Hello everyone. Sorry it has taken us so long to get back to you. We have been quite busy the last week and without consistent internet connections. We have had quite a trip so far. Right now we have just moved into our tiny studio apartment in the university area of Ulsan. But this blog will contain our highlights from teacher camp.
After our long days of travel and crazy midnight bus tour through South Korea, we finally arrived safely, soundly, and sleepily at the teacher camp in Jeunju at the university. For the most part, the camp was centered around introducing us to teaching and the Korean culture. Most of the people there had never been teachers before so many of the classes were very beneficial to us. We had classes ranging from the history of Korea to how to use powerpoints and how to discipline students. Some of the classes were much more practical to teacher travelers like us; for instance the tourism lecture was fun, as was the games class, but others were not as helpful like the how to read to kindergartners class or the how to file your taxes.
The real highlights of the camp were what happened outside of class. Our medical exam for instance seemed harmless enough, and yet turned out to be one of the most memorable events of the last two weeks. We went to an auditorium after hours of not drinking water in the scorching heat because we had to get blood drawn, take a urine test, and get an x-ray. We were shuffled from booth to booth like we were waiting to give ride tickets at a carnival as nurses checked our blood pressure, height, weight, eyes and hearing and our fellow teachers looked on. As we got closer to the blood draw booth english teachers began fainting off of the stage and were carried away into some hidden room and not seen until hours later??? Next we all waited in lines to pee in a cup. Lastly, many females had to de-robe as they went into get their chest x-ray leading to an overall bizarre feeling of the program, our selves, and the Korean's germophobia. (Several EPIK teachers were forced to wear face masks for the following week as they may have shown signs of swine flu...)
We took a fun trip on Sunday to the Hanok traditional village. We toured the ancient style homes and made tratitional Korean fans. We participated in the traditional Bibimbap event that Jeunju is famous for and since it was my Birthday in August I got to stip the giant pan. The buildings in the area were beautifully built and are now some of the only village buildings left after the destruction of the Korean War and Japanese invasions. It is very touristy, but very beautiful to visit.
We had some huge buffet meals at the opening and closing ceremonies of the camp. Korean, Japaneses, and Chinese food line the walls of the building where we watched traditional dances and music being played. We ate a lot of food over the week because it was all free, and most of it was very good. I even participated in the talent show at the end of the night, singing a song about our week at camp in front of the other 600 hundred students.
Mostly, the camp was a good opportunity for us to meet each other before going to our new homes. Emily and I made a good group of friends in Ulsan before we left. We met hundreds of people at the camp and got many good ideas for our teaching lessons. We are now able to bounce ideas off of each other in our areas, and we will have friends to stay with and visit throughout South Korea while we stay.
Stay tuned for our next blog highlighting our first week in Ulsan.
We will update our photos on the blog when we get the chance (STILL no internet @ our "apartment")
Love you and miss you all, Matt & Emily
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