A Ginger on TV - 7080 music variety show

Last week my co teacher and I were fortunate enough to be part of a live audience for the famous KOrean music variety show , 7080 . This variety show has been running for years and consists of some very golden oldie Korean bands. As it is broadcast on National tv every week the filming of the show for the past however many years has taken place in a studio in Seoul. However , for last weeks show they decided to do something out of the ordinary and decided to film in my beautiful city Gyeongju in our new state of the art Bird park.

A stage lit up with strobe lights of all colours set against the beautiful  bird park as a back drop,  the giant glass house lit up too such an extent that the luminous light could be seen from the opposite side of the road and the amazing multi-coloured  fountain display that I could have watched for hours all added to the atmopshere of what would be an incredible night .

I was seated next to a very sweet middle aged lady who instantly wanted to make friends and who tried her best to string a sentence together in english . When that failed we decided to  resort to communicating in hand gestures and facial expressions the rest of the night . We were brieffed by the film crew as to how the show would be filmed , when we should clap and when we should remain seated . Camera crew everywhere ,4999 koreans and one waygook all waiting in anticpation for the show to start . Lights,  camera , action!

The show consisted of a host who happens to be a very famous but old korean dj who has been spinning the decks for 20 years . Needless to say all the 40 and 50 year korean ladies went cray cray when he came on stage .

Various korean bands performed some a bit "droog" however there were plenty that caught my attention . One such band was a " heavy metal band"

I say " heavy metal" because it wasnt exactly hardcore Marilyn Manson or Korn and thank goodness because I have never been a fan of that gengre. I would say it fell more into the hard rock catergory which im not a huge fan of either ,but after seeing 3 sexy young koreans rock their guitars on stage I am now fully converted to Korean rock music . They were incredible. Guitar skills A+, stage presence A++ , Sexiness A+++. My co could see that I was thoroughly enjoying the performance.

There was a variety of other acts and throughout all of them my new middle aged chingu and I jammed away , hands in air , waving them around like we just dont care . Ive never seen a middled aged women move and groove like this one. She was jamming yo!

I had no idea what the bands were singing about but it didn't matter. The mellodic sounds that radiated from the stage , the mesmorizing lighting effects and dancing  around  with my new chingus  was more than enough to keep me entertained and happy.

The show was aired on Tv on Sunday night on KBS Channel 9. Although I was hoping that  the cameras had managed to get a shot of me on the night I didnt really expect to see myself featured on the aired version on Tv. The saying " be careful what you wish for" CLEARLY holds more value than I thought. There right in my face , a close up shot that could  not have been avoided. Hands waving around ridiculously in the air , jamming with my chingu . FACE PALM MOMENT and that was my 5 minutes of fame on Korean national televison. Camera man totes got my bad angle . Not sexy at all , however as it is a very old  show I assumed and hoped that not many people would have seen it .... Well ...

Monday morning arrives .... Annnnnnd  how wrong I was . 'la teacher my family watch you last night on tv '  'La teacher you famous celebrity '   'la teacher you love dance '  Yip , teachers and students all new about la s little 5 minutes of fame. I suppose one of the things about being  a ginger in Korea is that you attract far more attention than one would in South Africa.

It really was an amazing fun filled night jamming  with the wonderful Korean people under a gyeongju night sky. Music really is a universal language and food for the soul .  ♥

The Good luck Geunhwa cirlce

Yesterday we had a two hour school mass service. This mass was to prepare and wish our matric girls good luck for the upcoming and very stressful university exams. I had a very similar sort of service  at my school in South Africa before we wrote our final exams. However, what we  didnt have was a good luck circle. In the middle of the church service all 250 grade 3 students formed a very large circle around the perimeter of the school hall. Then all of the teachers got up from their seats and went inside this giant circle. Feeling utterly confused as to what was going on I joined the other teachers inside the large circle and was informed that we were making a good luck circle , ( a very old Geunhwa tradition) and that we should shake hands and wish each grade 3 student good luck for the exam.

