So I've officially been here over two months now, and I've made some observations. (Granted, any "way-gook" who's been here for a decent amount of time probably has the EXACT same things to say, but this is still fairly new for me...)
Ahem. My list:
-Korean women are, by far and large, GORGEOUS. I will eventually adopt their winter style of leggings with shorts over them, a cute top, and some sort of boots. Adorable.
-Korean men seem a bit effeminate, at least by typical American standards. Many don the murse (man-purse) shamelessly. Also, they (like my Mexican-American students back in The States) tend to wear skinny jeans and very fitted clothing.
-Korean "happy faces" are quite precious... instead of :) or =), they do ^^ or ^^* or ^_^ or *^^*... and so forth.
-A lot of Koreans don't tend to receive me (a foreigner) particularly well. Often, I'm met with indifference, though sometimes people will point and say, "Way-gook!" ("Foreigner!")
-I thought you could easily flush toilet paper here... My now-clogged toilet begs to differ. Granted, this isn't nearly as bad as Latin America, but I must admit I've been spoiled by the sewage systems back home.
-Subway rides are supposed to be quiet. Loudly-speaking people (especially foreigners) are openly glared at.
-People spit. Often. Everywhere (outside). Gross.
-There is ALWAYS smoke in restaurants and bars. Ick. However, I've never seen anyone smoke in public transportation, fortunately!
-There is usually an abundance of drunkenness past 6pm on any given night (earlier on the weekends).
-Koreans seem to work very hard, by and large. While I'm working 10.5-hour days, it seems this is nothing compared to the locals.
-Underground subway shops seem to be quite the place to buy clothing, food, and various accessories. Though the quality of said products is obviously questionable, the merchandise is cheap and generally very cute.
-Korean children and women have this particular way of whining wherein they remind me of "George of the Jungle."
-Konglish (Korean + English) is adorable. "Merree Ca-ris-mas-su" was heard in abundance last month.
-I am often confronted by older men who want to speak English (maybe brushing up on their speaking skills?)... I feel fortunate, as a blonde coworker of mine is constantly harassed by older men who think she's a prostitute.
-Restaurants are PACKED every night of the week; it's cheaper (in general) to dine out than it is to go grocery shopping.
I'm sure there's a lot more stuff I'm forgetting, but this is what comes to mind at present. If anyone wants to add to this list, I'm happy to read it! ^^*
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The work of some of my Korean students...
So I'd like to take a moment to share some of the work from select amazing students... I've VERY minorly edited them (mostly with spelling and a stray article here and there), but they remain as close to their original state as possible.
These were written in preparation for an upcoming speech contest at our school.
The first two essays come from a 3rd grader:
TIME THAT I WAS GRATEFUL TO MY FAMILY...
I was obliged when I had a Nintendo DS. I was more grateful when I got clothing. But, maybe you didn't expect this. I am most grateful when I am being scolded by my parents. It's an uncommon thing, but it gives me a lesson, and makes me examine [what I did]. You will know that everybody can make a mistake, even a president, even a god.
So many children can make mistakes. But I think there are not many children who are grateful for scolding. Actually, I don't like solding. If I am scolded, it means I did something that's bad. I just think that the effect is just a way of helping children to go [the] right way. I hope my speech was interesting to you.
SANTA'S TRIP WITH SANTA
Santa is snoring very loudly. Santa is dreaming about his trip with his reindeer, Rudolph. Let's go into Santa's dream. Abracadabra! He is putting the presents onto the enrmous jet planes named "Claus." There are 9532580000 jet planes that are each the size of an Empire State Building or a Tower Eiffel or a Chrysler Building. Then, there are sleds in the jet planes. The sleds are programmed to move automatically with no error. They go through the wall, put a present in a sock with a powerful robotic arm. Then it goes away.
Santa is rich, so he has many expensive things. Then, he has all the reindeer in the whole world, and they are servants. They're Santa, the reindeer, and a Ruldolph!
****
Wow. And even MORE astonishingly, this next essay comes from a FIRST grader...
I wish that Christmas could be everyday. During Christmas, loved ones get together, sing songs, eat delicious food and give presents to each other- it's a happy time. Furthermore, we can get special gifts from Santa Claus.
If Christmas were only once a year, children might forget that they have to be nice and do many kind things. If Christmas were every day, there would be no more bad things like criminals and war, and the world would be full of love and peace. We wouldn't have to wait until Christmas for Santa Claus.
