four months in Korea...

It seems that I have forgotten I have a blog.  Woops! Here's a quick recap of the past 3 (or so) months-- I was sick for an entire month. It was miserable. I cried a little bit, I have to admit.

I've settled in to life here pretty well.  There are still times that I feel like I haven't quite found my place yet, but I have moved enough times in my life to know that it just takes time.  Regardless, I am really enjoying my time here. So much so that I have neglected to blog.

Truly, I kept having ideas to post, but I kept putting it off and then I felt overwhelmed by the things I should be writing here.

Instead of trying to fill you in on what life has been like in Korea for the past 4 months, I have decided to give myself a challenge of sorts.  I'm going to try to post a picture/post at least once a week.  I don't take pictures of everyday life very often, but I think some of these things are the most interesting. They have become normal to me, but I know they definitely aren't to those of you who have never been to Korea, or Asia in general.

Without further ado.....

There is a lovely market just a few blocks from my apartment. It is full of little shops selling anything from fingernail polish to matching lingerie (for another post).  The majority of stands sell fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish.  It does take a few times of going to the market to get used to the pungent smell of fish, both live and dead, but by now I don't even notice it.

What struck me the most about having a large fresh food market this close to my apartment was how normal it is for Koreans to shop in this way. In the States, there is a large movement towards buying local.  After working at the Farms, the reality of where we get our food from and how much better it can be when grown locally really came to the forefront of my thoughts.  Many times, however, it is not easy to get good quality local produce, meat, or dairy for an affordable price. 

I have to say, I love this aspect of Korea.  The produce is local, it's much cheaper than in the grocery store, and it has so far always been good quality.  It is only a short walk from my apartment, and I get good practice with my extremely limited Korean skills. Everyone wins! Especially the ajosshi that I always buy potatoes from.

who needs to shop?

This week has been a fun one at school. Anyone who has been in any form of education knows that "fun" usually means- fun for the kids, but sometimes a headache for the teachers.  Alas, it is part of the territory.

We had our Birthday Party Day on Tuesday.  The school chooses one day a month to celebrate the birthdays from that month.  We go to the play room, sing Happy Birthday, take pictures, and then go back to our rooms for lunch.  Usually it is soup and rice, but on Birthday Party Day the school buys pizza and chicken for the students followed by a dessert of chocolate cake.  I also got to order something special, so I had dumpling soup. Can you say delicious?

This all sounds fantastic, but it means the kiddos had alot to eat, and we are expected to make them finish what is on their plate.  For kids who are about 5 and 6 or younger (western age) this is a daunting task, and it takes a bit of coaxing and, well, teacher sometimes doesn't get a lot of time to eat. :)

Today was field trip day.  We take the kiddos on a field trip once a month.  Any teacher who has been on a field trip knows field trip days consist of a lot of counting/herding the students.  Really, it was a fairly stress free field trip day in comparison to some I have seen (especially from the other end-that of an interpreter).

It didn't seem like the kids loved it too much, and I truly felt sorry for our tour guide at the museum.  I know how hard it is to keep the attention of kids that age and bring things down to their level.  All she had was paintings! At least at the Farms you could resort to "Who wants to pet the horses?!?!"

Unfortunately for me, I left the house this morning without any form of caffeine in my system.  Ugh.  Also didn't have time to drink any coffee once I got to school.  I might have had a slight headache by about 2 PM when the kindies were gearing up to leave.  However, there is an extreme bright side to teaching kindies- and Korean kindies at that.

The loot.

I get stuff all the time! This was all from today! Not to mention our head teacher went and bought us ice creams very similar to crunch cones. It was a good day.

Kelly, one of my adorable kindies, brought me the grape juice in the morning.  After lunch time I went into the teacher's room and had the Starbucks Frappuccino on my desk. How did they know I needed that?! By the end of the day when I was ready to leave I had received a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of liquid Vitamin C.

