So two mornings a week I have an English class full of Korean businessmen. Despite the fact that it's at 7 a.m., it's actually a pretty fun class. The guys are pretty good at English and they are really funny. We joke frequently with each other during class.
They obviously want to know the conversational use of English and I try to work on slang words with them whenver I can fit it in.
During one lesson, we were talking about different ways to say "goodbye." I threw in "Peace Out" as a joke, as a way to bid farewell to someone. And, of course, they took to that phrase like a duck to water. They absolutely love it and they find it so funny.
Whenever the class is over they all say, "Peace out, Erika. See you next time."
Yep, just doin' what I can to further the American Pop Culture influence, baby.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Asian Persuasion
I was having a discussion with one of my American English teacher friends about men recently. We discussed Asian men in particular. Said friend had spent a year a couple years ago teaching in Korea and then went home for awhile before coming back to Korea to teach for a second time about 7 months ago. I expressed to her that I wasn't particularly attracted to Asian men and expressed that my year teaching English in Korea was going to be one of self-reflection, rather than focused on dating.
"I've just never been attracted to Asian men," I said unapologetically.
I just find them very effiminate and weak. I'm sorry, but is how I feel! It's hard to go from the MEN of Montana to lithe, skinny she-boys.
I have a few rules when I'm dating, however that list is getting shorter, but the ones that I stand by are: they have to weigh more than me and they have to be taller than me. I don't think I'm asking too much and perhaps it's slightly shallow, but whatever this is my fantasy, damnit.
My friend retorted: "You'll be changing your tune after spending six months here."
She dated a Korean man when she lived in Korea the first time and she said he had "a beautiful body, very feminine and pretty," she said with a chuckle.
She admitted she had never been attracted to Asian men either, but the guy had a really nice car and would take her to various points of interest throughout Korea. Gawd! I'll take the bus, thankyouverymuch.
Ummm, yeah. Not exactly what I'm looking for. Someone who looks better in a bikini than me is not someone I'm interested in dating.
"I've just never been attracted to Asian men," I said unapologetically.
I just find them very effiminate and weak. I'm sorry, but is how I feel! It's hard to go from the MEN of Montana to lithe, skinny she-boys.
I have a few rules when I'm dating, however that list is getting shorter, but the ones that I stand by are: they have to weigh more than me and they have to be taller than me. I don't think I'm asking too much and perhaps it's slightly shallow, but whatever this is my fantasy, damnit.
My friend retorted: "You'll be changing your tune after spending six months here."
She dated a Korean man when she lived in Korea the first time and she said he had "a beautiful body, very feminine and pretty," she said with a chuckle.
She admitted she had never been attracted to Asian men either, but the guy had a really nice car and would take her to various points of interest throughout Korea. Gawd! I'll take the bus, thankyouverymuch.
Ummm, yeah. Not exactly what I'm looking for. Someone who looks better in a bikini than me is not someone I'm interested in dating.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
The Seoul of Korea 10/31/09
This is an incredibly late post, but I've been crazy busy!
Agnes was planning a trip to Seoul on Halloween to meet up with a friend of hers. She invited me along. I wanted to see Seoul and figure out how to get around the city. I also wanted to meet another American teacher I had been emailing throughout my first week for advice and venting.
Agnes took it upon herself to book us on a bus tour to see the sites of Seoul. We had to catch the 7 a.m. bus from Dangjin to Seoul because Agnes wanted to get to Seoul as early as humanly possible to be able to see everything.
The bus left Dangjin when it was still dark outside but the bus only took about an hour and 10 minutes. Once we got to the Seoul bus terminal, we had to catch the subway to the center of the city (fittingly named: Central City) to get to the bus tour.
When we were leaving the subway station there was a little old lady who was the turnstile attendant (wasn't aware an attendant was necessary, but I digress). My subway card was not letting me through the turnstile and Ms. Geriatric (I'd lost all respect by this point) was screaming at me in Korean. Obviously I have no idea was she was saying. She kept yelling and pointing at me. I totally could have taken her, I had a good three feet on her, but I thought better of it considering the international relations implications.
Agnes stepped in and started yelling back at the lady in Korean. The heated banter went on for quite some time with no real resolution in sight, I considered getting some popcorn. Finally the lady just waved us off to an exit that wasn't blocked by turnstiles. Why we couldn't have gone through this exit in the first place is completely beyond me. Still not entirely sure what the problem was either.
We eventually make it to the bus tour and there are only two other people on the bus. The buses depart every 30 minutes so this wasn't entirely odd.
We drive next to the Han River, which runs through the center of the city. There are little shops everywhere selling everything imaginable. It seems like every third or fourth shop is selling florescent lighting of every possible neon color. I will never figure out why one city would need that many shops selling florescent lights and light bulbs.
There are people and cars EVERYWHERE. It shocks me that there are not more collisions. I see a man in front of us on a motorcycle stacked several feet high with cardboard boxes. Taking more than one trip is obviously out of the question. I see an old man crossing the road in front of us balancing a huge wooden door on a bicycle while he walks the bicycle. The bicycle looked like it had shared the same amount of birthdays as the old man. I quietly hoped he didn't have to go too far or up a hill, could have been disastrous.
We get to our first stop, Changgyeonggung Palace, and it has started to rain. A little old lady is selling umbrellas. She wants 30,000 WON for an umbrella. I'm not paying over $20 for an umbrella! Is she nuts? There's also a giant pot of boiling beetles under her little tent of goods. I also passed on the beetles.
We get within the palace walls and there are beautiful fall colors everywhere; very vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. There was a 3,000-year-old tree and an exhibit on sundials and astronomy. The exhibit was in Korean, but I'm sure it was very interesting and informative.
Agnes didn't want to wait for the next bus to pick us up for the next stop on the tour so we decided to walk. By now it's pouring down rain. That 30,000 WON umbrella would be awesome right now. But we walked to a little convenience store and bought an umbrella for 7,000 WON. So there, Bug Lady.
We finally made it to Changdeokgung Palace but we had to go on an organized tour for that and there wasn't another one for 1 1/2 hours. We noticed there was a festival of some kind occurring down a side street, so we decided to check that out.
