"But teacher...she is not even human!"

In English class, we are learning the expression "Where are you from?" and I thought it would be funny to post a pic of me in hanbok for all to see. 

I was curious as to whether they would recognize me, and if they did, would they say "She is from Korea" or "Canada".  Talking amongst themselves I hear things like "this person is not Korean....probably American...maybe Korean & American?...but why is she wearing hanbok?"

Finally, one student speaks up and announces to all, "You are all wrong!  This person is not real!" Everyone gasps and looks to the picture again. He looks at me and says "But teacher...she is not even human!"

I love my job!!!

"What we got here is... failure to communicate."

"What we got here is... failure to communicate." ~Captain, Road Prison 36, Cool Hand Luke.

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of looking at North Korea through a pair of anchored binoculars during a tour of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).  Those not familiar, this is the area that runs across the Korean Peninsula to serve as a buffer zone between the North and South. I've read that it's the most heavily militarized boundary in the world, but also one of the biggest tourist attractions.  Sara and I decided to embark on the half day tour, which actually turned into an all day excursion.  Here are some highlights...

                                                                 Dora Observatory

                                             View of North Korea from the photo zone

                                               Serious photo with South Korean soldiers

                                                   Third Infiltration Tunnel

While taking this tour I did learn some history...with an obvious bias, but here's the short of it:

1)  Unification rail connection - North and South would build rail uniting the two nations. Once the South had finished, the North decided to halt its own construction of tracks, leaving the South quite bitter.

2)  The South sends aid to the North via highway.  The only vehicles that can cross have been granted permission by both North and South leaders.  We saw vehicles heading back from the North on our visit.

3)  The South has discovered 4 tunnels which the North built in hopes to invade.  We were able to tour the third tunnel, which took us under/through the DMZ.

4)  Flag Envy: the North and South rivaled at who would have the tallest and largest flag on either side of the DMZ.  The North won.

5)  Sara is a brave soul! She was willing to risk camera confiscation in order to get a picture of the North from beyond the designated photo line.  It's not posted because I'm chicken!

6)  The U.S. Army covered the DMZ with land mines in order to prevent the North from attacking the South. One Korean was successful at crossing the DMZ, but lost his leg due to a land mine injury.

7)  During the tour we watched a film about the Korean war, which stated that over 4 million Koreans died during this time.  When counting all casualties of war, over 10 million people died.  

When hearing this stat, I felt instantly ashamed for taking part in the tour...like I was exploiting what had happened I guess.  My great uncle was in the Korean war and my Dad has shared some of his stories with me. I imagine this was why I felt a little bit ashamed that day.   

My uncle and his daughter will be coming here in April to view the Canadian War Memorial site.  It will be his first visit since he was in the war.  Wow! What an experience this will be for him.  

I look forward to seeing them both :)

"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity..."

"It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it." ~Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre.

 It’s the start of a new school year in Korea and with any new start, I always seem compelled to make extreme goals for myself or am motivated to learn some crazy new activity I have no business in learning.  For example, in January I decided I would learn how to play guitar.  Well, I more or less imagined I would be an adult prodigy strumming Clapton tunes immediately, but no dice. Turns out I have to practice playing and learning chords like most others.  The good news is that I love playing guitar and am hoping to play a Denver song soon enough.   

January also brought the sport of pole dancing into my life. Yeah, that’s right, I said sport. A friend of mine took up the challenge of teaching me how to pole at this studio here in Seoul.  And again, I was surprised I was not a prodigy when it came to this activity either.   Actually, it’s much harder than I ever imagined…but sooo much fun!  Thanks Aran for taking up the challenge.  You are a gem!

And lastly, my latest challenge.   I have 25 weeks left of my contract, so I’ve decided I’d take up running again and my goal is to complete 500km by August 24^th.  My motivation: I hate saying to people “I used to be a runner”.  So lame.  Unfortunately, I do have some obstacles ahead such as yellow dust and monsoon season, but this just means I’ll have to take my running indoors.  Not that big of a deal I guess…but I hate running on a treadmill! Damn yellow dust from China.  

35 of 500km completed :)