Finally

I discovered a newly opened hamburgber restaurant in my city here. Up to now, the only hamburgers available were from Lotteria or from BHC hamburgers. Both of these places covered their burgers in some disgusting black sauce. They also covered their miniscule burgers with loads of roasted peppers and other things that simply do not belong on a burger.

I went to this new hamburger joint yesterday. They have a big menu (by Korean standards) and serve lots of good looking burgers. Now, these are not exactly like U.S. burgers, but it's close enough and it's not covered in nasty sauce. Their burgers do have a fried egg on them, but that is also available at some burger places in the U.S., I know they have one like that at Red Robin. Anyway, it's pretty exciting to be able to get a burger in your own city.

Snacks Making Me Think About Culture

I'm sitting here in the office at school, and one of the secretaries bought in some snacks for the teachers. This is a very common practice. Lately, the snacks have consisted of watermelon, or oriental melons. This is great, since watermelons cost about $17 here. Today, the snack was steamed white potatoes. This is also very common. More common is a big bowl of steamed sweet potatoes, which are much more yellow than the orange U.S. variety. This has started to make me think about food here in Korea.

Korean cuisine is very simple and hearty. Lots of soups full of vegetables, lots of pork dishes, and lots of spicy stuff. Everything contains red pepper paste (gochujjang) so everything has a kind of red "DANGER" look about it. But, that is not what was making me think here.

There is no distinction in Korea between foods. Let me clarify. If the U.S. we have food that is traditionally breakfast food, i.e. bacon, eggs, cereals, pancakes, oatmeal. I mean, people eat these things at all times, but usually they are found only at breakfast. This is not the case in Korea. They use the same dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast here is often rice and kim-chi chiggae (spicy kim-chi soup with tofu). There is nothing in the cuisine that is considered "a breakfast food." They do not have labels like this. There are some traditional foods that are for specific holidays. Ddeok-guk, rice cake soup, is a traditional New Years dish, but it is also served everyday.

I wonder where this "all food for every meal" thing came from. I'm sure that it has to do with the fact that Korea for many years has known real hunger. When people are struggling to survive, you don't exclude food because it's just breakfast food. It's interesting to wonder about.
More interesting though, would be why we have separate breakfast foods in the West. Anyone have any ideas?

New Plans In Life

By far, the most annoying aspect of life in Korea has to be my inability to make decisions here. I don't know why it is that I have no objectivity here to use in my decision making. That being said, I've come to a new plan.

Now, for the last several months, I've believed that I would stay here in Korea, and pursue my MA in TEFL (teaching english as a foreign language). This would give me a highly employable degree and some real time teaching experience. However, my time here has shown me one major flaw in this plan. I am not entirely happy teaching English. It's just not where my passion lies. I've tried, and it's just not enough to make me completely happy.

So, at the end of my contract, in April, I will return to the U.S.A. I want to pursue my MA in Slavic Studies at Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio. So, when I return to the U.S. I'll be moving to Columbus, where I will live for a year to establish my residency. I will have to spend the year also getting my Russian skills back up to speed. That is the plan as of now.

Ultimately, I am going to follow my heart on this one. It means that I'll be giving up my life here where I make very good money and do not have to worry about finances. I'll be returning to the life of a poor student. However, I know that I will never regret this choice. In the end, Korea will always be here and they will always be hiring more native speakers of English to teach. So, I could always return if need be.

Games

Today, friday, is my most difficult day of the week. I have all of my classes back-to-back, and I have to teach the very worst class in the school. It's a very trying time of the week for me. So, to pass the time today more quickly, I decided to play a game.

The game today was Scattergories. Remember that game? You have a list of 12 categories and you chose a letter and write down words in those categories that begin with that letter. I made a spinner with the alphabet on it and ran of copies of a list for the students. They really got into playing the game in groups. Each group with the most responses received candy. I gave out a lot of candy today.

Speaking of games, the Rubik's cube is suddenly very popular here in my school. Today each class had about six different kids playing with them. I don't know what the sudden rush of popularity is all about, but they're distracting.

Bo-jee-mah!!!!

Friday night I was sitting outside the Soda Star waiting for a friend. A couple of very drunk men walked by. One was staring at me intensely, really burning into me. I stared back and said "bo-jee-mah!!!" It freaked him out. He kind of jumped back and went on his way. Bo-jee-mah means "stop staring at me."

Later, after my friend arrived, we were talking in the same spot. The drunk guy and his friend came back. I pointed them out to my friend. The guy, when he saw me, covered his eyes with his hands. My friend and I were laughing so hard. I guess he took it to heart, and didn't want to stare at me anymore.

