The Dills visit Korea!

From December 28-January 9, my parents got to visit us in Korea.  It was so fun showing them around and introducing them to this country we have come to love!  We got off school for a week for our winter break, and so we met my mom and dad in Seoul for five days.  We did lots of sightseeing there!

For me, the most interesting part in Seoul was the tour of the DMZ and Infiltration Tunnels.  The DMZ is a section of land that separates North Korea from South Korea.  There is a US army base that assists ROK (South Korean) soldiers in guarding against DPRK (North Korean) attack.  We took a tour from the Seoul USO to the DMZ, and learned a lot about attempted invasions into South Korea since the two countries were divided.  The Infiltration Tunnels are a series of tunnels that go underneath the DMZ, and were dug by North Korea in the 80s and 90s in an attempt to reach Seoul and invade.  We went underground and walked through the tunnels.  When they were  discovered in the 80s and 90s, North Korea claimed that they were only searching for coal.  However, there is no coal in this area of the country, and it was clear that they were used as an attempt to invade.  Another stop on the tour was an observation area where we could look across the DMZ into North Korea.  We also went to the last railway station you can visit in South Korea before the railroad track goes into North Korea.  There are currently no trains running into North Korea from South Korea, but for 500 won (about 50 cents) you can buy a ticket to the North Korean capital, and walk out onto the platform and wait for a train that will never come.  It was really eerie being so close to such a notorious and dangerous place.

Observation area.  You can't take pictures of North Korea; I had to stand behind a yellow line and this was as close as you could get to take pictures.

Bradley's artistic shot at the last train stop, looking toward North Korea.

At a visitors plaza for the Infiltration Tunnel

Outside the USO on our way to the tour

The last train stop in South Korea, with our tickets to North Korea

Mom and soldier

Also in Seoul we went to palaces, museums, the Seoul tower, a show at the theater, and had lots of delicious food.  The best part was seeing it all with my mom and dad!!!

Gyeongbukgung Palace

So cold at the palace!

Top of Namsan tower, view of Seoul

After Seoul, we went to a city in the southern part of Korea, Gyeongju.  It is famous because it was the capital of Korea in the from 57 BCE to 935 CE.  There are large burial mounds there, where Kings and Queens of the time were buried.  Some of these have been excavated and beautiful treasures unearthed.  It was AMAZING to see these thousands of years old artifacts.

Tombs

They are all over the place in the city

There were lots of bird shaped pottery in the tombs; the people at the time believed that birds helped to guide a person's spirit to the spirit world after death.  This was before Buddhism became popular in the Korean peninsula.  Once Buddhism became the dominant religion, most people were cremated instead of buried in the mounds.

Crown and jewels

We also visited the beautiful Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto, just outside of Gyeongju in the mountains.  The temple and grotto with the large stone Buddha were built in the 500s CE.

Guardians that protect the entrance to the Temple grounds

These pillars of stones are placed for prayers and good luck.  It was really amazing to see them all over the place.

Finally, we returned home to our city of Gwangju, and my parents got to see our apartment and city, as well as a few nearby tourist sites, the Boeseong Green Tea plantations (where there was a light festival, very pretty) and the Damyang Bamboo forests.

Beoseong Green tea plantation; this is a tunnel of wishes

The plantation is on a hillside.  We got there as the sun was setting. 

Lights on the Tea Leaves

Dills on a Bus

Damyang Bamboo Forest

However, I think my favorite part of having them at our house was having them visit our school.  The entire school was on vacation for the month of January, but we worked from 9-12 for three weeks doing a winter camp for students that signed up.  On their last day here, my mom and dad joined us to meet the students and see our school.  My Dad came to my room; I had the younger students, 2nd-3rd graders, 9 girls and 1 boy.  I thought they would be shy around my dad, but they LOVED him.  As soon as he walked in one of the students started trying to jump and touch the top of his head, ("Oh, so tall!") and they were showing him their phones and all their games on their apps.  During class one of the girls started calling dad "Smurpa" and at first I didn't know what she meant, but then she said, "Blue eyes, like Smurpa!" and I realized she was calling him a Smurf because of his blue eyes, haha!!  Dad was so cute with all the kids!  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of mom and dad with the students, but here are some of Bradley's class.

The visit went much too fast and I was sad to see them go.  It was so nice to be able to share with them our experience here, and show them some of the things we love about Korea and our experience here.  Thanks Mom and Dad for visiting us!!!

