Who's learning from who here?

One of the questions I receive the most from family, friends, and curious internet acquaintances (thanks for bonding me to the internet for life, Facebook) is how well my Korean is coming. The short answer is this: it's coming well. I am beginning to build confidence in my speaking skills, although admittedly I was shocked at how shy my usually-talkative mouth was to use Korean. Now that I'm putting myself out there, it's coming along alright. My main audience during an average day are:

1. taxi drivers.
2. random students on the street by my apartment.
3. the family of the noodle/kim bap house I love so much.
4. street vendors.

Every time I have a success with Korean locals, I walk away with a poker face of cool confidence, which bursts into the dorkiest grin imaginable as soon as I'm out of sight. Some of the highlights include:


1. the first time I directed a cabbie to my apartment.
2. the second time I directed a cabbie to my apartment (yeah, it was a pretty big deal).
3. the time I bartered with a shoe salesman for a sweet deal on some black boots in Busan.
4. the way the teachers and students at my school light up when I try to write their names in Hangul (imagine a poor foreigner sinking into her chair, scrawling on a piece of paper as several Koreans huddle around her yelling, "gim hae eun... eun! euuuuuuun!").
5. actually communicating with the 2-to-4-year-olds I cared for this weekend at children's house in Ulsan (this is going to be a different post entirely so keep an eye out).

So I'd place my language level at 3 years of age. That and taxi driver, which are about equivalent.

Much of this learning has been completed on my own time, but it hasn't been by myself. Aside from my co-teachers and foreign network, the biggest asset to my learning have been the kids I work with. They love taking time from their day to show me new words, test my knowledge of Hangul, or provide me with opportunities to listen to simple sentences being whined over and over... and over.

The best thing about learning from kids is that they never judge you for being wrong. They may laugh, but they never make you feel inferior for asking. They really have been some of my biggest supporters when it comes to learning, and certainly the biggest inspiration. So a big thank you to my students, and all the Korean children who lend a helping hand to tongue-tied foreigners like me.

On the other side of the spectrum is the image of an 'English speaker' I have to present to my students. As a foreign English teacher trying to learn Korean, it is sometimes difficult not to use a little here and there in the classroom just to make things run smoother. On a normal day at my school, this isn't much of an issue because the Korean teachers are already using their native language for much of the class. However, the reason English-speakers were hired to come here is to somehow be a tool for English immersion. I often laugh at this since I have about 1,000 students at my school and somehow must immerse them all in my language.

However, I do work an after-school program with limited numbers of students, so in those classes it is crucial that we have an 'English only' policy, for both me and the students. My classes are well-informed that if they speak Korean, they have to write lines. Although this is not my preferred method for a reward/punishment system, it is definitely effective in Korea. The only problem is that by the 5 o'clock hour (when after-school lessons begin), students do not want to keep to school rules, and they definitely don't want to be kept from speaking Korean.

So, what happens when you have an English teacher in a room of students who want to speak Korean?

 I think we're going to have a lesson on punctuation
sometime in the near future.

Yep. Punctuation.

This student's handwriting got suspiciously larger to cover more space.
Nice tactic.

I particularly like this kid's take on the punishment. Not only did he write 100 times in the smallest handwriting "I will speak English", but he wrote in blaring yellow marker... and still managed to save enough space to scrawl "THE END" at the bottom.

The age hierarchy in Korea would never allow me to say this aloud, but I think I learn just as much-- if not more-- from my students on a daily basis (and that's no knock to my teaching abilities!). Let's just chalk it up to say that what I learned in college still holds true: we all learn from one another.

Don't fret: North Korea's got shells but South Korea's got Seoul.

As many people have seen and heard through media drama, there is growing tension between North and South Korea this week; paramount to this situation was the shelling that occurred on Tuesday. Sadly, two South Korean soldiers died in this incident, and perhaps other North Korean casualties.

In my opinion, this is not going to be a proponent to battle. South and North Korea have been at war since the 1950's and, sadly, will likely continue to be at war for years to come. The media is creating an image of all-out war zones from an incident that, although horrible and destructive, did not have any major effect on our day-to-day routine.

I don't want to ignore the potential severity of this situation, nor do I wish to make light of the fact that there are families grieving for the loss of men who laid down their lives to protect this country, as well as thousands of displaced South Koreans who fled Yeonpyeon island and the two civillians killed. However, I'd like to discuss two points of view: that of the Koreans (not all the Koreans, of course; but those I talked to this week), and that of the foreigners. As you can imagine, our reactions-- although nervous at times-- are much more satirical.