It turned out to be a Korean culture festival. One of the festival volunteers grabbed us and herded us to a covered tent. He wanted us to have lunch with the cast of the festival performance. Free Korean food?! Hell yeah! We ended up eating with all the performers and volunteers. We had kimchee soup that kicked ass and a whole bunch of other things that I couldn't quite identify and singed my tastebuds. But there was some pork that literally made me gag. It was slices of pork but it had ribbons of lard throughout each piece. I couldn't handle the texture and I almost vomited in the middle of the tent. Not kidding, I was gagging.
Some nice man kept insisting I share his rice wine. It was very good and helped me stomach the pork dish.
After we ate and thanked everyone for letting us eat their food we wandered into a teapot gallery. There were pictures of various Korean dignitaries on the wall of the gallery. There was a picture of the guy who gave me rice wine sitting next to a government official. We had been eating and drinking with someone really important in the Korean hierarchy and we didn't even know it!!! Still have no idea who he was though.
We eventually made it back to Changdeokgung Palace in time for the tour. By this time, it was a torrential downpour. The rain made the experience a whole lot less enjoyable. And what is up with the ancient Japanese destroying beautiful palaces in Korea? In 1592, the Japanese burned down the palace after it had been chillin' quite peacefully for almost 200 years. The palace, after being rebuilt, was destroyed by fire again in 1623 after a revolt to restore King Injo. A-holes.
The Secret Garden was beautiful and peaceful despite the dozens of tourists milling about. I really want to go back in the spring. The garden is very large and blends into the topography of the land. Artificial landscaping is kept to an absolute minimum.
On one side of the garden there is a gate called "Eosumun," which means "a fish cannot live out of water." It was a reminder that a "ruler must always consider officials." i.e. Listen to the little people. The gate led up to a building which used to be the monarchies library. I totally wanted to bust through the gate to check out the library, but getting arrested in Korea is not really on the itinerary.
There are small pavilions throughout the Secret Garden grounds. In one pavilion, there is a tablet with words from King Jeongjo enscribed: "All streams in the world have moons reflected on them, but there is only one moon in the sky. The moon in the sky is me, the king, and the streams are you, my subjects. It is the principle of the universe that the streams follow the moon."
Yeah, slightly ego-centric, but sounds a hell of a lot better than: "There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, it says 'Fool me once, shame on you... if you fool me... we can't get fooled again.'"
Just sayin'.
There were other stops on our bus tour, but I was soaked to the bone and quite cold; just plain over it. Agnes and I got back on the bus and headed back to Central City. Agnes had plans to meet her friend and I had plans to attend a Halloween party with another American teacher, Michael, so Agnes and I parted ways.
While looking for the correct subway line to meet Michael, I happened upon Tim Tams. Imagine my excitement!! Tim Tams are the best cookies on the planet and I haven't seen them since I lived in Australia!!!! Abby has sent them to me a couple times from New Zealand. I actually, very audibly, exclaimed, "Tim Tams!" I got a funky stare from the clerk, clearly not appreciating my outburst. I wanted to clear the shelves of the tasty morsels, but due to the pathetic state of my wallet, decided to practice some self-control and just purchase one. But, not to worry, I made a mental note of the kiosks' location and vowed to return with my first paycheck.
I've always had an unbelievable knack for getting lost. I'm really, REALLY good at it (or bad at it, depending on if you're a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person). I have NO sense of direction and when I say, "no" I mean non-existant. It's actually gotten worse as I've gotten older too. It's never really bothered me though, I'd like to think of it as endearing. If I find the correct location the first time I'm looking for it, it actually shocks me. However, getting lost in a country where you don't speak the language, especially an Asian country where you don't speak the language, is a whole different animal and it's quite scary.
Michael told me which subway line to meet him on. I thought I was headed in the right direction, but given my knack for getting lost I thought I better ask one of the younger subway riders. I figured a younger person was more likely to speak a little bit of English. I pointed on the map where I needed to go and the kid pointed at the train heading in the opposite direction of the one I was intending to get on.
Hmmm.
Sure glad I asked him where I needed to go. That's another thing about the Korean language or foreign languages in general, so many words look so similar! One letter or a slight difference in inflection can get you on a train heading to the complete opposite side of the city.
I met up with Michael and we jumped on another train to get to his Korean program director's apartment building. We met up with another American teacher, Karl, along the way.
Here I am in Seoul, South Korea, walking through the streets at night with two complete strangers. I have no idea where I am, no idea where I'm going, next to no money, and no idea who these men are. What is wrong with me? Intuition is a beautiful thing.
We finally made it to Ted & Jane's (Michael's Korean program director) apartment and they had a huge amount of food prepared, both Korean and Western.
Ted's wife, Jane, is the cutest woman alive. She was so friendly and constantly smiling. She's this beautiful Korean woman and she kept shoving more and more food in our faces. I wanted to put her in my pocket (and she'd actually fit) and take her with me everywhere.
I was able to discuss my school situation with Ted & Jane and Michael and Karl and they gave me advice on how to handle a less than ideal school and school director situation. It was just really nice to know I wasn't crazy for feeling overwhelmed and lost in my ridiculously disorganized teaching situation.
We taught Jane how to Trick-or-Treat and it was the cutest thing ever. As we were all leaving to go home, we decided to go back and "Trick-or-Treat" at Ted and Jane's door. We knocked on the door and yelled in unison, "Trick-or-Treat!" She couldn't stop laughing and she ran back into her kitchen to grab candy for us.
I had to catch the last bus back to Dangjin and it left Seoul at 9:50 p.m. Michael made sure to stay with me until I got on my bus. It took running to three different terminals before we finally found the correct bus. I was definitely stressing out, running from bus ticket window to bus ticket window and trying to ask anyone where the correct bus terminal was. Luckily, Michael speaks a little Korean so that was helpful. We finally found the right place with 6 minutes to spare before the last bus left the city for the night.
Agnes was planning a trip to Seoul on Halloween to meet up with a friend of hers. She invited me along. I wanted to see Seoul and figure out how to get around the city. I also wanted to meet another American teacher I had been emailing throughout my first week for advice and venting.
Agnes took it upon herself to book us on a bus tour to see the sites of Seoul. We had to catch the 7 a.m. bus from Dangjin to Seoul because Agnes wanted to get to Seoul as early as humanly possible to be able to see everything.
