Thursday, May 17, 2007
Regular Updates....
So, have been told off by a number of people for not updating my blog more regularly despite nothing out of the ordinary happening..... so....
Yesterday was a day of planning training sessions and the Gimhae evening class. More of the students are turning up in Dobok now which means that they're formally signing up which is great news!!!!
Another 5 classes tonight at the Buam Taekwon-Do Academy. We began learning the student oath tonight. The first 3 classes we just covered the name "Student Oath" and the first 2 phrases.... Remembering of course that they're learning the oath in English... it would be like us having to learn the oath in Korean.....
Pretty tough huh? So that's why we only did the first two phrases..... For the last two classes we went through the whole thing, and we've created homework sheets and stuck it up on the wall.... we'll see how much they remember on Tuesday.....
Kindy tomorrow!!!!!
Yesterday was a day of planning training sessions and the Gimhae evening class. More of the students are turning up in Dobok now which means that they're formally signing up which is great news!!!!
Another 5 classes tonight at the Buam Taekwon-Do Academy. We began learning the student oath tonight. The first 3 classes we just covered the name "Student Oath" and the first 2 phrases.... Remembering of course that they're learning the oath in English... it would be like us having to learn the oath in Korean.....
Pretty tough huh? So that's why we only did the first two phrases..... For the last two classes we went through the whole thing, and we've created homework sheets and stuck it up on the wall.... we'll see how much they remember on Tuesday.....
Kindy tomorrow!!!!!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Woo hoo! Boys in uniform!!!
Park heading off to another Military Training Update day.....
Hang on!! That's Mr Brown!!!
Monday, May 14, 2007
What a week!!!
OK - sorry everyone, I know it's been a little while..... Last week seemed pretty uneventful on the daily front and then the weekend was packed and this week I haven't had a chance to sit down and update the blog..... Enough excuses? Ok then......
So last week on the work front we had some successes.... new students, new patterns, new english words. The week training wise was pretty settled... Monday and Wednesday were pretty quiet, with only one class in the evening made up of 4-6 five year old boys and 2 eleven (?) year old girls. The boys can be right terrors and do plenty of mucking around, while the girls are very smart and very quiet - same ol' same ol' heh heh heh heh.... Actually one of the girls is pretty amazing, Mr Brown took her for half a class and had taught her Saju Magki, Saju Jirugi, Chon-Ji and Dan Gun which she could then complete by herself without any problems, he said she is one of the most talented students he has ever seen..... Much of this can be attributed to Park's great teaching skills as she has been his student for a while.....
Tuesday and Thursday were spent at Buam Taekwon-do Academy where we start at 2:30pm and finish at 10pm after teaching five classes. The classes are arranged so that I instruct for an hour and then have a break for a half hour, except for 7pm where i get an hour break for dinner. The students are a good bunch, who seem to very much want to learn what I'm teaching which is nice.... The first three classes are Primary and Intermediate School Students, while the last two classes are High School students. I've been working with them for a couple of weeks now and am really happy with their progress, we've got a grading at the end of the month and I think we'll probably have them all grading with the last two classes possibly double grading if Mr Chirtoca and Mr Brown are happy with them....
Friday's a long day with Kindergarten during the day and then the Gimhae Dojang class in the evening.....
As Mr Brown has told you in his update we had one heck of a weekend. Mine started with Park and Ki Tae at the Gimhae Dojang on Friday night. After they had closed the Health Club side of things we set up the DVD player and the guys showed me a Korean movie about the Korean War. Oh-My-God!!! It had to be one of the most realistic and frightening portrayals of war that I have ever seen. And to think these guys all do compulsory military service and all face the very real possibility of being involved in a conflict. It's a major wakeup call..... Anyway, the movie finished in the early hours of the morning at which point we all trundled off to bed to get whatever sleep we could before the grading in Busan the next day.
