It’s been an interesting few months here in Spring Academy, just off Apgugjeong, in Sinsa -dong, Gangnam Gu where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children above average.” (Kudos to Garrison Keillor whose rhythms for Lake Wobegone I just couldn’t resist).

We are now ending the first semester of the Academy, and looking back, I realize it’s been quite a trip. The children are speaking more and more English all the time. Sometimes I listen to them and wonder where they’re getting all the vocabulary. Yes, we drill words and sentences, but those are not necessarily the ones they are using. It’s like they’re little sponges and are picking it up from the books they’re reading, from TV, from everyday conversation. From 9:30-2:45 my class, as well as others, speak only English.

In June we had our big school picnic. Most children’s parents or at least one parent–and some grandparents and aunts and brothers and sisters–came and spent the day with us at the park along the river. We played games, had relays, and had each class make a short presentation. Mine sang “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” and a parody “Old MacDonald Had a Band” with all the approriate sounds and instruments. They sang with gusto and on some key. The parents brought the food and shared with the teachers, which gave us a chance to visit one-on-one with them and not just discuss how their child was doing. We talked about our lives and our work, our families and our interests, just all kinds of things. Some spoke English very well and helped those who didn’t to communicate with us. It was a fun day. But I particularly enjoyed seeing the parents interacting with their children–and with each other.

In July our big field trip was to the Korean War Museum. This country has been embroiled in warfare for centuries, so to see the weapons and uniforms and armor was truly a spectacle. The children actually did quite well. My group–6 year olds–really got interested in the Korean War and all the displays–tanks and rockets and bombs and war scene diaramas. They asked some very good questions.

Well, the cooking classes have been fun–sandwiches last month and yogurt parfaits this. Most of my science experiments have worked–to some degree. GABE five, which I was dreading because of all the little pieces we have to work with, has worked out ok since quite a few of our students have GABE sets at home and private tutors who come to their houses to work with them. So they were familiar with all the little pieces and how to get them back into the box–my main concern.

In June I took my class and the other six year old class to the Hyundai Art Gallery which is just a few blocks from the school. I had been in earlier and seen a most childlike exhibit by Kim, Byung-Jong that I thought would appeal to their sense of color and design. In other words, the colors were bright and the figures were primitive and the canvases were huge. The kids did so well, of course we drilled them on gallery behavior before hand, but still. . . . When we got back to class, I had my five draw and color anything they remembered from what they had seen. Amazing!! They remembered such detail! I went back to the original pieces from the brochure they gave us and couldn’t believe it: colors, objects, themes, abstractions–and they picked it all up!

We have worked our way through several language arts workbooks. The children are reading quite well. In their writing they are recognizing complete sentences for the most part. I think they are more than ready to stretch abilities and imaginations, so no telling what we might get into in the next semester.

But then, what can you expect when “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.”

Saturday-Sunday, June 27-28 I took a Royal Asiatic Society bus tour to the southwestern coast of Korea. I was in need of a green fix. I needed a reminder that there is a natural world out there away from asphalt, tall buildings, and nursery planted and managed nature. It hasn’t helped that I’ve been reading Willa Cather’s The Song of the Lark where she absolutely nails the beauty of the rural Southwest. I could just see and smell the Big Country–although her setting is Colorado–even down to the Monahan sand dunes. Yep, it was time I was seeking some nature.

This trip was perfect. Our first stop was the largest rest stop in Korea. It was huge. And the restrooms were so well managed that there was little to no waiting in lines. Absolutely amazing after some of the ones I’ve experienced in Europe and the U.S. Four or five stalls for hundreds of women, bus loads of women, just doesn’t make sense. This one had possibly a hundred stalls and cleaning people on hand and lots of sinks with soap and towels. Unbelievable! It was also a place to pick up food for our picnic on the beach. Gimpap is the food of choice for picnics–a seaweed wrapped rice roll with all kinds of good things rolled in with it. Somehow I missed the gimpap booths and had a Korean taco, which I don’t know the correct name for, instead. It was delicious.

