Greetings Dear Readers!

As you may have noticed, I haven’t been travelling much lately. Since our academic year is wrapping up, t’is the season to hunker down and get through these last weeks which means mostly – controlling the lunatics the best we can. As part of the year-end clean up I find myself strolling down memory lane more and more. Part of those walks have taken me through my files and have reminded me of the awesome videos I’ve found through YouTube that have helped me in the classroom. I noticed there are some great YouTube channels that I’ve come to rely on and I’d like to share them with you. Even if you’re not teaching ESL, these are fun songs and videos for young kids in general.

My favourite youtube channels for teaching English are as follows:

#1: Pancake Manor

Two of my favourites are the “Big and Small Song” and the “Seasons Song.” They have well-produced videos with great puppets and catchy tunes.

#2 Maple Leaf Learning

These guys also use puppets but look a little more low-budget. They’re still cool though! The songs are quick and easy and kids love them.

Two of my favourites are the “What Time Is It?” and “How’s the Weather?”

#3 Have Fun Teaching

This channel does ridiculously catchy songs and most notably make awesome videos for vowels. They have really helped me to explain long and short vowel concepts to my lower-level students over the years. Honourable mention goes out the “Days of the Week Song” and the “Letter A Song.” Seriously guys, you WILL bust a move listening to these tunes. You have no choice. The rhythm is gonna get you.

#4 Kids TV123

My grade 3 kids got a great jump start on learning the alphabet sounds with their video the “Phonics Song.” It’s got a mellow tempo and leaves room for the kids to repeat after the singer. Highly recommended for low-level learners just starting out with ABCs and phonics. “The Big Numbers Song” is also pretty cool because the kids can count to one hundred with the song.

#5 Busy Beavers

This channel uses these weird animal characters in all of their videos and sometimes the animation looks robotic and creepy, but the songs are fantastic. They do full verse-chorus-verse songs so these guys are good. The kids don’t seem as freaked out by the creepy animation as I am so I’ve learned to co-exist. Two of the most requested songs from my kids are “In, On, Under” and the “House Song.”

This is my life guys! I don’t get pop songs stuck in my head anymore, I get the “Phonics Song” in my head now and I don’t even mind. I made this post for new teachers who may need a lead on some ESL songs but also for myself as a reminder of all the fun I’ve had with my kids over the years :) I’ll be traveling to Cambodia and Myanmar in January so keep an eye out for more adventures in the new year!

As our academic year winds down, exam preparations begin and my students look forward to a month of vacation in January.  My grade 6 kids will be off to middle school soon and my grade 5 kids will be the new seniors; ruling student government and being the cool kids to all those younger than they are.

All year I’ve been teaching an advanced English program with one of my Korean co-teachers and we have come to call it the Special English Program. We interviewed around 30 kids who were interested from 5th and 6th grade and those who passed the written and spoken entrance test were accepted as our latest gang of English elites. Last year was our first year running this program and we had some bumps in the road but we still had a good time. Below are some pics from last year’s group.

This year has been just as rewarding with my new batch of kiddies. I don’t mean to get all mushy but I must say I’m just so darn proud of them all. Watching them grow in confidence, increase public speaking abilities and just enjoy being in a special club with me has been so much fun. During my class time we’ve been reading books together, books from the Dominoes series from Oxford University Press (in case any teacher friends would like to check them out). Dominoes books have 4 levels to choose from: Starter, level one, two and three. My kids started out with a “starter” level book and by the end of the year we’ll be reading at level 2. They can see the level increase in their books and take pride in tackling the higher levels as we go along. Here’s a look at some of the books we read.

It’s pretty cool content! I learned a lot about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ancient Egyptian rituals and Tutankhamun in the process. The kids especially like that some stories are true (like The Curse of the Mummy) and that others are ESL versions of legitimate classics in the English-speaking world. Below is this year’s group:

This week we had an open class where the students and teachers could come in and watch our lesson. I had to teach while spectators watched so as an added treat, I made a video for my kids that reviewed our year of shenanigans. I’d like to share that video with you here, so please take a look and enjoy a five minute break from your day:

We have one more book to read – The Lost World, followed by watching Jurassic Park – woo hoo! – then our time will be up. I hope to make our last six weeks together as memorable as possible so bring on the dinosaurs!

