I'll be home for Christmas

It's official. I have my tickets and everything! I'll be seeing all my friends and family in Minnesota for the holidays! Well, technically only one of them since I fly out on New Year's Eve. But I'm still excited. More to come!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been out of the country for the last 2 Thanksgivings so I wanted to make sure to send warm wishes to all my family and friends. I hope everyone's holiday season is off to a beautiful start. I wish I could be home for the holidays...if only in my dreams...

Miss you and love you!

Getting better

Hey all,

I never write, I know. Sue me.

I'm feeling much better since my last post. Things are looking up and I'm even enjoying my job! We had a teacher's workshop a week or so ago and it was actually quite helpful. It really put me in much better spirits about teaching and Korea. I just hope this holds through the end of my contract.

Since the workshop I've been spending a lot more time planning out my classes and just more time at work in general. Sometimes we put so much energy into thinking about why we dislike something that if we used that energy to enjoy what we do have thing would equal out more. That's what I was doing. I focused far too much energy on all the little things I hated about my job/boss/Korea that I overlooked all the awesome things. Most days I spend about an hour at school after my last class planning for the next day--something I never used to do. It's made my days much smoother and more enjoyable. The head teacher has definitely noticed and is trying to convince me to stay another year. So I must be doing something right!

Our Halloween party at work required draining hours of extra work outside of the regular schedule and during our normal breaks but it was a huge success. We made a pretty cool haunted house/maze out of cardboard boxes for the kids and they all seemed to enjoy it. The kindergarten kids all the way to the middle schoolers went through and everyone came out smiling. But man, I slept well that night.

Yesterday, we all celebrated Halloween in Busan. It was great! So many people (Koreans and foreigners) were dressed up, dancing, and having a great time. I went as a mummy and was probably stopped about 40 times by strangers to have my picture taken with them. I don't think Koreans celebrate Halloween much and certainly don't dress up as mummies often so it was quite unique for them I suppose. There were so many fun outfits though!

Tonight we watched a scary movie at a DVD bong (instead of renting movies it is more common in Korea to rent a private room where they have DVDs for you to watch on pretty amazing home entertainment systems. It's actually quite fun and since the apartments here are rarely more than a room with a separate bathroom it's nice to get out of it from time to time.

Well, I'm off to get ready for bed. The week starts bright and early tomorrow!

PS Thanks to everyone who sent me a letter or package. I loved all of them even if I didn't write back! I'm so horrible at that but I still intend to!

Feeling down.

Work's been getting to me lately. I'm growing to really dislike my time here in Korea which isn't fun. My weekends and vacations are golden and I haven't felt like I've been able to relax much in the past few weeks. To top it off, I injured my left elbow somehow and haven't been able to go to the gym or do yoga until just the last week and a half. Also, I have had to take a break from running as I was starting to get some shin splints and don't want to exasperate the injury. I haven't ran in a week but will probably start again this week.

I had a nice weekend this weekend. I did a hike up to the top of a small mountain in Busan where I saw some cool (though I doubt authentic) sculpture in the rocks--a kind of outdoor altar. I went with a couple I met at the Temple stay I did a few weeks back. They are good people and it's nice to have friends outside of Gimhae to go visit.

Anyway, if you love me and want to put a smile on my face I'd love to hear it or get a postcard/letter/anything in the mail! (hint, hint!) I promise to respond quickly!

I hope you are all well!

Love, Zach

Zach Wegner

Noblesse BL. 5F 1145-2 Nae-Dong

Gimhae-shi, Kyoungsangnam-do, Korea

Summer

The past few months have been interesting to say the least. I've been able to experience a few unique things about Korea--both good and bad. A typhoon came through, I stayed a weekend at a Buddhist temple, and work has been less than pleasurable.

The typhoon ended up being more hype than anything. There was some strong wind and a lot of rain, lightning, and thunder, but nothing more than one might experience several times during any given Minnesota summer. There have been a few more recently. In fact, Typhoon Malou just swept through the Korea Strait last night. There was some rain but it wasn't like the Typhoon that hit us. Afterward, in an attempt to capture some of the effects on film, I went for a walk with my camera. I had gone for a jog right before and saw somethings I wanted to get on film so I can officially say I ran 5 kilometers through the aftermath of a typhoon. The storm knocked down some trees (all of which were poorly and freshly planted along the street) and there were branches and leaves everywhere. An interesting experience, I'm still waiting to experience a really strong one.

A few weekends ago I spent the weekend at a Buddhist temple. It was a refreshing experience and I'm glad I did it. We practiced meditation, experienced a typical meal of a Buddhist monk/nun, and woke up at 4am to do 108 bows--a great workout. All in all, I loved the experience but have no plans on pursuing Buddhism as a way of life. Nothing I like about Buddhism necessitates Buddhism and, like every religion, its adherents have some pretty crazy beliefs. One of the guides (not a monk himself) at the temple believed that his son was saved from being hit by a car that passed right behind them on a crosswalk simply because he does 108 bows on occasion.