As I began walking around the circle and shaking each girls hand to wish them good luck I noticed many of them desperately trying to hold back their tears. Suddenly I had flashbacks of when I was in my final year of school and how I felt just before the final exams . Stressed , overwhelmed and nervous. Anyone who is an english high school teacher in Korea will back me up here. The pressure placed on these students is incomprehensible.

I realised that they were not crying because they were sad , they were crying because of the pressure , the stress and the fear of failing. As I continued to walk around the circle wishing them good luck my tears soon turned into sobbs as I realised just how important it is for these girls to do well in this exam. Failure to achieve a high grade will result in them not getting into the university that they have always dreamed of going to. With this in mind I attempted to make my " good luck" wishes more encouraging and excititng " Good luck , you can do it" " Keep fighting" "You gonna do so well" .Such simple words of encouragement yet it gave them a glimmer of hope that everything is going to be ok.Some of them held onto my hand and wouldnt let go as the tears came streaming down their faces. Being the emotional person that I am I took it one step further and started hugging all of them. The principal who was watching all of this go down didnt look too impressed. However when it comes to matters such as supporting and encouraging your students I say screw the rules.

I know this post may seem boring or pointless however , I wanted to share it with you because I think it is a beautiful tradition at Geunhwa and something that I never experienced at school. More importantly it illsutrates the importance of ecouraging others and believing in them. Eventhough I have never taught the grade 3 's and dont have much of a relationship with them I know that they will take our words of encouragemnet with them when they write the exam. So lets not forget or take for granted just how influential our few words of encouragement can be for others and especially our students.

x

The good luck Geunhwa circle . Teachers going around the circle wishing each student good luck

Klapping gym in Korea boet.

The gym , a place where most girls could spend hours . For me however I can think of nothing worse. The thought of being inside on a machine when I Could be outside enjoying mother nature and fresh air  sounds  far more appealing . However with the autumn chill in the air doing outdoor activities are going to become slightly more challenging and im not that keen on getting frost bite when winter comes around . So I have been left with no choice but  to join the gym.

Korean gyms are known to be expensive and can range from  30 000 won a month up to over 100 000 won a month.  Although I Would have loved to have opted  for the 30 000 won gym, that would require me to cycle  in the freezing cold  ,minus degree weather and thats not gonna happen . Luckily Korea seems to be slightly obsessed with gyms and so you can find one in almost every area. I had a choice of about 3 within a 1km radius of my house. 

I chose the smallest of the three gyms as I assumed this would be the one with the least amount of people and by people i mean the hardcore ' check my pecks bru ' type of okes.

Well how wrong I was . I arrived and as I dont really blend in amongst the koreans I Had bout 30 eyses staring at me ... As if I was  piece of beef barbeque. Yuk.  The lady at reception handed me a towel and then a pair of shorts and a t shirt . Confused by why she was giving me clothes I turned around to find  that every single memeber in the gym was in black shorts and grey t shirts. I couldnt decide what was more worrying the fact that everyone was dressed the same or the fact that they were in gym gear that had been worn by hundreds of other people. If my  gym work out and sweatyness  is anything to go by  there was no chance I was going to wear recycled gym clothes. I declined her offer gracefully and headed down to the workout area.

Within 5minutes I Had a very buff looking oke standing at the bicycle that i was about to hop on to. He handed me an energy drink and went back to his bench pressing. Clearly he  thought i was the type that needed all the energy I could get.

Interestingly enough  the instructions on the equpiment  were all in english. Thank God,  because the thought of having to work out how to use a machine  that is in KOrean while simultaneously  trying  to look cool and  not fall off  the machine would have been far too much pressure.

All in all it was a good first session. The euqipment is limited compared to dear virgin active. in CT and if you hoping to find a pool where you can perfect your butterfly strokes  im afraid you wont find that easily unless you at the city gym .What you will find are treadmills that each have  their own tvs with various  channels and giant  hoola hoops  that the old people seem to love.  For all you yoga lovers out there  that want to do your downward dog and flying eagle positions im afraid you wont find such   a class at my gym or iothers  It seems that most of the small gyms in korea do not offer extra classes for yoga or dancing . 

