School's Out for Winter!

Well, school's out for the students anyway. Tomorrow, I'm supposed to go on an overnight retreat with my school. I think there is only one other English teacher going, so I am bringing a book a two. I've heard these trips end up being a lot of boozing; unfortunately, the thought of drinking makes me feel a little ill after Christmas.

Also unfortunately, my camera got stolen. I would be more depressed since I was in love with my canon point-and-shoot, but this actually happened a little while ago. I might try and go to Yongsan Electronics Market tonight to buy a new one since I hear we are going to the seaside for this workshop.

Diversity in Korea

It's interesting to talk to my students about Korea and diversity. Like the student project contrasting Korea and Western countries in my last post, most seem to have a pretty skewed perception of what America is like. I think the idea of a 'melting pot' (or 'salad bowl' to go with the more current metaphor) is not something they have any frame of reference for. Likewise, even after living here and being surrounded by Koreans every day, it's hard for me, as an American, to conceive of a nation of people in which everyone has the same history and cultural traditions.

Recently, the New York Times posted an article on the increasing number of mixed ethnicity children in Korea. Interesting read.

Now You Know

Differences of Korea and the English Circle Countries

...
2. Appearance

Korea
Koreans are the yellow race. Although on average Koreans are shorter than The English Circle Countries' people, they have a few fat people than The English Circle Countries' people. Koreans have black hair color.


The English Circle Countries (America, England)
The English Circle Countries' people are two kind of race. One is the white race and the other is the black race. Although on average The English Circle Countries' people are taller than Koreans, they have more fat people than Koreans. Also they have big nose and golden hair and the multiplicity of eyes color like brown eyes and blue eyes.
...


Now you know. That is the difference.

I read this student report on one of the classroom walls and was vaguely amused.

Thanksgiving Weekend

 I took my co-teachers out to lunch last Saturday as a thank you for all the help they've given me. So, I guess it was a very appropriate Thanksgiving weekend.

And here's a picture of me balancing a menu on my head. Talent.

While we were having coffee with my co-teachers, Eric and I demonstrated the thanksgiving tradition of tracing your hand and making it look like a turkey. We used a napkin and the waterproof marker I've had in my purse since we went to Namsan Tower. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the ink would bleed through and leave a very festive drawing on the table. We are really leaving our mark on Korea (har).

Later, Eric and I went to Hongdae to meet some friends.

Friends (Anji probably looks annoyed because she is a Native American. Or, because we were stupidly drunk.)

This is how I look when I'm going to spend the next morning wishing I were dead.

Seoul Folk Flea Market

Last Saturday, we went to an all-you-can-drink  wine buffet in Gangnam. It was a good deal but between the $25 price tag and the availability of otherwise scarce good wine, it was a little too easy to drink a little too much.

Recently, this keeps happening to me. I wake up the next morning feeling like where's Waldo, wondering where my ear muffs, hat, wig, 'insert item here' went. So, unless I start duct-tapping the important stuff to my body, I've got to start being more responsible.

This past weekend, Eric and I went to the Seoul folk Flea Market. I feel strongly that everything I lose in Seoul will eventually end up here (for the low, low price of 2,000 won). I'm not sure what makes it 'folk.' From what I saw, the only major difference between this and other flea markets I've been to was its scale. This was a massive warehouse of people selling random junk, and any kind of random junk you could possibly want. Earmuffs, golf clubs, authentic U.S. military meal rations, Japanese swords, old trombones, and butterfly knifes (illegal in the U.S., if you feel the urge to smuggle home a neat souvenir for baby brother).

Random Korean Figurines. I want the Tae Kwon Do fighters!

Or how about some business card holders with Korean pop stars on them? Rain B is pretty dreamy.

Inappropriate pigs. We found these at a stall that sold smutty videos.

It was refreshing in it's lack of touristy build-up, actually. I bought some earmuffs for Eric (since I lost his the night before) and a cinnamon-sugar filled pancake at the food court.

Peppero!

I'm very late in posting this, but November 11th was Peppero Day here in Korea. What is Peppero?

This is peppero. 

Peppero may look familiar to you if you are a fan of this Japanese snack.

