Spring Break: Jeju!

From March 30th - April 2nd, all the Fulbrights headed down to Jeju Island for Spring Conference.  Very much like Gyeongju Conference in the fall, the entire trip was funded by our schools.  I was really excited to finally get to see Jeju-do, which is an autonomous province situated on Korea's largest island, 80 kilometers south of mainland Korea.  Known for its temperate climate, beautiful scenery, and tropical plants, it is clear to see why Jeju is a popular honeymoon destination and the sister province of Hawaii.  I had been looking forward to this trip for weeks.  Unfortunately, the process of getting down there was unnecessarily complicated and stressful.

First of all, our schools were notified about this trip months in advance.  Being that this is one of the most popular flight routes in the world, we were warned that tickets usually sell out very quickly.  Knowing this, I immediately asked my coteacher if I should book my own ticket, but she assured me that the school would handle this matter in a timely fashion.  So I waited and waited.  A month before conference, I began to (politely) pester my coteacher about it, and each time, she repeated that the administrative office would take care of it.  Finally with less than 3 weeks to go, I asked again.  This time she made a few phone calls and then reported back that both she and the administrative assistant were busy, so I ought to go ahead and search for flights myself.  I was so aggravated. 

Because I had waited so long, all the flights leaving from nearby Cheongju Airport were already sold out and only a very few seats were still available on flights leaving from Gimpo Airport in Seoul.  I was forced to book on a flight from Gimpo that would likely get me into Jeju too late to catch the free shuttle bus offered by the Fulbright Office.  If I had known that this was going to happen, I would've happily booked my own ticket, months ago.  That's the thing about Korean schools.  Everything is so disjointed and bureaucratic.  If one has a question, it takes a half dozen transfer calls to figure out who's responsible for that matter and thus, who may be able to help you out.  It's never clear who's responsible for what and everyone tries to shift the duty onto someone else.  For an efficiency-oriented individuals, like myself, this is so incredibly frustrating.  I will never get used to this system.

It wasn't any easier on the day of my actual flight.  It took two hours to get to Gimpo Airport from Daejeon.  I arrived with plenty of time to spare.  When I checked in, the lady behind the desk looked at me, as if I was crazy, because Koreans arrive at domestic airports, just in time for their flights.  Oh well.  I grabbed something quick to eat and headed to my gate.  Along the way, I ran into several other Fulbrights who were on earlier flights with Korean Air or some other reputable airline.  Admittedly the weather on this day was a bit windy and drizzly.  But I didn't expect to be delayed almost 2 hours like I was.  That's what you get for flying with a discount airline, I guess.  By the time, we finally boarded the plane, my patience was running low.  Then I had to sit through the most scary, turbulent flight that I've ever been on.  The walls of the fuselage were literally shaking and I clutched my arm rests, in fear.

I was so relieved when we arrived safely.  From there, I had to navigate the public buses and take an hour-long ride from the airport in northern Jeju to KAL Hotel in Seogwipo, located on the southern coast.  By the time I finally arrived at the hotel, the conference had already started and I had to discretely sneak into the room.  This swanky hotel, owned by Korean Airlines, served as our venue for the entirety of conference.  With the sea on one side and a view of Hallasan, the tallest mountain in Korea on the other, it was a perfect location from which to admire the natural beauty of the island.  Instead, we spent the majority of our weekend cooped up in that big conference room, listening to lecturers and participating in small-group discussions about teaching and cultural issues.

The best part about full group gatherings is always seeing my peers and catching up with folks I haven't seen in a while.  This conference was no different.  It was so nice to have all the Fulbrights together again.  On Saturday morning, we had another two rounds of small group discussions.  I so much prefer the informal, interactive environment of small-group discussions and large-group lectures.  But by the end, I was worn out.  In the afternoon, there was a mandatory meeting for all the Fulbrights who had decided to renew for another year. 

As a Fulbright grantee, we have the option of renewing our contract for a second or third year.  For me, that choice was a pretty easy one.  I've known since middle school that I wanted to pursue a career in law.  While I absolutely love Daejeon, my host family, my students, and my life in Korea, teaching is not my ultimate career path and I'm ready to resume my life and academic studies.  In the time I've spent here, I've reconnected with my Korean heritage, by gaining conversational proficiency in Korean language and learning a lot about the culture.  But in the process, my English vocabulary has deteriorated and my once stylized writing ability has gone down the drain.  I desperately need to regain these skills and get out of the Korea bubble before I can attend law school.

I've also become very complacent here.  More than anything, I need a new challenge.  Although teaching motivated students every day is rewarding, I am not personally being pushed to grow intellectually.  Through teaching, I have gained invaluable, marketable skills like flexibility, resourcefulness, cultural sensitivity, and patience.  But during this experience, I've learned that I prefer being a student, much more than being a teacher.  My inherent sense of curiosity compels me to absorb as much information as I possibly can, more so, than imparting that knowledge on others.  For this reason, I have decided to take the lessons that I've learned here and apply them to a new chapter of my life, back home in America.  So as the renewees congregated for their meeting, the rest of us began our "walk of shame" out of the conference room.  While they sat, listening to Mrs. Shim talk, us, non-renewees got a chance to explore the beautiful landscape outside.

