school. I am always surprised and grateful for the effort they make in making me feel included even when I often don't understand what is going on. A few teachers even make the effort of speaking to me in English which I know is challenging and often embarrassing for them but I am very grateful.
Sadly, as close as I have become to my co-teachers in these last few months I may have to say goodbye to some them at the end of the semester. Korea's education system has a strange way of handling teachers' employment. There is a limit on how long one can stay at a school which is a maximum of 5 years and a teacher can only stay in the same city for 10 years before having to move. Some of my teachers have reached their time limit and must leave. I am very sad about this and nervous about the co-teachers I will get next year. Co-teachers are the factor that can make or break your experience here and so far I have been extremely blessed. I hope that continues into next year.
But to end on a happy note, it's Christmas Eve and I will be spending my first Christmas away from home with my Taebaek family. I am very excited to spend Christmas with them and it takes away some of the sting from being away from my family at home.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy New Year where ever you may be. May you find happiness in whatever situation you are facing this holiday season.
Last weekend was my first overnight trip with the staff of my main school. In Korea, these kinds of trips are called MTs (member training). The "training" aspect is very minimal and these trips are designed to be more of a fun bonding experience than training.
We left the school at 1:30 pm on Friday afternoon. The students also got a bonus of only having a half day of school. We took a coach bus from our town of Taebaek to the beautiful coastal city of Sokcho about 3 hours north.
Let's just say this was more of a culinary tour than anything else. There's little more that Korean love than food. Before the bus even left the school we were each given huge ziplock bags full of snacks for the trip plus a roll of kimbap (a lot like a california roll except in a log form) each. When we arrived we had a short "training" session which consisted of a few speeches and some motivational clips of Hollywood movies with subtitles. Then we all headed off for some delicious food and drink.
I love living in a country surrounded by ocean. Access to fresh fish is just outside your door, even for me living in the mountains, the ocean is only a little over an hour away. But in Sokcho, fresh fish is the cuisine to eat. I have never eaten so much fresh seafood in my life as I did on this trip. Raw, cooked, boiled, fried, any way you can eat seafood, I ate it. And all kinds of seafood too, some I couldn't identify but I ate it anyways. Apparently I ate so well that my principal, upon seeing me tuck into a delicious mussel soup, commented that I must have been Korean in my past life. Needless to say, I when I returned home Saturday night, I really didn't need supper that night and I probably could have skipped eating Sunday as well.
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| Temple by the Sea in Yangyang |
Sadly, as close as I have become to my co-teachers in these last few months I may have to say goodbye to some them at the end of the semester. Korea's education system has a strange way of handling teachers' employment. There is a limit on how long one can stay at a school which is a maximum of 5 years and a teacher can only stay in the same city for 10 years before having to move. Some of my teachers have reached their time limit and must leave. I am very sad about this and nervous about the co-teachers I will get next year. Co-teachers are the factor that can make or break your experience here and so far I have been extremely blessed. I hope that continues into next year.
But to end on a happy note, it's Christmas Eve and I will be spending my first Christmas away from home with my Taebaek family. I am very excited to spend Christmas with them and it takes away some of the sting from being away from my family at home.
I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and happy New Year where ever you may be. May you find happiness in whatever situation you are facing this holiday season.
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