Mmm. Pocky.

On Peppero Day, kids give each other boxes of Peppero, a little like Valentine's Day. It probably says something about the market domination of Lotte, the company that makes Peppero, that they've manufactured a holiday for their snack. It's on November 11th because of the date - 11/11 looks like Peppero sticks.

I got five boxes - I love this holiday.

My New Duvet...

...is awesome. For the first time in five nights, I didn't lie in bed, wearing a long sleeve, shirt, sweatshirt and jacket, shivering. That is all.

I'm a Monster

"We must buy you underwear," Kyeong said. Mr. Shin nodded seriously. It was a strange Tuesday.

I came down with a cold over the weekend and called in sick to work on Monday. Today, when I returned, my co-teachers asked if they could take me shopping to buy warmer clothes. I am very obvious in my cluelessness about how to dress for weather more severe than 60 degrees farenheit and partly cloudy.

Since it's so cold here, everyone wears long johns (thermal underwear. Possibly only my family calls them 'long johns'?). So, Mr. Shin and Kyeong agreed that I should get some also and took me to the underclothes department.

The saleswoman there tried to help us find the right size. There was a lot of debating in Korean between she and Kyeong, then gesturing to me (arms stretching outward in an attempt to show my measurements), then debating more. Finally, Kyeong showed me a size 100 and asked 'is this alright?' Which she probably asked because a size 100 is a size XL. Hah. I'm a monster.

"It's just for the arm length," she said, though I couldn't help feeling I'd just been called many unflattering euphemisms during the sale and was glad I understood none of it.

My feeling of giant-Godzilla-esqueness only increased when Mr. Shin suggested I also needed to buy shoes. 'They don't have my size here,' I told him, 'I'm a 270.'

'Oh!' he said, 'that is my size!'

Rawr.

I can't complain, though. They bought me a duvet! And they fed me! They even tried to buy me Ugg boots. They are so great, even if saying these things makes me feel a little bit like a 14-year-old girl.

Conversation Class & Relationship Advice

I teach a conversation class once a week for the other English teachers at my school. This week's class was on giving advice and suggestions. So, I found some hypothetical situations on the web and we all discussed advice we could give.

In one situation, Barbara and her boyfriend both work long hours and have difficulty finding time to see each other. Yeong Deuk said that everyone emails now and it is too easy and impersonal. He suggested that the couple write each other love letters to keep in touch. Everyone else agreed this was very romantic.

Kyeong followed this by offering her own advice. "Have you ever heard the saying 'out of sight, out of mind'?" Hah.

I was amused at the gender stereotype reversal. Although, it's hard to say exactly what the gender stereotypes are in Korea. Traditionally, women are supposed to be submissive. But, it's also traditional for Korean women to handle all of the family's finances. And, this is the land of men riding around together on pink mopeds. I never sure what what to expect.

Afterward, Kyeong asked me if Eric and I ever wrote love letters to each other.

"Uh, no," I said, trying to picture what kind of love letter I'd receive if Eric ever did send me one. This is a guy who has never bought me flowers but has, 'out of love,' shot me with his airsoft gun multiple times. We aren't really 'Hallmark your love' type people.

I pondered all this for a minute, then told Kyeong I agreed more with her advice. There are fewer chances for a stray BB to hit you in the teeth.

Demo Classes & Shabu-Shabu

This blog has been embarrassingly devoid of posting lately. I had a demo class last week which kept me very busy and was very scary. I had to do a lesson in front of a bunch of other teachers from my district who assessed my teaching ability.

The assessment was funny, though. Sometimes you feel like you might be getting discussed in a foreign language and its uncomfortable. It's much more so when you know you're being discussed. Usually when my korean colleagues talk about things in Korean, I just smile and try to look pretty without letting my eyes glaze over too obviously. I wasn't sure if this would be the appropriate response when a bunch of women were possibly telling me how awful I am.

The good news is that I'm apparently not awful. Although, I think this is mostly thanks to Kyeong. Our principal was happy though, so he took the entire English department out to shabu-shabu.