If children get presents for doing good work, then Santa Claus would not have to do hard work and birng all the presents on one day. Also, there would be no chance for Santa to accidentally forget about delivering presents.
Maybe Santa Claus is sad and lonely all year long. He might want to see us everday, but he can only see us on Christmas Day. If everyday were Christmas, he could visit children often and he would be happy. He would exercise everyday and become more fit and healthy.
If kids are waiting for presents every day, then they would go to bed happily and do good things all the time. But there's one worry for Santa: it would cost him too much money to buy presents everday. But Santa can use magic to change hard work into money, then he doesn't have to worry about it.
Christmas all year long would bring peace and love to everybody.
Merry Christmas! Everday Christmas!!
***
Sooooooo, yeah. Wow. These are the students I work with. I'm quite honored!
Also, it's presently snowing outside, which delights the children and myself. :) The school (and lots of Bucheon) is decorated with Christmas trees and the like. It is, indeed, beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. :)
These were written in preparation for an upcoming speech contest at our school.
The first two essays come from a 3rd grader:
TIME THAT I WAS GRATEFUL TO MY FAMILY...
I was obliged when I had a Nintendo DS. I was more grateful when I got clothing. But, maybe you didn't expect this. I am most grateful when I am being scolded by my parents. It's an uncommon thing, but it gives me a lesson, and makes me examine [what I did]. You will know that everybody can make a mistake, even a president, even a god.
So many children can make mistakes. But I think there are not many children who are grateful for scolding. Actually, I don't like solding. If I am scolded, it means I did something that's bad. I just think that the effect is just a way of helping children to go [the] right way. I hope my speech was interesting to you.
SANTA'S TRIP WITH SANTA
Santa is snoring very loudly. Santa is dreaming about his trip with his reindeer, Rudolph. Let's go into Santa's dream. Abracadabra! He is putting the presents onto the enrmous jet planes named "Claus." There are 9532580000 jet planes that are each the size of an Empire State Building or a Tower Eiffel or a Chrysler Building. Then, there are sleds in the jet planes. The sleds are programmed to move automatically with no error. They go through the wall, put a present in a sock with a powerful robotic arm. Then it goes away.
Santa is rich, so he has many expensive things. Then, he has all the reindeer in the whole world, and they are servants. They're Santa, the reindeer, and a Ruldolph!
****
Wow. And even MORE astonishingly, this next essay comes from a FIRST grader...
I wish that Christmas could be everyday. During Christmas, loved ones get together, sing songs, eat delicious food and give presents to each other- it's a happy time. Furthermore, we can get special gifts from Santa Claus.
If Christmas were only once a year, children might forget that they have to be nice and do many kind things. If Christmas were every day, there would be no more bad things like criminals and war, and the world would be full of love and peace. We wouldn't have to wait until Christmas for Santa Claus.
If children get presents for doing good work, then Santa Claus would not have to do hard work and birng all the presents on one day. Also, there would be no chance for Santa to accidentally forget about delivering presents.
Maybe Santa Claus is sad and lonely all year long. He might want to see us everday, but he can only see us on Christmas Day. If everyday were Christmas, he could visit children often and he would be happy. He would exercise everyday and become more fit and healthy.
If kids are waiting for presents every day, then they would go to bed happily and do good things all the time. But there's one worry for Santa: it would cost him too much money to buy presents everday. But Santa can use magic to change hard work into money, then he doesn't have to worry about it.
Christmas all year long would bring peace and love to everybody.
Merry Christmas! Everday Christmas!!
***
Sooooooo, yeah. Wow. These are the students I work with. I'm quite honored!
Also, it's presently snowing outside, which delights the children and myself. :) The school (and lots of Bucheon) is decorated with Christmas trees and the like. It is, indeed, beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. :)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
A tad overwhelmed...
So here we are, over a week in now... and I just kind of feel lost.
Last night, I was attempting for the second time to meet up with a friend of a friend at my local subway station. I'd decided, to save money, that I would take a bus to the station instead of my normal $3+ taxi ride (bus fare is roughly 75 cents). A coworker kindly told me which bus to take (though she'd said 5-4 or 5-6, I'd interpreted it as 54 or 56)... I ended up on the wrong bus.