Although this little gym routine is gonna cost me  a fair amount . With winter coming up I Wont be going out nearly as much . So what previously would have been  spent at my Oolf hound in Busan or club monkey in Dague or Hongdae in Seoul will now be put towards  a much better  and  more effective activity. 

So here is  to a new challenge , klapping gym in Korea with the boets.  FIghting !

Temples in caves , buddhas on rocks and the Goddess of 1000 hands

Yesterday Korea celebrated Hangeul Day . A national commemorative day marking the invention of the KOrean alphabet that was developed by King Sejong. I took full advantage of my day off and had a wonderful day with my co teacher exploring the many hidden treasures of Gyeongju. Two of them being Golgulsa temple and Ki Rim Sa temple.

Golgulsa Temple
Golgulsa Temple also , known as the Stone Buddha temple is famous for being the only temple in Korea to have been built in a cave as well as being famous for its beautiful large buddha sculpture . Gyeongju once again taking the prize for "the one and only" The temple was built out of solid rock in the 6th century and still stands strong today. It is used as a prayer sanctuary and is considered the birth place of all spiritual culture.
It is believed that the most famous monk to have ever lived in Korea reached enlightenment at Golgulsa. Although I didnt reach enlightenment yesterday it is easy to understand how the monk reached enlightenment at such a place . Nothing but the sound of leaves russling in the trees , birds tweeting and the sound of the flowing river.

Today Gulgulsa is famous for their martial arts school and after what I witnessed yesterday its easy to understand why hundreds of foreigners flock here every year in order to have this experience. We were lucky enough to witness a martial arts performance yesterday whilst we were there. I have never seen someone use their body as  effectively as I witnessed  yesterday. He was like a piece of prestik that you could stretch and manipulate into anything you pleased. The discipline , the concentration and flexibity that was portrayed yesterday was something that I struggle to even comprehend.

My flexibility was seriously put to the test when we had to climb up on rocks and through small cave like holes in order to see the famous Buddha that has been sculptured into the rocks. We finally made it to the top and as I sat there gazing at this overwhelming stone structure I sat their wondering how such a sculpture came to be . How did they get up here with all the necessary tools. How did they manage to sculpture something so perfectly into the rock? How did they manage to keep it symmetrical? All these questions went through my mind and are questions which will probably never be answered.

So often we we admire something so great and extraoridnary without thinking about the challenges that had to be overcome in order for the present generation to witness it and enjoy it. I know I have been a culprit of such an attitude in the past. But livng in Gyeongju , the museum without walls , the city which holds the largest cultural heritage in Korea . It is hard for one not to think about the challenges that had to be overcome in order for that 9 story Pagoda to have been built , or the temple in the cave , or the construcion of the Giant stone buddha statue , Seokuram.

Ki Rim Sa
We then moved onto Ki Rim Sa Temple which was founded in 643 AD. Unlike most temples in Korea , Ki Rim Sa is made from wood giving it that beautiful rustic traditional look. This temple holds many treasures and many stories. My favourite part of this temple was seeing the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy or more commonly known as the Goddess with 1000 hands. I have seen many Buddhist statues over the last 7 months and all have intrigued me , however the one that I saw yesterday had something incredibly special about it . Perhaps it was because she was a female or perhaps it was the intricate details on the statues and the one thousand golden hands. It really was a beautiful sight.

Despite the giant signs that said no pictures and the ajuma who was giving me death stares there was no chance that I wasnt going to get a picture of this beautiful Goddess. My poor co teacher must have been so embarrassed being seen with a crazy waygook running around trying to take a photo . Eventually I managed to get one. Happy La. The next two shrines that I went into were even more mesmerizing. 3000 little jade buddhas staring at me... yes 3000. It was a beautiful sight. All I could think about was the amazing creations I could make with that beautiful jade stone. However , being surrounded by buddhas and being a believer in karma I figured that its probably not the best idea to attempt to take any.

The last temple consisted of 500 small wooden buddhas each one beautifully painted . Im unsure of what they represent although their official name ( 500 buddha's disciples ) suggests that they are the followers or guardians of buddha.
All in all it was an amazing day filled with Buddhas of all shapes and sizes