If you have never had shabu-shabu, that is very tragic because it is delicious. You get platters and platters of meat and a huge pot filled with broth to cook it at. We got the seafood and beef combo. I ate fish intestines! Surprisingly, pretty good. After you cook all your food, the server uses what's left of your broth to make jook (rice porridge), which is pretty much my favorite thing ever.

Field Day

Last week, we were going to have the school festival on Thursday and a field day on Friday until everyone came down with swine flu. So, only teachers came to school on those two days. On the upside, though, we still had field day.
Here is our badminton tournament. Isn't the gym nice-looking? It is brand spanking new - I went to the opening ceremony on Wednesday. We also played some very intense games of ping-pong.

After all that strenuous physical activity, we needed to re-energize with some nutritious food.


And, of course, rehydrate.

For the record, Chinese food in Korea is so, so different. (during an after school class on food, one of my students told me "I like Chinese food the least because they eat insects." I didn't see any insects in the chow mein but I was nonetheless a little underimpressed.

Snakes, Pigs and Male Virility

Korean schools have school festivals a few times a year, where the entire school decorates, kids compete in games and show off their various non-academic talents. They usually look something like this:
This is not my school but you get the idea.

My co-teacher had mentioned a few weeks ago that our school festival was coming up and asked if I wanted to perform. I chuckled heartily to myself and set her straight on the facts. The facts being:
a). I don't even sing in the shower, much less in public (usually - thanks for the emotional scarring from that one night, Eric), and
b). people tell me that while dancing I am dangerous to wander near as one of my awkwardly flailing arms might sock them in the face.

Maybe I should have explained all this at the time but I just went with "haha, no."

This past Monday, the week of the festival, my co-teacher approached me and said "you need to end your after school class early today."

"Why?" I asked, thinking I was going to score some extra lesson planning time.

"We have festival dance rehearsal after school."

"What? That's a bad idea. I can't do that," I told her.

"I think you, uh" she hesitated, as if trying to find the right word, "you must do it. You must do it."

And what song and dance were we practicing? Well, I just happen to have this music video.



As my fellow teachers/dancers explained (or from what I understood, anyway) the song is about a girl who finds a bunch of snakes. Koreans traditionally believe that eating snake will increase a man's stamina and virility. So, the girl sings that she will take them home to her father and he will be so happy.

Since the band, Kara, wears school uniforms in the dance, the other teachers thought we could all just wear some old student school uniforms left by graduates. I love my school.

In all seriousness, though, I wasn't at all sold on performing, even after I saw the music video. But if I get to wear a cute school uniform, hells yeah, I'll dance and sing my ass off.

(This last comment may have sounded creepy. Please understand, getting to wear a school uniform was a childhood dream of mine.)

Oh, Sailormoon brainwashing.

(I'm not sure that explanation made me come off as less creepy...)


Anyway, just when I was really beginning to get into it (I'd finally memorized the opening lines I was supposed to sing!), they cancelled the festival because a few kids are sick. Swine flu, you ruin everything.

Americanos, I Miss You

Not to be a hater but Korea loves bad coffee. I thought that finally, five years down the road, the coffee snobbery instilled by my employment at Peet's Coffee & Tea had finally died. It has not. I realize that until this point I've been living in an insular community of coffee appreciators.

In Korea, the coffee of choice is Maxim.

They come in little sticks of instant coffee crystals and a shit ton of sugar and dehydrated creamer. The particular one pictured here is mocha flavored.

There are starbucks and espresso everywhere in Seoul, too. But I don't like Americanos enought to pay $4 for them (I mean, come on, it's mostly water anyway).

I admit, I am starting to enjoy the coffee here, though. I'll never like Maxim coffee sticks but my school has a coffee machine that makes supersweet mini lattes. They call this coffee but hey, potato, potahto, right?

I'll sound ignorant but before I came here I had assumed Koreans would have similar flavor palettes to my Chinese friends who don't really like sweet things. However, I've found the reverse - Koreans love sweets. I don't think Koreans actually like bad coffee, they just really like sugar and don't have much appreciation for bitter flavors. Wine isn't big here either (though this maybe more because of affordability and market dominance of soju). Most foreign foods taste sweeter here, even the ones that aren't necessarily supposed to (spaghetti sauce? garlic bread??).