We walked along the water and had a mini photo-shoot.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and I felt genuinely happy.  In that hour of respice, I was further convinced that I made the right decision for myself by not renewing.  So what's next for me then?  I'll be heading back to America in early August.  I plan on taking the LSATs in October, applying to law schools in November and December, and then finding some sort of employment to keep me occupied until I (hopefully) matriculate in the fall of 2013.  Even though I'm not sure where I'll be or what exactly I'll be doing in the upcoming year, I'm not worrying about it.  One of the greatest lessons that I've learned in Korea is to embrace uncertainty.  Just look at my life, thus far.  It's clear that no matter what comes my way, everything always seems to work out for the best.

In the evening, the Fulbright Office prepared a special dinner for us.  They shipped us over to a restaurant in downtown Seogwipo and we gorged on 오겹살 (ogyeopsal), a five-layer equivalent to samgyeopsal, the more popular three-layered fatty pork meat.  It was a little too fresh for my taste.  We saw coarse black hair and stamps of inspection on the skin of some of the meat.  It kinda freaked me out, but I'm sure that meat-lovers were in paradise.

Later in the evening, we participated in trivia night for one of our friend's charity.  I was on a team with my besties: Emily, Korena, and Amy.  While we were waiting for the game to start, Amy realized that we were her dream Punnet Square babies, the perfect mix of dominant and recessive genes.  I, with a full Korean background, was a fully dominant "BB."  Korena and Amy, both half-Korean, were "Bb's."  And blonde Emily, with no Korean blood, was our fully recessive "bb."  If only the rest of the game went as seamlessly for us.  The questions were hard and we didn't do so well, as demonstrated by our photos below.  Oh well, at least we had fun.

On Sunday, we finally got to leave the grounds of KAL Hotel and go sight-seeing for the day.  We departed the hotel early around 8am and headed directly for 성산 일출봉 (Seongsan Ilchulbong), also known as Sunrise Peak.  This landmark is one of Jeju's three UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites, along with Halla Mountain and the island's extensive network of lava tubes; both of which I hope to see before I leave Korea.  Once we got there, we began walking to the top of this striking parasitic volcano, or oreum.  Volcanos are an important part of Jeju's history.  Sunrise Peak and Halla Mountain are among the most famous ones.  But Jeju Island is home to over 360 of them, which have periodically let off steam over the past millennium.

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Sunrise Peak rose from under the sea in a volcanic eruption over 5,000 years ago.   Located on the eastern end of Jeju Island, there is a huge crater at the top of the peak that is 600m in diameter and 90m high.  With the 99 sharp rocks surrounding the crater, it looks like a gigantic crown.  From the top of the peak, one can look out to the sea on one side and to the other, a verdant grassy hill connected to Seongsan Village.  The view was spectacular and it was a perfect way to start out the day.

After that, we hopped back on the charter bus and headed to Ilchul Land, an enclosed tourist park with a well-decorated garden and arboretum.  For the entirety of the ride, we watched K-pop music videos on the television and jammed out to the latest hits.  At this park, we toured the Micheon lava caves, which were rather disappointing.  From all the advertisements and hype, I was expecting a bit more than just a dreary, wet cave.  Then we drove to the nearby Jeju Folk Village.  In comparison to other amazing folk villages that I've visited, this one was also quite underwhelming.  Nonetheless, it was great to spend the day outside of the hotel, enjoying Jeju's gorgeous scenery.

Last stop on the tour was Pyoseon Beach.  It was a little chilly and windy out, but it felt so nice to take my shoes and feel the sand between my toes.  That must be the inner Jersey girl talking.  Can't wait until it's actually warm enough to go to the beach.

Aside from us, the beach was completely empty.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  We stayed there for a while and took a lot of photos.  By the end of the afternoon, I didn't want to get back on the bus and return to the hotel.  I just wanted more time to explore the island and its beautiful sights.  I really do hope I get a chance to visit the island again before I leave.  There's so much more that I want to see and do there.

As soon as we got back to the hotel, we all took naps and woke up just in time for the buffet feast.  We all stuffed ourselves with Korean and Western favorites and then returned to the conference room for the first half of the Junior Researchers' presentations.  But during that time, I had to slip out of the room to go to the group and individual interviews for the Camp Fulbright Instructor positions. (P.S. I got the job!)  If you can recall from my Orientation last year, all the incoming Fulbrights taught 3 lessons to students at an intensive English camp and received valuable feedback from Camp Instructors, who are past and present Fulbrights. 

Well this year, the roles will be reversed.  This summer, I will be a full-time Camp Instructor and dole out advice to the new incoming class.  My last day of teaching at my school in Daejeon is July 13th and 6 days later, I will report back to Jungwon University for camp.  Talk about a full circle.  Camp Fulbright was my first real teaching experience and it will also be my last, before I return home to America.  I can't wait to meet the campers and interact with the new Fulbright class.

Jeju Conference or more accurately, Spring Break: Jeju, was an absolute blast.  However, there's a somber tone that comes along with it.  This conference marks the penultimate gathering of Fulbrights before we say our tearful goodbyes at Final Dinner in late June.  That day will definitely be emotional for everyone.  Until then, I will continue making most of my time in this amazing country.