Greetings Dear Readers,

I hope you’ve been well and are keeping warm as fall creeps up onto winter. Please forgive me for not posting last week. I must admit, I’ve been busy at work but also, I’ve been reading. A lot. Maybe it’s been the cloudy weather or the chill in the air but I’ve been tearing through books like a maniac over the last few months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwrybM6tL-8

As I was pondering what to share with you this week, my nerdy heartbeat quickened its pace when I thought of sharing my favourite books of 2015. That doesn’t mean these books were published this year, just that I’ve come to know and love them this year. I’d like to humbly suggest these stories if you’re looking for a paper fort to run to. Escape between the pages of these, my top 3 (of about 15) books I’ve read in 2015.

3: The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden.

The Orenda is written by an award-winning Canadian author who has a passion for writing historical fiction about First Nations people. This story happens in 17th century Canada and takes a look at a Huron tribe, their rivalry with an Iroquois tribe and their relationship with the Jesuit missionaries trying to “save the savages.” It’s beautifully written and equally terrifying at some points of this story. Those with a weak stomach may want to skip a few pages of vengeance but overall it’s a fascinating tale of what makes a family, a tribe and a people. (Shout-out to Sarah for the recommendation!)

2: The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay

The Power of One is another historical fiction story (I’m starting to see a pattern here) about an unstoppable young man by the name of Peekay. This is an old book (1989) but it was new to me as my father sent it over and recommended I give it a read. This story starts off in the 1930s and walks through about 15 years of Peekay’s life in pre-apartheid South Africa. I won’t say much more other than it’s got a ton of boxing in it which makes for a lot of action and if you’ve ever seen the movie – forget about it. It’s a horrible abomination of the book and doesn’t do the story the justice it truly deserves. I haven’t been so emotionally entrenched in a pack of main characters in years. This book stayed with me long after I finished so I highly recommend it for a heavy, yet uplifting story of perseverance, self-love and survival.

1: The Dark Tower (series), by Stephen King

To step away from my forays through history, I have recently delved into a life-long goal of reading the 7 books that comprise of  The Dark Tower series by the master of fear, Stephen King. I am currently burning through book 2, The Drawing of the Three and it is blowing my mind. The first book, The Gunslinger, is basically one giant tease that sets you up to dive into the fantasy world of the Gunslinger and all the dimensions of time and space he trudges through to get to The Tower. I’ve been up all hours since cracking the Gungslinger. Now that book 2 is underway, my fevered desire for one more chapter before sleep has only gotten worse. I may be premature on this one, but I’m pretty sure I’m on the money: This series is amazing and you should read it. Now.

That’s it for now folks, I’d better run. Mr. King awaits me for another sleepless night :)

As my time wraps up on three years in South Korea, I’ve been thinking about the little things I’ll miss and the little things I won’t. These things are random, but it’s the everyday things that add up to memories at the end of an era.

5 THINGS I’LL MISS IN SOUTH KOREA:

1. Umbrella sleeves. This awesome invention can be found outside most subway stations and department stores. They are metal boxes with two different-sized plastic bags hanging inside.

Simply push your umbrella down into the bag of appropriate size and pull it towards you (as seen below). Boom! Your wet umbrella is sheathed and no water all over the place.

2. The Seoul subway system. Below is an image of the Seoul subway system in comparison to the Toronto subway map. Enough said.

3. The restaurant across the street from my hapkido gym. The ladies there make the best kimchi mandu in the universe (mandu is like a dumpling). Hands down.

4. Monsoon season. In my region of Ontario, we don’t get storms of a monsoon magnitude. They are scary but awesome and absolutely fascinating to watch if you’re safe inside. To check out my video of a monsoon storm, click below:

5. Stationary shops like Morning Glory and Artbox. Those who know me well know that I lose my mind when I stumble upon a Morning Glory. They were on every corner back in the early 2000s here in Korea but there are far fewer now that shoppers have switched to online purchasing (hence my spastic excitement). Artbox also has nifty house decor items like alarm clocks, pillows and some clothing too. It’s a bit pricey but the items are unique.

5 THINGS I WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT MISS IN SOUTH KOREA: 

1. Korean men spitting everywhere all the time. Seriously, hocking loogies is a national street sport in Korea. No idea why. I’ve asked Korean friends (men and women) and they don’t know why so many men do it. The only thing closest to logic I’ve heard is that during Korean mens’ mandatory 2 years of military service, many take up smoking and pick up the habit of spitting from excessive smoking. Still, c’mon. That’s nasty dude.

2. The evil yellow dust that blows in from the desert in northern China. On bad days you can taste it in your mouth and we are advised to wear masks when going outside.

Kamila and I sport new masks purchased in Saigon, Vietnam.