Puppy Cafe

On Sunday, Eric, Bobbie and I met up at a cafe in the big college area of Seoul, Hongdae. The cafe was named Bau House because you can play with dogs while you enjoy a latte.

Bobbie was very popular, probably because she bought fried rice.

You can also bring your own dog to play with the ones owned by Bau House. Some poor dog was wearing a dress and bright pink blush.

Here's a shot of the cafe area. The little gray dog near the bottom of the picture peed on Eric's bag shortly after I took this picture. We decided it was about time to leave after that.

Seon Yoo and a Korean Wedding

On Saturday, I took Eric to Seonyoodo, the island park I visited with some teachers from my school. I thought it would be nice to see it in daylight.

The island has a very pretty park with lower and upper levels.

Eric liked the playground a lot. I think he might have scared the Korean kids though.

We ate lunch in the cafe there that looks out over the Han River.

The principal of my school invited me to his daughter's wedding so Eric and I attended it together with some of the other teachers from my school.
Unlike in the west, Korean weddings are built for speed. The wedding ceremony lasts about 20 minutes and happens in the banquet hall so guests can start eating immediately after. Also, instead of buying something from a couple's registry with a Hallmark card, the standard wedding present is an envelope full of money with your name on it. I enjoy the efficiency. Or, maybe this just shows how much I hate finding cards.

Here is Kyeong and the head English teacher of our school, Ms. Kim (Kyeong is also a Ms. Kim; it's a common name here).

Eric was very excited about wearing his suit. Everyone said he looked very handsome. Two of my male co-workers were joking I should watch out since all three of Eric's co-teachers are women in their 20s. Hah.

Chuseok Holiday

Last weekend was the Korean holiday of Chuseok, which is roughly like Thanksgiving and Christmas combined except with less Jesus and more ancestor worship. Most Koreans return to their childhood homes to see family and perform traditional Chuseok ceremonies to honor their ancestors. So, I got a four-day weekend in a somewhat deserted Seoul.

Since we had Friday off, some friends and I decided to go to Lotte World.
Here is Eric with two other friends from EPIK SMOE, Ryan (left) and Alec (center).

Lotte World is a theme park build by the snack food conglomerate, Lotte. It's sort of like a petite Disney Land.
Here is the Lotte World Castle.

Both Kyeong and Yeong Deuk told me Everland, Samsung's theme park, was better but no one felt like taking a train the hour and a half to get there. On the upside, Lotte World has both indoor and outdoor rides so you can go there in winter too. Also, they have brilliant children's rides.
This ride is supposed to be a mini-drop zone - it moves up and down vertically but doesn't fall for as long as the big ride. In practice, it just kind of shakes the riders up and down. All the kids looked a little nausious and confused, which reminded me of myself as a kid.

Eric used to go to shooting ranges with his father and grandfather so he got really excited about the shooting games.
Here he is with a stuffed flower prize from the game. He is posing with it and trying to look manly because I schooled him at the game and won the stuffed flower for him.

Afterward, we played around in the children's section of the gaming area.
Eric and Ryan played with the train. Aren't they precious?

They also had huge mechanical stuffed animals for kids to ride around. Eric got very excited.


I was very tired by the end of the day and whinged about going home for the last hour. So, I guess we both relived our childhoods.

God is Having a Good Time

After our school hike, we came back down and went to dinner at a grill restaurant. At grill restaurants they give you a big platter of meat and you get to cook it yourself at your table. There are lots of different types in Korea - this one specialized in pork so we had ham and samgyeopsal.
This is samgyeopsal - thick-slab bacon. It's not my favorite.

There were about 20 toasts during dinner. I'm not sure if we were actually celebrating anything in particular. Yeong Deuk was explaining that in Korea, people don't drink alone. So, there are lots of toasts so everyone drinks together, which fosters group belonging and harmony. That said, we drank a lot of mokolri and soju.

