The National Museum, June 29

Today was the second day of our lecture series at Korea University. We have had lectures on Korean language, art, economics, culture, and North- South relations. We also toured the Korea University campus yesterday. And we have met some high ranking government officials. After today's lectures we went to the National Museum. There are so many stunning artifacts-- which is to be expected from a country as old as Korea. We had a chance to look at some beautiful examples of celadon and white porcelain pottery. My favorite room however was the Buddha exhibit.

There are many different types of Buddhas and every different facial expression or hand gesture has a meaning. The hand gestures are known as mudras. Then there are the Bodhisattvas, who are not Buddhas, but humans who are considered enlightened beings. At night a group of about fourteen of us went our due traditional Korean BBQ. You cook our yourself on a grill built into your table. The owner placed a tray of hot coals inside the table and adds bowls of meat, garlic, lettuce, julienned green onions, and various other items around the grill and you cook it and eat it with your desired accoutrements.

June 27, 2012

Today we took a tour of Seoul. We walked to the Gyeongbokgung Palace and witnessed the changing of the guard. Then we walked around the block to tour the Folk Museum. I, and a group of about ten intrepid explorers, then explored the Bukchong historic district where there remains the largest community of traditional style houses in all of Seoul. Learning to navigate the Korean subway was an experience. And the subways are super clean here. Tonight we had a "getting to know you" dinner with representatives from the Korea Society and students from Korea University. We were served a traditional meal that consisted of several courses-- mostly seafood. I didn't eat a lot.

Welcome to Korea

I arrived late to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York due to weather that kept us in a holding pattern over Washington, D. C. for a while. Bit once I arrived, checked in, and exchanged money I met up with some fellow participants at our departure gate. We were going top be flying on a huge two story jumbo jet ! My first Korean meal took place on Korean Airlines about two hours into the fifteen hour flight. It consisted of biminbob, a traditional Korean vegetable and rice dish, seaweed soup, sectioned oranges and some type of vegetable pickle. The seaweed soup was actually pretty good. It tasted a little like collard greens. Topped it off with a little white wine to help me sleep. Twelve hours is a long time to stay awake on a plane! I wish I'd taken a picture of it. At 5:25 pm local time, 3:25 am central time, we landed at Seoul - Incheon International Airport. Fourteen and a half hours after leaving JFK . This flight was brutal. After an hour long bus ride we arrive at Seoul Garden Hotel. The streets of Seoul are busy. I'm on the 9th floor and I can still hear traffic. Dinner for me was at the McDonald’s across the street (why not? ) where I had something called a "Taste of Australia" burger. Then a quick jaunt to the 7-11 on the corner for bottled water and it was off to bed.

Day before takeoff

Seventeen hours from now I will be on my way to the airport. In New York I meet up with about a dozen other Summer Fellowship participants. Then it's fifteen hours to South Korea. I'm really excited about teaching my lesson to the students there, but also nervous. I don't know how well it will be received. Hopefully internet service well be available at the hotel and I can keep up with the blog. So until then, 작별 인사. (Goodbye)

Friday, June 22

Three days away now. I went to #TuskegeeInstitute today to get some materials for the lesson I'm going to teach on George Washington Carver. Shirley at the museum was so helpful. Its amazing to see all that Carver accomplished in his lifetime. I think the students in the Korean school will really like their gifts.

Countdown to Korea

Only five days away now.  We finally got our in country itinerary yesterday.  My flights are confirmed.  I've made contact with the other participants who will be flying out of JFK.  My packing is done except for electronics and last minute clothing.  All that's left is that I keep my family members up to date on what their responsibilities are while I'm away.  My Korean lessons aren't going as well as I hoped, but my lesson for Korea is planned and I've got all my resources together.  My last day at work is tomorrow, so it's full steam ahead from here on.  My only concern is the long flight.  I've got sleeping pills and a sleep mask.  Please Lord, let that be enough.

