After a long weekend

I've been here 3 weeks in Seoul. The second week of teaching went well. Koreans celebrated Chusok on the 13th. It's like Thanksgiving for Americans. It is a very old harvest celebration, and many people will dress up in traditional Chusok costumes. Last Tuesday all the little kindergarteners dressed up, and it was really cute.

The kids are pretty much....well kids. Sometimes I think they are the most adorable creatures ever born, and sometimes I want to pull my hair out, but overall I feel very lucky to be working here.

Mandy arrived! She was thrown right into teaching on the first day, and she is doing a great job. She is very cool, and I liked her instantly. I think we are both happy to have each other here. This weekend was a long weekend for us because of Chusok. Her friend, Lisa is visiting here to see her boyfriend, who is stationed in the Army over here. So we all went to a baseball game on Sunday. It was a blast. On Sunday we went to the impressive Gyeongbokgung Palace in a popular area of Seoul, close to City Hall. The area was very nice with beautiful cobblestone alleys, and trees lining down the sides of streets. It felt very European.

I also had a new friend, Gaby, come and visit from Ansan about 40min. from Seoul. I had met her in Houston where we were both interviewing with the Korean consulate that day. We exchanged emails and she got in touch and came up for the Holiday weekend. When she visited my neighborhood she mentioned that I lived in a very "Korean" area of Seoul. I guess the market by my apartment with fish laying out everywhere, and huge buckets of spices out, old women selling fruit in stands on the sides of streets, and people walking out of the hospital with their iv bags beside them were more than she was experiencing in her neck of the woods. I started to envy her a little at first, wishing for an existence that did not include the stench of fish everytime I left my apartment, but when I think of the interesting culture I am absorbing I realized I wouldn't give this up for anything else.

In the evenings the elders of the area like to gather outside of small restaurants and convenience stores and have a bite to eat and a little chit chat. I see so many "grandmothers" that walk by hunched over, because when they were young they carried so much on their backs. They dont stand up straight any longer. Its an odd site to see so many of them walking around, but they seem to go about their business as if it was a minor thing.

The palace was beautiful, and not a far visit from my neighborhood. I think I will visit there often. There were also some beautiful mountains in the background. I look forward to hiking, and I think I will get a chance to visit Gaby and do that. She mentioned that there are mountains in her region, and lots of hiking.

I hope everyone is doing well in the States. I miss and love you all. I will try to keep this blog updated more often! It may not be flashy news I bring you, but just a little at a time to let you know my present state of mind :)

Love, Katie

I am a giant

Ok, here it is. I'm a giant in this country. I tried shopping today and it was very disappointing. EVERYTHING is too small, from top to bottom. And, I dislike most Korean fashion, so it's a bust. I didn't pack enough clothes to bring over here, so I'm a little bit fristrated right now, but it's not the end of the world, and honestly I don't feel as concerned about my style here because no one seems to notice my clothes, they just stare at my blue eyes in some mystified state.

Yesterday I met up with Yong Jeong, the nice guy I met on the flight over. We went to Ittewan and walked around all day, oh and found the book store that carries english print. The book store is a well known place around here, but it was funny to actually go there and find it to be a tiny space with books stacked all over the place in a fairly disorganized state. It was a store the size of my mini apartment. Mostly paperbacks of murder mysteries and those really bad romance novels. Not to mention the price was exorbant for a used paper back. I left the store with three books for $13. Where is Half Price Books when you need them??? I am happy to have some reading, so I wont continue ranting.

Yong Jeong is a very kind and generous person, and I am so happy to know him. He has told his family about me and I spoke with his little sister on the phone. She can speak a little english and giggled a lot when she talked. Next week is a very big Korean holiday similar to our Thanksgiving. I think its called Chusok. It goes from Saturday until Monday. Yong Jeong's mother has invited me to come to their home for a big dinner this coming weekend. I'm a little nervous, but excited to spend time with his family. Yong Jeong says his mother is a very good cook. I wonder what I will have for "Thanksgiving" here. Maybe some squid stew, rice cakes, and kimche. The possibilities are endless: )

There are some things that I see here that are strange to me, but over here they are completely natural to people. For instance: Many Korean men will drink until they pass out. It is not unusual to see a man passed out on the side of the street sleeping off the drinks he has just consumed. I have seen this many times in the short amount of time I have been here. I see anyone from a young man to a business man in a nice suit sleeping in alleys, on sidewalks. They just drop where they pass out and sleep it off.

