North Korea

Yesterday we got out of the classroom and went for a field trip to Ganghwa Island which is about two hours north and west of Seoul. The first stop was a peace observatory that lies on the Ganghwa Straight just 2km from North Korea. The currents make for a difficult swim but a pro can do it in about 15 minutes if they have permission from the UN and the government of the destination shore.

One brave bull survived a flood and made the swim from North Korea where he was rescued by the South Korean military. This bull was christened “ox of peace” and married a Jeju cow (I’m going there!) named “desiring peace” These peaceful cows had 40 happy calves and the story serves as a symbol of the long desired unity of the Korean Peninsula.

The first photo is South Korea on the right shore, and North Korea on the left shore. The rest of the photos are North Korea. It’s hard to believe that the beautiful mountains are a prison. Since the whole world is looking at this area of North Korea through high powered telescopes I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the most developed place in the country.

Flight

When our ride to the airport arrived I got a little emotional. Suddenly we were leaving, and I had a brief panic about it. This panic was exacerbated by the driver showing up a few minutes late and then telling me in what I perceived to be a harsh voice that the airline we were flying with didn’t exist. I immediately excused myself from the conversation because I knew Mike, Patty, Katy, and Nanny could handle it. Give yourself three hours to navigate JFK folks. Fortunately Asiana Air does exist, and we got through to the gate minutes before boarding. None of our bags were over weight but they most definitely will be when we fly from Seoul to our school sites in Jeju.

All in all the flight to Seoul with Asiana Air was as comfortable as a 14 hour flight could possibly be. The bathrooms had tooth brushes, and we were given slippers. The food was amazing compared to other airline food. It came in real dishes, and they served octopus for one of the meals.

All the bags arrived undamaged in Seoul and we collected the phones we ordered without incident. My new number is 01-076-275-263. Then we met our employer at a kiosk and we were immediately hurried onto a bus. After an hour we traveled through Seoul to our training site where we met our roommates and shoved off to bed.

Today we had a medical check in the morning, and currently we have a break until after lunch. We have met a lot of really nice folks who will be teaching on Jeju with us. (New friends!) I’m trying to use my down time wisely and stay awake so that I don’t wake up at 4am again this morning.

Another Year Gone

First let me clarify that I recognize years based on a school schedule. Years Start in early fall, and end in early summer. Summer itself is a magical in-between time separate from the rest of the calendar. My year in Seattle doing AmeriCorps with Sea Mar Community Health Centers is over and unfortunately I have written nothing about it. Though it is inadequate I will attempt to summarize a big year in one small blog.

Intergenerational Program

Half of my role at Sea Mar was to facilitate and encourage intergenerational activities between the child development t center and the skilled nursing facility. I had the privilege of witnessing the residents light up when the kids came, and the kids were equally delighted with the extra attention.

Prior to this experience I never worked with people who were aging and dependent before. Watching an adult’s health or mental capacity decline rapidly as a child grows was astonishing and humbling. I want to challenge myself to become a certified nursing assistant at some point so that I can be of greater help, learn more about aging, and continue to expand my comfort zone.

The intergenerational program also offered the opportunity to get involved with institutional change. It was clear to me that the intergenerational program did not have the structure it needed to really do the most good. Upon doing research I learned about the emotional benefit for participants and economic benefit to facilities that run quality intergenerational programs. It was clear that the resources didn’t exist for some changes, but other changes required simple and free changes that would bolster the program. I had the opportunity to write proposals, create trainings, and sit at meetings with my boss’s boss. It sounds important and a little glamorous, but mostly I was frustrated and disenchanted. Sea Mar is in no way to blame for my immature attitude. I chalk it up to impatience, and a naivety of the time and energy required to make changes in a large organization. Fortunately frustration doesn’t cause permanent damage, and I learned a great deal in the process.

Soccer Project

The soccer project fell into my lap when I unexpectedly and reluctantly shifted away from art therapy. The universe is abundant with opportunities, but it is still hard for me to be accepting and grateful when my plans are forced to change. Most of the year I struggled with maintaining a positive outlook, however I’m glad I stuck it out, because now I am more resilient and accepting of change. Moreover I got to be a lead in starting a new program from the ground up. It wasn’t easy and my constant morale issues didn’t make it any easier, but I learned soooooooo much. I can’t express how grateful I am for this experience.

The soccer program was a partnership with the South Park Community Center to provide an affordable soccer program to kids ages 7 and 8. The program is designed to continue growing until it is serving kids from the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th grade. Soccer is a huge institution in Seattle, and it is expensive. The existing soccer associations don’t have connections in South Park, and barriers from language to economic prevent the youth from having access to recreation. Ideally the soccer program begins to bridge that gap so that youth in South Park will have the same access to all the social and health benefits of sports that other communities have.

This project gave me my first taste of community organizing. Fortunately I had a stellar mentor who is very experienced at organizing. The opportunity to learn from her was such a gift. I could write pages on what I learned about community organizing, but I will simplify it to; I learned a lot, and I have so much more to learn.

This past year was like two years worth of professional development squeezed into one. It was a real challenge, and I know I will be processing it for quite some time. Currently I am in Korea teaching English for a year, we’ll see what this new adventure brings!