As a traveler, no matter where you are or how much you love where you are, you are bound to go through the I HATE THIS PLACE phase. Whether that phase lasts an hour, a day, a week, a month, a few months depends on the person and the place. When I was in Cape Town, that phase lasted for about 5 minutes. I recently entered this phase in Korea and have been raging with full-throttle frustration since. I can't exactly say when it started, or whether or not there was an occurance that set it off, but I just know that I suddenly felt the little frustrating things about being a foreigner in Korea being not so little anymore. I started to become uncharactaristically cynical, judgemental and short-tempered. My co-workers, whom I typically enjoy spending time with, suddenly became objects of my mental judgements and annoyed reactions that I'd mutter under my breath. (One nice thing about living in Korea is that you can easily vocalize those little mean or rude things you are thinking because no one will understand you.) It took me a while to actually realize that I was in this phase, and unfortunately I still am. Don't worry, I'm OK. I'm lucky to have many, many friends here who know exactly what I'm going through and with whom I can rant and rave with complete confidence that they understand. For all of you out there who aren't waygookins (foreigners), allow me to explain why I often think (and sometimes say), "KOREA WHY ARE YOU SO ANNOYINGGGG?!?!?! *%$#* $#^% @!$# *%#@"
1) As a foreigner in Korea, it's safe to say that you are almost constantly on display. Living in one of the most homogenous countries in the world, Koreans are surprised and fascinated when they see foreigners-- especially people at the two extremes of the age spectrum. Children will often point at you and shout, "waygookin!", as if you were an animal at the zoo. Of course it's hard to get angry at children (especially since I'm convinced Korean kids have an extra 'cute' gene in them--they are SO ridiculously adorable). Adults, however, are not adorable. They have a similar habit as their children to make a point of noticing foreigners, but instead they "point" with their eyes. Their expressions often have a hint of accusation, as if to say, "what are you doing here? you don't belong here...this place is for Koreans." The worst is the older folks. I will say on their behalf, however, that the Korea they grew up in was virtually foreigner-less. Only in the past 3-5 years, the number of foreigners living in Korea has sky-rocketed. So, now in their old age, they sort of have a legit excuse to be a little surprised and curious. That being said, I wonder if back in those days they were taught manners. I'm tired of getting 'elevator eyes' (looking someone up and down, head-to-toe and up again) from, like, EVERY person who sees me. The vertical shifty eyes are quick, often not lingering, but they're there. (I mean, have you ever had someone look you up and down and NOT notice?) I can sense the process of thoughts in their heads: 'Huh? Oh! She's a foreigner. Wow, look at her. How interesting. Let me look at her outfit and make judgements about it. MY EYES!!! She's not wearing stockings under her knee-length skirt. Oh, and her neckline goes below her collarbone. SLUT. Oh, look at how she walks. She can walk pretty well for a foreigner. That's amazing.'
Ok ok, maybe I'm taking this a little too far. But with the level of utter dumbfoundedness (is that even a word? My web browser is telling me it's not, but I can't think of another word to use...) with which people look at me, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they're thinking. I can feel their eyes every moment they're watching. People literally stop walking in order to watch me go by. Didn't they learn that it's rude to stare? I'm not a circus animal for them to gawk at. I'm a human being. Don't they understand that? I mean, I understand the curiosity, but it's one think to look, another to gawk. Now that its summertime, I have found some solace in my sunglasses. Without my eyes visible, I am often mistaken for a Korean at first since my dark hair and short height match most Korean women (though the size of my chest or backside do not). I notice when I'm riding my bike or walking down the street while wearing my sunglasses, I don't receive lingering stares. It's so very nice.
When Valery and I are together especially, we receive many stares. Hardcore stares. People will stare at us as we walk toward them. We glare right back at them to challenge them, telepathically saying "what are YOU looking at?!". Often times, staring as we walk by isn't enough. They will stop walking and turn around to continue watching us as we walk away. Ugh. Really?!
This is something you sort of get used to after a few months here, but it doesn't really make it any more bearable. Most of the time, you tolerate it. Sometimes, like now for me, it infuriates you. I try not to think about it. I often find myself now avoiding eye contact with people. Which is so not me. BUT, staying true to form, I look for the positives in a negative situation. I've always thought of myself to be a confident person, but the demeaning looks I receive have done some damage to that. After a while I deciding I wasn't going to let that ruin me. So, I have adapted a new mindset. The idea is, people are going to stare at me regardless- I might as well do what I want. So now, no more itchy stockings after work. More experiments with different clothing styles (hats, layering, funky patterns, etc). More jamming to my iPod on the subway and bus. More tight-fitting jeans that show off my curves. I have to say, It is pretty liberating, so I guess it's blessing in disguise.
2) Stripper heels. I'm not sure why this bothers me so much, but Korean women wear HUGE high heels. Not just when they're going out for an evening outing. All the time, everyone. I find myself staring in disbelief at these 5, maybe even 6" heels on women whose jobs involve standing. Hairdressers, store clerks, etc. How do their feet not killing after 5 minutes in those shoes? The reason I call them stripper heels is because at home, the only women who wear heels that high are strippers (or women who want the same kind of attention as strippers get). Plus, when matched with mini-skirts (as they so often are) and Korean womens' beautiful, long legs, Korean women dressed like that look to me indecent. The worst part is that 80% of the women in these heels can't even walk properly in them. This was a sight I saw often at home, especially at night out in da clubs: women just shuffling their way from here to there, taking tiny steps because they can't straighten their knees all the way because their heels are too high. It's pathetic. Here's a little tip for choosing shoes: if you can't walk in them, don't wear them. Duuurrrr! Just today, when walking to the park, we passed a girl who was walking very awkwardly; it looked like she may have been injured somehow or maybe even slightly handicapped. On her feet were 3-inch stiletto-style heels. I couldn't believe it.
Don't have much of a positive light to shine on this matter, except that it makes me feel better about myself when I'm comfortably walking around in my flats while the Koreans stumble along in their monster heels. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I was trying to catch the attention of a Korean male, but I'm not. So, that's that.
3) As much as I'd like to think of myself as wordly and adventurous, I really don't like most Korean food. The reason being, that the majority of Korean food is spicy or exotic (to me) seafood. Eel, octopus, and squid are ingredients in regular meals- even school lunches. Now, when I say spicy, I'm not talking about food with a little kick that puts the cherry on top of a delectable bite. No, I'm talking about EVERYTHING- vegetables, meat, fish, and soup, all absolutely drowning in chili pepper paste. You can't get away from it. Koreans really like to eat things that are "good for your health", which explains why they love the chili pepper. However, it is literally the only spice they use. Salty foods are "bad for your health", so at school lunch, there is rarely a salty item. My rule of thumb for any item I see on the menu is- if it's red, it's spicy. This means I am usually left to choking down the spicy food (as my nose starts running--and its rude to blow your nose at the table in Korea), or resorting to eating solely rice for my meal. This explains why I gained a good 5 pounds since I've been here-- I've just been eating a lot of white rice! Nowadays, my spicy tolerance has increased just a bit, so I can enjoy some of the spicy vegetables, especially if they are cold. A cold vegetable salad of cucumbers and scallions is my favorite. That, or very thinly sliced kimchi (so I can eat only a little at a time). Granted, I do have to accompany any bite of these with a heap of rice, but hey...at least I'm improving!