When my co-teachers and I discussed the shelling today, there were mixed emotions. A couple of my co-teachers seemed legitimately concerned.

"You should go home to America!... Can I come with you? My family is only three."


"We don't need to sleep in your house! I have a tent."

Although these were said in jest (I think), it was strange to see my co-teachers show serious concern about this issue. So I nervously laughed and changed the subject.

I also took the opportunity to ask Mr. Woo, my 'Korean father' about this incident while her enjoyed his afternoon coffee with me. This led to a really enriching discussion about the relationship between the people in North and South Korea, and for the first time I got a closer insight into the way Korean people view the North. In essence, they are sad that their people are divided. The following is paraphrased from our discussion today:

"When I was younger, I visited North Korea one time... I had hopes we would become one country again and this expectation grew bigger and bigger. Over time this turned to disappointment. Now when I think about North Korea and our people my mind becomes sad and serious. Before I die I hope we are reunited. That is my hope and wish." 

Hearing Mr. Woo talk about this made me realize what a hole many Korean people must feel in their culture. It is like a family divided. The people of North Korea are not bad; many times in the US we mistake the citizens of North Korea for being the enemy, when it is the opposing government (and leadership) that is the cause of war and strife. In the US we also may not feel that same sense of unity because we are such an ethnically-diverse population. In Korea, there is so much history and unity through ethnicity. To have half of that missing... it weighs heavily on these people's minds at times.

According to Mr. Woo, there are plenty of South Koreans who do not share this view for economic reasons. Sharing government with North Korea would be a huge hit to their economic standing (which has progressed exponentially in just decades). So, as with many other important issues, it depends on who you ask.

The same goes for us waygooks. Today the internet was filled with fear, anxiety, frustration and humor from foreign teachers trying to make sense (or jokes) of the North Korea attack.

Here's one person who decided to make it clear to everyone just how far away they were from the shelling (thanks waygook Chris Morin):

Another entertainment I found was everyone's escape plans. A foreigner networking site procured a thread entitled, What to do if North Korea attacks. Here is one of my favorites:

"I've got my escape plan sorted... I don't think I can rely on my embassy either and heading into Seoul [as I think] that's the main place NK would bomb. So, I'd head straight down south and catch a ferry to Japan. I wouldn't think Seoul is a good place to run to especially if you live out of Seoul think about the traffic congestion the craziness at the time.
That's my plan, or you can choose to stay behind and stick it out and round up all of the Koreans with their weapons set up a plan of attack... Rambo, Arnie, Predator, Kungfu hustle, Terminator style.
I think I've watched too many action movies...but hey [it] could work."

 Yes; yes it could.

In all seriousness, US citizens do have a proper escape plan in the event of an evacuation, and friends and family-- I'm doing all I can to be aware and safe. Just consider it part of the adventure.

UPDATE: My walls are still intact (jokes people, jokes!), but every North Korean fire is being monitored closely. One of the main complaints from North Korea is that South Korea is practicing military drills 'too close' to their border. So, holding true to my theory that this issue is like a sibling fight, North Korea's military drill could be heard loud and clear from Seoul today, shaking up many South Korean citizens. A little passive aggressive, North Korea, but let's keep it more of the former than the latter, mkay?

Another interesting turn of events today was that the Minister of Defense in South Korea stepped down from his position, feeling that he had kept his country from being prepared in the event of an attack.

Lastly, kudos to the person whose escape plan was to go to Japan. I heard through the grapevine that US citizens would be evacuated there in the event of an emergency. Whether Rambo comes with us or not is another story.

How to make amazing Korean photobooth pictures.

This week, I finally got the experience I've been looking for in Korea: the magic of the cutesy, silly, completely fun photobooths! In fact, I loved the first time so much I went on 2 more occasions this week. It's safe to say I'm addicted... and also quickly becoming a pro. Here are some tips if you ever encounter one of these miraculous pieces of technology:

1. Check out the photobooth beforehand. If there's a cache of 'em (and if you're in Korea there usually is), it's okay to be picky! Look at the sample pictures to pick the one with the best effects.