Let me tell you, there are few things more unnerving (to me) than being a.)alone in a country where you don't speak the language, b.) in a city you barely know, c.) with street signs you can't decipher, d.) on an unfamiliar bus route, and e.) with urgent news playing on the speakers. My eyes teared up, and I felt panicking thoughts surface: "What on EARTH am I doing in this country? Why did I decide to come here? I'm so hopelessly lost and awkward here. What am I doing with my life? I'm already late -again- meeting my friend!" ... ad nauseum. And this was on the night of the North/South Korea skirmish, where artillery shells were fired from both sides. Any pertinent news was lost to me, not being able to understand Korean. I felt completely and hopelessly detached from the world. What a feeling.
And then I decided to try something different: I took a deep breath and started some positive self talk: "You're an intelligent person. You're navigating a foreign city solo; give yourself some credit. Relax. If you miss your friend, it's not the end of the world. Be patient." etc. It helped a great deal. Eventually, I was able to find another subway station just one stop away from my own.
Horrendously long story short, I found my friend and was eventually treated to a delicious Korean meal. I was so relieved and grateful.
Then today, school was pretty decent, luckily. Though my homeroom class was HORRENDOUS at first, we eventually were able to have some fun and enjoy class. The day went pretty much as smoothly as possible, and I was looking forward to meeting a new friend this evening.
Well, eventually I felt a resurgence of last night's awful sinking feeling. My friend, ever educated and decidedly non-American (he's South African), engaged me in a conversation where I soon felt I was in over my head. I know a minimal amount of politics and literature, which are two of his favorite topics. Oy. I felt immediately as if I were drowning. I felt incredibly intellectually inferior (how's THAT for alliteration, eh?). There's only so much a girl's ego can take! Embarrassingly, I broke down and confessed these feelings to him, which undoubtedly made him uncomfortable as well. And there we were.
So here I am, home, trying to decide how highly I esteem myself. I had just come to be really happy with who I was and what I'd accomplished... and now it's like I'm back at square one. Well, I'm probably being melodramatic, but it's not a pleasant feeling at any rate.
I have a much more chipper entry that I wrote in a cafe this past weekend... When I have the time/desire, I will definitely type it up and post it. For now, I shall go do productive things (read: NOT wallow in self misery)! Cheers!
Last night, I was attempting for the second time to meet up with a friend of a friend at my local subway station. I'd decided, to save money, that I would take a bus to the station instead of my normal $3+ taxi ride (bus fare is roughly 75 cents). A coworker kindly told me which bus to take (though she'd said 5-4 or 5-6, I'd interpreted it as 54 or 56)... I ended up on the wrong bus.
Let me tell you, there are few things more unnerving (to me) than being a.)alone in a country where you don't speak the language, b.) in a city you barely know, c.) with street signs you can't decipher, d.) on an unfamiliar bus route, and e.) with urgent news playing on the speakers. My eyes teared up, and I felt panicking thoughts surface: "What on EARTH am I doing in this country? Why did I decide to come here? I'm so hopelessly lost and awkward here. What am I doing with my life? I'm already late -again- meeting my friend!" ... ad nauseum. And this was on the night of the North/South Korea skirmish, where artillery shells were fired from both sides. Any pertinent news was lost to me, not being able to understand Korean. I felt completely and hopelessly detached from the world. What a feeling.
And then I decided to try something different: I took a deep breath and started some positive self talk: "You're an intelligent person. You're navigating a foreign city solo; give yourself some credit. Relax. If you miss your friend, it's not the end of the world. Be patient." etc. It helped a great deal. Eventually, I was able to find another subway station just one stop away from my own.
Horrendously long story short, I found my friend and was eventually treated to a delicious Korean meal. I was so relieved and grateful.
Then today, school was pretty decent, luckily. Though my homeroom class was HORRENDOUS at first, we eventually were able to have some fun and enjoy class. The day went pretty much as smoothly as possible, and I was looking forward to meeting a new friend this evening.
Well, eventually I felt a resurgence of last night's awful sinking feeling. My friend, ever educated and decidedly non-American (he's South African), engaged me in a conversation where I soon felt I was in over my head. I know a minimal amount of politics and literature, which are two of his favorite topics. Oy. I felt immediately as if I were drowning. I felt incredibly intellectually inferior (how's THAT for alliteration, eh?). There's only so much a girl's ego can take! Embarrassingly, I broke down and confessed these feelings to him, which undoubtedly made him uncomfortable as well. And there we were.
So here I am, home, trying to decide how highly I esteem myself. I had just come to be really happy with who I was and what I'd accomplished... and now it's like I'm back at square one. Well, I'm probably being melodramatic, but it's not a pleasant feeling at any rate.
I have a much more chipper entry that I wrote in a cafe this past weekend... When I have the time/desire, I will definitely type it up and post it. For now, I shall go do productive things (read: NOT wallow in self misery)! Cheers!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Day 4: Surviving on my own!!