On that note, we move on to point # 3.5.) Korea is a culture of food. So, it goes without saying, that as someone who doesn't like a lot of Korean food, it can be pretty frustrating. In Korea, when someone offers you food, you eat it. Even if it's not specifically offered to you, you eat it. Basically, if there is food in the same vicinity as you, you are expected to eat it. I went along with this at the beginning as much as I could. Even now, when I return to the office after a class and there is a rice cake (NOT delicious) on the desk for me, I kindly thank whoever put it there and put it in my purse "for later". The minute I get home, I throw it away or offer it to a student I see on my way out of work. Or there is ginger juice (yes, that exists. And it tastes and looks like dirt) on my desk. I take a sip and when no one is looking, I dump the rest in the water fountain and throw it away as if I finished it. For the sake of my taste buds and sometimes my health, however, I am put in an awkward situation where it's either eat something you don't want or refuse (and subsequently be considered rude). Now that I've started a mini-diet to shed the little "rice baby" that has been growing in me, this has become a bit more of a problem.
Other teachers or parents will leave some food in the office for people to share. Often, it is something sweet and fatty like birthday cake, nasty and Korean like rice cakes, or even something I like to eat like kimbap or fruit. When the food arrives (or when someone notices it), they go and eat it. I sometimes choose not to eat it because, well, I don't feel like it. A normal sentiment in America, where people choosing not to eat something is a personal decision. But in Korea, OY! Exhibit A. When I arrived at school this morning, there were grapes in the office. I like grapes, in fact they are good for me while I diet, but I had just finished scarfing down my breakfast, so I didn't eat any. The following is NOT a dramatization.
Colleague 1, the minute I sit at my desk: "Melissa, are you busy?"
"No, not really."
"Have some grapes."
(in my head) THANK YOU I SEE THEM I'LL EAT THEM IF I WANT THEM.
"No, thanks."
"Why?"
"Um, well, I just had breakfast, so I don't feel like eating anything right now."
*Confused, a bit offended look on colleagues face.*
30 minutes later, colleague #2: "Melissa! Have some grapes!!!"
"No, thanks. I don't want any right now."
"Don't you like grapes?"
(in head) ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?
"I do, I'll just have some later."
*Same, confused, offended expression*
You might be thinking, 'Melissa, just eat the damn grapes.' But this is a mild example, because it's often something I just don't enjoy eating. This happens on a regular basis, especially at meals. Exhibit B: Lunchtime. I always put kimchi (or any other spicy item) on my tray because if I don't people notice and ask me why I didn't take any kimchi (or other spicy item). I usually eat a bite or two, just so I don't feel totally bad about wasting it, but the rest of it I usually throw away. (And the environmental enthusiast in me squirms.) However, if someone notices that I'm not eating my kimchi, or spicy fish, or octopus, etc, they say, "Melissa, why aren't you eating your [kimchi]? Oh, maybe its too spicy for you. Foreigners don't like spicy food." So, now I represent ALL foreigners? Everyone. Everywhere. Did they already forget that the previous native English teacher, who was originally from Mexico, loved spicy food?! or, "Melissa, you don't like those (whole) little fishes on a pile on your plate? They are so delicious! It's such a great feeling when their little eyes bore into your soul while you pinch them with your chosticks. Try!" OK FINE I'LL EAT THE KIMCHI!!!
OK, that may have been a dramatization.
4) Koreans are shallow. I've mentioned this in previous posts, but the truth of this statement has become clearer and clearer the longer I've been here. So much in this society is based on looks and money. Did you know that when you send a resume to a company, you must send along your picture as well? I had to do the same thing when I applied to this job. Koreans base their search for a life parter on money. I didn't think this concept was so pervasive until after a few conversations with my co-workers. Nam teacher, the youngest one and the one who I'm closest with, is 29 and still single. Her love life often becomes the topic of conversation when we are out. I (half-jokingly) mentioned that I knew a very tall, handsome, sexy Korean man who dances (really, really good) salsa where I take lessons. The minute they heard 'dancer', though, they immediately said "Nooooo, no artists. Korean mothers do not like that. Samsung man. Yes! Samsung man is better! Very rich. No artists, not rich." Now, I know this is not just a Korean concept. But I consider these women my friends, and sometimes I forgot that they are Korean. These sensible, smart, modern women actually think like that? It reminded me how this way of thinking really does permeate into most people's perspectives. This part of Korean culture doesn't influence me as much as the previous ones, but it definitely adds to my frustration.
I can understand and appreciate the social importance of the Korean identity, food, and good looks have in this country. However, it's totally differnt thing to be in it. This is a lesson I've learned while I've been here. As a passionate anthropology major, I always prided myself in being able to easily accept and understand other societies' paradigms. It never occured to me, though, how different it is to be in that society. From the outside, I understand a lot about why things are the way there are. Its just difficult to be part of it. It doesn't feel right. It pulls me away from my comfort zone, my beliefs, what makes me me. Does that make me stubborn, ignorant, unadaptable? Deep down, am I as unaccepting and close-minded as I believe many Americans to be? This is the intellectual and personal struggle I'm enduring at the moment. What does it mean to be an American, a person for that matter, living in another country? Is it really possible to stick to my beliefs all the while conforming with the ones around me in order to fit in and not offend people? Is my defiance against some Korean customs the action of a close-minded traveler or of a strong, individual?
I don't want this entire entry to be a downer or intellectual crunch time. So, here are some quick, interesting updates from my everyday life :)
Val spent the month of June in Cameroon (hey that rhymes!), visiting his family. It was really hard being far away from him again, but at least this time it was just a month. He arrives back in Korea on Wednesday (the 29). I can't wait for him to be back! His presence always helps to sooth my frustrations. When he's around, everything is OK. Things are going great with us.
Also, I booked my big vacation. Blythe, Michelle, and I are going to Malaysia and Thailand for 10 days in August. WOOOOO! We leave August 10th. We'll spend 2.5 days in Kuala Lampur (Malaysia), 3 days in Phuket (Thailand), and 5 days in Bangkok.
Many of you have been asking me about when I'm coming home, and/or if I'm staying another year here after my contract ends October 1st. This is a quite a difficult decision for me, seeing as life in Korea is clearly very frustrating at times, though my friends are awesome, and of course the love of my life is here and will be for another couple years. I will announce my decision as soon as I make it. If I do decide to renew my contract, I'll be in the states for the entire month of October, and then will return to Korea to start work again in November. If I don't renew, I'll definitely be stateside for some time. What comes next is still in the works--I've got some (exciting) ideas floating around in my head, but aren't really ready to share them yet. Again, as soon as I I know, you'll know!
Thanks for reading, folks.