All The Girls Hate Me

I am so sick and tired of looking at my female students during class. They're always applying make-up, lotion, powder... something to their faces. Or, their noses are pressed up against a mirror as they stare at their faces or fix their hair, or mess with pimples. I've had enough of it. I'm cracking down.

Friday, a girl was warned to put away the make-up. I always warn, I'm a softie that way. So, when she was applying powder next, I took away her compact. She wanted to know when she could get it back. I told her never. I took it home and threw it away. I did this at home so that the students wouldn't fish it out of the garbage here at school when they empty the trash.

Today, a girl was using a mirror in class. Now, this girl is always applying make-up or using a mirror, a horrible student. I took the mirror from her desktop and put it in her school bag. I told her not to bring it out again or I'd throw it out the window. Two minutes later, out it came. I calmly walked up to her, took the mirror and threw it out the second story window. CRASH! That's one less mirror I have to deal with. The class loved this. That girl did not.

Am I being harsh? I don't think so. They know the rules. They're breaking them. I give them a warning. It's their choice to not listen. If they won't give me respect and they don't care if they get hit... how about I hit them where it hurts? I know that cosmetics and mirrors will get pricey if you have to continually replace them.

I warned my last class about cosmetics and mirrors. One girl is going to cosmetology school. She told me that her make-up kit was expensive, $200. I told her I'd better not see her playing with it during class, I don't care how much it costs. I hope she understands.

Missed Calls

I don't know why exactly, but I'm receiving many strange messages lately on my Vonage phone, the one with the Michigan phone number. First was a call from Neil at the WalMart hiring center in South Carolina. Apparently, if I go back to the U.S. I could very easily have a job at WalMart. Today I received a message from Jesse wanting to know if it was too late to join the Megabook Club, which she could only join after finishing camp.

Jesse... I think you're too late for the book club.

WalMart... I think I'll have to pass.

Baby's Coming Home

This morning, I booked my flight for my visit home. For those of you who are interested in seeing me, I'll be in Michigan from wednesday, July 25 to wednesday, August 15. The ticket was quite pricey. $2,005.30. Thank God my school will reimburse me for this. I can't wait to see everyone.

Outrage

Today while teaching one of my senior classes, I saw that one of the boys had a big bandage on his arm, running from the elbow down to the wrist. I stopped to ask him what he'd done. He told me, and seemed to be rather proud of himself, that he was drunk and got in an accident on his motorbike. I was shocked. He was proud of himself. It wasn't a big deal. Just a daily thing in his life. My co-teacher wasn't shocked or even really concerned. I yelled at him and told him not to do that again. I let him know that if he were in America that he would be in jail right now. Apparently it is illegal in South Korea, drunk driving, but there are absolutely no police out on the streets, so it goes unenforced. I am so shocked and disgusted by this. It's no wonder that the traffic accident rate is the highest in Korea. When will my kids learn? Getting smashed does not make you an adult or a man.

Saturday Night

On Saturday, I was invited to Brandon's for dinner. I'd never been to his apartment, so it was a nice treat to say the least. First of all, his apartment is very nice. It's in the big high-rise apartment buildings that most Koreans live in. He has separate rooms, not like me, two large rooms, a big kitchen, and balcony, and bathroom. His apartment is also newly renovated, with him being the first new occupant. So, that's nice too.

Brandon also invited an artist couple that he knows. He teaches their children, and became friends with this man and his wife. They travel all over the world working. Listening to their stories were great. His living in Italy, the U.S., Austria, Costa Rica... everywhere. It must be an incredible life.

Dinner was grand. Brandon made a wonderful chicken curry, from scratch. I was incredibly impressed. I can't cook anything.

Talking to the artist couple, they started to think that I don't like Korea. This is my fault. I realise that when I talk about Korea and tell stories, I talk mostly about negative things that have happened to me. Let's face it, it's more interesting to talk about people grabbing me on the street and staring at me then it is to talk about a student that was polite. However, in telling these "interesting" stories, I give the impression that everything here sucks. The truth is that if I hated it here, I wouldn't be here. The money wouldn't be worth my misery. So, I will have to be a bit more careful when I talk to strangers about my Korean experience. I'll need to pepper my stories with the positive aspects too.

On a side note, I learned how to say "stop staring at me" in Korean. I can't wait to use it. It is definitely a useful phrase to know.