The bus left Dangjin when it was still dark outside but the bus only took about an hour and 10 minutes. Once we got to the Seoul bus terminal, we had to catch the subway to the center of the city (fittingly named: Central City) to get to the bus tour.
When we were leaving the subway station there was a little old lady who was the turnstile attendant (wasn't aware an attendant was necessary, but I digress). My subway card was not letting me through the turnstile and Ms. Geriatric (I'd lost all respect by this point) was screaming at me in Korean. Obviously I have no idea was she was saying. She kept yelling and pointing at me. I totally could have taken her, I had a good three feet on her, but I thought better of it considering the international relations implications.
Agnes stepped in and started yelling back at the lady in Korean. The heated banter went on for quite some time with no real resolution in sight, I considered getting some popcorn. Finally the lady just waved us off to an exit that wasn't blocked by turnstiles. Why we couldn't have gone through this exit in the first place is completely beyond me. Still not entirely sure what the problem was either.
We eventually make it to the bus tour and there are only two other people on the bus. The buses depart every 30 minutes so this wasn't entirely odd.
We drive next to the Han River, which runs through the center of the city. There are little shops everywhere selling everything imaginable. It seems like every third or fourth shop is selling florescent lighting of every possible neon color. I will never figure out why one city would need that many shops selling florescent lights and light bulbs.
There are people and cars EVERYWHERE. It shocks me that there are not more collisions. I see a man in front of us on a motorcycle stacked several feet high with cardboard boxes. Taking more than one trip is obviously out of the question. I see an old man crossing the road in front of us balancing a huge wooden door on a bicycle while he walks the bicycle. The bicycle looked like it had shared the same amount of birthdays as the old man. I quietly hoped he didn't have to go too far or up a hill, could have been disastrous.
We get to our first stop, Changgyeonggung Palace, and it has started to rain. A little old lady is selling umbrellas. She wants 30,000 WON for an umbrella. I'm not paying over $20 for an umbrella! Is she nuts? There's also a giant pot of boiling beetles under her little tent of goods. I also passed on the beetles.
We get within the palace walls and there are beautiful fall colors everywhere; very vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. There was a 3,000-year-old tree and an exhibit on sundials and astronomy. The exhibit was in Korean, but I'm sure it was very interesting and informative.
Agnes didn't want to wait for the next bus to pick us up for the next stop on the tour so we decided to walk. By now it's pouring down rain. That 30,000 WON umbrella would be awesome right now. But we walked to a little convenience store and bought an umbrella for 7,000 WON. So there, Bug Lady.
We finally made it to Changdeokgung Palace but we had to go on an organized tour for that and there wasn't another one for 1 1/2 hours. We noticed there was a festival of some kind occurring down a side street, so we decided to check that out.
It turned out to be a Korean culture festival. One of the festival volunteers grabbed us and herded us to a covered tent. He wanted us to have lunch with the cast of the festival performance. Free Korean food?! Hell yeah! We ended up eating with all the performers and volunteers. We had kimchee soup that kicked ass and a whole bunch of other things that I couldn't quite identify and singed my tastebuds. But there was some pork that literally made me gag. It was slices of pork but it had ribbons of lard throughout each piece. I couldn't handle the texture and I almost vomited in the middle of the tent. Not kidding, I was gagging.
Some nice man kept insisting I share his rice wine. It was very good and helped me stomach the pork dish.
After we ate and thanked everyone for letting us eat their food we wandered into a teapot gallery. There were pictures of various Korean dignitaries on the wall of the gallery. There was a picture of the guy who gave me rice wine sitting next to a government official. We had been eating and drinking with someone really important in the Korean hierarchy and we didn't even know it!!! Still have no idea who he was though.
We eventually made it back to Changdeokgung Palace in time for the tour. By this time, it was a torrential downpour. The rain made the experience a whole lot less enjoyable. And what is up with the ancient Japanese destroying beautiful palaces in Korea? In 1592, the Japanese burned down the palace after it had been chillin' quite peacefully for almost 200 years. The palace, after being rebuilt, was destroyed by fire again in 1623 after a revolt to restore King Injo. A-holes.
The Secret Garden was beautiful and peaceful despite the dozens of tourists milling about. I really want to go back in the spring. The garden is very large and blends into the topography of the land. Artificial landscaping is kept to an absolute minimum.
On one side of the garden there is a gate called "Eosumun," which means "a fish cannot live out of water." It was a reminder that a "ruler must always consider officials." i.e. Listen to the little people. The gate led up to a building which used to be the monarchies library. I totally wanted to bust through the gate to check out the library, but getting arrested in Korea is not really on the itinerary.
There are small pavilions throughout the Secret Garden grounds. In one pavilion, there is a tablet with words from King Jeongjo enscribed: "All streams in the world have moons reflected on them, but there is only one moon in the sky. The moon in the sky is me, the king, and the streams are you, my subjects. It is the principle of the universe that the streams follow the moon."
Yeah, slightly ego-centric, but sounds a hell of a lot better than: "There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, it says 'Fool me once, shame on you... if you fool me... we can't get fooled again.'"
Just sayin'.
There were other stops on our bus tour, but I was soaked to the bone and quite cold; just plain over it. Agnes and I got back on the bus and headed back to Central City. Agnes had plans to meet her friend and I had plans to attend a Halloween party with another American teacher, Michael, so Agnes and I parted ways.
While looking for the correct subway line to meet Michael, I happened upon Tim Tams. Imagine my excitement!! Tim Tams are the best cookies on the planet and I haven't seen them since I lived in Australia!!!! Abby has sent them to me a couple times from New Zealand. I actually, very audibly, exclaimed, "Tim Tams!" I got a funky stare from the clerk, clearly not appreciating my outburst. I wanted to clear the shelves of the tasty morsels, but due to the pathetic state of my wallet, decided to practice some self-control and just purchase one. But, not to worry, I made a mental note of the kiosks' location and vowed to return with my first paycheck.
I've always had an unbelievable knack for getting lost. I'm really, REALLY good at it (or bad at it, depending on if you're a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person). I have NO sense of direction and when I say, "no" I mean non-existant. It's actually gotten worse as I've gotten older too. It's never really bothered me though, I'd like to think of it as endearing. If I find the correct location the first time I'm looking for it, it actually shocks me. However, getting lost in a country where you don't speak the language, especially an Asian country where you don't speak the language, is a whole different animal and it's quite scary.
