The end of November

Happy (slightly belated) Thanksgiving!! We hope you are all full of turkey and pie, and that you had a fabulous holiday! Our Thanksgiving was quiet and we celebrated by going to see Hunger Games 2 (kind of weird, I know…hunger and Thanksgiving don’t really go hand in hand). This weekend, the American teachers in Yeosu got together for Thanksgiving, but Andy and I woke up with head colds two days ago, so we decided not to share our bugs with everyone else.With us being sick now, pretty much all the teachers at our school are in varying stages of this cold. We’re hoping that by tomorrow we’ll be almost one hundred percent. With that in mind, hopefully this won’t be too scattered! Even without cold medicine, my brain is a bit foggy today.

The last few weeks have been rather busy for us. We officially said goodbye to our adult students this week with a ceremony of completion and a big group lunch. The students were all sad to have the class end (so were we!) and we are hoping that despite not having class, we will stay in contact with some of them. One student, Anne, likes us a lot. We have heard from her several times already, including last night when she stopped by to bring us some food to feel better. She is very thoughtful and kind. We’re so lucky to have met her.

The Thursday of our last week of class with the adult students, they took us out for a fun day. I went with the beginning students to see Hunger Games 2 (for the first time- I’ve seen it three times now…), which was AMAZING, and had a fabulous lunch with them. Talking with them is such a pleasure and I learned a lot from them about etiquette and traditional ways of eating food. I’ve found it is much easier to talk together when we are in a less formal setting, so perhaps we can meet up with the students for coffee periodically, just to chat. While I was at the movie, Andy met up with the advanced students for lunch and talking. They told Andy that they are going to start a study group together so that they can keep speaking English. I’m so happy to hear that! We are hoping that in the spring, we will get the teach them again. The adult English classes were funded by the city, so it is up to the city of Yeosu if the classes will continue. Fingers crossed they will!!

Last weekend, Jess, Andy and I went to Hyangiram Temple. The temple is on Dolsan Island, right off the coast of Yeosu. It is super easy to get to and super cheap (1200 W or less than $1.20 for the bus trip and 2000 W for entrance to the temple), if you survive the winding, speeding, crowded hour long bus trip. Anyone who has traveled with me knows, windy roads are so not my thing. It doesn’t take much for me to turn green. Add in frequent, hasty stops; crowds of people; the smell of cabbage mixed with dirt, unwashed bodies, kimchi, fish and slightly rotting veggies and I was about to lose it. Andy, who had given up his seat for an elderly man, kept glancing back at me from where he stood, wondering if I was about to add another name to the list of people who have had the misfortune of sitting next to me on road trips. Fortunately, the elderly man escaped and I made it to the temple without losing my cookies, so to say.

The temple is on the tip of Dolsan Island. It was built by Buddhist monks several centuries ago, was burnt down in the 1500s when the island was invaded and has since been rebuilt. The symbol for the temple is a turtle. Along the stairs on the way up are hundreds of turtle statues. The stone steps are patterned like a turtle shell and the entire layout of the temple mimics the shape of a turtle shell. The buildings cling to the cliffs above the ocean. With the leaves on the trees turning orange and the ocean a perfect blue-green color, it was such an incredible sight. We wandered among the buildings, listening to the chants of monks and breathing in the fresh, cool ocean air. It was well worth the bus trip, we decided. We plan on visiting frequently, because despite the number of visitors, it is a peaceful place and a nice break from the fast city life.

Last week started out with bad news for us. Three of our top students are leaving the school, much to our sorrow. Andy and I both had class with the students, loved teaching them and had a great time with them. Headmaster, understandably, was devastated. So, we went into emergency mode last week and are working to ensure that we have the highest standard of English teaching that we can. We are all hoping that the students will return in a few months. After that news, however, the week went fairly smoothly. It seems like every day I see many students making progress and realizing that they really can speak English, even if they are worried about making mistakes. It is good to see.

This weekend has been pretty quiet. Yesterday we decorated the apartment for Christmas and spent the day resting. Today I went for a short hike in hopes of clearing my head from the fogs of being sick (a partial success) and now more rest is in order. We hope you are all doing well. Happy December!!!

Love and miss you!

Kali and Andy

~Kali