Changnyeong English Village has Grass!

Changnyeong English Village has GRASS!

For those of you in America grass doesn't seem like a big deal but here in Korea it is huge DEAL. I didn't even know grass existed here. Schools usually just have a huge dirt field out front where the students play. People don't have a "yard" with grass that I have seen and I live in the country. Everyone has a garden and weeds are everywhere but weeds and grass are so different. 

Before the grass:

During The Planting:

What you see in the picture above is a team of ajimas planting little clumps of sod in the fresh soil.  The process took over three months after all the rain delays and other issues that came up. They first installed a drainage system under the whole field. They then buried the system and let the soil settle. We then had our team of hard working ajima's, commanded by three guys, who planted the grass clump by clump all while taking the rocks out and putting them into little piles. That took them almost 7 days to get finished. Since then our little ajima squad has returned every so often to hand weed the grass and trim, by hand. Seem like they prefer to do things the hard way here.

after:

Yes the yellow ribbon wraps around the whole field. We are not allowed to walk on the grass. I wonder how long we will have to wait, or if we will ever get to play on it. 

Where is Changnyeong English Village

Changnyeong English Village -CEV as we like to call it- is located in the Gyeongsangnamdo region of South Korea. 

Here it is on Google maps!

We are located in a small farming community where rice, onions, and garlic are grown. Yes, it is a rural area but it's surrounded by beautiful fields and mountains. It quite a nice view!

What about Transportation?
Buses come by our school on a timed schedule. It costs 1,200 Korean Won to ride the local bus to Changnyeong, which is where the nearest bus terminal is located.

Taxis are always driving by too, and they are relatively cheap here in. For the approximately eight-minute ride to Changnyeong, it cost around 8-9,000 Won.

Once you make it to the bus terminal, you can take a bus to Busan (Pusan); it's about a one-hour ride. Daegu, third-largest city in Korea, is just 30 minutes or so away. The terminal has buses to other places as well. However, the above-mentioned are two of the most popular among foreigners in Changnyeong.

You might be thinking, "YUCK, a bus," but in Korea public transportation is amazing and everyone uses it.

This is our town in the fall. This picture is taken from the mountain behind our school. You can see our apartment building at the bottom left of the photo.

Another Fall picture of the school. We live in the apartment building on the left.