Michael told me which subway line to meet him on. I thought I was headed in the right direction, but given my knack for getting lost I thought I better ask one of the younger subway riders. I figured a younger person was more likely to speak a little bit of English. I pointed on the map where I needed to go and the kid pointed at the train heading in the opposite direction of the one I was intending to get on.
Hmmm.
Sure glad I asked him where I needed to go. That's another thing about the Korean language or foreign languages in general, so many words look so similar! One letter or a slight difference in inflection can get you on a train heading to the complete opposite side of the city.
I met up with Michael and we jumped on another train to get to his Korean program director's apartment building. We met up with another American teacher, Karl, along the way.
Here I am in Seoul, South Korea, walking through the streets at night with two complete strangers. I have no idea where I am, no idea where I'm going, next to no money, and no idea who these men are. What is wrong with me? Intuition is a beautiful thing.
We finally made it to Ted & Jane's (Michael's Korean program director) apartment and they had a huge amount of food prepared, both Korean and Western.
Ted's wife, Jane, is the cutest woman alive. She was so friendly and constantly smiling. She's this beautiful Korean woman and she kept shoving more and more food in our faces. I wanted to put her in my pocket (and she'd actually fit) and take her with me everywhere.
I was able to discuss my school situation with Ted & Jane and Michael and Karl and they gave me advice on how to handle a less than ideal school and school director situation. It was just really nice to know I wasn't crazy for feeling overwhelmed and lost in my ridiculously disorganized teaching situation.
We taught Jane how to Trick-or-Treat and it was the cutest thing ever. As we were all leaving to go home, we decided to go back and "Trick-or-Treat" at Ted and Jane's door. We knocked on the door and yelled in unison, "Trick-or-Treat!" She couldn't stop laughing and she ran back into her kitchen to grab candy for us.
I had to catch the last bus back to Dangjin and it left Seoul at 9:50 p.m. Michael made sure to stay with me until I got on my bus. It took running to three different terminals before we finally found the correct bus. I was definitely stressing out, running from bus ticket window to bus ticket window and trying to ask anyone where the correct bus terminal was. Luckily, Michael speaks a little Korean so that was helpful. We finally found the right place with 6 minutes to spare before the last bus left the city for the night.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Chance Encounters with Beautiful Children
The other night I had a short break between my ridiculous amount of classes so I thought I would walk down the block and check out what was available for street fair.
I came upon a man selling some red, spicy looking concoctions and some sort of meat product on a stick. A young girl stood next to me and asked, in very good English, if she could help me order. I smiled at her very thankfully and told her what I think I wanted.
How beautiful is this child?!
She told me her name was Ivy and she put a smile on my face. She ordered for me and told me how much the bill was. I paid the man and thanked her for her help. As she was walking away she warned me to be careful because the food may be hot. I freaking love Korean children.
The food was some sort of rice paste with red pepper sauce, it was crazy spicy! The tastebuds on the tip of my tongue will never be the same, but Ivy will never be forgotten.
I came upon a man selling some red, spicy looking concoctions and some sort of meat product on a stick. A young girl stood next to me and asked, in very good English, if she could help me order. I smiled at her very thankfully and told her what I think I wanted.
How beautiful is this child?!
She told me her name was Ivy and she put a smile on my face. She ordered for me and told me how much the bill was. I paid the man and thanked her for her help. As she was walking away she warned me to be careful because the food may be hot. I freaking love Korean children.
The food was some sort of rice paste with red pepper sauce, it was crazy spicy! The tastebuds on the tip of my tongue will never be the same, but Ivy will never be forgotten.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Seizing the Carp
If anyone has wondered why I've named my blog "Seizing the Carp" it's from a movie and my sister, Ingrid, and I say it all the time.
It's from 'Out Cold', a snowboarding movie based in Alaska. Tons of hilarious quotes have sprung from that movie and one of the most hilarious men on the planet is in that movie: Zach Galifianakis.
There is a part in the movie where one of the characters "Pig Pen" is talking about asking out a girl and he says, "Carpe the Diem. Seize The Carp." Ever since my sister and I saw that movie we would say that constantly. If we suggested doing something to the other our response was always "Seize the Carp!" Basically, say yes to everything! It's our little mantra.
Therefore, my Korean blog has become "Seizing the Carp."
It's from 'Out Cold', a snowboarding movie based in Alaska. Tons of hilarious quotes have sprung from that movie and one of the most hilarious men on the planet is in that movie: Zach Galifianakis.
There is a part in the movie where one of the characters "Pig Pen" is talking about asking out a girl and he says, "Carpe the Diem. Seize The Carp." Ever since my sister and I saw that movie we would say that constantly. If we suggested doing something to the other our response was always "Seize the Carp!" Basically, say yes to everything! It's our little mantra.
Therefore, my Korean blog has become "Seizing the Carp."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Korean kiddies
I love Korean children. They are ridiculously cute and, for the most part, very respectful and quite innocent. I can't effin' stand the middle school-age children, but I'm pretty sure that would be the case no matter where I am. Seriously, I want to hit them in the face most of the time.
But, the young children are awesome. They are so sweet and they love to laugh and they are so affectionate, and they bring me treats!!! They always say they want to "share, share with teacher." There is such an innocence to them too and they seem to hold on to their innocence much longer than American children, which is incredibly refreshing.
The high school children are also pretty awesome. They are so interested in learning and they want so desperately to talk to you and learn from you. The high school kids I teach are also very funny and respectful.
The other day one of my high school students began singing Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body", which is a song I've never even heard before. But she started singing it in her Korean accent and broken English "Touch-che my body-ey, ooooh oooooh babaay," all the while wearing a school uniform complete with tie and plaid skirt and bows in her hair. Cracked me up! I started laughing so hard I was crying and then the rest of the class was laughing at me laughing and crying.
"You like-ahh Mariah Carey, teacher?"
"Ummm, not really," I say, "but I LOVE your version."
