Last Saturday, I went with my friend Carrie and her Korean co-teacher, Sunny, to check out some temples.  All the temples I have seen are amazing and have such intricate detail on the buildings...everytime I see a different temple I am still amazed.

The first temple, Unmunsa Temple, was about an hour away and was located in some mountains.  It was absolutely beautiful here and the fall colors were stunning.  (Living in southern CA my whole life, I've really missed out when it comes to autumn.)  This temple is a training center for female Buddhist monks.

After touring the temple in the rain, we went back to the car for a "picnic" that Sunny had packed for us.  We had sushi, bread, pears and green tea.  An interesting experience all around...sitting in a small car, eating lunch in the pouring rain, and sipping tea.

We headed to the Seoknamsa Temple after lunch.  The walk to this temple was very nice as it followed a river.   The fall colors were also nice here, but not as brilliant as the ones at Unmunsa Temple.  To get to the temple, you had to cross a beautiful stone bridge...an excellent kodak moment.  Again, another amazing temple to look at.

Here are some pictures from the day:

It appears to be common practice in Korean schools to take staff trips...day trips, weekend trips (at least once a year), or an evening trip for Soju and noribong (Karaoke).  My undersatnding is that you will attend unless you have a very good reason not to.  Last week, we were informed that we would be taking a trip today.

The trip was quite nice.  The first stop was the Gyeongju Bulguksa temple.  It was beautiful...the temple itself and the amazing fall colors surrounding it.  Apparently all the schools wanted to take a field trip to this temple today as there will tons of kiddos around.  The next stop was the Seokguram Grotto.  I loved the Buddha statue that was housed here...it was carved from stone.  After visiting  both places, we headed back to Samsan-dong to enjoy a feast at the D'Maris buffet.

A very nice day...it was too bad that I had to return to work and teach until 10:00pm that night.  Here are some pictures of the day.

Today I was teaching an English class to Korean teachers.  The topic was families.  For their assignment, I gave them a random photograph of a family and had them pretend it was their family.  Using the vocabulary they learned, they had to describe their family to the class. 

One group called me over to help them.  The first teacher pointed to the picture and said "This woman has lot of pride and went to university.  She will never marry."  I'm thinking...okayyyyy.  She then asks if she said this correctly in English.  I am confused by the question so another teacher tries to assist.  This much older Korean woman, whose English is very poor, points to the girl in the picture then at me and says "You", then flexes to indicate strong, then say's "It is good".  I interpret this as...a strong woman will not get married...perhaps they mean independent?? At this point the 3rd teacher, whose English is the best of the 3, chimes in and says that the girl in the picture is a "level-A" woman so she will not get married.  I ask him to explain...

In Korea there is a social hierarchy.  When looking for a mate, a woman will want to find a man who is at a "higher level" than her...makes more money/is more educated/etc.  A man will look for a woman who is at a "lower level" so that he can provide for her.  So, for example, a "level-B" woman would want to find a "level-A" man and vice versa.  After he explains, the older woman teacher again points to me..."you"...flexes again and says "it is good". 

So, according to Korean standards, I am apparently a "Level-A" woman and will never be able to find a man who is at a higher level than me.  Alrighty then.  "Me...strong...it is good!"  LOL!!!! 

Just down the street from my house is a very nice park.  I like that it has a lake with a perimeter of 1 mile...makes it easy to go walking or jogging and to know how far you've gone.  I went for a jog on Sunday afternoon.  These are always interesting as so many people stare at me as I slowly run by.  I have noticed that very few Korean women jog...it must be a novelty to see this foreigner go by.  Anyways, I took a few pictures of the park a while back.

So, there was definitely a calm before the storm at work.  For the last couple weeks, I've been juggling my tasks in the air, but have little vision of where these balls will end up.  Things are different here.  There's no "big picture" for me to see.  Everything is thrown at me in little pieces (sometimes at the last minute) and I have to constantly adjust.  It is a challenge. 

My classes have been going pretty well, but the prep work is what's killing me.  Right now, I am working on my 4th "textbook".  Basically, this is a teaching plan that is bound together.  But here's the thing about these textbooks....they have to be created and submitted several weeks before I even have an opportunity to meet the students who will be in the class.  They are created without knowing the ability level of the students, the interest level of the students, nor the size of the class.  I am given very little guidance...help the teachers improve their English while teaching them strategies for instruction.  Alrighty then.    I feel like I'm just hypothesizing about what my students might want to know.  Then, when I finally see my students, I have to adapt, re-create, or delete activities...sometimes this means starting from scratch.   That is what I am doing right now...adjusting everything from the last textbook while writing the next one.   I am not liking the prep then re-prep approach...there has got to be a better way.

Also while teaching, I constantly have the evaulation process in the back of my mind.  It is in my contract that I must receive 80% or better on all evaluations.  If I fall short, there will be a warning then I may be dismissed.  The evaluations are completed by each student...children and adult learners.  I also have to teach "open classes" where the community is invited to observe, I am videotaped, and will be evaluated further.   That will occur in 3 weeks.

I think this is how I felt as a first year teacher, except that my students, my boss and I spoke the same language...that definitely helped.   Maybe I'll have a better handle on this system by Christmas.

Hiking shoes on, beautiful weather, sun on my face, the smell of the earth, the sound of traditional Korean music from a local festival, strangers sharing their food, the beginning of fall on the trees, fresh air and hiking for 2 hours...a wonderful Sunday morning. Refreshed and ready for another week.

We had a 3 day weekend in early October due to the Founders Day Holiday.  I spent the time in Seoul with a couple of my friends.  See the video below...