Yes, liquid Vitamin C.  Sometimes it is random things that they bring you--but it is the thought nonetheless.  So far, in addition to today's loot, I have received two bottles of orange juice, gum, and chocolates.  I love when they bring me chocolates!

The first time a student set a bottle of orange juice on my desk I gave it back to him and said "Here, you left this on my desk!"

"No, for Teacher!"

The best part? I was coming down with a cold--it was perfect timing.  Amazing.

The time I got chocolates? I was starving and had been having a very long day.  These Korean kiddos are mind readers, I tell you. 

It sure does make a teacher feel appreciated.  Not to mention that since I have started using a straightener on my hair every day and they see my blonde hair, all I hear is "Teacher you so pretty!" "Cute Teacher!"

I could get used to this.

adventures in a Korean hospital

Part of living and working in Korea (and really, any foreign country), is obtaining an Alien Registration Card.  In order to do so, the government requires that you have a medical examination done in country after you arrive.  On Tuesday, the Assistant Director from my school took the other new teacher and I to have our medical exam completed.  What ensued can only be described as awkward, unintentionally hilarious, and... interesting.

We went at 11:00, only to find the hospital full of people.  The first floor was packed with people that had what appeared to be a range of issues.  Think emergency waiting room in the states-- it wasn't much different.  Thankfully, we were headed up to the 3rd floor.

Luckily (or at least I thought) the assistant director was accompanying us the whole time to serve as a translator when needed. He took a number to wait in line and speak to the woman at the counter.  There was a bit of a line as students who will be starting back to public school need to get physicals.  AD told us to take a seat and wait, so we did.

Since the airport incident with the call-taxi driver, I just don't ask questions when told to sit and wait. 

When our number was finally called, AD went to talk to the lady. He had copies of our passport and passport photos.  I have no idea what they had to take care of-- probably just normal hospital paperwork.  Eventually they called us over. Right there at the desk we took a color blindness test. Color blindness tests appear to be the same around the world.  Then, sit and wait.

At this point AD disappeared (remember- our only translation), and a Korean woman in a red cross vest came and shooed us into this room a little bigger than a closet, gave us a scrub top (or close to one), motioned for us to change and put our things in the locker, and left.

Um, excuse me. What? Why am I taking my top off?  Am I just taking my shirt off here....or? Oh good, more girls just keep walking in the door.  Modesty, out the window.


We get changed- undergarments intact- and walk out to find out what we are doing next.  Thankfully (or so I thought) AD is back and says, "You get X-ray."  Um....x-ray. So, that means....do we have to... "So, we need to take off our bras?"  Cue awkward head nod.  Cue a that-was-extremely-awkward laugh session back in the a little bit bigger than a closet changing room.

Language barrier for the win!

I went second into the x-ray room. I saw the footprints taped to the floor, so that made it easy enough to know where to stand. I stood up against the x-ray machine and the Korean nurse came, put my arms in the appropriate place (wrapped around the machine), and proceeded to push my entire upper body against the machine. A few times. Ok, I survived. Not terribly awkward.  Time to change in the a little bit bigger than a closet changing room.

Next it was into a small room next to the changing closet.  The woman behind the desk (yes, desk) was drawing blood from a young boy, so we were told to sit and wait. Again.

It's a theme.

When the nurse was finished drawing blood I went and sat down, expecting to get my blood drawn as well. Instead she retrieved a cup, put a label with my name on it, and started speaking to AD in Korean.  I knew that I was meant to pee in the cup, and I could tell she was trying to ask AD to tell us what to do (and where to fill the cup to).  He seemed beyond uncomfortable and eventually resorted to telling her (I gathered) to ask us on her own in her very best 2-word English vocabulary.  She pointed to a line on the cup, I nodded, and went across the hall to the bathroom.  AD followed me out of the room and said "You put here," pointing at a carton sitting on top of the trash can.

Lovely! Sanitary.

Disclaimer: the next part is about pee, so a little bit too much information. If you don't want to read it, totally understandable.