Our lovely school, Songwon Elementary

We really could not have asked for a better school and schedule than the one we have.   We have class from 8:30 to 3:10, and we have an hour and 40 minute break each day.  We stay after school until about 4:10 preparing for the next day.  The students call us "Carrie Teacher" and "Bradley Teacher."  As I have said earlier, both Bradley and I have about 300 students. There are also 8 Korean English teachers, who have the same group of students each period, everyday.  Once a week we go into each classroom and work with students grade 1-6 on various topics.  Some students, like the 1st and 2nd graders, have a math or science book in English which we read out of.  Basically we are trying to expand their vocabulary by teaching these subjects in English.  Some of the other grades use a reading comprehension book, which has stories about random things with questions at the end about the reading.  We have taught the students in these classes such topics as "What is the St. Louis Arch?" "Where does Maple Syrup Come From? and "What are Baby Teeth?"  The baby teeth class was fun because some kids had never heard about the tooth fairy, and so that was interesting to see their reactions when I told them I used to get money under my pillow when I lost a tooth ("Really Carrie teacher?? For real??)  On a side note, I learned that here in Korea they throw their baby teeth on the roof because it is considered good luck if a Magpie comes and picks it up off the roof (although some student's parents are starting to teach their kids about the tooth fairy, as our Western culture influences the culture here).  Lastly, our older students learn about debate, critical thinking, and discussion.  They have a book that has different Korean children's stories in it, and the class is supposed to debate about the morals of the stories.  They are totally bored with the book because the stories are well known here, but it is fun for me to read them! :)  We only see each class once a week, but we also have a morning class that is for advanced students who want to learn more English. We see this class 4 days a week in the morning.  Bradley has the 2nd and 3rd graders, while I have the 4th-6th graders.  It has been fun having this class because we get to know these students better and I have had lots of interesting conversations with them.  There are 10-12 students in each class, including the morning class, so that is nice.
The Korean English teachers are also very nice.  Sometimes they stay in the room while we teach, and other times they don't.  We all eat lunch together in the cafeteria everyday. (Which can be delicious or gross depending on the day. One thing is for sure, we will always have rice!)  One of the teachers gives us a ride home everyday too :)  We help them out by grading their student's English diaries, which I think is really fun!  All the teachers have all been very kind and helpful and sometimes give us little presents for helping them.  It is good to have such nice co-workers.
We love our school and are so glad we came here!

Our lovely school

Self portraits from past students out in front of our school

The front patio 

The fountain that doesn't work and the kids play on the ice in winter

Don't forget to take off your outside shoes and wear some slippers

The school's motto

Our office/example of our English classrooms

The teachers lounge 

We are on the 5th floor.

Some of our kiddos

Home sweet home!

We love our little house.  It is very clean, close to our school, and in a great location in a quiet part of the city.  We have two bedrooms, a bathroom, a tiny kitchen, and a little dining room/Carrie's makeup and hairdrying room :)  One of the funniest things about the apartment is the shower.  Instead of a shower stall, many of the bathrooms in Korea (at least in ours and in all of the hotels we have stayed in) just have a shower head attached to the sink faucet.  When you want to wash your hands, you twist a nozel on the sink to make the water come out of the faucet.  When you you want to take a shower, you flip the nozel to make it come out of the shower head.  At first I thought this would be annoying, but it actually makes for a very large shower! :)  Our apartment also has some very interesting wall paper, but we don't mind it!  We have a washing machine, but no dryer, so we hang our clothes on this cool little contraption on that hangs from the kitchen ceiling.  We have a stove but no oven, so we may be investing in a toaster oven in order to bake.  We also do not have a dishwasher, but it is so cheap to eat out that we don't have dishes to wash very often.  The apartment is the perfect size for us, and we couldn't have asked for a better place.  Perhaps best of all, we don't have to pay any rent!! :)

The building our apartment is in (photo taken by the one and only Ruth Ann Dill)

The door to our apartment

The foyer

The stove and oven (broiler)

The dining room (area)

The family room (Same room as the dining room)

This is where I make myself beautiful in the morning

The washer . . .

And the dryer 

The college style fridge

The second bedroom/TV room

The master bedroom

The best part, our bath and shower all in one!

Election Day skiing

In Korea, Election Day (December 19th) is a holiday and there is no school.  So, we went on a ski trip to Muju Resort, which is about 4 hours away from our city.  We went with a local Gwangju resident who organizes adventure trips, and about 25 other foreigners.  It was my first time skiing, so I was preparing myself for a day of falling and being angry . . . but I impressed myself!  I fell down only 3 times the whole day, which was much better than I expected.  Also, I thought I would be scared but I enjoyed it so much we are going again for a weekend trip at the end of January.  Bradley was awesome of course, like he is at any sport he does.