Meetings

It's monday morning. That means one thing, Korean teachers' meeting. Like clockwork, the office manager uses a microphone and says something in Korean. You stand up and face the flag. Next thing he says means that you put your hand over your heart and salute the flag for about five seconds. Next word means you're finished. Then he says something else which means "sit down and say hello to your neighbors." After I sit down and say "annyeonghasseyho" to no one in particular, I get out my mp3 player and start listening to music and chatting online.

This is the form that the Korean teachers' meeting takes. Different important teachers from each department stand up one-by-one and report on what is going on. I mean, this is what I assume is going on, since it's in Korean, and not translated for me. There is no discussion of anything, just reporting.

Looking around the office, I think that the other teachers are about as involved as I am. I see the teachers surfing the net, writing email, or trying to stay awake. I'm glad to see that they're as bored as I am. I just view this time as my mp3 and chatting time or my time to cut out things that I've laminated. Oh, the daily grind of the Korean teachers. Every monday... at least it's a nice and easy way to slide into the work week.

Korean Treats

Periodically in school, we recieve treats from parents, former students, or other teachers. Generally the treats take the form of little bottles of "juice" that are very healthy for you... but generally taste like evil. After drinking onion juice, I no longer drink these things. There is a vitamin C drink that I'll drink, but that's it. Sometimes the treats themselves are things that I'm really not crazy for. Some of these include things like traditional rice cakes, which are little colorful balls of goo... they're very pretty, but taste like nothing or simply taste bad. Some of them I like, but some of them are just not for me. When I'm given these little "treats," more often than not, I give them to some passing student. The student is so shocked that I'm giving them these amazing treats. They're so thankful. It's nice. It gets rid of the "treats" for me, and gives the students a nice little lift to their day.

Gross

Oh my God, I just witnessed the most disgusting thing ever. I was teaching a freshman class, supposedly one of the smart classes. I looked up and one boy student was biting the nails of another boy student. Yes, he was clipping his nails for him with his mouth. They did it so nonchalantly. I just stood there, stunned, and let them know how disgusting that was. The younger kids here really lack basic manners and don't understand how to behave. By the way, I was not over-reacting. Mr. Yoo was also disgusted by the whole thing.

What Does A Korean Picnic Look Like?

Yesterday, wednesday, the seniors in my school, myself included, went on a picnic to Nami island. The island is over 2 hours away. It's a small island in a river somewhere in the neighboring provence. It is just a 5 minute ferry ride away. The island is a bit odd. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Part of it looks like the folk village. Part of it is a big sculpture park. The other part is just strange. Apparently it is a very popular destination for young people in love and honeymooners. Here are some shots of my students and me enjoying the day.Here are all of the classes lined up at the school getting ready to go on the bus.This was on the ferry to the island. The girls facing the camera tells me that she loves me and that I'm cute... everyday. She works at the local fast food joint in town. She's very sweet, but not a good student, just like most of my kids.

On the island there was an osterich wandering around. The people were just coming up to it and running away from it when it got too close. They were tormenting it. Now, I've always been told, and seen on t.v., that osteriches are not very nice animals. So, I was just waiting for someone to get bit. Later in the day I saw the osterich run through the main area... followed by a gang of children chasing it with rolled up posters as weapons. Crazy kids. On the way out of the park, I saw a kid with an osterich feather. I think the osterich lost.

They train the trees to look like this. Strange.This is not a space ship. It's actually a honeymoon cabin on the river. Anyway, it may blast off, so stand back.

Okay, on the bus ride back, the t.v. in the front was converted to a karaoke machine. Oh my God. It was so loud! There were flashing disco lights, and the microphone had so much reverb. It was a bit torturous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVho0scjE8A

That was my day out with the seniors. It was a nice day to be outside and walking around. Of course, like everything else in Korea, it was very strange at the same time.

Vultures

The other day I brought in a roll cake to school for the teachers. I've learned that Koreans love to eat more than anything else in the world. I've also learned that when I go grocery shopping, every few weeks to pick-up something to take to school and share. The teachers love it when I do this, and they really seem to appreciate me more when I'm a team player. Usually I bring in some Korean rice snacks. I buy them on the street. They look like rice-crispie squares, but they are not nearly as sweet. They taste kind of like "sugar smacks" but less sweet. I've also brought in oranges. Well, this day I'd been to a bakery to buy some bread so I bought a roll cake too. The cake is like a jelly roll, but filled with some kind of cream. I don't never, I never had any of it. When I set it down on the conference table in the middle of the teachers' office, the thin, polite, dainty women in the office decended upon the cake as if they were vultures or death row inmates having their last meal. This cake didn't last two minutes before it was gone. It was gone by the time I wrote one quick email. I've never seen a frenzy like it... except for on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week.

