Saying Goodbye

My time in Korea has come to an end. I have mixed feeling about leaving. I am very said to be leaving Changnyeong but I am so excited to see family and friends at home. I have had a wonderful year here. I have really enjoyed teaching and I have met some wonderful people. I have loved exploring Korea and Asia. I don't have any reason to feel too sad and I am pretty sure I will be returning to Korea soon. Now all I need to decide is where in Korea am I going to live next?

Goodbye Leaving Dinner

Hwang-San Reed Burning Festival

Lunar New Year Vacation

I got another week off for Lunar New Year. For this holiday I went snowboarding with David. Once again as I had to write a report for work I thought I should post it on here!

Lunar New Year Holiday

Rebecca Rhone

26^th January– 30^th January

Korean New Year, commonly known as Seollal is the first day of the lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays. It consists of a period of celebrations, starting on New Year's Day.

Diary Entry

Monday 26th	On Monday I went on an organized snow boarding trip. I booked my trip through a Korean agency called ‘Adventure Korea.’ They are a company that set up various excursions within Korea for foreigners.  The outing that I was participating in was a snow boarding trip. This was at Phoenix Park in Pyeongchang, Gangwon-do. I had never been ski-ing or snow boarding before so I was extremely excited about participating in such an activity.           I set off from Seoul with my boyfriend David on Monday morning at 6am. We arrived at the resort in mid afternoon. We all got allocated our rooms. There were eighty foreigners on the trip from a range of destinations in Korea, America, England, France and South Africa. David and I shared a room with an English couple. They were currently working in Daegu and had been in Korea for four months. They loved their jobs and Korea. Just as much as David and I so we had plenty of interesting stories and experiences to exchange. It was pleasant to hear about other peoples adventures.     After getting changed into our salopetts and other warm snow wear. We collected our snow boarding equipment from the resorts rental store. At 6pm we were ready to hit the slopes!  Phoenix Park resort is incredible beautiful. There were pure white hills as far as the eye could see. I began my snow boarding participation on the beginner slope. It was tremendously hard work and I found it impossible to stay on my feet. Lucky David had a natural skill for the sport and he was able to help me with the difficulties I was having.           After four hours David and I had decided to call it a day. We were extremely tired and over whelmed. I felt I had made good process and I was looking forward continuing with snow boarding the next day after some food and rest.
Tuesday 27th	On Tuesday morning all of the people in my room woke up exceptionally early. We immediately went straight back on the slopes and continued with snow boarding. I found it a lot easier on this day than I did the previous day. I   was able to stay on my feet for longer and I became more confident so I was able to glide faster down the slopes. I still fell over a great amount throughout the day. I was aching all over and in addition to the pain I was very cold. Although this did not prevent myself from participating in the sport because it was just too much fun!           By late afternoon David and I had been snow boarding for around six hours. We decided it was time to relax and call it a day. After we handed all of our equipment back to the rental store we headed to the resorts water park. Here there was a variety of saunas and swimming pools. We spent the remainder of the afternoon dipping in and out of different temperate saunas and baths. I really enjoyed the hot sauna that was located outside. It was extremely tranquil to sit in a boiling hot bath while the snow was falling from the sky and touching my skin. The scenery which was around us was beautiful. The fresh white snow that had settled on the ground and falling from the sky was a stunning site to see.
Wednesday 28th	On Wednesday morning the entire tour group travelled to the second destination. Here we checked into our new accommodation. This accommodation was exceptional. It was absolutely gorgeous.           After exploring the surrounding grounds the main organizer took all who wished to participate ice fishing, on a near by lake that had frozen over. It was scaring walking on the ice at first as it seemed unnatural. I was reassured by the Korean tour organizer that is was completely safe and I had confidence in his knowledge. The ice fishing was enjoyable but nobody caught any fish. We decided to play a variety games on the ice. Some of us played ice football and some played ice golf. It was nice speaking to the other foreigners and getting to know new people.    In the early evening the Korean organizers prepared a traditional Korean dinner. This was the start of our celebrations for Lunar New Year. (We were aware that we were celebrating Lunar new year a couple of days late. The celebrations were delayed to coincide with the trips schedule.) We ate, drank and talked over dinner with new friends. The Korean staff put on a fire show, this was enormously impressive. After dinner we headed outside to continue with our Lunar New Year celebrations. There was a huge bomb fire set up out side and there was also a firework display .When the fire began to weaken the party retrieved to the nori-bang singing room to finish the night.
Thursday 29th	On Thursday I woke up with a slight headache but I felt   fine enough to participate on a hiking excursion. I always feel better after morning exercise. Most of the group participated in the short hike. We went to a frozen lake in a bus which was thirty minutes away from the hostel. We walked back to the hostel via the frozen lake. This was interesting and beautiful. The formations which the frozen water had made were unique. I really enjoyed exploring Korea in the winter. It was special.  When returning to the hostel we had breakfast and then headed back to Seoul. Our journey was over. I had only good memories and a handful of new friends.
Friday 30th	I spent Friday in Daegu With my boyfriend. We went to the local arcade and played many fun racing games. I won most of them! We also went to the movie theater and watched Valkyrie, This was an incredible movie. In the late evening we also ate dinner at a traditional Korean restaurant. It was a perfect ending for a lovely holiday. I am very grateful for the vacation.

Ice Fishing Festival

China- Beijing

David and I went to CHINA BEIJING for our Christmas vacation. (I call holidays vacation now as I work with Americans!)We flew on Christmas day! It was an incredible trip. We stayed in a 5 star hotel and went to all of the usual tourist sights. It was immensely cold. I definitely did not pack appropriately! The icy cold weather did not prevent me from enjoying myself and having fun! I heart Beijing!  