Bisous,
Mel
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 9, 2011
A Long Weekend of Pancakes & Festivals
I love long weekends. And springtime. Andfestivals. And friends. Luckily for me, the past few days have encompassed all of these! This week I have Monday and Tuesday off (5/8 and 5/9) for Buddha's Birthday, plus I had last Thursday off for another public holiday, Children's Day. Luckily, the weather has been very accommodating to our plans for these extra days of playtime!
UPDATE: Pics are now up on Facebook. For those of you who are not on Facebook, you can see the pics here:
Thursday, Blythe hosted a Pancake Party, with the help of my enormous bag of pancake mix I purchased from Costco way back when. Everybody hadthe day off, so we gathered at Blythe's and ate our hearts out, played games, got to know some new people while I flipped the pancakes. It was a beautiful day, so once everyone had finished their pancakes, eggs, and fruit we all headed to Manseok Park near Blythe's apartment to enjoy the beautiful weather we had that day. The group of 20-ish waygookins (foreigners) made quite a spectacle walking through the park, but we found a grassy spot to lay down our blankets and bask in the beautiful sunshine. It was such a great day of new friends, relaxation, and sun. Good times!
Pancake Party attendees all piled onto Blythe's bed. I'm way in the back corner.
Friday evening, Blythe, Michelle, and our new chingu (friend) Gina, who is Blythe's friend from Sacremento now teachingin Suwon also, decided to try out a new meal for dinner in nearby Hwaseo. After a recommendation from a friend, we decided we couldn't wait any longer to try these Vietnamese shabu-shabu spring rolls. Shabu-shabu is the mongolian stew with the very thinly sliced meat and veggies that you cook at the table in a delicious broth. At this restaurant, we made the shabu-shabu, then placed the cooked meat and veggies inrice paper and made our own spring rolls with ingredients like carrots, cucumbers, radish, sprouts, and lettuce. The waitress, recognizing our inexperience in making the spring rolls, showed us how to do it and even fed her example-roll to us! Needless to say, it was DELICIOUS. By far one of the best meals I've had in Korea so far/coolest things I've done in Korea. I will definitely be going back soon.
Vietnamese Spring Roll pre-rolled. Mashisoyo! =)
That brings me to the Buddhist Lantern Festival andParade in Insadong on Saturday, also on the top of my list of coolest things I've done in Korea. The festival was held at the Jogyesa Temple, one of the many Buddhist Temples in Seoul. We walked along lantern-lined streets from the subway station to the temple. Once we arrived we saw that a roof had been created by lanterns that stretched across the entire grounds of the temple. The temple was decorated on the inside as well, and when you looked in you could see people praying. It started getting dark, so we went to stake out a spot for the parade. We were able to find an AWESOME spot to watch the incredible, hand-made lanterns parade by us. The parade itself was very festive, with musicians, colorful Korean traditional clothing, and people and lanterns by the thousands. What an incredible experience I was able to have there.
Street lined with laterns
Canopy of lanterns outside the temple
My festival-ing continued the following day when Gina & I checked out the Street Arts Festival in Ansan, a city about 40 minutes of Suwon. Once again the weather accommodated our day outdoors, spreading sunshine across a clear blue sky. It was the official initiation of sandal and skirt (without leggings under) season for me! Gina & I perused the booths of hand-made jewelry and clothing and enjoyed a few clowning/miming/mask performances at the festival. We returned to Suwon in the early evening each with some new jewelry and unique dresses from Turkish vendors at the festival. Fantastic! Once we were back in Suwon, the day was not over for me as I went home to quickly change into pants and was en-route again, this time to Itaewon (the foreigner district of Seoul). I took the hour + 10min journey from Suwon (bus from my apartment to a subway stop in the outskirts of Seoul where I can catch Line 4, which goes straight towards Seoul, a transfer to line 6 to Itaewon) to meet Val & his friends at a bar after a Cameroonian Society meeting. After making my rounds and saying hi to the others there, Val and 5 of his friends and I decided to go dancing in Hongdae, a university area about 20 min away by subway. We ended up going to the same place I went for New Year's Eve, and it was just how I remembered it-- crowded and bad music. Oh well, it was fun to spend a night with my "boys". We got home around 2:00am and crashed.
Monday was spent at Suwon Station with Blythe and Michelle. We got lunch at our favorite Indian/Turkish food place, then took advantage of the rainy day and went to the movies. The only English movie that had showings around the time we were there was Source Code, an action movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal (hey, I spelled his name right the first time!). It was OK. The ending kind of sucked. After the movie we got coffee at a little cafe nearby- Cafe Soho. After warming up a bit I braved the rain to get to the bus stop and went home. Monday evening and all day Tuesday were spent at home, relaxing with Val. Aaaah. Now that's what vacation is all about.
That's enough for you to digest for now. More to come!
Love,
Mel
UPDATE: Pics are now up on Facebook. For those of you who are not on Facebook, you can see the pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.577878385216.2082511.29503208&l=12ad3ff53e
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Adult in the Room
안영! (Anyeong = Hi!)
It was time for a makeover. You likey?
The past few weeks have been super busy for me. Work has been wearing me out now that I’m teaching a conversation class in the morning (8:05-8:50) Mon-Thursday, and also teaching an advanced speaking class on Monday and advanced essay class on Thursdays after school. The students’ behavior has gotten a little worse now that their finally settled into the school year routine, plus midterms are coming up (already) in two weeks. The good news for me is, though, that while the students are preparing for midterms next week, I won’t be teaching them at all. Not even my extra classes. Then of course the following week will be exam week so I won’t be teaching then either. So, I have a 2 week break from teaching. I still have to come into work every day, but this will give me plenty of time to relax and to plan for the rest of the year. I’m also excited to have time to catch up on all my T.V. shows since the internet’s been down in my apartment. Gotta find out if Kasia makes it through next panel on Top Model. Will House and Cuddy (spelling?) get back together? What mystery did Castle and Beckett solve last week? What ridiculousness did the Walkers get themselves into this time? What kind of sick criminal did Stabler, Benson & co catch this time? Such questions have been burning in my brain for the past few weeks.
Moving on to more important matters...
I think my teaching has improved. This week I have my open class, which means that the VP and other English teachers from the school come to my class and evaluate my teaching. I am nervous, but I did a test-run earlier this week and it went well. When I mentioned to my co-teachers that I was nervous, they all assured me that I shouldn’t be because my teaching and lessons are always great. It feels good to know that people who have actually studied to be teachers and have a lot of experience think that I can hold my own. I’m relieved about the timing of my open class also—it will be over with by my 2-week “break” so I won’t be fretting over it for all of that time.
The more situations I encounter here the more I learn about the Korean teaching, student, and school culture. I don’t know why I’m still surprised by my students’ extremely low self-esteem level, but 2 weeks ago I had an interesting experience. After none (out of 40) of my 8th grade students raised their hand to answer a simple question (that I know they all knew the answer to already), Cho Teacher asked me over lunch not to ask students to raise their hands for answers. It is better, she said, to ask the class as a whole and have them shout out answers to me. When I inquired why, she said that the smarter students are very shy to raise their hand and answer correctly because if they do, they will get beat up in the hallway by the other students who are jealous. I mean, that happened when I was in middle school and high school but the teachers didn’t give in to that! Wouldn’t you think that the teachers would want to find a way to prevent the beatings instead of not wanting students to work to their highest potential in class? I was so frustrated and confused when she said that to me.