I don't want to talk much about work because it's really not enjoyable at the moment. We are worked long hours with no extra pay even when extra classes are added. There is no way out of the work except to just leave the country because our visas are connected directly to our employers and not to the field. For example, even if another school was hiring and I applied and got the job, I would still have to leave the country for at least a few days in order to end the current visa with my employer. There is the option to transfer the visa, I think, but private academy directors in Korea are notoriously assholes and ours is no different.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well! Miss you!

Rainy day

Hello everyone!

I've been on summer break for 3 days now (5 if you include the weekend) and I have 2 more (4 if you include next weekend). It's been really nice up until today. It's been rainy and cold all day. It's good for the environment though. From what I understand the region hasn't and enough rain this season. It'll make everything that much greener when I'm out hiking and running again. I've actually been feeling a little under-the-weather today anyway. Nothing too bad but a chest cold that has kept me from running or going to the gym today. Anybody who runs or works out regularly knows how annoying it is to not be able to continue a training schedule.

I've found a little coffeeshop not too far from my place and have been spending several night here. It's nice because I've been able to get a lot of writing and reading done. I even made a quick drawing in one of the journals the owner has left on the tables for customers to fill. I've really been wanted to get back into a more creative routine again. I bought a sketchbook and some pencils to facilitate this. I haven't drawn anything yet. My apartment, while I appreciate it for being free, is not a very warm or inspirational place. I need to get some plants and put something on the walls.

I've been really good about keeping track of what I eat and what I'm spending my money on. With a dual-goal of getting into shape both physically and financially it's necessary for me to really know exactly what is going into my body and what is coming out of my wallet. I haven't been very good about this in the past but have found some helpful websites and Excel spreadsheets that make it quite a bit easier to inventory.

It's been really nice having a break from work, the kids, and the classrooms. I enjoy teaching but I'm finding that I don't enjoy it at a Korean hagwon (학원), private school. I really am much less of an English teacher and much more of a person that is paid because I am a white, native English-speaker. My job is not to make sure that the students learn English as much as it is to make it look like the students are learning English. The parents and director want a stack of completely English books to point to and say, "my child speaks English, just look at all these books!"

I guess even this has its benefits as I am understanding more and more what direction I want to take my life and it has less and less to do with specifically teaching English to speakers of other languages. I wouldn't mind keeping it up it conjunction with other things I find more inspirational. There are several graduate programs I am now turning to that I think will really make my career what I want it to be.

More news to come on that...

June/July Update

Hey all!

I hope this blog finds you all well. I'm doing pretty well myself. The last few weeks have been pretty productive for me. I've decided to run a marathon while I'm here in South Korea. I've been training for about 3 weeks now and feel really good about it. I just finished a 9.3k run this morning through a pretty heavy rain. It was hard to work up the motivation to go but once I was running it felt great to have the fresh rain tapping my face. I've also been watching what I eat a lot more which is harder than I thought it would be here. Luckily, a few of my coworkers are trying to do similar things--get in shape, eat right.

I've been reading regularly, too. I finished Carl Sagan's Cosmos. If you haven't read this and are in anyway interested in the universe, life, and the future of the human species I suggest you take the time to read it. It really goes quickly. I had it done in a week. I'm almost finished with The Conquest of Happiness by Bertrand Russell. I'm not quite as interested in it though.

As for Korea, I haven't been able to do much exploring. I did go on a hike this weekend up a beautiful mountain with a friend. We road his motorcycle there. It was my first time on a motorcycle and it made me want to get one. The mountain was a difficult climb. Not only had I just run a 5k that morning but Koreans don't really understand the concept of a "switchback". Instead of slowly zigzagging up the slope the trails tend to just go straight up the side of the mountain.

I should have my camera again next week so I can post more pictures.

It's been awhile

I guess it tends to happen with blogs that people can go weeks, months even without writing and I've fallen into that slump. It probably goes without saying that I've been busy and when I get home from work I tend to want to do nothing more than crash. To be honest, I've been rather low on funds until recently and so I haven't been that motivated to do much. I hope that will change as my current outlook on life is ascending. Perhaps the onset of the first summer I've had in 2 years has something to do with it?

I thought I'd post some pictures from around my apartment complex and along my walk to work. I have to get back to work soon so I can't write much. I hope everyone is well and I look forward to writing to you more!

This is my favorite stand at the local market near my apartment. The woman who runs it is a beautiful and

energetic person. She always remembers me and says "Hi!". My first time shopping I bought some apples from her and she gave me a handful of free mandarin oranges. I always try to give her business.

Below is a shot of more of the market. It's a constantly busy place with dozens of stands to buy produce, seafood, grains, and clothes from. It's definitely nice to have nearby.

The produce at the market is quite cheap and so it allows me to save some money and eat fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. I can't complain about that! Here's some of the seafood:

Foreigner day at a Buddhist temple in Busan

I spent the day today at a Buddhist temple in the city of Busan. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea and I'm living in one of its suburbs. The temple I went to puts on a special talk/activity day for foreigners. Today we heard from a Zen master who was originally from Philadelphia. He's been living all over the world since then at Buddhist centers. His talk was a basic overview of Buddhist philosophy. His talk was interesting and motivating. I think I might look into Buddhism more after hearing from him.