Christmas in Korea

Ugly Sweater Party

Promotional Video for my school in Changnyeong!

This is a section of a promotional video about Changnyeong. In this part of the video you will see Changnyeong English Camp and the teachers who work there featuring in it. Including an interview from all of us!!!

Black Belt!

I am know officially a black belt in Taekwondo! Suzi and I went to Masan stadium and we took part in a official examination. There was over 2000 people attempting to get their black belt. There was students of all ages. From age 6 and upwards! The examination consisted of a variety of tests. First of all Suzi and I had to perform our Poomsae in front of a panel of judges and the any other of the 2000 people who was interested in watching. (I think a foreigner and an mature Korean lady are not the common contestants!) After we preformed our Poomsae Suzi and I had to fight each other. The sparring lasted only a few minutes. It was all very nerve racking but well worth it!!!

Staff Workshop Trip

This month we had our staff workshop trip. Once again our boss asked us to write a report on what we did so he could send it to Changnyeong County Office. Here is my report....

Workshop Trip by Rebecca Rhone 2008

Monday 6th October

We set of from Changnyeong English Camp at 9.30 Monday morning. I was extremely excited about our trip. I had not been on a workshop yet and I have heard positive feedback from previous English Camp teachers. From the pamphlets I had read Hadong sounded beautiful. With stunning scenery and a fascinating history which was traditional and unique. After all the staff had greeted each other in the morning we made our way onto the bus. Suzie gave all of the staff a delicious pack lunch, which we were all grateful for.

 We arrived at our first destination, which was Ssanggyesa Temple. Ssanggyesa Temple in Mt.Jirisan is the 13th of the 25 head offices of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The Ssanggyesa Temple and everything on its surrounding grounds was incredibly beautiful. The weather was pleasant and as it was the beginning of October. The seasonal change made a great impact on the appearance of the plantation. The colors were spectacular. Ssanggyesa Temple grounds had many monuments to admire. It also had an extremely interesting museum. I also really enjoy visiting the gift stores. All of the traditional Korean bits and pieces were so beautiful and distinctive.  

The Tea Cultural Centre was our second destination. Here is where the cultural tradition of cultivating and enjoying tea is handed down through the generations. The actual museum is not open on Monday’s but Richard and Suzie asked the manager and she opened it just for us. This was fantastic! The museum was lovely. It explained about the different methods used to produce many different kinds of tea from around the world. We also went into a tearoom and the owner served all of the staff with original green tea in traditional Korean pottery. It was a pleasant experience. I bought a petit vase, which I will use for a flower centerpiece for my apartment dinning table. I was pleased with my purchase.

The third destination was Hwagae Market. It was a lovely traditional outdoor food market. There was charming traditional Korean souvenirs which were tremendously cute. We had lunch, which was absolutely scrumptious.  

 The fourth destination was Choi Cham-Pan’s House: Filming location of the TV drama Toji (My land) Choi Cham House was situation on a mountain. This made the view from the peak magnificent. I was able to see the surround landscapes clearly. Again the colors of the season made the outlook appear extremely attractive and outstanding. There were also animals at Choi Cham- Pan’s House, which was nice. There were two pigs, a few rabbits and a couple of cows. I enjoyed stroking the pigs they where cute but a little smelly! We finished exploring Choi Cham- Pan’s House around 5.30. After this location we planned to travel to our motel.

We arrived at our motel at six in the evening. The hotel was extremely satisfactory. Richard and Suzie arranged everybody to meet in the motel lobby at 8.00. We all had two hours so freshen up and recharge our batteries. After a little snooze and a refreshing shower I was ready for dinner. We had dinner in the motels main restaurant. The table was full of food that looked glorious. I was very satisfied at the end of the feast. After dinner we moved the party to the hotel’s basement. Where there was a cool nori bang. We all had an energetic time singing and dancing.  I believe this was an invaluable team bonding exercise and was greatly appreciated by all who attended.  

Tuesday 7th October

 I woke up at 8.40. We all set of for breakfast at 9.00. We stopped off at a restaurant and had a gorgeous soup for breakfast.

 The next destination was Samseong Palace. The really name of the palace is Jirisan Cheonkakseonwon Baedalseongjeon Samseong Palace. The entrance for the palace appeared to be a mystical secret entrance to some kind of secret garden. The door was grand and built from steady colorless stone. Once in the grounds I was extremely intrigued by the agricultural domain. It was spectacular. There were magnificent walls build purely by with natural stone. The use of natural resources was mind-boggling. The creativity was indefinitely overwhelming. Once again the surround view from this destination was immense.   

 The final destination was Cheonghakdong. Cheonghakdong had breathtaking scenery as far as the eye could see. Here many visitors have said that Cheonghakdong is a good place to live or to find out a Utopia. This is understandable. Here at Cheonghakdong we had the honor of visiting a follower of Yubulseon-habil-gaengjeong-yudogyo. We listened to the monk, he told us about his visions of South Korea and North Korean uniting. He explained his vision for eternal utopia and his desire for harmony on earth. I thoroughly enjoy by time listening to Song Seng Nim. 

Overall the workshop was a wonderful cultural and historical experience. Furthermore the bonding within the team during this period was essential and helped team moral lots.

Red Belt

I am now a red belt in Taekwondo!!!

This is a photo that I am going to send to my family in the form of a Christmas card!!!

CEV Staff