But, the young children are awesome. They are so sweet and they love to laugh and they are so affectionate, and they bring me treats!!! They always say they want to "share, share with teacher." There is such an innocence to them too and they seem to hold on to their innocence much longer than American children, which is incredibly refreshing.
The high school children are also pretty awesome. They are so interested in learning and they want so desperately to talk to you and learn from you. The high school kids I teach are also very funny and respectful.
The other day one of my high school students began singing Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body", which is a song I've never even heard before. But she started singing it in her Korean accent and broken English "Touch-che my body-ey, ooooh oooooh babaay," all the while wearing a school uniform complete with tie and plaid skirt and bows in her hair. Cracked me up! I started laughing so hard I was crying and then the rest of the class was laughing at me laughing and crying.
"You like-ahh Mariah Carey, teacher?"
"Ummm, not really," I say, "but I LOVE your version."
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Guy Fawkes Night
I was invited to a barbecue last night to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night at the apartment roof of one of the other Western teachers in town, who just happens to live in the building next to me. Apparently Guy Fawkes Night is a very big and important holiday for Kiwis, English, South Africans and Aussies, pretty much anyone who is a part of the Commonwealth. I'd never heard of Guy Fawkes before, so naturally I googled him... I was also told by Patrick, a Kiwi and the host of the party, that Guy Fawkes was a big rebel who tried to blow up Parliament and ordered a giant load of gunpowder to do the damage, but somehow lines were crossed and he got fireworks instead. So instead of blowing up Parliament, he gave them a great fireworks show.
I got to meet a bunch of Kiwis, one Aussie, a few South Africans, one Brit, one Irishman and a couple other Americans last night. And I got to barbecue!!!! It was awesome!!! The food was amazing, the beer was plentiful and there were even fireworks! It was also really great to meet some more English-speaking people and discuss life in Korea as an ESL teacher. I met some really amazing, welcoming and fantastic people. The longer I'm here, the more I realize the Western group really takes care of each other. They are more than willing to open their home, give you full access to anything of theirs and basically just take care of you in any way they can.
After I stuffed my face with a ridiculous amount of barbecued lambchops, chicken and sausages, as well as potato salads and a bunch of other food and beer, we headed to a noorybong (spelling??), which is VERY popular in Korea. It's basically a little room you can rent with your friends and do karaoke. You pay for the room in 30-minute to 60-minute increments and you can pay to have alcohol delivered to the room as well. It was absolutely hilarious! I adamently refused to sing, but the more soju I drank the more I was willing to sing a little ditty, or at least sing backup. Thank god it's just in a small room with friends. By the way, soju is awful! It's made of rice obviously and tastes like ass, but we mixed it with orange juice and sprite and it wasn't so bad.
They finally kicked us out of the noorybong at 5 a.m. No bueno.
I've decided to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night every year, even though it has nothing to do with my country. Who doesn't need a reason to have another 4th of July in November????
I got to meet a bunch of Kiwis, one Aussie, a few South Africans, one Brit, one Irishman and a couple other Americans last night. And I got to barbecue!!!! It was awesome!!! The food was amazing, the beer was plentiful and there were even fireworks! It was also really great to meet some more English-speaking people and discuss life in Korea as an ESL teacher. I met some really amazing, welcoming and fantastic people. The longer I'm here, the more I realize the Western group really takes care of each other. They are more than willing to open their home, give you full access to anything of theirs and basically just take care of you in any way they can.
After I stuffed my face with a ridiculous amount of barbecued lambchops, chicken and sausages, as well as potato salads and a bunch of other food and beer, we headed to a noorybong (spelling??), which is VERY popular in Korea. It's basically a little room you can rent with your friends and do karaoke. You pay for the room in 30-minute to 60-minute increments and you can pay to have alcohol delivered to the room as well. It was absolutely hilarious! I adamently refused to sing, but the more soju I drank the more I was willing to sing a little ditty, or at least sing backup. Thank god it's just in a small room with friends. By the way, soju is awful! It's made of rice obviously and tastes like ass, but we mixed it with orange juice and sprite and it wasn't so bad.
They finally kicked us out of the noorybong at 5 a.m. No bueno.
I've decided to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night every year, even though it has nothing to do with my country. Who doesn't need a reason to have another 4th of July in November????
Friday, November 6, 2009
Observations & Ramblings
Koreans have an obsession with the English language.
The kids wear T-shirts with English words on them, but the sequence of the words mean absolutely nothing. They just like to have English words on their clothing and other possessions. "Joy Dress Cookie My House". Seriously, it's that random. It completely cracks me up.
I will avoid buying any clothing with Korean writing on it while I'm here. I wouldn't want to be walking around with anything saying "Unicorn Water Ugly Living" and have all the Koreans laugh at me more than they already do.
I'm a proud member of the Dangjin Culture Center and it's only a 20-minute walk from my apartment. There is a gym, an olympic-sized swimming pool (yay!), a library with a few shelves of English books, a media room and supposedly cooking classes.
I immediately signed up for the gym, which was only 20,000 WON a month, about $16. To get access to the pool it's another 30,000 WON a month, about $25. So I've been going to the gym pretty much every day. The gym overlooks the pool so I can watch people swimming.
The kids wear T-shirts with English words on them, but the sequence of the words mean absolutely nothing. They just like to have English words on their clothing and other possessions. "Joy Dress Cookie My House". Seriously, it's that random. It completely cracks me up.
I will avoid buying any clothing with Korean writing on it while I'm here. I wouldn't want to be walking around with anything saying "Unicorn Water Ugly Living" and have all the Koreans laugh at me more than they already do.
I'm a proud member of the Dangjin Culture Center and it's only a 20-minute walk from my apartment. There is a gym, an olympic-sized swimming pool (yay!), a library with a few shelves of English books, a media room and supposedly cooking classes.
I immediately signed up for the gym, which was only 20,000 WON a month, about $16. To get access to the pool it's another 30,000 WON a month, about $25. So I've been going to the gym pretty much every day. The gym overlooks the pool so I can watch people swimming.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Hospitals blow
I had to go to the local hospital to get a physical done so I could get my ID card. I also had to have an HIV test, which apparently is something very rare to ask for in Korea because most hospitals we called didn't offer it. I'm not sure if it's something every person entering Korea to live must get, or just Americans. Apparently Americans are dirty sluts or junkies.