December 2, 2011

For my last Costa Rica entry, I thought I would post a little dedication I made to my fellow TITP participants on our last night together. I was deeply affected by this trip and I really wanted them to know how much it-- and they-- meant to me. "When this adventure began I thought I had some idea of what to expect. But this has been so much more than I could have imagined. Over the last 14 days we have learned, laughed, and lived together. I want to thank Toyota and IIE for giving us this incredible opportunity. Thanks to Mike, Karen, and Rhonda for putting up with us. I have learned so much from this,and I have so much to take back with me and I've made some wonderful new friends whom I will miss. I will miss Kim's calm demeanor, Tim's sense of humor, Valerie S. ability to drink the men under the table, Josh's All American boy charm, Paolo's boisterousness, Katie's katieisms, Tammy's laughter and Bhavna's giggle. I'll miss John's intelligence, Jeremiah's laid back California surfer cool, Kelly's dry wit, Tracy's willingness to try anything, Loris' generosity, Erin's smile-- and her eye for cute porters, and Robert's good humor-- but not the bawdy jokes. I'll miss Angela's energy, Sondra's earnestness, Valerie M.'s "earth mama" vibe, Greg's dimples-- and his hot pants, and learning from Chris C., who is the kind of teacher I hope to someday become. I'll miss Kris M.'s intensity, Emily's sweet nature and her eager desire to be the best teacher she can be because we need more teachers like that. I'll miss Ann's friendliness, Chuck's daring, and Susan's caffeine addiction, which rivals my own. To our fantastic guides, you are amazing. Isa, when I grow up I want to be just like you because you know everything. Julio, thanks for your quick smile, unending patience, and delicious chocolate. Eduardo I wont miss you at all because I'm taking you back to Alabama with me. You will totally fit in my luggage. And so here am, nine suspension bridges, five toucans, four rain forests, three snakes, three bats, three handlers, countless insects and one Jason later, I am a better teacher, a better person, and much richer for the experience of having known you all."

Colegio Agropercuario, November 30

Colegio Agropercuario is an Agricultural and Technical high school. This is a six year program that students start in the 7th grade and graduate with a mid level degree in agricultural science, computer science, or ecotourism. Founded by Benedictine monks, in 1962, it is a Catholic public school. There is a aptitude test and interview process for students to come to this school. The student body comes from throughout the country. Students in 11th grade and below live with local families. The technical level students have dorms. 40% of students have scholarships. The school has only accepted women since 2000. The student body has always been small. The school currently has 321 students. Less than 15 students in each of the technical classes. The first three years the students follow a general curriculum, the second three years are spent on their technical specialty. At the school we participate in two activities: hydroponic gardening and paper recycling. We are taken on a tour of the greenhouse where the agricultural science students grow vegetables. And we help some students plant lettuce seedlings. Next we go to the paper recycling shed where we watch a paper making demonstration. We get to help with the straining process. And the students give us bookmarks and paper samples that they made from waste paper and plant fiber.

November 29,2011

Today we went to La Selva biological station where we had a lecture on invasive spguyecies. La Selva is run by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a nonprofit consortium of colleges and research facilities from the USA, Africa, Australia, and Latin America. The headquarters is at Duke University . OTS was founded in 1963. La Selva is on the Caribbean side of the country which is the rainy side. It gets aabout 4 meters of rain per year. La Selva serves as a buffer between the rainforest and human development. It is part of the biological corridor that was created by the park service and stretches for 3000 meters. We had a choice of two volunteer activities at La Selva: remove invasive species or planting native ornamental species. I chose planting. We had to dig up plants from one part of the preserve and transplant them to another part of the preserve. It wasn't easy work. Later on we went on a hike through the rainforest. The suspension bridge we crossed here was a lot shorter than the one at Tirimbina. Our guide, Christian was an absolute rock star. He had no fear, picking up insects and lizards so we could get a better look. And he answered every question,telling us about every plant and the history of La Selva. The most interesting fact I learned today? A leaf cutter colony can be up to five million insects. There is only one queen. Leaf cutters consume more foliage than all other herbivores combined.

The Chocolate Tour (Tirimbina )