In comparing the middle and high schools I attended and Korean schools, another big difference here is that there is no hallway monitoring. Teachers do not stand in the hallways to be sure that things like that don’t happen. So, as you can imagine, walking through the hallway is an adventure. Koreans in general do not watch where they are going. This fact is very clear anytime you walk on the street, in the subway station, etc. Getting bumped into or zig-zagging/dodging your way towards to subway or to the crosswalk are daily occurrences. So, as Koreans, Sannam Middle School students do not seem aware of anyone else besides the people they are talking to when they are in the hallway. It is very frustrating. This is terrifying when you’re carrying your laptop, full coffee mug, and papers in the hallway en route to your classroom and are dodging students who are sprinting, chasing each other down the hallway, playfully (or not so playfully) shoving each other, flying out of their classrooms into the hallway, shouting, running up and down the stairs, etc. I never felt so much like an “old” adult until I realized how much energy these “kids” have.
I also never realized how much being the adult in the room (literally) has revealed my ability to be stern, aggressive, and sooo not doubtful of myself. If you doubt yourself often or have self-esteem issues, put yourself in front of 40 foreign teenagers in a classroom and be in charge. Your inner adult will really come through. Today in my class, while playing a game that involves a little bit of running, two 6th grade boys got into a fist fight. While running to their tables to dictate a sentence to teammates, Boy A shoved Boy B, who threw a punch in response. Soon Boy B was punching Boy A in the head and shoulders and Boy A was shoving him back in defense. Before I knew it I was grabbing Boy B by the waist (he was taller than me) and pulling him away from Boy A. He got away so I grabbed him again and shoved him hard towards his chair, yelling angrily and sternly (never heard myself so angry before) SIT DOWN IN YOUR SEAT RIGHT NOW. He paused as if he was going to, then lunged towards Boy A again. This time I grabbed his vest but it slipped out of my hands. I then wrapped both hands firmly around his wrist while (FINALLY) my co-teacher came over and the two of us managed to ‘herd’ the fight to the hallway where they calmed down and my co-t gave them a talking-to. That’s all she did, I would have liked a harsher punishment, especially since they completely ignored me (even when I was physically stopping them) and completely disrupted the class. Huff. Raging hormones. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be the one to break up a fight of 2 teenage boys. Like I said—the role of “adult in the room” really gets to ya.
Outside of work, life is good. I’m meeting more and more new people with every outing and seeing new things. Last weekend we had beautiful spring weather (close to 70 degrees). Friday night I had dinner and drinks with Nam Teacher and Hyung Kyung (a new teacher at the school who co-teaches with me). Saturday, after Mexican food and Coldstone in Itaewon, I went to Myeongdong in Seoul with Michelle, Blythe, and new friends Gina and Jamie. Myeongdong is a popular shopping area near center Seoul where you can find stores like Forever 21 and H&M. The Forever 21 there was 4 stories. 4 stories of cheap, cute, stylish heaven. 3 hours shopping and less than $150 later, I walked out of there with 8 new work-appropriate spring wardrobe items. We then headed to H&M where I was able to find 2 pairs of jeans. Woooowoo! I hadn’t been shopping since I got here. It was such a fun girls’ afternoon.
I'll stop there. More to come in the next 2 weeks when I'll be bored at work!
Hope you are all doing well. I miss my homies. Don't forget to update me on your lives!
Love,
Melissa
It was time for a makeover. You likey?
The past few weeks have been super busy for me. Work has been wearing me out now that I’m teaching a conversation class in the morning (8:05-8:50) Mon-Thursday, and also teaching an advanced speaking class on Monday and advanced essay class on Thursdays after school. The students’ behavior has gotten a little worse now that their finally settled into the school year routine, plus midterms are coming up (already) in two weeks. The good news for me is, though, that while the students are preparing for midterms next week, I won’t be teaching them at all. Not even my extra classes. Then of course the following week will be exam week so I won’t be teaching then either. So, I have a 2 week break from teaching. I still have to come into work every day, but this will give me plenty of time to relax and to plan for the rest of the year. I’m also excited to have time to catch up on all my T.V. shows since the internet’s been down in my apartment. Gotta find out if Kasia makes it through next panel on Top Model. Will House and Cuddy (spelling?) get back together? What mystery did Castle and Beckett solve last week? What ridiculousness did the Walkers get themselves into this time? What kind of sick criminal did Stabler, Benson & co catch this time? Such questions have been burning in my brain for the past few weeks.
Moving on to more important matters...
I think my teaching has improved. This week I have my open class, which means that the VP and other English teachers from the school come to my class and evaluate my teaching. I am nervous, but I did a test-run earlier this week and it went well. When I mentioned to my co-teachers that I was nervous, they all assured me that I shouldn’t be because my teaching and lessons are always great. It feels good to know that people who have actually studied to be teachers and have a lot of experience think that I can hold my own. I’m relieved about the timing of my open class also—it will be over with by my 2-week “break” so I won’t be fretting over it for all of that time.
The more situations I encounter here the more I learn about the Korean teaching, student, and school culture. I don’t know why I’m still surprised by my students’ extremely low self-esteem level, but 2 weeks ago I had an interesting experience. After none (out of 40) of my 8th grade students raised their hand to answer a simple question (that I know they all knew the answer to already), Cho Teacher asked me over lunch not to ask students to raise their hands for answers. It is better, she said, to ask the class as a whole and have them shout out answers to me. When I inquired why, she said that the smarter students are very shy to raise their hand and answer correctly because if they do, they will get beat up in the hallway by the other students who are jealous. I mean, that happened when I was in middle school and high school but the teachers didn’t give in to that! Wouldn’t you think that the teachers would want to find a way to prevent the beatings instead of not wanting students to work to their highest potential in class? I was so frustrated and confused when she said that to me.
In comparing the middle and high schools I attended and Korean schools, another big difference here is that there is no hallway monitoring. Teachers do not stand in the hallways to be sure that things like that don’t happen. So, as you can imagine, walking through the hallway is an adventure. Koreans in general do not watch where they are going. This fact is very clear anytime you walk on the street, in the subway station, etc. Getting bumped into or zig-zagging/dodging your way towards to subway or to the crosswalk are daily occurrences. So, as Koreans, Sannam Middle School students do not seem aware of anyone else besides the people they are talking to when they are in the hallway. It is very frustrating. This is terrifying when you’re carrying your laptop, full coffee mug, and papers in the hallway en route to your classroom and are dodging students who are sprinting, chasing each other down the hallway, playfully (or not so playfully) shoving each other, flying out of their classrooms into the hallway, shouting, running up and down the stairs, etc. I never felt so much like an “old” adult until I realized how much energy these “kids” have.