We finally find a hospital nearby that will give my skanky self a physical. We head into the lobby and there are patients in hospital gowns roaming around holding saline bags on top of their heads. Eveyone is just carrying around their saline bags on their heads. Patients are everywhere; the lobby, outside, the hallways, in and out of random rooms. Do they actually have rooms for the patients? I have to have a blood test and the phlebotomist (I assume??) is in the basement of the hospital by himself. There are vials of everybody else's blood all over the place. There is a cardboard box on his desk in front of me that has big splotches of blood all over it and it's full of used syringes.
He pokes the inside of my arms with his fingers looking for good veins. I hate having my blood drawn. I have really tiny, deep veins that roll. It's a huge pain in the ass and quite painful.
He pulls a needle out of his top drawer and all I kept thinking was, "Please, oh please God, let that be a clean needle!" There was a plastic cap on the needle so I hope I'm right to assume the needle was clean before the cap was put on.
Luckily he finds a vein the first time and he quickly extracts a syringe full of my blood. He puts it in a vial labeled with my name and tosses the dirty needle into the cardboard box. Little speckles of my blood stain the box.
Please, please don't ever let me get sick or hurt in this country.
We finally find a hospital nearby that will give my skanky self a physical. We head into the lobby and there are patients in hospital gowns roaming around holding saline bags on top of their heads. Eveyone is just carrying around their saline bags on their heads. Patients are everywhere; the lobby, outside, the hallways, in and out of random rooms. Do they actually have rooms for the patients? I have to have a blood test and the phlebotomist (I assume??) is in the basement of the hospital by himself. There are vials of everybody else's blood all over the place. There is a cardboard box on his desk in front of me that has big splotches of blood all over it and it's full of used syringes.
He pokes the inside of my arms with his fingers looking for good veins. I hate having my blood drawn. I have really tiny, deep veins that roll. It's a huge pain in the ass and quite painful.
He pulls a needle out of his top drawer and all I kept thinking was, "Please, oh please God, let that be a clean needle!" There was a plastic cap on the needle so I hope I'm right to assume the needle was clean before the cap was put on.
Luckily he finds a vein the first time and he quickly extracts a syringe full of my blood. He puts it in a vial labeled with my name and tosses the dirty needle into the cardboard box. Little speckles of my blood stain the box.
Please, please don't ever let me get sick or hurt in this country.
First Day of School
This post is slightly out of sequence, but I had to share the penis viewing!
Oct. 26th was my first day of school and I was supposed to go to each of my classes and observe.
Throughout the day I hear a lot of "What's your name? It's nice to meet you, my name is...." All the students, ages 6-19, have English names, which for some reason I find strange. However, it does make things a lot easier for me. Their English names have nothing to do with their Korean names, which I also find intriguing.
I also hear a lot of, "Wow! You are very tall!" I just smile at them and tell them I am considered tall in my country too.
Classes start at 2:30 p.m. and are 45 - 90 minutes long. There are classes until 9:30 p.m. every weekday. Students come to the private English academies after attending regular public school all day. I really have no idea when students have time to study or sleep. But education and learning English are very important concepts to the Korean people and Korean parents are willing to pay lots of money to ensure their children learn English.
There are Hogwans (private English schools) everywhere. The first level of buildings are made up of Hogwans and restaurants and the other levels are apartments. There are tons and tons of Hogwans everywhere! Mine is called "Talking Club".
Each student has their temperature taken as soon as they enter Talking Club with a digital thermometer that is placed in their ear. H1N1 is quite an epidemic and I'm pretty sure it originated here too. EVERYONE wears masks over their nose and mouth.
The same thermometer is used daily on several students and there is no sort of protective cap on it, nor are there any swipes of alcohol between temperature readings. I find something incredibly gross about this. But I guess it could be worse, it could be a rectal thermometer.
There are a total of eight teachers at Talking Club. Six of those are native Koreans, one is from India and then there is me. We are all female. Mirue is the best at speaking English, she just graduated with a degree in pre-pharmacy from a university in Portland, Oregon and she is waiting to hear if she'll be accepted into Pharmacy school and returning to the U.S. She's a friggin doll and I can talk to her like she's an American and she knows what I'm saying. I don't have to carefully calculate every word with her. It's fantastic!
Jennifer is also really good at English. She spent eight years in New Zealand before coming back home several months ago to teach.
I had one middle-school aged student ask me what my favorite flower was and he told me his was "mara-johnna". Umm, what?! If you're going to try to be a typical snarky teenager then at least pronounce marijuana correctly. I thought Korean children were considered highly naive and the Korean culture VERY anti-drug?
At one point, the Korean teacher in charge of "mara-johnna" boy's class allowed the students to throw Jenga game pieces at each other and all over the classroom while she stared at the table. WTF?!
I sit in on the 6:40 p.m. class. There are two students there and they are fairly advanced at English. I keep waiting for the teacher to show up and nobody does. Finally Agnes comes in and tells me I'm responsible for this class. Ummm.... Good to know. We played "Hangman" and "20 Questions" for the entire duration of the class.
I was solely responsible for the next class too. They were pretty advanced at English too, so we just talked.
I'm overwhelmed by my complete ineptitude by this point and the amount of time and effort I will need to invest just to figure out what is going on.
Do all new ESL teachers in a foreign land feel this way? I feel like I've been thrown to the wolves.
I make it back to my apartment at 9:50 p.m. I lie face down on my bed with my feet hanging off the foot of the bed and my arms outstretched on either side. My first day of "teaching" is finally over
I don't think I've ever felt this unprepared, uncomfortable or completely clueless in my entire life. I'm the only native English speaker at the school and I was given absolutely no direction or instruction from the school director about how to teach the children English. The first three classes I went to were spoken entirely in Korean. The previous Western teachers had no teaching experience either (from what I'm told) and they managed to make it through, but how? I would love to ask them, but no one at the school will give me Alex or Emily's e-mail address because it's "confidential information".
Oct. 26th was my first day of school and I was supposed to go to each of my classes and observe.
Throughout the day I hear a lot of "What's your name? It's nice to meet you, my name is...." All the students, ages 6-19, have English names, which for some reason I find strange. However, it does make things a lot easier for me. Their English names have nothing to do with their Korean names, which I also find intriguing.
