Pictures.

Enjoy some pictures from Korea! Most of the great photos are on Rachael's camera...which I will get eventually. But for now, here are some photos from our trip :)

View of Busan from a rooftop barbecue part-ay.

Beautiful lanterns at the Buddhist Temple.

Rachael checking out the scene.

Prayer Time.

I did eat some Korean food.

Man in the market, whose laptop is hooked up to a machine that carves out stamps...it was pretty amazing.

Fresh fish in the market.

Octopus!

I love men's fashion in Korea.

Heading to the market.

Economy-Sized Shampoo, Korean Bath Houses…and other such luxuries.

A few days ago, my friend Rachael and I boarded a red-eye flight heading north, excited for vacay and some time outside of the country. Four hours and some great sleep later, we arrived bright-eyed in Busan (sometimes spelled Pusan), South Korea. Rach’s brother picked us up at the airport, and within three hours, we were indulging in some delicious always dreamed-about sandwiches and laying on one of the fine Korean beaches. What a great welcome to a new country! So the last few days have included some time on the beach, climbing a mountain, eating some delicious food, hanging out with the many English teachers here, checking out Buddhist temples, exploring the Korean bath houses, and wandering the fish market. I will spare you the play-by-play by just highlighting some of my favorite parts.

We decided to climb a mountain overlooking the city on the second day we were here. Since nightlife took the energy out of us the night before, we got a late start and headed up the mountain around noon. The ascent was a demanding two-hour hike, and Rach and I got to enjoy the view and cool breeze (yes, cool breeze!) from the top. The highlight of the whole hike is perhaps the battle wounds I accumulated. Since we were heading on vacation and I was unaware that South Korea has many outdoor activities, I had failed to pack tennis shoes or anything that closely resembles them (plus since I’m a PCV who lives in a city, I stopped wearing my Chaco’s long ago….). One of Nate’s friends kindly let me borrow her shoes, which were about a size too small for my feet. With the combination of socks that might or might not have been too short (also borrowed), I developed six (SIX!) blisters, complete with blood-stained socks upon return to the apartment. After our trip to the beach the next day, the sand that has retained itself within may or may not lead to gangrene within the next week. Fortunately, bathing in the public bath houses on our last day might have helped to clean them out (seriously…but yuck).

Public transportation in Korea has also been a great source of enjoyment and relaxation, as opposed to public transpo in the Philippines (see previous posting about Jeepneys). The subway system in Busan is simple, efficient, and clean (not even sewer-type odors floating from below the platforms!), and it is easy to get from one side of the city to the other for about a dollar. It was all very, very quick…until the subway drivers went on strike. But this was okay as well, since we knew about it in advanced, thanks to our late-night eating spree at the street stands, where we were informed by two of the drivers themselves. By “our” late-night eating spree at street stands, I actually mean that Rach and Nate ate at the stands, and I enjoyed a wonderful McFlurry (I may love traveling, but I’m still a picky eater….sorry, world, I fail). But all in all, the subways and buses are big, clean, comfortable, predictable, efficient, etc.

Speaking of being a picky eater, one of the best parts of the trip was going down to the fish market, which is one of the largest fish markets in all of Asia. The experience was so different than markets in the Philippines for a few reasons, but mostly because it is much cleaner, the fish are still alive, and you can actually sit down and enjoy some really fresh fish. While there, we sat down to a delicious meal of sashimi and live octopus (again, I am using the term “we” loosely here, since I filled more of the photographer role). The market experience was awesome, but it was constantly difficult trying to mentally adjust to Korean prices (most things were much more expensive than the Philippines).

The shopping experience was also a bit of a culture shock (a very, very welcomed culture shock). I really wasn’t sure what to do in the stores, since no salespeople were following me around putting items in front of my eyes, just in case I have the inkling to purchase them. There were large, clean stores without millions of people surrounding me all at once – culture shock. It was also great to see economy sized bottles of shampoos and foods—many things in the Philippines are sold in individual packets.

On our last day in Korea, we headed to one of the largest bath houses in all of Asia (according to Lonely Planet…). We were able to enjoy sitting and relaxing in hot tubs, salt baths, champagne baths, saunas, herbal baths, etc. We of course committed a few cultural faux pas while there, as the Korean bath house is not really like a typical spa anywhere else (no clothes, no shoes, no towels allowed in…). It’s an experience that is pretty easy to adjust to though, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for the Korean cultural experience!

All in all, we have had a fantastic trip, and of course I am sad to go, but I am also very excited to return to the Philippines and (hopefully soon) a new job! Once I return home, I will be attending a 2-day camp with the youth at my new worksite and my new counterpart, and hopefully paperwork will be moving along so I can officially start! I have been itching to be doing something work-wise for quite a while now!

IQ, SchmI-Q.