I also never realized how much being the adult in the room (literally) has revealed my ability to be stern, aggressive, and sooo not doubtful of myself. If you doubt yourself often or have self-esteem issues, put yourself in front of 40 foreign teenagers in a classroom and be in charge. Your inner adult will really come through. Today in my class, while playing a game that involves a little bit of running, two 6th grade boys got into a fist fight. While running to their tables to dictate a sentence to teammates, Boy A shoved Boy B, who threw a punch in response. Soon Boy B was punching Boy A in the head and shoulders and Boy A was shoving him back in defense. Before I knew it I was grabbing Boy B by the waist (he was taller than me) and pulling him away from Boy A. He got away so I grabbed him again and shoved him hard towards his chair, yelling angrily and sternly (never heard myself so angry before) SIT DOWN IN YOUR SEAT RIGHT NOW. He paused as if he was going to, then lunged towards Boy A again. This time I grabbed his vest but it slipped out of my hands. I then wrapped both hands firmly around his wrist while (FINALLY) my co-teacher came over and the two of us managed to ‘herd’ the fight to the hallway where they calmed down and my co-t gave them a talking-to. That’s all she did, I would have liked a harsher punishment, especially since they completely ignored me (even when I was physically stopping them) and completely disrupted the class. Huff. Raging hormones. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be the one to break up a fight of 2 teenage boys. Like I said—the role of “adult in the room” really gets to ya.
Outside of work, life is good. I’m meeting more and more new people with every outing and seeing new things. Last weekend we had beautiful spring weather (close to 70 degrees). Friday night I had dinner and drinks with Nam Teacher and Hyung Kyung (a new teacher at the school who co-teaches with me). Saturday, after Mexican food and Coldstone in Itaewon, I went to Myeongdong in Seoul with Michelle, Blythe, and new friends Gina and Jamie. Myeongdong is a popular shopping area near center Seoul where you can find stores like Forever 21 and H&M. The Forever 21 there was 4 stories. 4 stories of cheap, cute, stylish heaven. 3 hours shopping and less than $150 later, I walked out of there with 8 new work-appropriate spring wardrobe items. We then headed to H&M where I was able to find 2 pairs of jeans. Woooowoo! I hadn’t been shopping since I got here. It was such a fun girls’ afternoon.
I'll stop there. More to come in the next 2 weeks when I'll be bored at work!
Hope you are all doing well. I miss my homies. Don't forget to update me on your lives!
Love,
Melissa
Friday, April 1, 2011
New School Year
Wow, it's been exactly a month since I blogged last. As you might have guessed, my lack of blogging recently is due to school starting up again and my work schedule making me very busy! So I’ll cover all the basics to catch up my loyal blog readers (and random stumblers-upon).
This year is incredibly busy. On average I teach 4 classes a day. This week I started the after-school classes (advanced speaking on Monday and advanced essay writing on Thursday) and starting next week, I will be teaching a conversation class every morning before classes start. Unlike last year, my 6th grade classes are divided by level. Hallelujah! This makes planning my lessons much more efficient and teaching them even more so. My higher-level students are wonderful and so attentive in class. They willingly participate and they laugh at my jokes. Finally! Just what I imagined teaching would be like. So, those classes are a treat. As for the lower-level classes, they are more like my classes last year- very talkative, un-attentive and frankly, rude. I am often frustrated after those classes, however since I know they are lower level I can adjust my lesson plans to their level. I think I am partially to blame for their un-attentiveness. Perhaps I need some more work on making more interactive, interesting lesson plans. I do what I can. After every class I evaluate how it went and try to modify my lesson plan. Already this week I’ve changed my lesson plan a lot! My 8th graders in class are somewhere in-between the two. They are more eager to interact with me as they come into class but as soon as class begins they are very shy to participate. Also, the 8th graders are not divided by level, so teaching those classes are difficult for me. With the regular teaching hours and the extra classes, my days fly by and I’m very tired by the end of it. Overall, I am enjoying this year more than last year. I like that I could establish my own classroom setting instead of stepping into someone else’s and trying to do my own thing. I think this has helped the students feel more comfortable with me. Most days, two 6th grade girls, Annie and Leah, come see me during lunch. Sometimes they want help with their homework, sometimes they want me to teach them French, other times they just want to chat. Sometimes they bring their friends to come hang in the English room with me. It feels nice to have fans hahaha. They are very sweet girls and I enjoy their visits! Now that I can read Korean, I’m also starting to actually remember students’ names when they tell me hahaha.
Next week I am teaching an April Fool’s Day lesson. I’m giving my students a fake test and telling them it’s super important for their grades. The test is totally bogus—multiple questions with no right answers, ridiculously hard questions, etc. At the bottom of the page it says “this test is a joke!” I’m telling them they must read the whole test before they start taking it, that way they’ll see that it’s a joke before they get too freaked out! The week I’m teaching them text message slang, then the next week I have to teach my open class. An open class is when other native teachers come watch me teach and evaluate me. I’m really nervous and need to start planning for it soon. I think it will be really nerve-wracking, but I chose my best class to be the one I teach for the open class. I’ll be glad when it’s over.
A few weeks ago, I started taking salsa lessons at this salsa studio in Suwon called Turn. After meeting the owner of the studio, Rex, at The Big Chill (foreigner bar in Suwon I frequent) and spontaneously salsa dancing with him, I found out that they offer lessons on Wednesdays for only 7,000 won (7 bucks) a week. Glad to finally find a dance class opportunity in Suwon, I started going to the next week. Tonight will be my 4th week. The first two weeks I was in the beginner class, but by the 3rd week Rex told me that I should join his intermediate class, that happens simultaneously. Everyone at Turn is very friendly and most of the people who go there speak English (including Rex and the other teacher Anu Pmark who is from Thailand). I already feel like part of the Turn family even after just a couple of weeks! They also have free dance/practice nights every day. I usually try to go on Sundays.
Weekends have been fun. My birthday was very special- it made me realize how many friends I have here. I had dinner with Val, Blythe, and Michelle, then met some friends at The Big Chill. The next day was the Saint Patrick’s Day Festival (organized by the Irish Association of Korea? Yup, that exists) in Seoul. I went with friends there and just hung out and listened to a U2 cover band and watched my friends day drink. The festival was OK, but I did get to meet some new people and then have a DELICIOUS Mediterranean dinner at Petra, the middle-eastern restaurant in Noksapyeong. Noksapyeong is one subway stop from Itaewon, the foreigner district in Seoul. I ordered the lamb couscous. YUMMY IN MA TUMMY. We went back to Noksaypeong the next weekend for Vietnamese food, which was delicious also. I ordered pho, a noodle, meat, and veggie soup in a deliciously spiced broth.
Yesterday I went to Madeline, a hair salon chain with locations all over the place, to get a major haircut. Even though my Korean is pretty much non-existent, I figured I would be able to communicate to them that I just wanted it cut—no style change or anything. I was wrong. When I got there the woman gave me a book with pictures of women’s hairstyles (all modeled on Korean women, of course) and wanted me to choose one. I tried to tell her charades-style that none of these would work on my hair since it’s naturally curly, but to no avail. So I eventually put my faith in her and let her choose one for me. She cut it uber short and I sort of look like Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men. Ha. Oh well.