After his talk we had a break. My friend, Karen, and I walked around the temple, drank tea, and ate some snacks. We even chatted with the Zen master in a small group. Then it was time for the activity part of the day. Today's activity was paper lantern making. We made two different kinds of lanterns. The first was the orange one on the right in the photo. It involved "painting" strips of paper with glue and then pressing them onto a metal-wire frame. After letting it dry you can put a candle in it and hang it from a line. I actually have it lit right now in my apartment and it looks great!

The other type of lantern we made was called a lotus lantern. It is much more ornate and is supposedly made in honor of Buddha's birthday which is the 21st of May--right around the corner. It is made using the same kind of lantern we had just made but then you glue on the flower petals around the outside of it in order to make it look like a lotus flower. They are actually quite beautiful and surprisingly difficult to make! I had a ton of fun doing it though. During are time there some children who were on a retreat at the temple for a week joined us and made their own lanterns. They were dressed and treated as monks which meant people were not allowed to touch their heads or play with them. They were really cute though!

The ceiling of the temple was covered with ornate painting and hundreds of paper lanterns. The colors were amazing! It was such a bright, warm, and welcoming atmosphere. The pictures I have don't do the temple justice.

The papers hanging from the lanterns have wishes written on them.

First few weeks in Gimhae

I'm sitting in my apartment on a lazy Sunday. The sun is out and shining and I'm about to hit the shower and do some grocery shopping. I wanted to let you all know a little bit about what I've been up to the last few weeks though. It really shouldn't take long because mostly I've been at work.

Wonderland is a pretty fun place to work. I enjoy all of my coworkers and most of my students. Some are just a bit of a challenge. I work most days from about 10:30am to 7:30pm although I tend to go in early just to get comfortable and be sure I have everything ready for the day. I'm teaching kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. I have 2 kindergarten classes for and hour each and then the elementary and middle school students for 40 minutes per class. There are days where I don't know how I'll fill those times but most days I actually have to give some homework to the older students. My coworkers are all fun and we've hung out on the weekend and evenings.

The most challenging thing has been getting used to living alone again. I'm used to living with people so I tend to have the TV on or some music playing in the background just to make it feel like other people are here. The language barrier also makes for a bit of a hurdle when going grocery shopping. I'm hoping to find a Korean cookbook so I have a better idea of what to buy at the grocery store. Ovens aren't very common here. Most people have a gas stove top and a small fridge. Some have the luxury of a microwave or small toaster or convection oven but I'll have to wait until I've made a bit more money before I can afford those.

I went for a hike with some friends the last two weekends. It's been really nice to get outside and actually experience spring again! It's been a long time since I've had the hope of summer since I spent last summer in South America where it was actually winter. It's getting pretty humid already and from what I hear it is only going to get worse. I grew up in Minnesota, though. I can handle it.

I promise to get some pics up soon!

Hope all are well!

Zach

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=293196

Arriving in South Korea

Well, I was hoping for another adventure and it looks like one is starting. I arrived here in South Korea on Monday, April 12th at about 9:30pm.

The flight was long but not terrible. I didn't sleep much which I was glad for because it has allowed my jet lag to be minimal. I was picked up at the airport by the local recruiter. I had never met or talked to her before and only heard her name once that night so I can't recall it here for you. She was very sweet and brought me right to my (furnished) apartment where my director was waiting to meet me. The apartment was a small studio but it has it's own bathroom, kitchen (minus the oven), and washing machine located about 10 minutes by foot from my school. It's been a pleasent place so far, though I still need to buy groceries, and is aparently packed with foreigners. I don't forsee any issues.

I went to work the next day after lunch which I was treated to by the director. It was at a tiny restaurant on the second floor of a nearby building. Hidden around several corners, a flight of stairs and a doorway which faded into the surrounding wall, it would have been difficult to find on my own. The lunch was delicious and the conversation was nice. Afterward, we walked back to school so I could shadow a few classes that afternoon. The classes should actually go pretty smoothly. All of the classes have a predetermined curriculum with readings and workbooks. I'll have some autonomy in exactly how I present the material but I won't have to develop anything on my own. Even the lower level students seem to be lightyears ahead of the students I had in Chile (with many exceptions on both ends) and the school is complete English immersion. The level of English is already impressive. Hopefully, I can help advance a few more students. The next day I took care of medical/dental check-ups and spoke with my supervisor about his expectations and job description and requirements. It's been nothing but shadowing since then. I start teaching on my own tomorrow and I'd be lying if i said I wasn't nervous. I'm sure there'll be some speed bumps but all in all it will be fine.

My social life is actually doing quite well. I ran into another foreigner on the street after work on the first day. I had been in South Korea less than 24 hours at that point and this stranger's first words to me were: "Are you new? Are you the Chile guy?" Apparently, word spreads quickly among the foreigners here. We went out for a few beers and I was quickly invited to 2 more get togethers this week. It's a very friendly and inviting crowd here.

I should be getting internet in my apartment soon and will then be able to post pics. For now I hope this suffices. I hope all are well! Talk soon!

Zach