On November 27 we travel to Sarapiqui where we will be staying for the next three days in the middle of the rainforest at Selva Verde Lodge. The guides are very specific about NOT stepping off the trails-- especially at night. We have to carry flashlights with us any time we leave our rooms at night. On the 28th we visit Tirimbina Rainforest Preserve. Our guide at Tirimbina is Willy Pineda Lizano and he gives us a lecture on biodiversity and the geography of Costa Rica. We learn that biodiversity exists on every continent except Europe. Costa Rica isn't on the list of the countries with the most biodiversity. That is due to its small size. If you compare species diversity in Costa Rica to other countries per square kilometer Costa Rica is more diverse. Willy explains that in temperate climates you have an abundance of individuals but low diversity of species, but in tropical climates you have a low abundance of individuals but a higher diversity of species. Threats to biodiversity include global warming and climate change,direct persecution such as poaching, deforestation (in Costa Rica for different reasons such as banana plantations, pineapple fields or to secure bank loans, pollution, and habitat loss (thanks to people.) We also learn that Costa Rica has several regions:tropical dry forest which gets only 3-6ft of rain/yr, Central plateau (valley) usually about 68 degrees and containing volcanic soil, cloud forest,and Caribbean lowlands or tropical rainforest which gets 8-12 ft of rain per year. After our biodeiversity lecture we are taken on the chocolate tour. Chocolate plantations, amazingly enough, have to be located in the middle of a rainforest. Our hike to the plantation literally takes us over the river and through the woods. We go over a suspension bridge in two groups because only 15 of us at a time are allowed to cross. The trail is long and very narrow in places. Chocolate comes from the cacao plant. The cacao plant is native to Latin America. It takes five years for the cacao plant to produce fruit. It needs rain, shade, humidity, a latitude of between 25 degrees north to 25 degrees south , and low elevation (less than 800 feet above sea level). Each tree will produce about 60 fruit. Originally people only ate the pulp and threw away the seed. Chocolate was the only caffeinated drink central Americans had because coffee wasn't native to this area. To make chocolate the cacao fruit is gathered, broken open, fermented, dried, and roasted. Beans are dumped in the the fermenting box which is lined with banana leaves where they can attract fruit flies, the flies have yeast on their feet which produces methanol that kills the baby bean and , through a chemical reaction, dries out the inside of the bean. By the fourth day of fermenting the chemical process has caused a reaction so hot it can burn your hands. When the beans are ready -after five days- they are ground with other substances, such as sugar, to make chocolate liquor. Then the chocolate is ready to be turned into the bars and other products we love so much.

La Argentina, redux

Today we split into small groups to travel to the farms for our homestay. From the beginning of this journey this is this is the one activity that caused me some consternation. I had never stayed on a farm before and didn't know what to expect. I'm in love with it from the moment we arrive. I'm paired with Chris, Angela,and Katie. We'll be staying in our own little charming cottage on the property! Our hostess is Adonay Vargas and her family- her husband and her daughter Katherine. Her daughter Kelly lives very close by with her husband and son Christian. The farm is a tilapia farm! They also have chickens and numerous fruit trees. Adonay is also a dentist. Katie, who's learning English, explains that there aren't many dentists around there and people come from miles around for her mom's services . Christian is all boy and all energy. This property is a little boys dream : there is a stream that runs along the back boundary of the property, a soccer field, a swing set, a swimming pull pool (unfilled at the moment) and a barrel zip line. Exploring the tilapia ponds is a blast,except that within 45 minutes of arriving I fell into the mud in between two of the ponds. Domingo nosotros vamos a la iglesia. But before that Angela helped make tortillas for breakfast and I fed the fish in three of the ponds. The fourth pond will not be fed today because they are about to BECOME food. Mid morning we watch as Kelly, her husband, and Christian catch fish. We walked to church, a humble little structure about 20 minutes down the road. The interior of the church was painted a sunny yellow and had a parquet ceiling and beautiful tile floor. The mass is en Espanol and I don't know the language but I do understand the message.

Going Bananas-- November 25, 2011

Today we visited EARTH's banana plantation and processing plant. Fernando was our guide. The blue bags protect the bananas & contain insect repellent. It takes nine months for a banana plant to produce a bunch of bananas. They only produce one bunch in a lifetime, then the tree has to be chopped down. The farm is 500 acres. There is no seed & no pollination. Each plant produces a separate plant on its own to continue the line. Banana paper is made from the stem of the plant. Stalks come from the banana fields w/ color coded ribbons which let the workers knew which field the bananas came from. Once they arrive at the processing plant via the banana train(!) the ends are quickly removed by women moving so fast it looks as if a shower of dust is falling from the plants. They are then separated from the stalk and washed in a vat. They come out of the other side of the vat, and are put on a conveyor belt, where another blur of motion in the shape of a female puts product stickers on them. It has to be mind- numbing work. They are then boxed and shipped throughout the Americas, a process that can take two weeks because they have to be inspected again once they reach their destination country. If one bunch is bad, the entire shipment can be rejected.