Well, that’s all there is to report, really. Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Melissa Teach-a
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Marching into March
Hello all,
Welcome to March! Never has time flown this fast in my entire life. The title of this entry is meant to be a) clever and b) to express the attitude I am trying to hold as I enter yet another month here. The way I think about it, marching usually requires an element of pride, endurance, and perhaps some resistence too. In other words, I am trying to ease my way into March with a steady consistency and strength. The month March means a lot of things this year. First of all, in just over 2 weeks I will reach my 6-month point of being here. Also, March is when the new school year begins here in Korea, so as I get a rush of new students (and almost twice as many students this year, might I add), I am trying not to panic. Up until a week and a half ago I thought I was just going to be teaching the new 6th graders, but I was informed only through casual mention that I am also teaching half of the 8th grade classes. Um, what? Did anyone bother to tell me that during the 2.5 weeks I sat on my butt at work watching episode after episode of How I Met Your Mother, not feeling guilty because I had already planned 3 weeks of my 6th grade lessons?! So by the time I found out I had a grand total of one day to adjust my already made lesson plans to fit a 8th-grade level, which I'm obviously clueless of. Luckily, today, being the first day of the new school year, my teaching schedule still wasn't set so I have the next 3 days to plan before I start teaching on Monday. I've already planned 5 lessons but I think it would be pointless to continue, considering I need to gage the level of my students before I get too ahead of myself.
Strangly, the last-minute nature of my co-workers and professional environment apparantly doesn't apply to planning for next year. I am already being asked whether or not I will be re-signing my contract to stay another year. Even though I know I have plenty of time to decide (my contract requires that I notify them within 60 days of my contract ending), I'm already starting to feel the pressure. So, in attempt to maintain my marching pace, I am utilising all of my will power to stay calm and recognize how much time I have to decide, and how much things can change within that time frame. It's really hard to look into the future and anticipate big decisions and stay calm at the same time.
After a month of desk-warming and vacation days, the commencement of the school year also means all systems go until mid-July when the next vacation is. Add the 2 weeks of Summer Camp I'll be teaching, the thought of going full speed until August is scary. I really enjoyed my low-key February when I was sent home early 80% of the time, watched lots of TV episodes online, and could join my hagwon friends (my friend who work at private academies and usually work mid afternoon-late evening) at the bars on weeknights. But alas, that is not why I came here. Gotta suck it up for real life!
Lastly, and on a lighter note, March is my birthday month! I can't really say that I'm 'marching' towards the 18th (dubbed "hangover day" by my twin sister & I because we always wanted our birthday to be on a holiday and our birthday conveniently falls the day after the Irish celebration never without green beer, shot-glass necklaces and anonymous kisses from/to people claiming the day as their own). As much as I've tried, I've never been one of those people who can play it cool on their birthday. I manage to slip the information to my friends or whoever I talk to whenever possible that my birthday is coming up. What can I say, I like my birthday. Call it childish or selfish, but I like people to know that its my birthday. As my Mom would say, "so sue me." Happy almost birthday to me!
Speaking of my lovely February, Val and I embraced our overlapping vacations and took an impromptu trip to Busan, a city in the south of the country, right on the ocean. It's a famous vacation spot in the summertime because of its beaches and relaxed atmosphere. Due to teaching obligations we were only in Busan for 36 hours, but it was totally worth it. We took the KTX train there, the fastest, nicest, and newest train in Korea. I wish I could travel on trains more often. It was so comfortable and quiet. The train ride took about 2.5 hours. We arrived in Busan at 8pm Thursday and got a taxi to our hotel on Gwangalli beach. From our hotel room we could see the famous Gwangan bride, the longest bridge in Korea. It is lit up beautifully at night, as is the city of Busan. The minute I stepped off the train I felt more relaxed. The air in Busan just smells and feels cleaner. The buildings are shorter so you can see more of the sky and the mountains (during the day). Everyone seemed to be less in a hurry. In the 36 hours I was there, I saw signs for two art galleries, a music school, AND a dance school. I haven't seen ANY of that in Suwon. People stared less at me/us in Busan. I admit, my paradise perception of Busan may have been a little skewed by the fact that it was easily 10 degrees warmer down there (60-65 degrees, I would guess), we were on the beach and on vacation. But I remember the feeling I had when I stepped out of the train station when we first arrived- I could just feel that I could be happy here. Only hours into our short trip that composed of nothing more than gallavanting on the beach, having ice cream for lunch (a true Waldman vacation tradition), eating the best (and cheapest) Western style food I have ever had in Korea, and visiting the aquarium, I declared that I would seriously consider moving to Busan. We even asked a few foreigners we ran into if they lived there and how they liked it. I heard nothing but rave reviews. One girl's response to my inquiries about Busan life was, "what is there to complain about? You've got the beach and lots to do in the city." So you never know, maybe next year I'll find a job teaching in Busan instead of Suwon. For now, though, I've still got nearly 7 months in Suwon, and I do believe that is enough time to love this city too. Breathe. There's time.
If you're curious, my pictures from Busan and other happenings here are up on my Facebook page. I've started bringing my camera pretty much everywhere I go in order to properly document my life here, for both your sake and mine!
That's all for now.
Bisous,
Melissa
Welcome to March! Never has time flown this fast in my entire life. The title of this entry is meant to be a) clever and b) to express the attitude I am trying to hold as I enter yet another month here. The way I think about it, marching usually requires an element of pride, endurance, and perhaps some resistence too. In other words, I am trying to ease my way into March with a steady consistency and strength. The month March means a lot of things this year. First of all, in just over 2 weeks I will reach my 6-month point of being here. Also, March is when the new school year begins here in Korea, so as I get a rush of new students (and almost twice as many students this year, might I add), I am trying not to panic. Up until a week and a half ago I thought I was just going to be teaching the new 6th graders, but I was informed only through casual mention that I am also teaching half of the 8th grade classes. Um, what? Did anyone bother to tell me that during the 2.5 weeks I sat on my butt at work watching episode after episode of How I Met Your Mother, not feeling guilty because I had already planned 3 weeks of my 6th grade lessons?! So by the time I found out I had a grand total of one day to adjust my already made lesson plans to fit a 8th-grade level, which I'm obviously clueless of. Luckily, today, being the first day of the new school year, my teaching schedule still wasn't set so I have the next 3 days to plan before I start teaching on Monday. I've already planned 5 lessons but I think it would be pointless to continue, considering I need to gage the level of my students before I get too ahead of myself.
Strangly, the last-minute nature of my co-workers and professional environment apparantly doesn't apply to planning for next year. I am already being asked whether or not I will be re-signing my contract to stay another year. Even though I know I have plenty of time to decide (my contract requires that I notify them within 60 days of my contract ending), I'm already starting to feel the pressure. So, in attempt to maintain my marching pace, I am utilising all of my will power to stay calm and recognize how much time I have to decide, and how much things can change within that time frame. It's really hard to look into the future and anticipate big decisions and stay calm at the same time.