2. Don't get too overwhelmed by the fact that you can't read anything on the touch screen. There are so many options for lighting, picture size, and whatnot that I'm sure it's even hard for Koreans to decide what to select. Just look at the pictures or, when in doubt, choose the button in your favorite color.

3. On the same note, be careful to keep track of all the countdowns. And I'm not just talking about when the camera goes off! There is usually a countdown for most selections you have to make. On most photobooths there is even a time limit for putting designs on your pictures, so just be aware! You wouldn't want to end up with half of a cat face drawn on your bestie.

4. Go all out. You are in Korea. If you're too camera shy to make silly faces, then liven up your pictures with tons of decals. Korean photobooths have a wonderfully fun selection of accessories, flowers, stars, and cartoon drawings of turds that will make your photos cute and even outright hilarious. The more the better!

5. Make the peace sign. You know you want to.

Now that you've been given this well of knowledge, go and spread the wealth by tracking down your very own Asian photobooth and taking a few pictures! And send them to me. I'd love to see what your face looks like with only one side of cat whiskers.

Korean-itis.

So all the new strands of viruses here-- forevermore referred to on this blog as Korean-itis-- have been seriously crushing my social life, appetite and blogging habits. Last week, I was so sick that I couldn't even get out bed and take the 4.5 steps to my kitchen to pour a hot cup of tea. Fortunately I'm much better now and decided to fill everyone in on my past few weeks here:

"Is it suddenly winter here, or is that just me?"

One thing nobody ever told us newbie-foreigners is how fast the summer turns to complete winter weather. In the Pacific Northwest, there are 4 distinct season, and they all are dispersed somewhat equally throughout our 12 months (some may argue we have a 5th season called "rain" that likes to hang around always, but we just accept it). In Korea, the humid heat of summer turns to deathly cold winter fast enough to freeze the sweat on your forehead. At least that's how it felt when the 2 weeks of falltime ended and winter chill set in. It's another one of those things every Korean knows second-nature but foreigners like me have no clue about... and it's a really big deal, apparently. The day the weather turned, there was a special weather report about it. Normally, I watch international news to check the weather, so I completely missed this nationwide announcement. When I showed up to school in a short-sleeved sweater instead of the 2-layer winter coats my teachers were wearing, even my students asked me if I was okay. Everyone thought I was insane! Needless to say, the next day I came to school in a long sleeve shirt and have been wearing my coat in the classroom ever since, if for no other reason than just to blend a little.

Persimmons

In Washington State, I could go to the supermarket and buy a tiny, overpriced and freakishly pale persimmon. Not fun in the slightest. Here, persimmons are in season and, as I've quickly learned, are a really popular (and delicious) snack. Every day at school, teachers are slicing up chunks of persimmon to share. Although I haven't bought any for my apartment yet, I'm becoming pretty addicted. The other great thing about persimmons are the trees they grow on. During this time of year, all the leaves are turning color and falling to the ground, leaving persimmon fruits hanging like miniature pumpkins on the branches. It's beautiful and almost surreal.

 

"빼빼로!" Oh yes, it's Pepero Day.

Normally on November 11th, I'm honoring Vetran's Day in the States. Here, 11/11 is a special day for a different reason: a chocolate-covered, cookie/pretzel treat called Pepero is celebrated instead. These snacks are long and skinny, like 1's, so on 11/11 kids give each other boxes of Pepero until the sugar rush either induces vomiting or a coma. Now, aside from the fact that I found it really strange to celebrate a pseudo-Valentine's on a day I'd normally be thinking about those who served the US, it was difficult to teach with students all hyped up on sugar in class and munching on Pepero sticks during my lessons! Some girls had as many as 20 boxes stacked on their desks, all gifts from their friends (and crushes, I'm sure)! Well, at least with all the Pepero gifts I got from my students, I never have to food shop again.