3. The stabbing elbows of subway-riding halmonies (Korean grannies) who jab you in the back and/or ribcage when they decide you’re not moving fast enough to get out of their way on the subway. They need to be dealt with. Seriously. Their boney jabs leave marks!

A zombie halmonie friend I made while doing a zombie walk back in 2013.

4. Older folks in my town staring at me like a circus freak even though I’ve lived here for 3 years. I often forget I’m in a small rural town that is pretty much a county. It’s offensive but I try to remember that I may be the first foreign person they’ve ever seen. Old folk in Deokso be looking at me like:

5. Last but not least, I hope to never see another Korean cave cricket again in my life. Just tonight I was walking home from hapkido and saw a cave cricket on the sidewalk. I stopped to let him pass because they jump almost as high as I am tall.

With four months left, I’m sure there’ll be more reminiscent posts surfacing so bear with me Dear Readers. Until next time, stay warm and be well!

When I first arrived at the Jeju Stone Culture Park, it was hotter than Satan’s armpit so I dashed into the only building I could see to study my map. Turns out I had walked into a museum of strange molten lava formations found around the island over the years of excavation and construction. It was a bit of geology lesson so most of the info-graphs were out of my realm of interest but I did find a display hall with tons of weird lava formations, some of them taller than I am which was pretty cool.  Here are some shots of the lava rocks:

This one looked like a bent-over mermaid.

This one was called “The Seahorse.”

This one looked like the skull of a shark’s mouth.

These were called “Lava Trees.” Due to the way the lava dripped into cold water.

Back outside, there was a forest trail on the map that had peaked my interest. Into the heat I ventured. But first: the grandfather rocks.

Dolhareubangs (or stone grandfathers) are legendary in Jeju and deserve a paragraph of their own. I’ve always wanted to see them face to face as they’re such a big part of Jeju’s culture. They’ve been around since the 1700s on the island and hold great historic meaning to the people there. The dolhareubangs were traditionally placed facing each other on either side of fortress entrances. Later they were placed outside of civilian homes and near crop fields. They were believed to be guardians of the island people, protecting against misfortunes and promoting prosperity for the families they guarded.

The entrance to a traditional village replication and my path further into the woods.

Following the forest trail.

Throughout my walk in the forest, I kept finding clusters of little men that reminded me of the wood spirits from the animated movie “Princess Mononoke” (pictured below).

I found out the forest statues I kept seeing are actually called “tomb guardian children,” spiritual stones that were placed over graves or near tomb stones to protect the dead and ward off evil spirits. Burial traditions on the island in the Joseon Dynasty era were based on a Confucian foundation but mixed with Buddhism as well as local Jeju folklore which produced a unique style only found on this island. The stone guardians I found were replicas as few of the originals remain in modern day Jeju which was comforting to know.  If I had be unknowingly strolling through a real wooded graveyard by myself I might have walked a little faster. Here they are (click on any picture to enlarge):

These guys in the front row are headless…no explanation as to why.

Town hall meeting of the stone guardians.

A replication of how the tomb guardians would have been placed in a burial setting.

Another burial site replication.

Replicas of ancient stone basins with turtle heads and fish tails.

After about an hour alone in the woods, I saw a little fawn snacking on grass right next to one of the tomb guardians. We looked at each other for a moment before it bounded off into the deeper woods. Soon after the cicadas got louder and the bugs increased their attack (despite my bug spray) so I decided to speed up and get outta dodge. Back into the sunlight I wandered around some more enjoying the lack of humans and abundance of  stone giants.

Traditional earthenware pottery, used to store fermented vegetables and unrefined rice wine, “makoli.”

Some of the 500 generals, or 500 “arahants.”

The 500 generals line the exit path of the park.

I hope you enjoyed my stroll through Jeju’s Stone Culture Park. If you plan on going to this park, keep in mind that there are two Jeju Stone Parks; one is further out on the west coast, with the Dolhareubangs along the ocean’s edge like you always see in the tourism photos. That one is called Jeju Stone Park Sangmyeongri. I was advised by a local tourist info staffer that the Stone Culture Park, in the centre of the island, was the best place to go and after my afternoon with stone spirits and rock generals, I’d have to say she was right.

Day 3 in Jeju was cloudy with rain threatening to fall at any moment.

I had met a fellow wanderer through the facebook page, “travel buddies Korea.” She was going to be in Jeju around the same time I was so we decided to pair up and do some sightseeing. By the time we had checked out the local market and purchased some souvenirs, it was misty with no sun to be seen. We decided to check out Jeju’s famous Love Land.