The grading was interesting, not the formatted standard grading that we're used to, but definately interesting. Mr Brown, Mr Chirtoca and I seemed to spend a lot of time sitting at the front of the Dojang patiently waiting for things to begin.... We were a little worried that the parents would not be happy, but once we got under way and the students got up to do their thing there was nothing but smiles all around.....
After the grading the foreign contingent and Park went wandering around Busan for a while, ostensibly to look for a Hanbok for Mr Chirtoca for an event we're attending this weekend, but in the end we spent time wandering the streets, stopped for a drink and a bite to eat, and then into one of those games parlours like Time Out so that the guys could play shooting games.... Yes, I was out with the boys.... ah well, if you cant' beat 'em.......
Sunday started with a 6am meeting time at the Busan YangJeong Dojang in preparation for our trip to see Mr Kim's Chinese Calligraphy teacher on the eastern side of Korea.... We all turned up in various states of wakefullness (or not) and disarray and piled into the van, quick trip to the next suburb to pick up Mr Kim's Tea Teacher and some scholars and we were off!
Mr Chirtoca was out like a light in the front seat of the van (late night sir?), and the President was out like a light on the back seat with Mr Kim driving and Mr Brown and I in the back seats with the rest of the crew..... We stopped for a bite to eat (breakfast of rice, vegetables and chilli paste) and to see the Bamboo Museum (Mr Brown's right - you can make one heck of a lot of things from Bamboo) and finally arrived in a very small town off the motorway which was the home of Mr Kim's Calligraphy teacher.
His house is built in the traditional style and is about 60 years old. It has beautiful, dark, chunky wooden floors polished by years of feet and socks, wooden grilled doors with rice paper screens.... Mr Brown and I thought it might get a little cold in winter as it didn't look like the rice paper would keep much of the cold out, but we were sure that they had some ingenous way of staying warm.....
Across the driveway is his family temple which has been there from the time of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather....
Of course when we arrive anywhere here in Korea it's tea time. First we were ceremonially welcomed to the home with much bowing and kneeling (by us :-) ) and then we were invited into the study of this amazing man. He has been studying Calligraphy since he was a child, has books on a huge range of topics.... Mr Brown discovered that even when you think that people cannot understand what you're saying that you need to be careful what you say as he said at one point that the teacher was a cheeky old bugger and we're both convinced that he understood....!
What seemed like 5 seconds later it was time for lunch (more food!?!?!). Rice, kimchee of all different types and fish. The fish was great and the teacher took it upon himself to keep pulling off pieces of the flesh with his chopsticks and placing it in our bowls to ensure that we didn't end up with bones and to keep us eating. Time and a very full belly later we rolled back out the door onto the verandah and the Calligraphy began!!!
I'm incredibly lucky as I've ended up with two pieces.....
The calligraphy continued and Mr Kim offered to drive us to a nearby temple (despite the fact that this is the first time he has been to his teacher's home since he began studying with him many years ago). Mr Brown says he's seen many temples since he's been here in Korea and that they are starting to become just another temple.... if that makes sense.... but I'm still blown away by the sense of peace that eminates from these places, and majesty of the geography that is chosen as the settings of these places of worship and meditation.....
After wandering around for a while soaking up the atmosphere we headed back to the house of the teacher where the calligraphy was just finishing up. We had a quick snack of some Korean Pancakes (made with spring onion and chilli - yum!) and green tea and started to make our goodbyes which included a large number of photographs of everyone. (yes Roman and I were getting our butts pinched!!!)
So last week on the work front we had some successes.... new students, new patterns, new english words. The week training wise was pretty settled... Monday and Wednesday were pretty quiet, with only one class in the evening made up of 4-6 five year old boys and 2 eleven (?) year old girls. The boys can be right terrors and do plenty of mucking around, while the girls are very smart and very quiet - same ol' same ol' heh heh heh heh.... Actually one of the girls is pretty amazing, Mr Brown took her for half a class and had taught her Saju Magki, Saju Jirugi, Chon-Ji and Dan Gun which she could then complete by herself without any problems, he said she is one of the most talented students he has ever seen..... Much of this can be attributed to Park's great teaching skills as she has been his student for a while.....