I also hear a lot of, "Wow! You are very tall!" I just smile at them and tell them I am considered tall in my country too.
Classes start at 2:30 p.m. and are 45 - 90 minutes long. There are classes until 9:30 p.m. every weekday. Students come to the private English academies after attending regular public school all day. I really have no idea when students have time to study or sleep. But education and learning English are very important concepts to the Korean people and Korean parents are willing to pay lots of money to ensure their children learn English.
There are Hogwans (private English schools) everywhere. The first level of buildings are made up of Hogwans and restaurants and the other levels are apartments. There are tons and tons of Hogwans everywhere! Mine is called "Talking Club".
Each student has their temperature taken as soon as they enter Talking Club with a digital thermometer that is placed in their ear. H1N1 is quite an epidemic and I'm pretty sure it originated here too. EVERYONE wears masks over their nose and mouth.
The same thermometer is used daily on several students and there is no sort of protective cap on it, nor are there any swipes of alcohol between temperature readings. I find something incredibly gross about this. But I guess it could be worse, it could be a rectal thermometer.
There are a total of eight teachers at Talking Club. Six of those are native Koreans, one is from India and then there is me. We are all female. Mirue is the best at speaking English, she just graduated with a degree in pre-pharmacy from a university in Portland, Oregon and she is waiting to hear if she'll be accepted into Pharmacy school and returning to the U.S. She's a friggin doll and I can talk to her like she's an American and she knows what I'm saying. I don't have to carefully calculate every word with her. It's fantastic!
Jennifer is also really good at English. She spent eight years in New Zealand before coming back home several months ago to teach.
I had one middle-school aged student ask me what my favorite flower was and he told me his was "mara-johnna". Umm, what?! If you're going to try to be a typical snarky teenager then at least pronounce marijuana correctly. I thought Korean children were considered highly naive and the Korean culture VERY anti-drug?
At one point, the Korean teacher in charge of "mara-johnna" boy's class allowed the students to throw Jenga game pieces at each other and all over the classroom while she stared at the table. WTF?!
I sit in on the 6:40 p.m. class. There are two students there and they are fairly advanced at English. I keep waiting for the teacher to show up and nobody does. Finally Agnes comes in and tells me I'm responsible for this class. Ummm.... Good to know. We played "Hangman" and "20 Questions" for the entire duration of the class.
I was solely responsible for the next class too. They were pretty advanced at English too, so we just talked.
I'm overwhelmed by my complete ineptitude by this point and the amount of time and effort I will need to invest just to figure out what is going on.
Do all new ESL teachers in a foreign land feel this way? I feel like I've been thrown to the wolves.
I make it back to my apartment at 9:50 p.m. I lie face down on my bed with my feet hanging off the foot of the bed and my arms outstretched on either side. My first day of "teaching" is finally over
I don't think I've ever felt this unprepared, uncomfortable or completely clueless in my entire life. I'm the only native English speaker at the school and I was given absolutely no direction or instruction from the school director about how to teach the children English. The first three classes I went to were spoken entirely in Korean. The previous Western teachers had no teaching experience either (from what I'm told) and they managed to make it through, but how? I would love to ask them, but no one at the school will give me Alex or Emily's e-mail address because it's "confidential information".
Monday, November 2, 2009
Holy Hell! I just saw a Korean man's penis!
He didn't even try to hide it, he didn't even react. I was walking home after school and got between the building where my school is located and my apartment building and he was just standing there --- peeing!
His wee, little wang was whipped out full stream and he was putting some paper in his wallet. He looked up at me rather non-chalantly and then returned to his wallet.
WTF?!??
He didn't even try to hide it, he didn't even react. I was walking home after school and got between the building where my school is located and my apartment building and he was just standing there --- peeing!
His wee, little wang was whipped out full stream and he was putting some paper in his wallet. He looked up at me rather non-chalantly and then returned to his wallet.
WTF?!??
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Waking Up in Asia 10/25/09
There's definitely some funk in the air. Can't quite put my finger on what the smell is, but it's rank. Seoul smelled horrible like feet, gnarly rotten food and the way Missoula smells after it rains.
I woke up from my first night in Dangjin raring to go. Those magic pills kick ass! Thanks, Chris!
Agnes was going to take me around Dangjin today, but that wasn't until 1 p.m., so I decided to go for a walk to see what I could see. The previous teachers (Alex & Emily, a couple from Canada) had left me their cellphone and Agnes had pre-programmed her cell number into the phone. I figured if I got too lost I could just call her.
I headed out and ended up walking in the downtown area of Dangjin and considering it was Sunday, not too much was open but there were a lot of people out and about. Everyone I passed stared at me, but I didn't feel like they were being rude, just curious. I smiled at everyone I saw. The women would usually smile back, except for the older women, but men would almost never smile back.
I was looking for an internet cafe so I could e-mail everyone letting them know I'd made it safely. I went into a little convenience store and asked about an "internet cafe". The man didn't speak any English and he had no idea what I was talking about. Found out later, they are called "PC Rooms" here.
I eventually made it back to my temporary apartment in the library. I didn't get lost!
The previous teachers left some things behind when they went back home. They even made me pancakes and left them in the fridge for me! They left a bunch of cooking utensils and baking supplies, some bathroom stuff, food and a couple Canadian magazines. I don't have to go shopping right away :) ! They even left their pet fish. Or maybe that was just lunch...
I suddenly feel very isolated. Nobody knows if I've made it to Korea safely and I can just imagine what my mother is doing right now. I told everyone it would probably be about 2 days until they would hear from me. It's definitely been over 48 hours since I left the states.
Agnes drives me to the local department store where I can buy food and household items. I'm admittedly shocked at the grocery store. There is so much there -- a lot more than I expected to be able to find. I can easily walk to the store, too. It's called Lotte (Loh-tay) Mart, but I just call it "Lottee" because I'm an ignorant American. Apparently "Loh-tay" is a rich fella because there is a hotel called Lotte too, but you have to be somewhat of a high roller to stay there. Going to have to find myself a sugar daddy...