After a month of desk-warming and vacation days, the commencement of the school year also means all systems go until mid-July when the next vacation is. Add the 2 weeks of Summer Camp I'll be teaching, the thought of going full speed until August is scary. I really enjoyed my low-key February when I was sent home early 80% of the time, watched lots of TV episodes online, and could join my hagwon friends (my friend who work at private academies and usually work mid afternoon-late evening) at the bars on weeknights. But alas, that is not why I came here. Gotta suck it up for real life!
Lastly, and on a lighter note, March is my birthday month! I can't really say that I'm 'marching' towards the 18th (dubbed "hangover day" by my twin sister & I because we always wanted our birthday to be on a holiday and our birthday conveniently falls the day after the Irish celebration never without green beer, shot-glass necklaces and anonymous kisses from/to people claiming the day as their own). As much as I've tried, I've never been one of those people who can play it cool on their birthday. I manage to slip the information to my friends or whoever I talk to whenever possible that my birthday is coming up. What can I say, I like my birthday. Call it childish or selfish, but I like people to know that its my birthday. As my Mom would say, "so sue me." Happy almost birthday to me!
Speaking of my lovely February, Val and I embraced our overlapping vacations and took an impromptu trip to Busan, a city in the south of the country, right on the ocean. It's a famous vacation spot in the summertime because of its beaches and relaxed atmosphere. Due to teaching obligations we were only in Busan for 36 hours, but it was totally worth it. We took the KTX train there, the fastest, nicest, and newest train in Korea. I wish I could travel on trains more often. It was so comfortable and quiet. The train ride took about 2.5 hours. We arrived in Busan at 8pm Thursday and got a taxi to our hotel on Gwangalli beach. From our hotel room we could see the famous Gwangan bride, the longest bridge in Korea. It is lit up beautifully at night, as is the city of Busan. The minute I stepped off the train I felt more relaxed. The air in Busan just smells and feels cleaner. The buildings are shorter so you can see more of the sky and the mountains (during the day). Everyone seemed to be less in a hurry. In the 36 hours I was there, I saw signs for two art galleries, a music school, AND a dance school. I haven't seen ANY of that in Suwon. People stared less at me/us in Busan. I admit, my paradise perception of Busan may have been a little skewed by the fact that it was easily 10 degrees warmer down there (60-65 degrees, I would guess), we were on the beach and on vacation. But I remember the feeling I had when I stepped out of the train station when we first arrived- I could just feel that I could be happy here. Only hours into our short trip that composed of nothing more than gallavanting on the beach, having ice cream for lunch (a true Waldman vacation tradition), eating the best (and cheapest) Western style food I have ever had in Korea, and visiting the aquarium, I declared that I would seriously consider moving to Busan. We even asked a few foreigners we ran into if they lived there and how they liked it. I heard nothing but rave reviews. One girl's response to my inquiries about Busan life was, "what is there to complain about? You've got the beach and lots to do in the city." So you never know, maybe next year I'll find a job teaching in Busan instead of Suwon. For now, though, I've still got nearly 7 months in Suwon, and I do believe that is enough time to love this city too. Breathe. There's time.
If you're curious, my pictures from Busan and other happenings here are up on my Facebook page. I've started bringing my camera pretty much everywhere I go in order to properly document my life here, for both your sake and mine!
That's all for now.
Bisous,
Melissa
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
My Lunch from the Sea
If you know me at all, you are probably shocked and curious about what this blog title means. You see, I've never been much of a seafod person. I'd like to think that it is not because I don't have an open mind about food, but I just never grew up eating seafood. I didn't start eating/liking fish (minus those frozen fishsticks my Mom used to make for dinner when I was a kid) until maybe 6 years ago. I've never been inside a Red Lobster. I've never seen anyone in my family devour clams or oysters. So when I got to Korea and discovered everything from octopus to jellyfish in my food, I was at first nauseated. I remember my first experience with Korean food (not including the few trips to a Korean restaurant in Rochester) was on the plane. Flying on a Korean airline, I was served for dinner bibimbap- a vegetable and rice mix that I could definitely handle. However, it was the pile of sardines- whole sardines, eyes and all-- next to my food that caused my appetite to quickly disappear. As I tried not to look at the tiny fishy eyes that bore into my soul, I watched (attempting not to gawk) at the Korean women sitting next to me, contently devouring spoonfuls of bibimbap with the little fishies. I hardly ate a bite of my food as I realized how different things really were going to be here.
So, with that preface, you'll see how far I've come. I proved to myself that I have officially become desensetized to seafood when I went out for lunch with the ladies from work yesterday. We went to a Japanese restaurant where we must have ordered the lunch special or something because as soon as we sat down, the food just started coming. It was a mild start with some kind of soup. I've learned to stop asking what I'm eating if I'm not sure because usually the answer causes me to put my chopsticks down and gag. So I had some kind of soup (it was white and chunky but didn't taste fishy), then an enormous plate raw fish slices that sat on top of enormous clam shells (around the size of my palm) arrived. Sashimi. A first for me. Considering I was starving and surrounded by Koreans who tend to judge you by how well you can handle spicy food and eat what I usually consider to be gross seafood, I was left with no choice. I put a piece of what I learned later to be tuna on the piece of dried seaweed, wrapped it, and took a bite. So, it wasn't terrible. Actually, I sort of liked it. As I mentally patted myself on the back and wrapped myself a few more, the waitress brought over a plate of fish. A whole fish. Eyes and tail and skin and all. It had been baked with spices and placed on the plate whole. The ladies started just pulling pieces off the fish with their chopsticks, eventually leaving the skeleton and innards exposed. I took a bite of the fish but thought the spices made it too salty and chose not to have anymore. I tried not to look at it too much as the bowl of clams came next. I actually have come to like clams after tasting them in a lunch Nam Teacher ordered for us last week. They aren't as rubbery as I thought they'd be and they actually have a distinctive taste. In other words, they don't taste like the beach smells. So as I happily pulled the clams out of the shells and ate them, I realized how far I had come. 6 months ago that would have totally grossed me out. The meal ended with fried shrimp with dipping sauce and rice, topped with seaweed, sesame seeds, kimchi, and fish eggs. AH. What do I do? The rice looked good. And the fish eggs were too small and fine to pick out with my chopsticks or even with my spoon. So before I thought about too hard I just mixed everything together and took a bite. Again, it wasn't so bad. I finished it. I'M SORRY NEMO!!!!!!!
It wasn't until I was describing this meal to my sister afterwards that I realized that the meal had hardly any vegetables at all. For a girl who likes her veggies, I'm suprised I didn't notice it before. The only vegetables in the meal were the sprouts for the sashimi wraps, a beansprout soup at the end of the meal, and a few slices of cucumber topped with mashed sweet potato (YUM) that garnished the sashimi plate. Unless you count the seaweed, thats all. I can't believe I had a meal entirely of seafood. If I may say so myself, go me!
