Chapter 61: "North Korea Does NOT Got Seoul"

Wow. I'm past the 10-month mark, meaning my weeks and days are numbered. I haven't started an official countdown yet, but I think my mom did...about six months back. Also, it's been a little while since I've written anything. I've had another schedule change, and last weekend I went to North Korea, which was interesting.

North Korea....hmmm. It's hard to say what's really going on there, because we weren't even allowed to take photos in most places, just our destinations and the South Korea encampment where we stayed. Also, we were only about a ten minute drive over the border, so who can say if border-land looks the same as interior-land. But if the border land is supposed to be an optimistic view, I don't even want to know what the interior is like.

The border is a complicated arrangement of no-citizen territory for a couple of kilometers, the DMZ, and then another 2 kilometers of no-citizens. We weren't allowed to take any pictures in the DMZ, but I can say that it is brown, with lots of barbed wire and some soldiers.

Immigration was scary, because our tour guide told us that the North Koreans wanted to fine tourists for every tiny thing, and he said that they especially disliked Americans. He said that they would interrogate us about where we worked, our background, etc. We all had to stand in line outside of these big tents, where loudspeakers played this obnoxious traditional North Korean song on repeat. The gist of it was welcome, our leader is great, our leader is wonderful, etc. (Translation courtesy of Liz, our Korean coworker who came along.)

Fortunately, I got through with no hitches, and the officer didn't even ask me anything! I was especially relieved, because the occupation printed on my tag (we all had to wear ID tags the whole time) was wrong, but the tour guide said to memorize it anyway. I'm horrible under pressure!

We passed several villages while touring around (there is a nice spa and several hiking courses through the mountains that are the tourist attractions). They were walled in, and all the houses look the same. Our tour guide said 2-3 families live in each one. Also, the villagers had to hide while the buses passed. We could see them through the trees and looking out of the windows, and they came out once the caravan had gone by. Lots of the trees were cut down "to prevent South Korean spies from hiding out."

The eerie thing, besides there being little life aside from North Korean soldiers posted every 200 meters on the road, was that there's zero sign of an economy. No stores, and I only saw one cornfield the entire time I was there. Of course maybe there's a nice Wal-mart stuck way back in one of the villages, but otherwise the soldiers definitely win the best-dressed award, and probably the most well-fed award too.

While we were there we did a lot of hiking around really tall (and cold) mountains, and slept when we weren't hiking. I doubt I've ever gotten so little sleep over a weekend, because Friday night we had to spend the night on the bus, and start the hike at about 9 or 10 in the morning.

Everywhere there are signs carved into rock and stuck on walls about how North Korea will have unification again (under their political way, natch), and one even said death to the American invaders, or something of that sentiment. I felt loved. They're into their Mr. Kim hard core.

Here are some pics.

While you are perusing the pics, you might notice some extra cute Korean children. Those are my new kids :-) Well, some of them are. With my new term schedule, I teach kindergarten! And yeah, they're pretty much adorable. Right now they're practicing for Open Class, which is a performance for their parents. And they've got English lines for plays and everything and it's sooo cute. I'll be filming it, so hopefully I can post some clips online soon.

The rest of my classes are pretty good, and those that aren't, well, I've only got 2 months with them. I have some of my old kids, and a lot of new ones, too. My evil class has been split up, so I don't have to teach them all together. My annoying class with the two girls that cheat and get away with it has grown bigger, but it is now a listening class, which means they have to shut up if they want to hear :-)

I should tell one story about a particular book I have taught OVER AND OVER, Let's Go 3. That is an annoying book, because the material is limited, and every time I teach it, it's to regular elementary-school students, and not super-smart little kids. That age group is really loud and obnoxious. But this term I teach it to two classes, and one of them is entirely mute. Like, they never say a word. It's great.

The other one is a class of six boys and two girls, and they're just as crazy as they come, but oh well. Can't have everything, I guess.

Sadly, I parted ways with the Class of All Boys and One Girl this term. I shall miss them terribly, Emo Kid and the Smart One in particular. The new teacher has them, and I hope he enjoys them because I think they were my favorites, over all.

Later days, kids. Don't give the New Guy gray hair!!