This part did not go all that smoothly.  Some of you who know me well, probably think I pee more than anyone you have ever met.  This is undeniably true.  Unfortunately, AD had told me not to eat breakfast on Tuesday and I had asked if it was OK to drink water.  He said "Um, no. Maybe- 1 cup."  Regrettably, I listened.  The nurse looked APPALLED at how little I had filled the cup.  She proceeded to take the cup, pour it into a vile, and walk out-- all with her bare hands. No gloves.

Lovely! Sanitary.

Meanwhile, I am scrubbing my hands in the sink with the bar soap (not pump soap) that is common in Korean bathrooms. Back to the room next to the changing closet and 3 viles of blood are drawn.  The nurse was quite accomplished- I didn't feel a thing when she inserted that needle. Impressive.

I am told (through AD) that I need to come back after we are finished upstairs.

Is there a water fountain somewhere? Thanks, I'll just chug a few (read: 7) cups of water while we wait on the 5th floor. Just so I don't disappoint you again, nurse.

Up to the 5th floor we went.  The next stop started out like an average physical.  Height and weight measurements. No big deal.  When I stepped off the scale, the nurse mimed for me to raise my arms.  The way you do when your someone is taking your measurements for clothing.

Um...ok.  Not sure why...oh, there she is! Taking my bust measurement. ? So to tally it up that is height, weight and bust. Now, on to an eyesight check, hearing check, and blood pressure check.

All the while I am thinking, why- in the name of all that is good and holy- does the Korean government need to know my BREAST SIZE? What are they doing with this information? Seriously? I'm still astounded.  And only slightly less (maybe more?) weirded out by it because all of the female foreign teachers at my school said they had their bust measured as well.

After we were finished, AD told us to sit and wait again.

I told you, it's a theme.

A Korean nurse came and told us (in broken English) we would go in and talk to the doctor next.  AD was not around, and she made it sound like we were to go in on our own.  This led me to believe the doctor spoke a relative amount of English.

After waiting, waiting, and more waiting, until almost every Korean in the room had went in to see the doctor before us, the waegukin ("foreigner" in Korean) were helped.

I walked into the room, the doctor looked up and immediately asked "You speak Korean?" I smile, because it is the best I can do, put my hands up in an X (because that is what Koreans do when they say no) and he gives a nervous laugh and says "I don't speak English."

Fantastic! Language barrier again.

He looks down at the sheet with all of my information, reads some things in Hangul, and gives another nervous laugh.  This poor, young doctor. He was trying so hard! He thought for a while, I gave him an encouraging smile (like I do to my students when they are struggling to remember the English word for something) and he manages to say, "Health problems?"

Very broad question doctor, but I'm going to go with...no.

The process is repeated until he asks, "Drugs?"

At this point, I'm not sure if he means prescription or illicit, but either way...no.

He wouldn't understand if I asked anyways.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  "Skin problems?"

I giggle a little....no. What does that even mean? Do I have eczema?  It's ok. He laughed, too. Laughter for the win!

He sits for a while, reading over the list again.  Thinks (I can tell he is trying), and again asks "Drugs?"

I thought we covered this, but, again...no.

He looks surprised. No?! No, doctor, no drugs.

"You drink?"  Oh boy, here we go.  I try to explain the amount I drink.  I think he gets it.  "Type?"  Ahh, this I know.  I can say "beer" in Korean. Perfect.  He smiles.  Ah, we understand each other. Finally.

He marks my sheet, gives it to me, I use my limited Korean- Anyeonghi gyeseyo (goodbye) and kamsahamnida (thank you)- and leave.

I sit down, wait for the other teacher to get done, and make small talk with AD while we wait.  The doctor follows the other teacher out, sees AD, and says something to him.  He is smiling again.  Turns out he said something like "Oh! You were here the whole time." Meaning, you could have made our lives all much easier.