So I'm at a PC bang (internet cafe)... it's really, really nice here! Anyway, I just took my first subway trip, and solo at that! I'm meeting a friend in a bit, and have heard about how easy the public transportation is here. It is, assuming you know where you're going!
I plan to write a more lengthy blog later, but here are some notes from my first few days here:
-Many people wear cloth surgical masks here, including many of my students... I wonder if it helps!
-Some students have difficulty saying my name. One student asked, "Marybeth? Like bath? Like bathroom? Marybathroom?" Good grief!
-TWO of my little students have MULLETS. Yes, Korean *mullets*.
-My name in the classroom is "Marybeth teacher," and I think it's adorable!
-The 7-year-olds (6-year-olds by American standards) can multiply. My 6th *graders* struggled with multiplication.
-I'm wondering if I'm actually here to perpetuate the demise of my own country... Am I educating the youth who will in turn take over the Western world in a decade or two?
-Trash cans are hard to come by; I have to learn how to dispose of things here. Rumour has it that food gets composted, so you're not supposed to throw it away. I love that!
All right, must go exchange some money, as I have only 2000won (~$2.50?) left!
Cheers!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Less than a week 'til takeoff!!!
So it's almost go-time!!! I'm getting sooo excited! Unfortunately, I've been under the weather the past week, but I think good health is on the way! :)
Also, the past week and a half, I've been training and now working as a SERVER!!! :D It's been a goal of mine for the past 10-ish years, and I'm so glad to finally be trying it out! I definitely like it, and the pay's pretty good, so I figure I'll make a little money before I leave the U.S. And I feel a little bad; my employers won't know about my South Korea plans until tomorrow... Just 6 days before I leave. Whoops. So yeah, there's a little guilt there, but hopefully they'll understand.
On a brighter note, Ohio's giving me a gorgeous sendoff; fall is in full force here, and it's lovely! I'll provide some photographic evidence to back myself up:
Finally, I've decided that tomorrow is the day to PACK!! I have to figure out what I'll need for the next year of my life... Should be interesting! I'll post before/after pics as soon as I take them, so the folks at home can play along. ;)
All rightee... this'll be one of my last posts Stateside (sound familiar??).
Cheers!
Also, the past week and a half, I've been training and now working as a SERVER!!! :D It's been a goal of mine for the past 10-ish years, and I'm so glad to finally be trying it out! I definitely like it, and the pay's pretty good, so I figure I'll make a little money before I leave the U.S. And I feel a little bad; my employers won't know about my South Korea plans until tomorrow... Just 6 days before I leave. Whoops. So yeah, there's a little guilt there, but hopefully they'll understand.
On a brighter note, Ohio's giving me a gorgeous sendoff; fall is in full force here, and it's lovely! I'll provide some photographic evidence to back myself up:
Finally, I've decided that tomorrow is the day to PACK!! I have to figure out what I'll need for the next year of my life... Should be interesting! I'll post before/after pics as soon as I take them, so the folks at home can play along. ;)
All rightee... this'll be one of my last posts Stateside (sound familiar??).
Cheers!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
THREE MORE WEEKS!!!!!!!!!
So I'm only THREE MORE WEEKS out!!! :D My work visa arrived in the mail yesterday, so now I'm just about ready to go!! I just need to make a massive to-do list, and then I'm good to go! :)
Dang it... I really must stop updating this so late; I'm exhausted after a lovely weekend in South Carolina for a good friend's wedding.
Cheers!
Dang it... I really must stop updating this so late; I'm exhausted after a lovely weekend in South Carolina for a good friend's wedding.
Cheers!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Just a few more weeks...
Hello again! So it's after 5am (EST) and I should probably go to sleep... But I felt compelled to write for a minute.
I'm already networking with people in Seoul, which is proving to calm me down a bit about the whole process. Also, I keep hearing good things from ex-pats. Everyone seems to love Korea, and I hope I'm no exception!
Next on the task list so I can get over there: Obtaining my visa. I have a visa number from the Korean government, now I just need the Korean Consulate in Chicago to get that sucker in my passport! There are a few more documents to submit, which is annoying, but hopefully I'll be in Bucheon (Seoul) in less than a month!
Aw, man... I ran out of steam. Soooo tired... (I just got back from Arizona today, which is bittersweet as usual.) I'll add another pic from the trip, just so my blog's not so texty and dull.
Cheers!
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