Korean table

Many cities in Korea have free language classes for the foreign teachers, organized by the Metropolitan Office of Education (MOE). Ulsan, unfortunately, does not, and it breaks my heart a little because I really want to learn Korean faster and better than my self-teaching methods. Other foreigners who felt the same way decided to form a Korean study table, and we now meet once a week to talk about language, teaching, and whatever else comes up. It's been a great way to motivate myself to study during the week while making new friends. There are a lot of benefits to picking up Korean, far exceeding the obvious:

1. (First, the obvious): I can tell my cabbie how to get to my apartment without intense hand gestures or panic.
2. I can thoroughly enjoy the sounds of amazement from my co-teachers when I say something besides 'Hello' or 'Thank you'. Even one word and they fly into a tizzy of praise; it's like learning to speak at 2 years old only I'm fully aware of what's going on.
3. I can relate to my students better when trying to teach them the English language. It's not about speaking to them in Korean (which I almost never do in the classroom), but understanding the mindset of someone who is learning a new language. For example, I realize that my comprehension of the language is far greater than my speaking ability, which is something I definitely keep in mind when working with my students! They may not be able to tell me they understand, but many of them really do.

Anyway, with all the language learning I'm secretly hoping for some kind of breakthrough when everything suddenly makes sense, but realistically I'm just content with those little moments of clarity.

Gyeonju with Mr. Woo

Over the last few weekends I've traveled out of Ulsan a couple times as well. 3 weekends ago I took a day trip to Gyeonju, just 1 hour north of Ulsan. Gyeonju is a really popular international city in Korea and has a lot of historic and cultural sites. It also used to be the capitol of South Korea so it's large and really beautiful! We saw several tombs of past kings, an observatory, and the historical art in the Gyeonju Museum. Mr. Woo toured us around, and he is so full of knowledge so it really adds to the experience! After dinner, we took the road along the coast to get back to Ulsan, and we stopped at the beach. I stood at the edge of the sand and looked out East. It was weird to know I was staring in the direction of home, and the only thing separating me from everyone was thousands of miles of water. The Pacific Ocean looks familiar, even on the coast of Korea.

Girls' Weekend in Daegu

This weekend I took a trip up to Daegu, about 2 hours north, to meet up with my girlfriends from EPIK orientation. There are 4 of us (including Emily) who have stayed pretty close and have a really good time hanging out. We've been keeping in touch and visiting all of each other's cities on the weekends. Daegu is the 3rd largest city in Korea, so there was a lot I didn't see, but with the short time we spent there we really made it count. The other interesting thing about this city is that there are 2 military bases in the area, so there were a lot of foreign families walking around. In Ulsan I rarely see anything like this, so it really took me back when I saw an American family out to eat. The amusement park was our main objective for the day, so we took in the beautiful fall-esque weather (with the winter chill, of course), talked to Korean tween girls in line for rides, made our British friend try a churro for the first time, and screamed our heads off on some pretty crazy roller coasters. There is also an 80-story tower at the park, so we got to at least look at most of Daegu.

Well, that's all for now. If you'd like to see more pictures from my adventures, check out the 'Et cetra' tab of my blog to find links to my online photo albums.

Hope everyone is well in your corner of the world!
Much love from Laura.

The Little Mermaid and an International Fireworks Festival.

Ever since I began researching life in Korea (about a year ago), I knew I wanted to be a part of the annual International Fireworks Festival in Busan. How lucky was I that this year I got the chance to dive into the chaos of a human wall, eat chicken on the beach, and experience the best fireworks display I have ever seen at this festival.

Currently, I write this entry from the comfort of my bed, where I have been all day. I like to think of this weekend as one really long day, because I had to spend all of Sunday sleeping and eating pizza to recover.

The day started early with a bus ride out of Ulsan. The train into Busan is supposedly prettier (and less insane than the public bus) but keep in mind that there were about 2 million people filtering into Busan that day to watch the fireworks, so everything we did this weekend was kind of the long way. After our bus ride, the subway was the next stop. The fireworks show was at Gwangli Beach, but we decided to spend a portion of the afternoon in Haeundae first; this beach has a warm place in our hearts from last month when we visited there on vacation.

Hello, carnival games, Fuzzy Navel burritos, and the chilled October tide.


I'll be honest, from here on out things got a little harried. We started walking towards the beach with the assumption that we could catch a taxi at any point. Wrong. Because of all the chaos, virtually every taxi was in use. We searched for an alternate route to the festival for about 30 minutes before (luckily) catching a cab and heading towards Gwangli.

The festival itself was incredible. Here's what the Koreans have on us Westerners:

1. The organization was astounding and very well thought-out. The beach was mapped out so that an aisle of space was clear for people to enter and exit. And when the beach got too full (because it really really did), volunteers stamped our hands so we could enter and exit the beach.

