8/13: EPIK Orientation-August 2013

Bukchon Hanok Village

Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul

Daejin University for Orientation

TaeKwanDo Performance at the Orientation Opening Ceremony



Buddhist Temple at Daejin University

Korean Fan Dance at Korean House in Seoul

Hyangwonjeong Pond at Gyeongbokgong Palace in Seoul

Samgo-Mu: Traditional Korean Drumming

Buddhist Temple next to Daejin University

Looking tough in our Taekwando Uniforms

Max and I wewear "babackpack" at Bukchon Village

Broke my first board

            Although there are many uncertainties about my life in Korea, one thing I do know for sure is that the first part of my stay will be comprised of an orientation with the other EPIK teachers.

            After landing in Korea and making my way through immigration I grabbed my bags off the carousel (luckily they both made it!) and headed towards the desired meeting spot. Incheon airport seemed huge as my carousel was on the completely opposite side of the airport than our meeting spot. Walking through the airport there were so many little food shops bustling with people. I was hungry so wanted to grab dinner but decided not to take the easy route of McDonalds and try something new. I didn’t get Korean food, that was too much too soon, so instead found a little Parisian bakery and got an egg sandwich. Luckily they spoke English as I knew no Korean whatsoever. The plan was to practice some on the plane but that quickly was thrown out the window when the on flight entertainment started.  

            It was pretty easy to find the meeting spot because there were a bunch of foreigners just hanging around. After checking in and speaking with a couple of people they boarded us onto the buses to be taken to Daejin University for our orientation. Not going to lie, it was pretty awkward on the bus and I already felt alone not knowing anyone or sitting next to anyone. It was too exhausting to make small talk and I was so nervous and overwhelmed that the last thing I wanted to do was try to make friends. Instead I looked out the window and got my first glimpses of Korea. It was raining and dark but I could see the neon lights with Hangul writing. It was so exciting to see Hangul that I tried taking so many pictures of it through the window.

            We got to the university and after checking in and receiving our ID badges, t shirts and orientation packets headed to our dorms. I got paired with an awesome South African, Max and was so excited to have a non-American roommate. We were both exhausted but there was no way to sleep in the dorm rooms because it was beyond hot. The room was sweltering, I was sweating just standing there. I thought maybe a shower would help, but nope! I think it made it worse by adding humidity to the room. We tried to get some sleep in that heat but both of us were dying as we laid there. Luckily after some time, we heard a knock on the door and a girl was showing us how to turn on our AC. Thank the lord!
            The next morning after breakfast we had our campus tour that took us all over the beautiful campus. The university is in a very rural location and is built into the side of the mountain! Not to mention there was a Buddhist temple right on the edge of campus, by the girls’ dormitory which added to the Asian aesthetic and ambiance. The only problem was that since it was built on a mountain, the hills on campus were straining and it was so hot that you were dripping in sweat as you wandered around. I have never remembered sweating so much on a campus tour! I had to change clothes constantly those first couple of days. Also on the first day we had a welcoming ceremony which I really enjoyed. They had a couple guests speak but also had a TaeKwanDo Presentation and a intro video of the staff. It was awesome.
            The next couple of days of orientation consisted of various lectures and presentations about teaching in Korea, most of which were really interesting with some great lecturers. I won’t go into detail about everything that happened at orientation but here are some of the highlights.
TaeKwanDo Class:
           On the last day of orientation my class go to take a TaeKwanDo class which was really fun. They gave us the dobok (outfit) to wear and taught us various kicks and punches. I really enjoyed it except when I was going for a front kick and completely did a banana-peel slip injuring both my bum and pride. They also let us break a board with our fist which was exhilarating. I’m pretty sure they were flimsy boards and let us do it the easiest way possible but it was awesome nonetheless!
Korean Lessons:
            For three nights we took Korean lessons where we learned basic Korean expressions that would help us when we met our principals and vice principals. I really enjoyed learning how to read and write in Hangul and was able to remember the phrases pretty accurately. People had a wide range of Korean knowledge but I was put in the beginner class which was a-okay with me!! Here are some of the basic expressions we learned:

안녕하세요 (an nyung ha se yo): Hello

만나서 반갑습니다 (mannaseo bangapseumnida): Nice to meet you

제 이름은 Julie 입니다 (chae ereumen Julie imnida): My name is Julie

감사합니다  (gam sa habnida): Thank you

나는 미국 사람 이빈다 (na neun migook saram imnida): I am from the USA

Seoul Field Trip:

            There are over 100 teachers in training during this orientation and they took us all to Seoul. So we got up early and after eating breakfast all loaded onto the 4/5 coach buses that would drive us the hour or so drive to Seoul! It was so cute in that we all had to wear our navy EPIK t-shirts, keep our ID badge on at all times and they gave us each little pieces of paper with Hangul writing that we were to show to a Korean in case we got lost. It felt like we were kindergarteners on a school field trip.

