Today is Sunday, January29-- the Lunar New Year. I started celebrating this morning with a bowl of ramien, and a book. I moved one of my couches out onto my back porch and soaked in the morning sun. One of my favorite things thusfar has been my porch. As it was in Cairo, here in Gwangju I have an apartment with an amazing view of my immediate neighborhood. To my left I can look in the direction of downtown. Off in the distance is Mudongsang Mountain. I went there yesterday for some hiking with another teacher. Im not sure how tall it stands, but it is impressive, taller than anything on the Atlantic Coast. To my right I can see probably twenty miles out. In that space are a mixture of apartment buildings, the convention center nextdoor, open fields, Gwangju International Airport and large byways. My two favorite things to sit and watch are planes taking off from the airport, and a long stretch of train tracks way out in the distance that eventually passes behind a small mountain range.
Yesterday as I said I went with my friend to the mountains. It was quite a relief to find a place where people are not stacked on top of each other. We stopped in a small Buddhist temple that brought back to mind numerous religious sancturies with the powerful smell of incence. It was one of of three small temples- basically rooms- built in a square with an open front. The colors and artistry of the buildings were amazing. After our short stop there we went for a short hike. The best thing was coming upon the sound of running water in a small stream running down the mountain. The sound of running water remains for me a beautiful sustaining presence I cannot imagine living without. That and the sound of birds (blue, black of a likeness I have never seen) were all I needed to know that I will be spending more than a few weekends there.
So on Friday all the kids came to school in traditional Korean dress. It is a tradition here that on the Lunar New Year, the children and youth dress in this way and visit their family to bow before their elders (grandparents, aunts, uncles) and then receive money in turn. So for school the director came into each of the classes and sat with the teachers as the kids bowed before us and the director then gave them 1,000 won ($1) . So apparently thats one tradition that is taking place today. Most stores are closed, and it was very quite as I went for a walk around dinner time. Many families go to visit graves of elders on this day which are mostly found in the mountains or on small hills throughout the city.
Friday I was also gifted with a gift-card from my morning classes parents. Apparently this is something I should expect as a perk of teaching. Kid's often come to school with candy or other foods as gifts for their teachers. I was taken a little aback in that the certificate was 100,000 won ($100). But it is for a big department store that I get my groceries at. $100 dollars of groceries is very nice. The director also gave all the teachers socks for the New Year. And let me tell you they are the nicest socks I have ever worn.
So its been fun teaching afternoon classes. I don't know if I talked about them last time. The kids are great. They're not the complete handful 5 kindergardeners are. I get to choose songs to sing in class with my 4 oclock class. Last week was U2. I haven't decided on this week. But it will be fun to break out some Matisyahu, maybe Bob Marley, etc. Last week was very stressful because I wasn't going into class with much instruction. I had to ask the students what I was supposed to be teaching most of the time. It's not too bad, a lot of the kids are very trustworthy, obviously going against natural impulses to get out of work.
So I still have one more day of rest. I suppose I might take the metro out the mountains again. It's a struggle to study my Korean in the apartment. Last night I went downtown to a coffeeshop to study. I need a place where I can't be distracted by soccer matches, world news, or MacGuyver on the TV. These are common themes on Korean TV, along with Friends, Ghostbusters, Tom Cruise, Arnold Swartzeneger, and reality shows.
So for now I have the apartment to myself. Ben gave the dog to a Korean friend. I can't say Im all that disappointed. Though it was nice to have someone waiting for you when you come home. I might be moving to a single apartment when new teachers start to arrive sometime in February. I'm not too sure I'll prefer that option(its hard to beat the space and view I have), but it is a gift to have my rent covered and any place to live in.
I think I've given you enough to read for now. It's nice to sit down and just write for a while. Hope you're all doing well.
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