Yeongdo Girls High School Goes on a Field Trip: Broaching the Sensitive Topic of School Field Trips in Light of the Recent Sinking of the Sewol

THE SINKING OF THE MV SEWOL

I have been back blogging this past week. In light of the recent tragedy of the MV Sewol sinking, there is one particular topic/event that I have been hesitant to post about for the past two weeks: school field trips. 

Yeongdo Girls High School students bused to the Busan Museum in Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu for their annual field trip five days before Danwon High School students boarded the ship that would ultimately never reach Jeju Island, the destination of their own field trip. 

A small percentage of my students from different classes posing for a photo after exploring the museum

The whole of South Korea is in agony over this tragedy. While some passengers were rescued, many more were not - including hundreds of students just one year older than the ones I teach and have the privilege of continuing to teach. 

THE AGONY, THE ANGER, THE SHAME, THE GRIEF

 I can relate to only a very small percentage of it all. Culturally and linguistically, I am many levels removed from directly experiencing the full gravity of this loss, and so I feel unfit to even broach this topic. However, because I am here in Korea, continuing to teach high school students, and basically daily encountering and re-encountering the ghost of April 16, I suspect that I will have opportunities to write more about this later. For this post though, I simply want to accomplish two things:

     1) Acknowledge the aforementioned heavy feelings shrouding the heart of the nation, and
     2) Without detracting, distracting from, or devaluing the aforementioned, celebrate:

THE HOPE, THE UNITY, THE STRENGTH, THE LIFE

of South Korea. I continue to be impressed by this nation's ability to unite together and stand its ground. Unity may crumble, strength may wane, life may be lost, but, no matter how bleak the hour, I believe Hope still reigns at the end of the day.

As Korea grapples with the reality of hundreds of [young] lives lost, may she also not lose a beat in continuing to love and care for the millions of young people who are with us today.

Here are my students, who, everyday, I will learn to love more and more. 

YEONGDO GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL FIELD TRIP TO BUSAN MUSEUM

Students traveled in groups, boarding buses from our island to the mainland.
I bused down with a group of students living in my neighborhood and, thus, was able to find the museum.

There were other school field trips this day. The girls got excited over the sight of an all-boys high school also roaming around the museum grounds

This student gives me the deepest bows every time she sees me! Extremely respectful and polite - I adore her!

Teachers half-heartedly trying to create organized lines out of the hundreds of students milling around the square

Alright - you got me. Putting away the camera now...

This green-jacketed man perfectly matching the well-maintained shrubbery

It was a Seattle weather kind of day

Stella agreeing to be the girls' personal paparazzi

The silliness memo did not reach me or the older, male teacher to my left...

A PRAYER FOR SOUTH KOREA
Lord, give South Korea a Hope so extravagant as to pierce through this overwhelming current of despair. Enable her to, once again, rise from the ashes, assured of the beauty of Your plans for her and, especially, her children.

2014 Spring Conference | Jeju Island, KAL Hotel, and Angel-in-Us Cafe

THE BEGINNING OF MY JOURNEY

It seems just like yesterday that we had Fall Conference! I had my backpack (yes, just one) all packed last night for the next four days. I was determined to have as hassle- and stress-free a flight as I knew was possible for other people in movies.

At around 5 a.m., I could already hear my parents stirring in the kitchen. I got ready and was able to hitch a ride with my host Dad, whose workplace is a mere 15 minutes away from Gimhae International Airport.

Here's what my day looked like traveling from Busan to Jeju Island:

Host Dad calling a taxi for me so I could continue commuting to the airport and he could continue on to his workplace

The hotel we stayed at for four days and three nights

Didn't I label this post "Official Stuff"? 

HOW I SPENT MY FIRST FEW HOURS IN JEJU
09:00 a.m. - Landed at Jeju International Airport

09:30 a.m. - Got on the Limousine Bus that would take me to the KAL Hotel in Seogwipo

11:30 a.m. - Arrived at KAL Hotel, and noticed I was the only ETA around. Not surprising, since conference was slated to begin at 2:00 p.m.

11:35 a.m. - Hailed a cab to drive me to the nearest Angel-in-us Cafe, which just happened to be 5 minutes away (\3,400)

I arrived extremely early for conference

11:45 a.m. - Read my Bible at Angel-in-us while eating honey bread with green tea ice cream and sipping on a hot caramel macchiato with whip (or "whipping cream" as they say here). Savored the post-flight and pre-conference peace I was afforded in my little corner at the cafe. Resisted the incredible urge to fall asleep due to exhaustion.

01:45 p.m. - Hailed another cab to drive me back to the hotel. Felt legit hailing all kinds of cabs from point A to point B when the distance is a mere 5-minutes.

01:50 p.m. - Discovered that the conference time had been moved to 2:30 p.m. due to late arrivals. Grabbed my Fulbright ID badge and room keys from the lobby and headed to the 8th floor, where I power-napped.

02:25 p.m. - Rolled out of my super comfortable bed and mentally pumped myself up for the presentations up ahead!

Okay, fine, I traveled with a backpack AND a purse...This is still a huge improvement from having a carry-on bag

How many cups of caramel macchiatos have I consumed here in Korea?!?!

The perfect recipe for a quiet, peaceful afternoon to myself!

After the Conference welcome remarks and presentations, I had dinner and wandered around the hotel grounds with Gabrielle and Hope.

Even though it was dark, the three of us could still feel how beautiful the place was. We plopped down on the fake grass and just took the time to share how our respective experiences have been since we saw each other at Fall Conference. We shared our highs and lows and punctuated the end of our walk by praying for each other. I was hungry for this kind of fellowship, and am extremely grateful for having had the opportunity to visit with these two young women tonight.