Seeing as I did not impress the nurse on the 3rd floor earlier, we had to go back so I could relieve myself.  After those 7 cups of water I felt up to it.  Seriously, it is best to just not have any reservations at this point.  AD drops us both off at the 3rd floor.  The nurse is gone, so I just go get my cup.  As I'm headed into the restroom AD says "I get car.  You complete final mission, meet me floor 1. First, final mission."

He gets on the elevator and laughter ensues. AD was so uncomfortable.  My final mission?! Is this a video game? A reality TV show? What do I win if I complete it successfully?

Language barrier.  You win again.

The day ended with lunch at McDonalds.  More small talk with AD.  Learned that his father fled North Korea during the war, left a wife and son behind, remarried, and lived to the ripe age of 80 years old.  All over a Big Mac and fries.

We'll just look past the past 2 hours of awkward bra questions, pee handling, and bust measurements. 

Perfectly normal day in Korea.

so, it's been a while...

Whoops! I have been slacking on the blog.  I have plenty to blog about, but that is the problem. Every time I sit down to write a blog so much goes through my mind that I get overwhelmed.  I was going to continue blogging about my first week here and the Korean War Memorial.  I loved the museum, got a great impromptu tour from a volunteer, and even got in for free!  I feel like there is almost too much to say about the museum, though.  I'll save that one for a later date.

I finished my first week of teaching those adorable kindies.  It went well.  After I got settled in and used to the routine, I felt very comfortable.  There is definitely still room for improvement, but there always is in my book. 

Things I have discovered so far:

• the subway is easier to use than I thought it would be
• Korean banks don't open until 9 AM (quite inconvenient)- but Korean construction workers don't mind shattering glass at the apartment right next door they are renovating at 7AM
• every single side dish (called panchan) served at restaurants is pickled
• plastic surgery is ridiculously rampant in Korea- strange plastic surgery, like shrinking your face size
• consequently, if you are told you have a small face, it's a compliment
• the trash system is kind of complicated at first
• my Korean washing machine sings when it is done
• Uzbeki food is so. incredibly. delicious.
• I'm pretty sure a Korean man took a piece of stray hair off of my back and saved it in the street market the other day- the joys of being blonde in Korea
• it is not a compliment if you're asked if you're Russian- again, the joys of being a blonde in Korea
• butter and cheese are expensive here- and I love butter, and cheese

I'm sure there are many more, but for now that is all that came to mind. 

We've had a nice three day weekend for Korean Independence Day, and tomorrow it is back to work.  I am finally getting my health check tomorrow, which is needed to get my Alien Registration Card.  With my ARC I can open a bank account and get a cell phone! It has been strange to not have a phone. It definitely makes a person feel isolated.  The bank account is also needed, as I will need to transfer money back home when I get paid and can't do that easily without a bank account. So bonus for that! Hopefully it all goes smoothly. 

The next post should be sooner, as I recount all that is a health check at a Korean hospital.  I can't make any promises though!

Anyeong!

Namsangol Hanok Village (Monday)

On Saturday, one of the teachers who is leaving volunteered to let us tag along with her as she had some errands to run in Seoul.  My first time on the Seoul Subway system! Everything on the subway is in Hangul (written form of Korean) and English, so it is really quite easy to navigate--- given that you can read a map.

Sunday morning, I finally got into my apartment and settled in a bit (ha...ha). Actually I didn't do much unpacking at all, I mostly just vegged out.  It was a very Scarlet O'Hara day...and I decided I would worry about unpacking tomorrow.

Fiddle-dee-dee! Tomorrow came and instead I decided that I felt comfortable enough to venture out on the Subway on my own.  I invited another teacher whose email I had gotten, and she said she would like to come along.  We took a trip to Namsangol Hanok Village, as it was one of the only places on my list that was open on Mondays AND it was free admission! You can't beat free.

The village is a collection of five hanok houses (traditional Korean style houses) that have been moved from various locations throughout Seoul in order to preserve them and display Korea's architectural heritage.  In a way, the mission reminded me of Living History Farms (except there weren't any interpreters walking around in hanboks-- traditional Korean women's dress).