There are many Korean drinking customs. You leave your cup half full when you don't want more to drink because when your cup is empty, another person must refill it. It is considered rude to refill your own cup or to pour or accept alcohol with only one hand. And once two people have poured for each other, they have a toast and drink together. However, these rules are flexible. Especially as people drink more, it seems. After I was about four drinks in, Mr. Shin refilled my quarter-full cup and said "welcome to Korea."

It was funny to see about three quarters of the teaching staff stumbling out of the restaurant.

There was an after-party at a pub in Yeongdeungpo. Everyone was invited but I think there is a tacit understanding that only men go. And me, because I am a novelty. I'm told there is always an afterparty in Korea. You must accept the invitation, then quiety slip away during the trip to the second party if you don't want to go. But since I am tall, blonde and foreign, it is hard to quietly slip away. I dragged Kyeong along with me, though, to avoid complete awkwardness.

So, me, Kyeong and at least half the of the male teaching staff had some beers. They told me they actually have a name for their little club. They call it the Silver Bells. They told me this is an underwear brand in Korea (then, of course, asked what brand of underwear I was wearing).

After about an hour, my principal decided I must see Seonyu Island, and I must see it tonight. There is also a tacit understanding that you cannot refuse the principal. So, me, Kyeong, the principal, and two other teachers went to Seonyoo Island.
Here is us on the island. Awkward.

We went to a cafe on the island and ate Patbingsu.
Patbingsu is shaved ice topped with sweetened red bean paste, candied rice cakes and fruit. It might sound a little strange but I really enjoy it.

While we were eating, my principal told me how the first part of our school's name means 'God,' and the second part means 'to have a good time.' So, I teach at God is Having a Good Time Middle School.


This morning, Mr. Shin brought me saltines, rice cakes and a cup of coffee. I couldn't tell if this was for Chuseok or because he thought I might have a hangover.

Midterm Hiking Trip

It is midterms this week so the kids take their tests and then leave early. After school yesterday, all the teachers at my school went on a hike to a Buddhist temple on Buksan Mountain.

Kyeong, Yeong Deuk and I hiked up together.

During the hike, we stopped and had kimchi (because it is Korea and every meal must be accompanied by kimchi) and mokolri, which is an unrefined rice wine. It's fizzy, opaque white and very sweet - it's sort of like alcoholic soda.
Traditionally, it is served in a wooden bowl like this, which was how we drank it later for dinner.

But we just used paper cups for the hike (unfortunately, this photo is a little overexposed but we are toasting).

We finally reached the top and took a rest. Sorry, America, I perpetuated unflattering stereotypes about westerners - I was sweating like a dog. (Actually, dogs don't sweat but the point is, I was very sweaty; like, 'kind of looked like I'd gone swimming' sweaty).

The Buddhist temple was very beautiful and it is still in use so it is very well maintained. Some friends wanted to do a temple stay sometime, so on the hike up I was asking Yeon Deuk about it. He told me that if we go, we must eat only vegetarian, go to sleep at nine p.m., then wake up at six a.m. and bow 3000 times to the Buddha. So, I was feeling lukewarm about temple stays but it was so serene and beautiful there that I still might consider it.

Above the main temple is a shrine with a carving in a huge boulder of the Buddha on a lotus. In order to get there, you must a very tall stairway.
I sprinted up the stairs because I like getting painful things out of the way quickly. And I thought I could use the exercise. Mr. Yang, the PE teacher, was very impressed with me.

My principal told me after that the stairway has 108 steps. This is significant in Buddhism because it is said there are 108 fears and anxieties in life. So, as you climb the stairs, with each step you are supposed to release an anxiety. Buddhism is very poetic. Although, after watching Mr. Shin collapse in exhaustion on reaching the top, I wonder if it isn't just that people are too tired to be anxious when they get to the top.

Here is a picture of the Buddha.

The man next to me is my principal. I am kind of scared of him. But he invited me to his daughter's wedding!

Personal Space

Eric and I had dinner in Idae last week, which is the area around Ewha Women's University.
We saw this sign for a bar. It has no relevance to anything. I just liked that they have a picture of a drunk pint of beer chugging soju.