Agnes also took me to the outdoor market in Dangjin. I couldn't find it again if my life depended on it, but that is nothing new with my ridiculous lack of a sense of direction. The market gave me sensory overload. So many people, colors and objects. Toothbrushes, live eels and octopus in big tubs of water, food vendors, fruit (the fruit is HUGE), vegetables, pots & pans, toys, clothes, everything. One lady stopped us and asked us to try her food. (I assume that's what she said.) It was a sort of rolled up rice paste with spices and green onions and then deep fried. It was very good.
My toothbrush was in my carry-on so I bought a new one at the market. We stopped for a drink at "Family Mart", like a 7-11, and they're on every corner. Agnes and I watched the people at the market, she knew several people there, most of them were parents of Talking Club students. We also watch the insane drivers nearly hit pedestrians, market stalls and several cars. Drivers in Korea are nuts. I thought Vegas drivers were bad.
Eventually it's time to move into my apartment and it's only a half block from the school, awfully convenient. It's quite possibly the dinkiest apartment I've ever seen, even smaller than Lindsey's studio in Waikiki (which I didn't think was possible). But it's clean, has a washing machine and I don't need that much anyway. And it's free! Can't really beat that.
The landlord, the old tenants and Agnes all helped me move into my apartment. We had to move a bed, a table & chairs and a few smaller items into the apartment from the library. It was incredibly nice of everyone to help me. Although moving is a royal pain in the ass when you have to take off your shoes each time you enter a house.
I was so hungry and for some reason I just needed something comforting and familiar. I went on the lookout for some American cuisine. I rationalized that I had an entire year to eat the local Korean food, but at that moment I needed something familiar.
It's very odd to order American food in an American food chain from someone who doesn't understand a single word you're saying and you haven't the slightest inkling what they're saying. A whole lot of pointing and sign language occurs.
I had ordered a sandwich and the girl kept crossing her arms at her wrists and saying something over and over again. This is no time to practice your "Wonder Woman" act, girly!! I'm hungry! I honestly (idiotically) thought she was asking to cut the sandwich in half or something. Yes, I'm a moron. Something finally clicked and I realized she was trying to tell me they didn't have what I wanted. I had learned the sign language for not having something! I placed another order and went on my merry little way.
I woke up from my first night in Dangjin raring to go. Those magic pills kick ass! Thanks, Chris!
Agnes was going to take me around Dangjin today, but that wasn't until 1 p.m., so I decided to go for a walk to see what I could see. The previous teachers (Alex & Emily, a couple from Canada) had left me their cellphone and Agnes had pre-programmed her cell number into the phone. I figured if I got too lost I could just call her.
I headed out and ended up walking in the downtown area of Dangjin and considering it was Sunday, not too much was open but there were a lot of people out and about. Everyone I passed stared at me, but I didn't feel like they were being rude, just curious. I smiled at everyone I saw. The women would usually smile back, except for the older women, but men would almost never smile back.
I was looking for an internet cafe so I could e-mail everyone letting them know I'd made it safely. I went into a little convenience store and asked about an "internet cafe". The man didn't speak any English and he had no idea what I was talking about. Found out later, they are called "PC Rooms" here.
I eventually made it back to my temporary apartment in the library. I didn't get lost!
The previous teachers left some things behind when they went back home. They even made me pancakes and left them in the fridge for me! They left a bunch of cooking utensils and baking supplies, some bathroom stuff, food and a couple Canadian magazines. I don't have to go shopping right away :) ! They even left their pet fish. Or maybe that was just lunch...
I suddenly feel very isolated. Nobody knows if I've made it to Korea safely and I can just imagine what my mother is doing right now. I told everyone it would probably be about 2 days until they would hear from me. It's definitely been over 48 hours since I left the states.
Agnes drives me to the local department store where I can buy food and household items. I'm admittedly shocked at the grocery store. There is so much there -- a lot more than I expected to be able to find. I can easily walk to the store, too. It's called Lotte (Loh-tay) Mart, but I just call it "Lottee" because I'm an ignorant American. Apparently "Loh-tay" is a rich fella because there is a hotel called Lotte too, but you have to be somewhat of a high roller to stay there. Going to have to find myself a sugar daddy...
Agnes also took me to the outdoor market in Dangjin. I couldn't find it again if my life depended on it, but that is nothing new with my ridiculous lack of a sense of direction. The market gave me sensory overload. So many people, colors and objects. Toothbrushes, live eels and octopus in big tubs of water, food vendors, fruit (the fruit is HUGE), vegetables, pots & pans, toys, clothes, everything. One lady stopped us and asked us to try her food. (I assume that's what she said.) It was a sort of rolled up rice paste with spices and green onions and then deep fried. It was very good.
My toothbrush was in my carry-on so I bought a new one at the market. We stopped for a drink at "Family Mart", like a 7-11, and they're on every corner. Agnes and I watched the people at the market, she knew several people there, most of them were parents of Talking Club students. We also watch the insane drivers nearly hit pedestrians, market stalls and several cars. Drivers in Korea are nuts. I thought Vegas drivers were bad.
Eventually it's time to move into my apartment and it's only a half block from the school, awfully convenient. It's quite possibly the dinkiest apartment I've ever seen, even smaller than Lindsey's studio in Waikiki (which I didn't think was possible). But it's clean, has a washing machine and I don't need that much anyway. And it's free! Can't really beat that.
The landlord, the old tenants and Agnes all helped me move into my apartment. We had to move a bed, a table & chairs and a few smaller items into the apartment from the library. It was incredibly nice of everyone to help me. Although moving is a royal pain in the ass when you have to take off your shoes each time you enter a house.
I was so hungry and for some reason I just needed something comforting and familiar. I went on the lookout for some American cuisine. I rationalized that I had an entire year to eat the local Korean food, but at that moment I needed something familiar.
It's very odd to order American food in an American food chain from someone who doesn't understand a single word you're saying and you haven't the slightest inkling what they're saying. A whole lot of pointing and sign language occurs.
I had ordered a sandwich and the girl kept crossing her arms at her wrists and saying something over and over again. This is no time to practice your "Wonder Woman" act, girly!! I'm hungry! I honestly (idiotically) thought she was asking to cut the sandwich in half or something. Yes, I'm a moron. Something finally clicked and I realized she was trying to tell me they didn't have what I wanted. I had learned the sign language for not having something! I placed another order and went on my merry little way.
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