I live right by the biggest hospital in Seoul. Its about a minute's walk from my apartment. Everyday from early to night I see people just going out for a walk in their hospital clothes, they will have their IVs hooked up to their arm, and they just walk around pushing their IV bags beside them. Or a guy with a broken leg pushing himself around in a wheelchair with his leg elevated. The other night I was eating dinner in a little restaurant and no sooner did I have the food up to my mouth I saw a burn victim walking by outside with his face looking like it was melting off. Appetite suppressant, baby! Let me tell you!

The other thing that I have found very amusing lately is the "konglish" (korean-english). It's on t-shirts, billboards, bar names, restaurants, just all over the place. Some of it is misspelling, some of it is funky translations into english. I will get some written down to explain myself better. And some of the sexual conotations are just incredible, but I dont think they understand it. Like the t-shirt I saw today "love harder, love deeper", I think it means something about being a good person, not what I think when I see it. Other times when I go out to clubs, it is blatantly sexual. Like the club called "Girls On Top". The other night walking home I saw "Ladies talking room only" club, it is a type of Chip and Dales club for women. That cracked me up. It is pretty funny, and I am enjoying this aspect of the trip very much. I will take more pictures of it.

Ok, one more funny and then I have to go. Last night Derek, Laura (friend and english teacher in another area of S.K.), and me went to a bar close by. The waiter knew some english and we all had fun getting to know him. He calls himself Simpson, and said his father's name is Homer. Ha ha, it was pretty funny coming from a Korean guy. After a little while we hear screams coming from the table behind us and we are wondering what the deal is. A few minutes later Simpson comes to our table with a Korean game. It is a plastic, red semi-sphere with four cords attached to it. At the end of the cords are metal handles for each opponent to hold with a red botton on them. There is a botton in the middle of the plastic center that he hit, and it plays scary halloween sounding music and blinks flashing red light. Simpson said when the flashing light turns green to press your button on your handle as quick as you can. So we do this and as soon as the light turns green Laura screams and drops her handle. The slowest person to push their button gets an electric shock. I know I shouldn't say anything further, but Derek and I felt bad about Laura getting electrocuted, and were somewhat curious in our "martini functioning" brains as too how it felt. So I lost next and screamed really loud, because it is a horrible sensation that goes from your hand straight up to your brain. Derek also lost to Simpson and had a shocked look on his face, like he couldn't believe we were stupid enough to play this insane game. Honestly, I have to say it was an experience, but not really that much fun to play. I don't recommend it.

Well, I have to go to bed and get rested for the beginning of the week tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing good and getting ready for Chusok! : ) Miss you all very much. -Katie

Monday

Today was the first day of teaching on my own. I had 8 classes today. I teach 5 and 6 year olds in the early part, and then older students 7-9 in the afternoon. All of the students were very good. They want to learn english and try hard to repeat what I am saying. They often get their L's confused with R's and vise versa. They also struggle with the U sound, usually making an O sound. They are very competitive, trying to finish the assignment first before the others. They also love to sing, and it is amusing to hear a class full of students singing along in english.
Tomorrow I have 6 classes and finish an hour earlier. I think this will be a good year, and I will learn as much from them as they do from me. Also, I gave 5 new students english names. I gave each of them names to choose from. I have three students named after my brothers and my cousin, Jason. Also one is named after my cousin, Amy : )
It rained all day, and is still raining. I am very tired. I hear there is a terrible hurricane in New Orleans, sending many refugees to Texas. Similar to Katrina. I hope everyone is finding safe haven.
This weekend will bring many great things. Mandy will be here Friday night, and Saturday I go to Ittewan with Yong Jeong to visit a westernized part of Seoul. I can't wait to buy some books! They also have a Baskin Robbins that I want to visit to get some ice cream!
I am being taken good care of here, and most everyone that sees me at the store looking confused wants to help me. I am grateful for that. Until next time. -Katie