By this point, the only thing keeping people from entering the beach was a human wall of police officers. I have never stood behind a human chain of government officials, let alone been allowed to pass through a wall of them! It felt pretty amazing.


2. Nobody left trash on the beach. And for 2-3 million people, that's miraculous. Could it have been the trash bags they gave us for free to use? I think so. But all things considered, this feat is pretty unheard of. Maybe the US government should start spending public funds on trash bags and less on the oil-using machines it takes to clean up loose garbage.

Oh wait. This is not a political blog. My bad.

3. Instead of selling french fries or cotton candy, vendors sold kim bap, rice cakes, and brightly-colored fuzzy blankets. Again, it's always healthier to be in Korea.

4. There are no open-container laws in Korea. Just sayin'.


5. Lastly, the fireworks themselves. There's not really too much to say; I don't know if any words I use could possibly describe the beauty of this show. Because this was an international display, the music timed with the show was from around the world. In the 50 minute display, there was a section of 3-4 songs from the US. By far, this one got us the most excited:



Singing 'Under the Sea' in a crowd of Koreans was almost too much fun... especially when I realized just how few of us there actually were who could sing along.

It's interesting to identify so wholly with something, like a song, and feel like nobody relates. The Little Mermaid is a defining part of my childhood (uh... Halloween costume circa 1992!), and I was in such a daze of ecstasy that I was shocked to see strangers staring curiously at me. I may be over-simplifying, but it's a prime example of how I see my life: your home is inside of you. It's unique to you. And you can be in a crowd of strangers and still be at home. But you may never understand what home is to someone else, and just how much it means to them. Even if they're 8 inches away, screaming in your ear.


I won't go into too much detail about the rest of our night, because it involved staying out until the sun rose, sleeping in a doorway, and getting soaked to the bone. I just try to remember that anything can happen here, and it usually does.

What great stories you can have when you take the opportunity to make them.

the 'comfort' of being a waygook.

It's amazing the way we limit ourselves when we are in our comfort zone. This is a pretty obvious statement, and those of you reading may be wondering why I consider this something to ponder... but it's amazing just how limited we really can be without even realizing it.

A few times a week, I go for a run around my neighborhood after school. My favorite place to run is this track at Mur-yong Elementary School; normally, I think tracks are nothing more than a torturing device coaches and teachers use on their students, but this is the perfect place for me to center my thoughts and play with the students as they kick the soccer ball around. Between listening for my breathing, my music, and stray soccer balls to the head, it's a really good way to wind down after a day of teaching.

This sounds great, right?

One thing I've realized after a couple weeks of this routine is that there is basically nobody else running. In fact, aside from a few old Korean men (who admit they can do whatever they want because they've earned their place on the social hierarchy), the only people who I know of that run out in the open are foreigners. I may be making an assumption, but it seems to me that the only place people exercise here is in the gym. Is this because outer image is so important? Because, believe me, I know passerby Koreans judge my unkempt appearance while I'm returning home from a run.

The important question is, "Do you care?"

It's so easy for me to say no. But is this because I know that this is not my culture? Is it because I know that no matter what the circumstances, I know I am outside my comfort zone here? And if that is all true, how many times did I limit myself at home by simply sticking with the social norms of my culture, as opposed to doing the taboo because it made me happy? The scary thing is that most times I never realized it simply because I was comfortable maintaining the standard.

When I am in the role of the foreigner, I am free. Within the realm of cultural sensitivity, I can do what makes me happy an healthy without a concern for what others think. As long as I know I'm not offending anyone, putting myself in a position where everyone feels a little awkward is not the worst thing. In fact, it's inevitable. It's addicting.


I may never know if it is awkward for Koreans to see me walking home drenched in sweat. But even if I do, I'm not going to stop running outside.


Also, thank you Jen Capponi for this amazing quote. It fell perfectly into my week and gave me lots to think about!

Is this like that 'deserted island' question?

All the sentiments about family, friends, and the Pacific Northwest aside (which tends to get rather-- well, sentimental) there is only a short list of things I miss about home. In fact, if I had to, I could sum up what I miss most about the United States in one simple word:

tea.

And thanks to some amazing parents, approximately 6 boxes of tea arrived at my door today. In fact, they even used the rogue bags instead of packaging materials. Way to go green and send me some lovin', you guys.


More to come, probably tomorrow. It's my students' midterm testing day. Deskwarming, ahoy!