Before we entered that portion of the museum there was a man weaving various different items out of rice straw. Quite impressive.

Among my favorites of the items being woven (and reminiscent of my time at the Farms):

Korean chicken coop! A basket woven from rice straw for a chicken to lay in.

Korean egg collector! These were in all of the homes as well-- hanging in what I assumed were the kitchens (pictures of those later).

Korean whisk broom!  The best part is, my neighbors have a larger one of these sitting outside their apartment. I have also seen them being used in various restaurants. 







 Hanok style homes, from what I gathered typically had multiple different buildings.  All of the homes that were at this place were not complete. Many had just two rooms, when the information said they originally had five.  This hanok was built and lived in by a carpenter who helped to rebuild Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul from 1865-1868.

You can imagine, working for the government and rebuilding the palace, this man had a decent amount of won laying around.  The only surviving structures of this home are two buildings and a main gate.  It originally, however, had EIGHT.  Without having a great understanding of Korean homes, it seems that each building had a different purpose.  One for sleeping, one for dining, one for cooking, etc.  Not too much different than American homes of the same time period, only these are broken up into different quarters all together.

All five of the hanoks at the museum were meant to show different social status of the individuals who resided in them.  Without the entire home there, it was sometimes hard to tell.  However, one of the best ways to tell was that those who were extremely upper class were those who had things like shrine rooms, such as this home built by an Emperor for his daughter-in-law:

Throughout the visit there were various things that caught my eye because they were either very interesting/different, or because I have this strange interest in domestic lifestyles after working at the Farms. Some examples:

Korean kitchen, circa 1890. Notice where the fire is stoked!  Also the lovely garlic hanging at the front of the photo.

Crocks for pickling cabbage (or pickling anything, really)...aka making Kimchi.

My personal favorite from the day.  This machine had a sign that said "Treadmill." What? Exercise? So I broke it down and thought like a Korean writing something in English.  It is a mill. The part on the end is like a mortar and pestle. Tread? Ahh, treadle power! You most definitely stand on the end of the machine and sort of bounce up and down to grind whatever (presumably rice) is in the pestle.  Treadmill.

This is here because I saw multiple ones and cannot decide what it is.  It looked like some sort of spinning wheel, but then it didn't.  None of them had signs with names that I could google, either. Input?

This game also did not have a sign giving a name, but this man was quite good.  You spin what looks like a large top and then use the pole with a whip to keep it spinning. 







All in all I really enjoyed the museum.  It was a nice first trip into Seoul to get a piece of Korean culture.  What I enjoyed most is seeing the comparison between Victorian era Iowa and Joseon Dynasty Korea.  All of the homes fell into the same range of times that LHF covers.  Quite a difference, yet at the same time I was able to see many similarities as well.

Next up: Tuesday's visit to the Korean War Memorial.

expatriated

Where to begin? Such a whirlwind it has been and it hasn't yet been a week since I got to Korea.  The flight went smoothly, aside from watching my 4th Amendment rights being violated at the Amarillo International Airport. Ugh. William, however, made it through security unscathed.

The flight from DFW- Seoul was about 14 1/2 hours. Quite long, but it was much better than navigating multiple stops along the way.  The flight crew on my Korean Air flight were amazing as well.  Not to mention they had an entire movie library to pick from and your own personal TV screen so you could just choose whatever you wanted to watch.  The first thing I watched was an episode of FRIENDS.  As usual, I laughed so hard I nearly cried...I'm sure I was thought to be mentally unstable.

On the flight I had my first opportunity to try bibimbap, a Korean dish that is basically rice, vegetables, and sometimes meat all mixed together.  It does not, however, come made like that.  Thankfully I had a wonderful girl sitting next to me that spoke perfect English and asked "Do you know how to eat it?"  I must have had a certain look in my eyes.  She was nice enough to show me how, but the best part is the flight attendant gave me a hand out with directions! Too funny.

The dish was delicious, and also my first contact with the red pepper paste that Koreans put in nearly everything.  Good thing I like spicy because it certainly was.