EARTH University- November 24- 26,2011

EARTH University was established in 1990. Costa Rica was chosen for this university because it had been politically stable compared to its neighboring countries. When United Fruit Company established itself here there was very little concern about the people, the environment, or the future of the land. UFC was eventually expelled from Costa Rica because of their business practices and the land was used to create EARTH U. The campus covers 3400 hectares. An endowment was established by the USA which funds the school. A lot of funding also comes from Kellogg Corporation. The campus is carbon neutral, and completely self- sustaining. There is no air conditioning, students use bicycles,they use green laundry practices and have campus wide recycling. Most of the food served in the cafeteria is produced on the farm. All leftover food that isn't composted becomes hog feed. They also have biodigestors that they use to turn excrement into methane gas which can be used to produce electricity. Its separated into liquid and solid components. The liquid is extracted and turned into gas. The solids are fed to California worms which digest them and then excrete a substance that can be used as fertilizer. There are over 400 students from 26 different countries. Students come from throughout Central and South America and Africa. The program is four years and focuses on hands-on instruction that takes place mostly in the field. Fifteen to twenty percent of graduates have their own business. Most work in their own countries. First year students takes a course that teaches them how to manage waste. Waste is sorted campus wide, and all of it is studied. Very little is wasted here. Everything is either recycled or composted. EU has its' own landfill. It's the cleanest landfill I have ever seen. During their second and third years students have to develop an enterprise project, and find funding for it. We visit the senior project of a Haitian student named Amos who is experimenting with growing crops using different substrates, including rices husks and coconut fiber. If his experiment works it means that countries that don't have a lot of arable land can still be successful in food production by utilizing substrates instead of soil to grow crops.

The Blue Valley School, redux

Today, November 23rd, we departed San Jose, but first we stopped by the Blue Valley School on the outskirts of the city. Blue Valley is clearly a school for upper class and upper middle class students. It's an independent school founded in 1989 by Mwaria Cristina Gutierrez de Urbina. She remains head of the school til this day. Lower grades are structured in Montessori style and are divided by age, but upper grade classes are mixed grade levels. Class sizes average 18. At 8 o'clock the Montessori Academy has DEAR (Drop Everything and Read). High school starts at 7th grade. The high school runs on two schedules. The traditional Costa Rican schedule starts in February and ends in December. The IB (International Bacculaureate) schedule starts in August and ends in June. Classical music starts each day signaling that its time to go into class. The high school has a community servcie initiative called ADA. The students tutor local children in reading and writing. It is an elective course in which they receive school credit. The students volunteer 80 hours each term, and are with the children once per week. They keep a weekly log that tracks their pupils' progress. Each session must incorporate reading, writing, and drawing. They also help them prepare for end of year examinations. The FAJ program focuses on tutoring high school kids. These are students from lower income households. They get out of school early every Wednesday to come to Blue Valley for tutoring. This is an extra curricular program and not a school course. These tutoring programs are aimed at preventing dropouts. Only 10.6 % of Costa Rica population speaks English. There is more demand for English speakers in the production industry the National English Plan was developed in order to bridge that gap. The program was founded in 2008. The FAJ program students learn English from the Blue Valley students. We are introduced to two students from the program, Daniel and Walter. They proudly show off their English skills and explain how this will make them desirable workers to a future employer.

November 21, 2011 (redux)

Today is our first day in the country. After checking in to the Aurola Hotel in San Jose, we split into four groups. My group is the Howler Monkeys. The other groups are the Coral Snakes, Leafcutter Ants and Toucans. Each group is paired with a tour guide and led on a walking tour of San Jose. Our tour guide is Rosa, a college student, and she is very knowledgable about Costa Rican history, culture and geography. Some of the facts Rosa give us: Costa Rica sits in a tectonic depression so they are protected from hurricanes. It's about 600 feet above sea level. It has a largely Catholic population, and all of the Catholic churches face west. There are no colonial buildings in San Jose because it was the last country to be conquered by Spain-- near the end of the colonial period. San Jose is in the central province of Costa Rica. There aren't many tall buildings in San Jose because of nearly constant earthquake activity. Costa Rica received its independence from Spain in 1821. Clouds hang low over the mountains that form the backbone of Costa Rica. These mountains form part of the continental divide, separating the Pacific from the Atlantic. The trade winds that come from the northeast carry a lot of moisture and it condenses at the top of the mountains forming a tropical cloud forest.

Allons y! Voy a! Let’s go!

In a little over two weeks I will be traveling with a group of forty teachers to South Korea courtesy of the Korea Society. For fifteen days (plus two days of travel time) we will be studying the history, culture, and education system of the country, as well as its socio -political relationship with the U. S. We will also take part in a lecture series at Korea University, and learn more about the complicated history of the two Koreas. Before I start blogging about my Korea trip however, I'd like to revisit a trip I took six months ago with the Toyota International Teacher Program to Costa Rica. I blogged about it during the two week trip, but that blog was unfortunately accidentally deleted. So for the next week I will re-post my blog entries and photos from that incredible experience. Enjoy!