       The ride there was pretty uneventful until I got my first glimpses of Seoul and Seoul traffic. We were stuck in traffic for a while as we neared the city but this gave me a chance to see the Han River, all the walking paths by the Han River and the city of Seoul on the other side of the river. I couldn’t tell if it was Seoul or not because unlike Chicago or New York where there is a definite skyline and downtown area where all the buildings are, Seoul is spread out and there are huge buildings everywhere!

            Our first stop was Bukchon Hanok Village which I equate to Williamsburg, VA. It is basically a little village of hanoks (traditional Korean houses) where guests can wander around and see how people in Korea use to live. It was nice to walk around but most of the hanoks are really similar so once you have seen one, they all look pretty much the same. Spread around the village they have little games you can try from olden times such as throwing an arrow into a large pot and such. There is also a gorgeous koi pond and a sitting patio that was beautiful.

            After exploring the hanoks we walked about a block over to Korean House which is a performance theatre showcasing traditional Korean dances. The performance was spectacular!! During the 45 minute presentation we were able to see so many styles of dance such as Pungmul (men where special helmets that have ribbons tied to the top that spin as the men move their heads and dance), the fan dance (women use huge fans and create various optical effects), Samgo-Mu (a lengthy drumming performance where women bang on different sized drums), music.  The performance was amazing and following by an equally amazing spread for lunch. The only bad part about Korean cuisine is the chopsticks which I have yet to master. It has only been a short while since I came to Korea but when I see chopsticks my heart skips a beat. They are the devil and am terrified to use them. The food slips and wiggles and moves and jiggles its way out of the chopsticks and onto the floor! I struggled through lunch but what was able to make it into my stomach was absolutely delicious!

            Once our strength was restored we headed over to the Museum of Contemporary History which was pretty interesting. I’m not one for museums so I could have done without it especially since the descriptions, although in English, were hard to understand. I was beginning to learn that although there is a lot of English in Korea, a lot of it does not make any sense and is hard to understand. Picture Joey from Friends is using a thesaurus to write the adoption letter for Monica and Chandler: humans becomes homosapiens, Joey becomes baby kangaroo, etc. It all has proper grammar and makes sense but is hard to understand. We raced through the museum and headed out across the street to Gyeongbokgung Palace which is one of the more famous Seoul landmarks. It was originally built in 1395 as part of the Joseon Dynasty but parts were destroyed during the Japanese Invasion in the 1590s. However the entire palace was restored between 1852-1919. It is a collection of temples and rooms all sharing similar architectural traits. Right behind it is the Blue House which is where the President, Park Geun-Hye, lives. One thing I have learned about Koreans is that they love pictures and love banners so of course we had to get multiple shots of our class in front of the palace with a banner reading, “EPIK Orientation” but the funny part about this whole thing was that there was some tourist who kept taking pictures of us throughout the entire day. It was as if she was following us around but she would randomly show up and snap shots of us. It was flattering in some regard but kind of annoying at the same time as you felt like you were on display. The palace was really beautiful especially with the mountain landscape behind it and with Hywangwonjeong Pond right in the middle.  The palace was our last stop for our Seoul field trip and I thoroughly enjoyed Seoul. I can’t wait to go back and explore more of the city.

            Orientation flew by pretty quickly because we were so busy. We even had to create and present a lesson plan the last two days of orientation. Before we knew it we were at the closing ceremony which again included an awesome TaeKwanDo demonstration, some singing and PICTURES! After the closing ceremony, I got answers to some of the questions I had been dying to know since I learned I was going to be in Korea. We met with our POE representatives: Provincial Office Of Education reps who shared with us where we would be teaching. I learned that I would be teaching elementary school at Yeon Dong Elementary School located near the city of Jochiwon in the newly designed Sejong Province. I was stoked to learn that I would be teaching elementary school and couldn’t have been more elated and excited especially since there were only 5 of us going to Sejong and only 2 of us got elementary! Now the next hard part was meeting our coteacher which was to happen tomorrow when we would be dropped off. But for right not I was just excited that I got to play with elementary school kids for the next year.
            And so ended my orientation!!