The tide was way out at the beach, so I picked up a few really nice shells on the stroll to the water’s edge. Along the way we saw kids and families catching small sand crabs. They fry them really crisp and eat them whole. I tried it at one of our dinners and it was quite good–lots of crunch and a little flavor. Another interesting thing was the group of people we strolled by who were buried in sand with all their clothes on and only their heads sticking out. I mean almost totally buried. I’m sure there’s a reason, but I haven’t found it out yet.

Seounu-sa is a Buddhist temple that was established over 1,300 years ago and was at one time one of the largest temples with over 3000 monks. It’s tucked way back in the mountains beside a meandering stream. We were there with a large group of Boy and Girl Scouts who liked to try out their English on us. It was fun talking to them. I also had a prayer inscribed in English and attached to a blue lantern. I don’t know if this is terribly unchristian or not. I do know that the monks I was talking to and who did the writing were most kind and generous and refused to take any payment for their work. It felt very much like the time I lit candles for loved ones in St. Peter’s in Rome. This time I also said a prayer of my own along with the prayer that Jesus taught us: “Our Father. . . ” I also know, it felt good.

In Tamyang we visited a Bamboo Museum and a traditional garden in a bamboo forest. About 70% of Korean bamboo comes from this region. The shops were very interesting. The one thing that many talk about as unique to this area is the bamboo wife. It’s a long, latice woven cylinder made of bamboo. On hot summer nights the sleeper wraps his/her legs around the cylinder and cuddles up to sleep. The idea is that air can circulate and keep the sleeper cool. Sounds logical to me! I didn’t buy one. I just couldn’t see trying to get one in the two pieces of luggage for the trip home.

I loved the Sosaewon Traditional Garden. It is several acres tucked in a bamboo forest with a stream and waterfalls with all the pleasures on nature at hand. There is a sleeping building built among the trees and over the stream, and there is a small thatched building where the owner could go to meditate and write poetry. The garden was built centuries ago by a scholar as a get away place for quiet and solitude. In front of the thatched building is a very straight tree that’s called a Phoenix tree. There the owner could sit in his room, stare at the tree, and contemplate his rebirth. Sound familiar?

Our last stop was the Pagoda Valley, Unju-sa. In this long narrow valley are many stone pagodas and Buddha figures dating from around 827. At one time the valley supposedly had over 1000 pagodas and 1000 Buddhas. Now there are 18 pagodas and 70 images, but it is still very impressive. To get the most impressive shot of the whole valley we–me included–had to climb up this mountain side. Now I thought if monks have been living and working here for thousands of years, there would surely be some sort of steps up the side of this mountain to the top rock and pagoda. Well, there were steps about one third of the way up. After that is was rocks and tree limbs and accommodating branches to cling to to get to the top. The lady in front of me climbing in high heels didn’t make it–she had to turn around and go back down. But I persevered. Wow, the view was magnificent. I’ve tried to include some pictures on the web blog, so you can check it out if you have a mind to. If you double click on the picture it will enlarge so you can see it better.

Our motel was in the countryside and very nice–at least our room was very nice. It even had a bathtub! I don’t think the rest of our group were quite so lucky. We had beds. They had mattresses on the floor, Korean style. We were on the second floor. THey were on the fourth–no elevator. But the gardens and mountain made our breakfast on the deck a true delight.

Our meals were the cuisine of the area. In the bamboo area we ate a lot of bamboo. In the Hwasun area we ate a delicious fish and vegetable soup–and those crunchy little crabs I mentioned before. Everyplace we took off our shoes and sat on the floor. I’m not very good at sitting on the floor for a whole meal and even worse at getting up afterwards, but I persevere–not too gracefully I might add.

It was a beautiful trip through rice fields and vegetable gardens and orchards of all kinds. The mountains were beautiful. The green was really green. The creeks had water in them. If you want better descriptions of nature, I’m afraid you’ll just have to go to Willa Cather. She’s a master!