Tonight I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker of mine from my first Peace Corps site (I say “first”, because as noted earlier, I am in the process of a site change). The site change is going pretty well, as I have been really busy with secondary projects lately and therefore have not been around much to witness the “chika-chika” that may or may not be going on. But, word has inevitably spread of my departure, and although I do not yet know where I am going, I am very satisfied with my decision to move placements. A time comes where every Peace Corps Volunteer thinks about the inevitable questions—what am I doing here? What good am I doing? Am I making the most of my time? Am I being given professional opportunities that challenge me? Am I anywhere near reaching my potential? Anyways, I had to think about the professional experience I was or was not gaining and weigh it against professional opportunities that are out there at other agencies, and the potential impact that a PCV can make in a short amount of time.

Anyways, so I visited my site tonight to retrieve some books and visit with the children. When talking to a co-worker, he asked me about the sort of things that I was hoping to accomplish there but hadn’t. Without getting into much detail, I just said that I was hoping to do life skills sessions with the teens and children, such as leadership, decision making, conflict resolution, communication skills, etc. Starting life skills sessions is my idea of the MINIMUM I had wanted to do, since they are relatively simple to do, and also the baseline that the CYF program here uses. I was quite surprised by my co-worker, when he said that those sorts of sessions are much too challenging for our children. He pointed out that most of them have such low IQs, so he doesn’t agree with challenging them intellectually. His belief was that since he doesn’t think they will “get it”, there is no point in trying. It is much better to give them “hard skills”, such as welding or jewelry making, than to try to develop any of their internal and more abstract skills.

I countered very firmly with, “I disagree”. My belief is that every child, no matter where they come from or what their background or “IQ score” is, they have the potential to do great things. Not only that, but every child will eventually become an adult, and it is the responsibility of adults and centers for children and youth to equip these children with the skills that are needed as an adult in this world—communication, conflict resolution, interpersonal relationships skills, etc. They are ALL important, and more than that, EVERY child is special and has potential to grow and be challenged, no matter what any scores on any tests say. Despite my attempts, my co-worker was not convinced that children are able to grow…this broke my heart, because these children are especially the ones who need people to believe in them!

The conversation left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, which is where the M&Ms that were sitting at home came in handy…

Clean Money.

I’ve been so fortunate to have spent the last four days helping out two other NGOs (one American-based and one Philippines-based) with a livelihood training for a couple groups of women that live here in some of the poorest areas of the city. The only requirement for these women to participate is that they have no job and no land—many of them are also former prostitutes who are trying to lift themselves out of their past profession. The training consisted of making jewelry products that will be sold abroad by the NGO that conducted the training. The two groups then formed co-ops, where they will be able to earn group money that they can decide to invest in other ways.

It was amazing to see the change in the women throughout the four days of training. They went from being unsure, quiet, and hesitant women on Day 1 to being talkative, joking, and empowered women by Day 4. Just through observation, I could see their confidence levels rise just a little bit with each jewelry item they completed. It was pretty awesome to be able to participate in something like this! Throughout the four days, I worked with one of the groups in creating their jewelry—extra hands means more jewelry can be made, which means more money for them. We bonded together as a group through mere presence, small chit-chat, and shared tasks.

Today was the best day of all, though, because the women got paid! Because they are a co-op, each group received a certain amount of “group money”, and each woman received her share of “individual money”. The group money was paid in a combination of US Dollars and Philippines Pesos—you should have seen them go crazy over the dollars! It was their first time seeing $20 or $100 bills in real life, and boy did they love it! They posed with the money and were so proud of their accomplishments. The women then signed a contract which establishes them as a co-op. Both parts of the morning were especially empowering for them!

Afterwards, the women from my group gathered downstairs while the other group conducted their business. There were tears of joy, and one woman stated something particularly profound—“We now know the difference between earning clean money and dirty money. It feels so good!” There was so much emotion wrapped into that statement, and I think the women felt self-worth for the first time in a long time. One member of our group had been working on her list of things she was going to buy after payday—the first thing on her list was 10 kilos of “good” rice (there are different qualities). She wants to eat well!

What a life-changing event for them, and a moving one for me! I hope to continue working with the groups of women as they delve into their businesses—can’t wait to see what the future holds. If things go well, it definitely holds more “clean money”.

Changes :-)

Well, some of you knew this was coming but most of you didn’t. As of this morning, I am officially in the process of a site change. There are many reasons for this, but no need to get into the nitty-gritty. On to brighter days! Although it is always difficult to jump into the unknown, especially when routines have been established, I feel that this will be the best move for me. The agency I was at is an excellent place for children to grow up, and I feel that I did the most with what I could while I was there. I am fortunate enough to have Peace Corps managers that are really supportive, and they have decided to allow me to stay in the same city. This is fantastic news, as I love it here (minus the air pollution, of course)! So I will keep you updated on the changes, which will include definitely a new job site, perhaps a new place to live, and for sure many, many new relationships.