Now don't worry my friends, you haven't lost me completely. Your beloved squeamish sister, friend, daughter, cousin, blogger (for all you strangers out there who are reading my blog. Are you there?) still marvels in wonder and a suppressed desire to hurl at the whole ocotpus on the styrophom plate covered in plastic wrap that she passes in the meat/fish section of the grocery store. I definitely need more time here before I can conquer THAT edible obstacle. By the way, I had to look up how to spell squeamish. Did anyone else know it's an 'ea' instead of an 'ui?" Who knew?
So, with that preface, you'll see how far I've come. I proved to myself that I have officially become desensetized to seafood when I went out for lunch with the ladies from work yesterday. We went to a Japanese restaurant where we must have ordered the lunch special or something because as soon as we sat down, the food just started coming. It was a mild start with some kind of soup. I've learned to stop asking what I'm eating if I'm not sure because usually the answer causes me to put my chopsticks down and gag. So I had some kind of soup (it was white and chunky but didn't taste fishy), then an enormous plate raw fish slices that sat on top of enormous clam shells (around the size of my palm) arrived. Sashimi. A first for me. Considering I was starving and surrounded by Koreans who tend to judge you by how well you can handle spicy food and eat what I usually consider to be gross seafood, I was left with no choice. I put a piece of what I learned later to be tuna on the piece of dried seaweed, wrapped it, and took a bite. So, it wasn't terrible. Actually, I sort of liked it. As I mentally patted myself on the back and wrapped myself a few more, the waitress brought over a plate of fish. A whole fish. Eyes and tail and skin and all. It had been baked with spices and placed on the plate whole. The ladies started just pulling pieces off the fish with their chopsticks, eventually leaving the skeleton and innards exposed. I took a bite of the fish but thought the spices made it too salty and chose not to have anymore. I tried not to look at it too much as the bowl of clams came next. I actually have come to like clams after tasting them in a lunch Nam Teacher ordered for us last week. They aren't as rubbery as I thought they'd be and they actually have a distinctive taste. In other words, they don't taste like the beach smells. So as I happily pulled the clams out of the shells and ate them, I realized how far I had come. 6 months ago that would have totally grossed me out. The meal ended with fried shrimp with dipping sauce and rice, topped with seaweed, sesame seeds, kimchi, and fish eggs. AH. What do I do? The rice looked good. And the fish eggs were too small and fine to pick out with my chopsticks or even with my spoon. So before I thought about too hard I just mixed everything together and took a bite. Again, it wasn't so bad. I finished it. I'M SORRY NEMO!!!!!!!
It wasn't until I was describing this meal to my sister afterwards that I realized that the meal had hardly any vegetables at all. For a girl who likes her veggies, I'm suprised I didn't notice it before. The only vegetables in the meal were the sprouts for the sashimi wraps, a beansprout soup at the end of the meal, and a few slices of cucumber topped with mashed sweet potato (YUM) that garnished the sashimi plate. Unless you count the seaweed, thats all. I can't believe I had a meal entirely of seafood. If I may say so myself, go me!
Now don't worry my friends, you haven't lost me completely. Your beloved squeamish sister, friend, daughter, cousin, blogger (for all you strangers out there who are reading my blog. Are you there?) still marvels in wonder and a suppressed desire to hurl at the whole ocotpus on the styrophom plate covered in plastic wrap that she passes in the meat/fish section of the grocery store. I definitely need more time here before I can conquer THAT edible obstacle. By the way, I had to look up how to spell squeamish. Did anyone else know it's an 'ea' instead of an 'ui?" Who knew?
EDIT 2/18- We went to the same restaurant for lunch today and I luckily had my camera with me! Pics are up on Facebook.
Thats all for now. Thanks for reading (and hopefully not throwing up). To my extra squeamish big sis Andrea, if you made it to the end of this blog entry with all of the contents in your stomach still there, then congratulations :-P.
Thats all for now. Thanks for reading (and hopefully not throwing up). To my extra squeamish big sis Andrea, if you made it to the end of this blog entry with all of the contents in your stomach still there, then congratulations :-P.
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Good, The Bad, and The Korean
Now that I've been here for nearly 5 months, the pros and cons of living in Korea are everyday matters. Many of these things are cultural, while others are just the realities of living in a foreign country. This blog entry is to help my readers understand what some of these are by categorizing these things into What I Miss and What I Don't Miss about home. So here goes, I imagine I'll continue to add things to this list, but for now, here's what I got:
What I Miss
- Speaking the language
- Non-smoking regulations at bars and restaurants and therefore not needing to shower and air out my clothes after any outing.
- Hearing a verbal "excuse me" after an accidental bumping on the street or subway
- Not needing to rely on public transportation
- An oven in my kitchen
- Being able to read labels on the food I buy
- My friends and family
- Available dance classes in my city
- Not getting stared at all the time
- Hearing something besides K-pop music. Anywhere.
- Bread. (whole wheat specifically)
- I didn't know this before, but not knowing how awesome How I Met Your Mother is.
- Milk, yogurt, or juice with an expiration date more than 5 days after you buy it at the store
- Heated bathrooms
What I Don't Miss
- Taxes
- The job hunt
- Living sans salary
- Living in a fairly isolated city- now I'm an hour subway journey away from one of the most bustling cities in Asia
- Enduring an international long-distance relationship
- Struggles with chopstick usage
- Expensive groceries and utility bills
- Paying rent
- Unhelpful staff
- Paying at least $20 anytime I go out for dinner
- Being approached by ass-holey guys at bars who think they're God's gift to women. Korean men are generally very shy so they leave us alone and I can have my girls' nights in peace.
- Having to pay for every little thing at restaurants. Here, you always get free appetizers (if you're eating Korean food) and get unlimited refills of sidedishes.
Well, that's all for now. You might see this list pop up once in a while in later posts so keep your eyes out!
Ta-ta for now!
-Melissa
What I Miss
- Speaking the language
- Non-smoking regulations at bars and restaurants and therefore not needing to shower and air out my clothes after any outing.
- Hearing a verbal "excuse me" after an accidental bumping on the street or subway
- Not needing to rely on public transportation
- An oven in my kitchen
- Being able to read labels on the food I buy
- My friends and family
- Available dance classes in my city
- Not getting stared at all the time
- Hearing something besides K-pop music. Anywhere.
- Bread. (whole wheat specifically)
- I didn't know this before, but not knowing how awesome How I Met Your Mother is.
- Milk, yogurt, or juice with an expiration date more than 5 days after you buy it at the store
- Heated bathrooms
What I Don't Miss
- Taxes
- The job hunt
- Living sans salary
- Living in a fairly isolated city- now I'm an hour subway journey away from one of the most bustling cities in Asia
- Enduring an international long-distance relationship
- Struggles with chopstick usage
- Expensive groceries and utility bills
- Paying rent
- Unhelpful staff
- Paying at least $20 anytime I go out for dinner
- Being approached by ass-holey guys at bars who think they're God's gift to women. Korean men are generally very shy so they leave us alone and I can have my girls' nights in peace.
- Having to pay for every little thing at restaurants. Here, you always get free appetizers (if you're eating Korean food) and get unlimited refills of sidedishes.
Well, that's all for now. You might see this list pop up once in a while in later posts so keep your eyes out!
Ta-ta for now!
-Melissa
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