Teaching school here, I'm struck by the different comfort levels with touching and personal space, displayed by students and teachers alike. Last week, two students in my class started having a head fight, which consists of pushing your foreheads together as hard as you can until one person gives. Of course, boys fight everywhere, but the head fight, where their faces are in about 1/2 inch of each others, looks very odd from the outside. Eric and I get a lot of askance glances when we do it in public.

Later that day, one of my students fell asleep in my class (this happens pretty frequently; all the kids stay up until ridiculous hours studying). So, my co-teacher for that class, Yeong Deuk, started giving this kid a really aggressive back massage. All I could think was, 'wow, this would never fly in the U.S.'

My School & Yeoinaru

Since Eric posted a bunch of photos of his super awesome high school, I thought I should put up a few of my middle school as well.
Here's my school. Most Korean schools have a big dirt field instead of a lawn. I guess it's easier to maintain. Also, many of the teachers park there so it's easier to not have a lawn.

It is L-shaped; here is the view of the other wing. My office is on the very end in the "English Plaza."

My school also has a back courtyard which is very pretty. This seems to be where the teachers take smoke breaks during lunch.

This past weekend was more relaxed. After going to Itaewon, the foreigner neighborhood (Eric needed to by shoes and it is the only place that carries size 10 and above),we went to a park at Yeoinaru that looks out over the Han River.

The park faces north, toward the center of Seoul. You can see the mountains by Eric's apartment in the distance.

Eric was a little put out with my camera-taking skills.

That is about it, so I'll leave you with this picture from Insadong at a free soju-tasting event.
The one on the far right is George Wahington.

College Land

Thanks to rowing, I was on a different time schedule in college. Even after I stopped, I still woke up early every morning. Since everyone else in college stayed up until 3 a.m. and woke up at 11, I often left out of synch.

But, I thought, once we're out in the real world, I won't have to adjust.

Ironically, the entire country of Korea is on college time. The drinking culture here (which is 7 days a week until at least 1 a.m., if the bar downstairs from me is anything to go off of) fosters going to sleep late and waking up late. I understand now why Korea is know as the 'land of the morning calm.'

I tried to buy some milk before work a few days ago but the only things open before 9 a.m. are tiny mini-marts full of Pocky and instant meals. Bakery employees give me odd looks when I come to peruse their empty shelves at 7. Dunkin' Donuts doesn't even open until 8.

I can see why so many new college graduates enjoy Korea - it's a very gentle transition into the real world. The post-baccalaureate program of Korea. I could have the college experience I missed out on during college. Should I be getting on board with late nights and alcoholism?

Can I Have Your Number?

I have a phone! It is beautiful. Eric and I got matching ones (they were the cheapest).

Now that I have one, I realize that Koreans don't, as a country, love cell phone charms. Phones here come with universal adapters, which you can hook onto your phone. Then, should you drain the battery watching television on the subway (and generally about half the subway car is people watching TV), you can stop by your local convenience store for a recharge. Nice.

Visiting Namsan Tower or We Are Disgusting

Last Saturday, Kyeong Ran and the head teacher at out school, Mr. Shin, invited Eric and me to Namsan Tower. It is a huge tower on one of the taller hills in Seoul, and it has a 360 degree observation deck, so you can see the entire city.
This is Namsan Tower, looking up from the base. We had to take a tram up the hill to get to here first.


Here are Eric and me standing on Mongmyeoksan Beacon Tower, located at the foot of Namsan Tower. In the 19th century, the smoke stacks on Mongmyeoksan (which we are standing next to) were lit up to warn of attacks.

Lots of couples put locks on the chain-link fence that surrounds the base of Namsan Tower as a symbol that their love will last forever. Kyeong insisted that we buy a lock from the gift shop since it is tradition. I suspect she just likes taking lots of cheesy couple shots of us.

Proof positive.


Here is our lock. Aren't we too cute?


Up on the observation deck, each window has the names of different cities that, when looking out that window, you are pointing directly toward.
Here are Eric and me in front of the San Francisco/Los Angeles window. We were very excited.

Finally, here are Kyeong and Mr. Shin.
Don't they look nice? They are nice. Super nice. And very responsible. They keep me from getting lost and wandering into North Korea.