Hey folks!  Time to start the final stretch of orientation blogging.  The details from the most recent post make for a tough act to follow...who doesn't want to drink beer and rice wine with their co-workers and supervisors in the hotel lobby?  Anyway, the next couple days made for some great sightseeing.  As much as we all liked Gwangju (a big city, with plenty to offer, about 1.5 million people or more, the 6th largest city in South Korea), suffice it to say we were eager to see what else Jeollonamdo Province had to offer.  And the province delivered some great stuff:

Suncheon Bay, about an hour-long bus ride southeast from Gwangju. 

The Bamboo Park in Damyang (about a 20-minute bus ride north of Gwangju) at sunset.

Another shot of Suncheon Bay, with a tour boat cruising by.

Atop Suncheon Bay. From left to right: Julia (another Ontario native), Sam (Calgary), Aaron (Wisco brother, Muggsy (Ontario), Nichole (Ontario), Toni (Ontario), Megan (Ontario...pattern here?) and me.

 Hiking around Suncheon Bay. 

Had to get a picture of this beauty.

Nagan Folk Village, nestled in the mountains southeast of Gwangju. Old 18th-century Korean houses and a beautiful lotus pond.

Chilling at the giant lotus pond.

 Checking out Nagan's famous walls from the Choson Dynasty (1392-1897) era.  These walls were more or less used to keep Japanese invaders out of small villages.

Nichole digging the bamboo wine near Damyang's Bamboo Park.  They even serve it in a giant bamboo stalk!

At dinner, even rice was served in a bamboo shoot, alongside raisins, dried beans, ginseng, and plenty of water chestnuts.  I even got to keep it, and I now use it as a coin jar.

     We had one giant field trip, which started at Nagan Folk Village (see above), continued with a 2-hour hike at Suncheon Bay (see above), and finished at Damyang's famous Bamboo Park with a bamboo-oriented dinner.  It was definitely nice to get out of the city for a day, meet some new folks, and enjoy some new company and new foods.  

     The next set of pictures is from our final days of orientation.  The first batch of pictures were taken on a hike that Muggsy and I went on on our second to last morning of orientation.  We figured a nice 6:00 am hike was in order after some late nights, and found a trailhead quite literally in the backyard of our hotel.  After about 50 minutes of solid vertical, we reached the top and were treated to some great views of Gwangju.  It put our small lives into perspective a bit...

     The next few are of various future teachers enjoying some time at Wa Bar, which is one of Gwangju's 4 or 5 really easily recognized foreigner-oriented bars downtown.  Plenty of familiar tunes, decorations, and beers on tap.  Wa Bars are actually found all across South Korea, but I can't say I've been to any others.  It's usually a pretty mellow place where people can just socialize and drink a bit before moving onto bigger, louder, drunker places.  

View of Gwangju from atop our climb. Oh baby.

View of some mountains close to our hotel.

The South Korean flag flapping. 7:00 am.

Successful morning hike.  Got a nice lady to snap a photo of us at the top!

Muggsy and Sam at Wa Bar.

More happy people at Wa Bar.  From left to right: Toni, Julia, Mike (Ontario), Lindsay (Ontario), Melissa (Ontario), Amanda (Ontario).

Aaron and me enjoying some brews.  Might as well be back in Wisconsin!

More fine people of the Canadian Connection program on our last night in Gwangju together.  From left to right: Rozanne (South Africa), Brad (Florida), me and Shari (Ontario).

     All things considered, orientation was probably the most interesting 10 days I'd had in some time.  In just a week and a half, I'd met 85 brand new strangers/friends, tried dozens of new foods, and been able to see and do many of the things Koreans themselves are proud to see and do.  I can honestly say that everyone I've met here seems to have a similar personality and a similar mindset--about teaching, traveling, and life.  Even nearly two months later, I still cannot for a second believe that I'm 6,995 miles from home.  These people, however, make me forget that distance on a daily basis.  Although I haven't met too many South Africans, Brits, Australians, and even Canadians in my life, it turns out we're all generally kind-hearted people who came here for the right reasons and want nothing more than to have the best year of our lives traveling with each other and making kids laugh, smile and speak English.  

     The final day of orientation was by far the most nerve-racking.  Although the butterflies were fluttering hard for those first few days, nothing could compare to that moment at which I actually met my co-teacher and was officially assigned to my new job.  Thursday, August 25th was our final day of orientation, and it all happened quickly:

     We were to have our bags packed, room cleaned, ready for check-out and looking as professional as possible at 11:00 am.  Aaron and I were pretty packed up the night before, but definitely made sure we were looking as fresh as possible for our co-teachers.  At 11:00, all 85 teachers lined up according to school/county between the hotel elevators and the main events room, our co-teachers eagerly awaiting us to join them for one final orientation lunch.  I wish I'd snapped a picture; imagine 85 people, some of us hungover, some of us barely awake, sweating bullets in suits, skirts, blouses, you name it.  We joked about it, but it felt like a draft!  As if my ticket to that conference room was "...and with the 53rd overall pick in the 2011 Jeollonamdo Language Program draft, Hampyeong Elementary selects Samuel Hartley Hurd, 22-year-old recent history graduate of UW-Madison who has NEVER TAUGHT A DAY IN HIS LIFE AND HIS THOROUGHLY NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS POSITION."

     I joke, but I really can't convey just how awkward we all felt.  There was the lottery analogy, there was even a cattle-being-herded-to-the-slaughterhouse analogy.  Our schools/counties (my home school is Wolya Elementary, which is in the town of Wolya, which is in the county of Hampyeong, which is in the province of Jeollonamdo, the same as Gwangju) were assigned tables, and we were given a number.  Upon arriving at our table, Erin, Erik and myself (the three of us in Hampyeong at our orientation) met three relatively young Korean women, nervous as ever.  One particularly friendly woman among these approached me with a big, nervous smile on her face, and introduced herself as Kim Sang-hee.  I knew this was my co-teacher.  I had never been so nervous, excited, or sweaty in my life.  Nothing can really prepare you for the moment you meet your primary Korean lifeline for the next 11 months.  We'll stop there, on a nice cliffhanger.

     So there you have it.  Orientation was a blast, but nothing could entirely prepare me for what came next: actually teaching children and living the life I came here to live.  My apologies for the heavy load of pictures and not a lot of explanation, it's another late Sunday night of lesson planning here in Hampyeong, and I should get some sleep.  I'll be right back tomorrow with a new post about my apartment. 

     Thanks for reading!  All the best, and love to all.

     -Sam