Tuesday and Thursday were spent at Buam Taekwon-do Academy where we start at 2:30pm and finish at 10pm after teaching five classes. The classes are arranged so that I instruct for an hour and then have a break for a half hour, except for 7pm where i get an hour break for dinner. The students are a good bunch, who seem to very much want to learn what I'm teaching which is nice.... The first three classes are Primary and Intermediate School Students, while the last two classes are High School students. I've been working with them for a couple of weeks now and am really happy with their progress, we've got a grading at the end of the month and I think we'll probably have them all grading with the last two classes possibly double grading if Mr Chirtoca and Mr Brown are happy with them....
Friday's a long day with Kindergarten during the day and then the Gimhae Dojang class in the evening.....
As Mr Brown has told you in his update we had one heck of a weekend. Mine started with Park and Ki Tae at the Gimhae Dojang on Friday night. After they had closed the Health Club side of things we set up the DVD player and the guys showed me a Korean movie about the Korean War. Oh-My-God!!! It had to be one of the most realistic and frightening portrayals of war that I have ever seen. And to think these guys all do compulsory military service and all face the very real possibility of being involved in a conflict. It's a major wakeup call..... Anyway, the movie finished in the early hours of the morning at which point we all trundled off to bed to get whatever sleep we could before the grading in Busan the next day.
The grading was interesting, not the formatted standard grading that we're used to, but definately interesting. Mr Brown, Mr Chirtoca and I seemed to spend a lot of time sitting at the front of the Dojang patiently waiting for things to begin.... We were a little worried that the parents would not be happy, but once we got under way and the students got up to do their thing there was nothing but smiles all around.....
After the grading the foreign contingent and Park went wandering around Busan for a while, ostensibly to look for a Hanbok for Mr Chirtoca for an event we're attending this weekend, but in the end we spent time wandering the streets, stopped for a drink and a bite to eat, and then into one of those games parlours like Time Out so that the guys could play shooting games.... Yes, I was out with the boys.... ah well, if you cant' beat 'em.......
Sunday started with a 6am meeting time at the Busan YangJeong Dojang in preparation for our trip to see Mr Kim's Chinese Calligraphy teacher on the eastern side of Korea.... We all turned up in various states of wakefullness (or not) and disarray and piled into the van, quick trip to the next suburb to pick up Mr Kim's Tea Teacher and some scholars and we were off!
Mr Chirtoca was out like a light in the front seat of the van (late night sir?), and the President was out like a light on the back seat with Mr Kim driving and Mr Brown and I in the back seats with the rest of the crew..... We stopped for a bite to eat (breakfast of rice, vegetables and chilli paste) and to see the Bamboo Museum (Mr Brown's right - you can make one heck of a lot of things from Bamboo) and finally arrived in a very small town off the motorway which was the home of Mr Kim's Calligraphy teacher.
His house is built in the traditional style and is about 60 years old. It has beautiful, dark, chunky wooden floors polished by years of feet and socks, wooden grilled doors with rice paper screens.... Mr Brown and I thought it might get a little cold in winter as it didn't look like the rice paper would keep much of the cold out, but we were sure that they had some ingenous way of staying warm.....
Across the driveway is his family temple which has been there from the time of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather....
Of course when we arrive anywhere here in Korea it's tea time. First we were ceremonially welcomed to the home with much bowing and kneeling (by us :-) ) and then we were invited into the study of this amazing man. He has been studying Calligraphy since he was a child, has books on a huge range of topics.... Mr Brown discovered that even when you think that people cannot understand what you're saying that you need to be careful what you say as he said at one point that the teacher was a cheeky old bugger and we're both convinced that he understood....!
