Keeping the PLUR life in Korea...

When it comes to music EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and myself we are one and the same. I thank my time in Australia years back for finding this genre of music. It wasn't until I moved to Arizona for 2 years (right before this journey began) that I solidified my love for the music and became a raver girl. Never thought I'd become one but so glad I did! When I decided to move to Korea it was one thing I thought I'd be sacrificing because I knew Koreans had different music tastes and into K-Pop (Korean Pop). Little did I know a lot of the K-Pop music has some undertones of EDM so I am starting to get into some of the artists. As for the EDM scene I know and love I thought it would be a thing for me to have to keep up on from afar, however, two of my good friends- knowing my obsession -found two events that take place in Korea prior to my departure here. One was Ultra Music Festival or UMF and the other was Sensation White (which at the time of this writing isn't going to happen this year). Ultra is a global EDM festival that started 15 years ago in Miami, Florida. I unfortunately could not go to 2013's Ultra in Miami (although I strongly debated it) so finding out that UMF is global and in Korea rocked my world! I had a friend of a friend buy a ticket way ahead of time (I recommend waiting until you are in the country as it's cheaper this route and ticket prices went down not up) and then we ended up cancelling those tickets and I bought my own a month before the event for cheaper. Another piece of advice- DO NOT book through Interpark. I waited in line for a good hour and a half to pick up my wristband and missed Krewella- the one group I was DYING to see. The event itself was outdoors in the Olympic Stadium. It was a warm 80+ degree weekend with humidity above 50%. Hand fans have become my best friend here (as they are with most Korean's- male and female). It was a mixture of Waygookins and Koreans, but I'd say there was a good amount more of Koreans at the event. The first night Krewella, Afrojack, Carl Cox, Kaskade and Armin Van Buuren headlined. Since I had seen Afrojack at Coachella '12 I skipped his performance to grab some food and check the venue out as we just made it in. Kaskade was mind-blowing! It was the 3rd performance I had seen of his and he knocked it out with the best performance yet! It was nice to have a little piece of California visit in Korea. Saturday Cazzette, Adventure Club, Fedde Le Grande, Sander Van Doorn and Avicii played. Cazzette was insane as was Adventure Club. In fact, I think all DJ's raged hard, but of course I have to have my favorites. For the people who say Koreans don't sweat, I would like to see them at UMF dancing alongside the Koreans as they were almost as drenched in sweat as I was! Loved every minute of it and loved that I got to share some of my friends' first festival experience with and first EDM performances. For me this was my first ever sole EDM festival and I cannot wait for Ultra Miami (eventually) and keeping my eye on EDC in Vegas next June 2014- glow bra in tow! P.s. For those less crazy EDM fans, PLUR stands for PEACE, LOVE, UNITY and RESPECT. Google search it for more information and join the club!

On Vanity in Korea...

Mirrors Mirror on the wall... seriously though, Koreans do have mirrors on many walls- all over Korea. In the subway stations, in the classroom, in my office, on the back of cell phone covers. Mirrors are everywhere in Korea. Does it bother me? Not really. See, I used to sneak my mirrors in class in grade school to make sure there wasn't a "bat in the cave" or food in my teeth. Because let's face it, how honest are people really when the green goblin wants to make an appearance in public via your nasal hole? Well Korean's prevent this embarrassment by making so many things reflective (my phone cover serves as a mirror), windows and doors, etc. Personally, I like it except when it's in my class and you are doing your hair and makeup instead of learning. I like being about to check to make sure all hairs are in place, all food is out of my teeth and everything is in good order. They are a society that is obsessed with image, but in this day and age, I think most globalized society's are. They may just be more blunt and obvious about it. As for plastic surgery in Korea, I am going to leave that for a separate post as soon I should have more insight into the #1 country for plastic surgery.

2 months down... 10 to go.

At the request of my best friend from high school I am returning to my blog. There will be many posts about my experiences volunteering at an English Camp at my friend Micah's school for the Blind children of Incheon, my experience at Ultra Music Fest and my take on the differences between the EDM scene in America v. Korea and one post one my journey back to fitness with Korean yoga and Spinning classes (both of which I highly recommend). As the title for my blog is "20 something and figuring out life" I am amazed to find that just when I think I have my life figured out the path I'm supposed to take and the happiness I found in that decision everything changes and I feel lost and back to square one again. Life in Korea has been such a roller coaster thus far. I have been uncomfortable and felt more awkward than I've ever felt (mainly when it comes to being at school) while at times I have met people that have made me feel so comfortable and "at home" with their friendship. In terms of school, do I like teaching? It's hard to call that now. Being two months new into teaching (ever) a classroom of 13-15 year old kids that are poor, low low level English (they cannot even really answer "how are you?") has been tough. These students are also unmotivated because the Korean education system 1) supports 'students rights'- a more recent shift from the corporal punishment method so they run a muck during and in between classes and 2) they don't really fail students meaning they pass them through the system whether or not they actually do well in school. Half the time students are looking in their mirrors using their combs (see my post about "Vanity in Korea") or sleeping on their desks. The other students are busy chatting away or mocking me when I speak or laugh. What I have come to realize is those students usually do not speak much English so it could be their way or being the disruptive kid in class to make light of their lack on knowledge on the subject. Every week has been an uphill battle for me to come to school. But I am not alone. I have talked to one of my 6 co-teachers (the teachers that have to translate EVERYTHING I say when I teach as my student's cannot understand me) and being in her first year as well she feels very similar to my sentiments in trying to motivate these children. I thought this experience would be a good for me to strengthen my knowledge of the international world and help me when I returned to America to be back in the industry I timed-out from- International Education. At this moment I am not sure if I want to return to that industry anymore- but that could be because I have become jaded by what I thought Korean education was like versus what it is (a scene from "500 Days of Summer" plays back in my head as I write that). As of today I feel very discouraged at my job here in Korea, mainly because the students are more low level than I ever expected they'd be and I feel very lost as to what I will be doing upon my return back home if I do not return back to International Education. The blessings through this past couple months really has been technology and my friends and family. Having the Viber app on my phone and having FaceTime and Skype at home have been true blessings. In my deepest moments of panic and despair I have been able to lean on my amazing friends and family back at home that were not only there every step of the way in my decision to come here, but continue to remind me why I'm here and how I'll be able to make it through these coming months. Also, Facebook Messenger and Kakao Talk have been my domestic blessings and my new friends that I have met have given me the numerous amounts of pep talks so far to stay in the game. It can be tough to hear when some of your friends have amazing schools with students that are just wonderful (mostly Elementary teachers), but when you do find those friends that are going through the same questions and doubts as you or the ones that have gone through them and can give you tips on how to push through it makes the days a lot less trying and I am reminded that I am not alone in these feelings. So for today I have come to the conclusion (and it most likely will change tomorrow or the next week when I have another WTF moment) that no matter how much I figured out the next year of my life (maybe longer) Iwill still have my doubts about it. I am going to push through and have been thinking and working on way to evolve my teaching to help these kids. I do have to realize at the end of the day, teaching is not about reaching all students and making a difference, but rather reaching one or two students and making an impact on them.