Greatness

My co-teacher, the one who confided in me, she and I get along quite well. On the day that she confided in me and we really had a serious talk together, we went to lunch, as usual. While eating lunch, she told me "You are a great person... " I felt so touched and special, then she continued. "but you'd be a greater person if you lost weight." Yup. Because inner beauty and personality and strength all depend upon your outside appearance. It didn't really bother me, since I'm used to this kind of back-handed compliment here in Korea... but I just don't quite understand the mental process that occurs when they say something like this. Maybe the answer will be found in my learning Korean. Why do they always have to make an observation and include a physically disparaging comment as well? It's a mystery. Ah Korea... land of the back-handed compliment.

Substitute

Today one of my new co-teachers told me that she is taking a 3-month leave of absence. I knew the reason behind this. She had opened up to me the other week about her son suffering from depression and seeing a psychiatrist. It had really touched me that she had opened up so much about this. To admit to some problems at home in Korea is HUGE beyond belief. But, she also knew that I worked in mental health in the USA, so she was looking for some reassurance. When she told me this morning that she was taking a leave, I told her that her son needs to be her number one priority right now. So, she was glad that I was so cordial about it.

Now, the guy who is going to be her substitute. Where to start? First, he did not introduce himself to me, which I think is just such an incredibly rude thing to do! Second, he is very young. He just graduated last year. He has not taked his English exams yet to become a full fledged teacher. He has substitute taught for 2 months, that's it! He is about to be thrown to the lion's den that is Juksan Comprehensive High School. He has no idea what he's in for! God bless him. Also, from speaking to him a bit, his English is not good. I don't believe that he'd be able to pass his spoken English exam to become a teacher. Maybe I can help him to become more confident with his English. It is going to be an interesting few months.

Happiness In A Bottle

While I was at the air base the other day, Dini (whose husband is retired military) gave me a bag of some things she'd bought for me at the base store. It was two bottles of mop and glow. I was so excited! You simply can't believe how ecstatic I was to get these bottles of mop and glow. So, this weekend, I spent my free time cleaning my apartment and waxing my floors. They are so shiny now! It makes me so happy to have clean and shiny floors now. I know, I'm a total dork... but you live in Korea for a year with yucky looking floors and then see how geeked you get over some mop and glow.

Are You Stupid?

After my stomach problems of last week, I found myself sitting at school and thinking. Now, my plan had been to stay in Korea for several years, and to ultimately get my master's degree while working here. That would take 5-6 years total for me. However, sitting here and thinking it suddenly hit me. Am I stupid or what? I don't know if PHYSICALLY I could stay here for such a long time. I mean, with the periodic painful stomach problems that I have, I'm really concerned that this could develop, over time, into something severe. I'm worried about getting an ulcer or worse. The cuisine of Korea is just too corrosive to my system.

So, I've begun to think about this being my last year in Korea. I will spend my time searching other countries for jobs. The only prerequisite for me now is that the cuisine of my new country is not based exclusively on peppers. I ignored the cuisine issues before coming to Korea and it has proven to be a huge deal. Living in a country and simply not eating the food there really isn't an option in the long run. It's doable on a one week vacation, but not if you're living there full time.

Now, all of this could change. If my stomach somehow makes a surprising turnaround, then I may stay in Korea as planned. But, although the pay here is great, it is not worth my health becoming abyssmal.

More Appreciation

Tuesday, on our day off for Teacher Appreciation Day, I went to Songtan to meet a friend for lunch, and to hang-out before our visit to the air base to enjoy surf & turf. I had such a wonderful day out. I ate some passable Italian food (which is about as good as it gets in Korea) with my friend Jude. We walked around town, had coffee, visited the black markets. It was a very relaxing kind of day.

Later that afternoon, we all gathered outside of the air base. There were quite a few of us. Victoria, Jude, myself, Edith (who has just left Korea), Tjaart (a South African from my town), Anna (an Oregonian), and Beverly (a Canadian from my town). We all went on the base to enjoy steak and lobster. Victoria had two lobsters! Having lived in Main, she really missed lobster. It was my first time having it, and it was ok, but I think I prefer crab more.

Well, the evening was perfect. We all had a great time. I hope we get to all go out again like that in the future.

The next day at school, there was another gift on my desk. This time, instead of a three-pack of glucosamine, I received a 3-bottle box of cooking oil. I'm just glad it wasn't a big box of spam.