What seemed like 5 seconds later it was time for lunch (more food!?!?!). Rice, kimchee of all different types and fish. The fish was great and the teacher took it upon himself to keep pulling off pieces of the flesh with his chopsticks and placing it in our bowls to ensure that we didn't end up with bones and to keep us eating. Time and a very full belly later we rolled back out the door onto the verandah and the Calligraphy began!!!
I'm incredibly lucky as I've ended up with two pieces.....
The calligraphy continued and Mr Kim offered to drive us to a nearby temple (despite the fact that this is the first time he has been to his teacher's home since he began studying with him many years ago). Mr Brown says he's seen many temples since he's been here in Korea and that they are starting to become just another temple.... if that makes sense.... but I'm still blown away by the sense of peace that eminates from these places, and majesty of the geography that is chosen as the settings of these places of worship and meditation.....
After wandering around for a while soaking up the atmosphere we headed back to the house of the teacher where the calligraphy was just finishing up. We had a quick snack of some Korean Pancakes (made with spring onion and chilli - yum!) and green tea and started to make our goodbyes which included a large number of photographs of everyone. (yes Roman and I were getting our butts pinched!!!)
Monday, May 7, 2007
Tea Time.....
Mr Kim had mentioned a couple of times that he was going to take us to partake in a traditional Tea Ceremony conducted by his Cha Sabum (Tea Teacher) and Saturday was the day. After a quick cup of tea at the dojang we headed off in the car. The journey would have taken a short time except that Saturday was Children's Day (yes that's right, Children's Day..... my parents would have argued that they thought every day was children's day.....) and the streets were packed!!!! Finally after a couple of detours we arrived at an apartment block and jumped into an elevator.....
We got off and walked into a beautiful apartment complete with full tea ceremony setup in the middle of what we would consider to be the lounge room. There we were served tea and rice cakes in a simple but beautifully elegant ceremony.
We got off and walked into a beautiful apartment complete with full tea ceremony setup in the middle of what we would consider to be the lounge room. There we were served tea and rice cakes in a simple but beautifully elegant ceremony.
Following the ceremony the Tea Teacher offered to take us to the shop of a ceramics maker. The shop was full to overflowing with tea sets, plates, vases, urns. I said that I would like to buy a set and asked the teacher to choose for me and I've ended up with a beautiful, simple set that I am dreading trying to get home.....
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Advertising....
Ok, so I'll keep this one brief..... it's mainly photographs.....
Mr Van Roon, Mr Brown and Mr Doogan have written quite a bit about the advertising that the ITFK dojangs are doing regarding English Taekwon-Do..... well, I've got some photos for you..... :-)
Yes, that's right, it's Mr Brown on the side of a bus.... You can imagine the looks of surprise on the faces of passersby when they see the photograph, and then see Mr Brown's face peering out the window above it.... heh heh heh heh.....
There are 8 of these banners that will be strung up around the place this coming weekend for the Children's Day celebrations.....
Mr Van Roon, Mr Brown and Mr Doogan have written quite a bit about the advertising that the ITFK dojangs are doing regarding English Taekwon-Do..... well, I've got some photos for you..... :-)
Yes, that's right, it's Mr Brown on the side of a bus.... You can imagine the looks of surprise on the faces of passersby when they see the photograph, and then see Mr Brown's face peering out the window above it.... heh heh heh heh.....
There are 8 of these banners that will be strung up around the place this coming weekend for the Children's Day celebrations.....
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Welcome to Gimhae...
So I've relocated from Pusan to Gimhae, a small town (the Korean small towns still contain the now familiar 20 storey apartment buildings) west of Busan.
Driving down the main street in Gimhae you can see a small creek running down the right hand side with a path running along it for walking or running or cycling.
At the moment on the far banks of this creek there are about a hundred white tents sent up along the footpath, and masses of coloured lanterns. In the sky there are half a dozen huge balloons in Red, Yellow and Blue with flags flying from the bottom with messages written in Korean. This is a small festival being celebrated in Gimhae filled with international stalls as well as traditional Korean arts, crafts and displays. Earlier this week Park and I took a wander around the festival site. We ate rice cakes and drank rice juice and watched two men pounding rice to a pulp showing how the rice cakes are/were made.