When I arrived in Incheon, everything went smoothly.  I knew there was someone who would be waiting to pick me up, and he was easily spotted.  He also spoke basically zero English. I also knew I would have to wait about an hour for the other new teacher to arrive. I arrived at gate A and we had to move down to gate E to pick her up.  We had an hour, but the driver insisted on taking my luggage cart, running, and running in to almost every single person along the way.

This was instance number one that I knew my having been to China prior to this would help with my culture shock.  Being pushy and not really caring that you run/bump into other people is just part of their culture.  I'll never forget my sister's advice about just pushing my way onto the Subway to get a seat.  It comes in handy here as well.

So I got to gate E and the driver points to the bench, mimes "1 hour," and says "sit."  I had been sitting for 14 1/2 hours and really just wanted to stand but there was no way to communicate that and he was insisting.  So, I sat.  And he....ran away.  I didn't see him again until 15 minutes before the other teacher arrived.  Where did he go? To move the car? To have dinner? I don't know.

Language barrier.

There was a foreigner sitting behind me and he asked where I was headed, so we chatted a little.  He was trying to be helpful, but he just seemed bitter about living in Korea so he was not all that pleasant to talk to.  He told me he had been to China and that the driving here was much worse.  I have to tell you, so far I have felt much more safe in cars here in Korea than I did in China.  I am not sure if it is because, again, I knew to expect crazy driving in Korea and did not in China, or if it is truly better.  I think he was just a nut job.

It took about an hour to get to the school.  All the while the other teacher and I had no idea where we were going or what the plan was.  Once we got there, however, I felt quite welcomed.  The director speaks almost no English, but was very nice.  The Assistant Director does speak English and he is very sweet.  They took our luggage and stored it in Director's office.  We loaded up our carry-on luggage to take to the hotel we would stay at until our apartments were ready and then were informed we were being taken out to eat by one of the morning teachers.


It was really nice to have someone to take us around a bit, and let us get our feet on the ground before starting training the next day.  She was very nice and understood how exhausted and overwhelmed we must have been.

In the next couple of days (Thursday and Friday) I shadowed the teacher that I was replacing and met my students.  They are adorable!  Koreans count age differently than we do in the western world, so while my students are mostly 6 and 7 Korean age, they are really about 4 or 5 Western age.  They all take Western names when they start Kindergarten (if they don't already have them), and I'm not quite sure why this is.  One of my girls has the same name as my mom and the another the same name as my sister (even spelled the same!).  Quite funny.

So that was the end of my first few days.  Now it is on to a week of vacation before we start back to school.  I have been exploring the city and learning quite a bit about Korea, but that is for future posts. For now, I am exhausted from a day full of walking, walking, walking!

P.S. William is just loving the inside of my new apartment.  He's such a bum-- can't even organize for me! Pictures will follow once my kitchen is clean.

brown corn...and pig companions

Last day at LHF was last Monday.  Since then I have been spending my time here:

The Texas Panhandle.  Sun. Heat. Oil. Drought. Brown corn.

It sure does make an Iowan like me appreciate the beautiful, lush, green corn growing in the fields in the Midwest. Oh how the brown corn in the fields makes me cringe.

One benefit to sun and heat is that I got to spend an entire day at my friend's pool and get rid of my 19th Century-white skin. I loved my job at LHF, but it did nothing for my tan. 

My travel companion, William, made the 10 hour drive down from Iowa just fine.  He doesn't like the brown corn, either. Once we got about half way through Kansas he started to get depressed.

He sure is excited for the plane ride, though! Just over one full day left before it is time to get on the plane.  It is hard to believe that in a little over 48 hours I will be in Korea, embarking on the next part of my journey.

My packing is done, for the most part.  I do have laundry to do, and need to finish packing my carry-on.  That is more last-minute, however.   If I have forgotten anything, then it must mean I can live without it.  I hope.

Cheers to my last 48 hours in the U.S!