American love. Marilyn Monroe’s famous pose with an eagle’s head and wings on top.

We weren’t clear on this, but we think these were hand-washing sinks.

Love Land is known as Korea’s only “sexual theme park” and although we think of theme parks as having rides and games, this was not that kind of park. It’s actually just a walking park, filled with 140 erotic sculptures made by 20 Korean artists from Hongik University in Seoul. They began the project in 2002 and two years later the park was open for business. The purpose of this unique park is to break away from the cultural taboos that many Korean people have towards sex. The park boasts being a place to “appreciate the natural beauty of sexuality.”

It took about an hour to walk through and thanks to the rain, it wasn’t very busy which was nice. 

Japanese love.

Indian love.

After we had our fill of nakedness, we went for lunch where I tried Jeju’s famous peanut makoli (a kind of fermented rice wine). I’m a big fan of traditional makoli but sadly, the peanut one didn’t do it for me :(

After lunch we headed out to Mini Land, another theme park but this one much tamer. Mini Land is a miniature theme park filled with famous structures from around the world. We had a lot of fun running around all the mini buildings and landmarks, statues and monuments.

No Mini Land could call itself so without an homage to Gulliver’s Travels.

The Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt.

Not sure, but I think this a ruin from Myanmar.

Taj Mahal, India.

My travel buddy, Rafiqua, at the Korean government HQ known as “the Blue House,” South Korea.

Thanks to the rain, once again we pretty much had the place to ourselves. At any tourist hotspot in Asia, this is a rare and special gift. It was shocking how many photos we got with no other tourists in our shots!

Easter Island, Polynesia.

Toronto’s City Hall, Ontario Canada.

A mini Dol Hareubang (grandfather rock), famous gods of protection in Jeju.

St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia.

What a day! I don’t think I even dreamed that night; just hit the pillow and was out. More adventures to come next week so subscribe (on the right, below the archives) for instant notifications on new posts!

I finally set foot on Jeju island, known as “The Hawaii of Asia.” I had wanted to visit the island when I was here 10 years ago but never got the chance. I often lamented that missed opportunity and swore if I returned I wouldn’t leave the country without spending time on Jeju. Mission complete! I can go home now :)

The ticket lady gave this ridiculous hat that was too big for my head but I had to take a picture!

One of the first things on my list of things to do on the island was to visit the Jeju Folk Village in the southern region of Pyoseon. Yes, there are plenty of folk villages to see on the mainland but this one is special because it’s also the shooting location for parts of one of my favourite Korean dramas, called Daejanggeum (대장금), also known as Jewel in the Palace or the Great Jang Geum.

The main character, Jang Geum.

A billboard showcasing some other period dramas that filmed at the village as well.

DJG is based on a true story of the first female doctor during the Chosun Dynasty over 500 years ago. She began her career as a cook in the palace of the king and worked her way up to becoming a royal cook to a royal physician, then to the personal physician of the king himself. This historical drama ran for a whopping 54 episodes, (most K-dramas run for 20 episodes or so) and had the biggest international following of any K-drama to date during its airtime 12 years ago.

A replica of a village doctor’s quarters.

A traditional pharmacist’s shop with herbs and plants being prepared for use.

I had wanted to watch this drama for ages but due to the garbage internet packages in Canada (I’m looking at you, Rogers), I could never afford to stream the episodes online without paying through the teeth for the data usage. So when I came back to Korea, the land of unlimited internet data (you pay one flat fee for home internet here), I set my sights on Daejanggeum right away. Now here I am. Full circle, on vacation and in the hotspot of where DJG was filmed. I had to control myself not to run up to the ticket booth like a spastic child.

A mill stone, used to grind grains using a horse or ox to pull the wheel.

An old kitchen hut.

Clay pots, used for storage of fermented dishes like pickled cabbage and turnips.

A scene from DJG from her time in prison.

A reconstruction of what prison cells were like on the island. Many royal and political criminals were sent to Jeju to live in exile back in the day.

Artifacts used on the set.

Herbs used to hone DJG’s medicinal skills during her time in exile on Jeju island.

I also made a short video of some highlights of my village exploration. To check it out, press play below:

A bus from the intercity bus terminal in Jeju city took about an hour and 20 minutes and I was at the door of the traditional village. If you’re staying in Seogwipo city in the south, it will take less time to get there. Entrance fee is 10,000 won (approx. $11 CAD) and audio guides are available in English, Chinese and Japanese for an additional 2,000 won (you can hear my audio guide in the video above). For more information on the Jeju Folk Village click here.