Watching the cakes being made with us were a group of children in costume who were to perform a musical piece on the stage set up within the festival grounds. I asked them if I could have a photo (which Park kindly took for me) and then Park and I sat in the arranged seating waiting for the performance to begin. The performance piece was one mainly of drums and gongs with complicated beat patterns and changes in tempo accompanied occaisionally by a horn that sounded a little like a clarinet, or a large stringed instrument which looked like a bass lying on its back. I found it pretty amazing (while slightly hypnotic), Park tells me he was struggling to stay awake.
I've moved in to my new homestay accomodation. While I say homestay, it kind of is and kind of isn't. My understanding is with homestays you're generally living within another family's home. Whilst I'm living in someone else's place, I'm not really living in their home as such. The family owns two apartments side by side. One they live in, the other is basically a study area for their two children Nicky and Vicky.
Nicky is a 6 year old boy who has been studying English every school day for the last 2 years (that's in addition to normal school, violin and WTF Taekwondo every day as well). He's an impressive kid who has so much energy at the end of the day I don't know how his mother does it?!? Vicky is Nicky's 4 year old sister who is also studying English as well as attending normal school. As soon as I can get them to stand still long enough - I'll get photos :-)
Anyway, the apartment is basically floor to ceiling school books in Korean and English (very impressive), and it is only used from 5pm-8pm when the children are working with their private tutors, so they have cleaned out one of the bedrooms for me and that's where I'm living. It's a great space and I've got plenty of privacy which is great. Not to mention its a 30 second walk (if that) to the Gimhae dojang where I'm instructing Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Driving down the main street in Gimhae you can see a small creek running down the right hand side with a path running along it for walking or running or cycling.
At the moment on the far banks of this creek there are about a hundred white tents sent up along the footpath, and masses of coloured lanterns. In the sky there are half a dozen huge balloons in Red, Yellow and Blue with flags flying from the bottom with messages written in Korean. This is a small festival being celebrated in Gimhae filled with international stalls as well as traditional Korean arts, crafts and displays. Earlier this week Park and I took a wander around the festival site. We ate rice cakes and drank rice juice and watched two men pounding rice to a pulp showing how the rice cakes are/were made.
Watching the cakes being made with us were a group of children in costume who were to perform a musical piece on the stage set up within the festival grounds. I asked them if I could have a photo (which Park kindly took for me) and then Park and I sat in the arranged seating waiting for the performance to begin. The performance piece was one mainly of drums and gongs with complicated beat patterns and changes in tempo accompanied occaisionally by a horn that sounded a little like a clarinet, or a large stringed instrument which looked like a bass lying on its back. I found it pretty amazing (while slightly hypnotic), Park tells me he was struggling to stay awake.
I've moved in to my new homestay accomodation. While I say homestay, it kind of is and kind of isn't. My understanding is with homestays you're generally living within another family's home. Whilst I'm living in someone else's place, I'm not really living in their home as such. The family owns two apartments side by side. One they live in, the other is basically a study area for their two children Nicky and Vicky.
Nicky is a 6 year old boy who has been studying English every school day for the last 2 years (that's in addition to normal school, violin and WTF Taekwondo every day as well). He's an impressive kid who has so much energy at the end of the day I don't know how his mother does it?!? Vicky is Nicky's 4 year old sister who is also studying English as well as attending normal school. As soon as I can get them to stand still long enough - I'll get photos :-)
Anyway, the apartment is basically floor to ceiling school books in Korean and English (very impressive), and it is only used from 5pm-8pm when the children are working with their private tutors, so they have cleaned out one of the bedrooms for me and that's where I'm living. It's a great space and I've got plenty of privacy which is great. Not to mention its a 30 second walk (if that) to the Gimhae dojang where I'm instructing Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)