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

The weekend

I have spent a week in Seoul. The week was exhausting. I was given so much information about teaching that I thought my head was going to explode. I start teaching Monday. This seems insane to me, but at least I have some books to work with, and I think a lot of the classroom time I will just be "wingin it". That's what the other American teachers told me when they started they just had to make it up as they went along.
I am walking everywhere. To work, the store, anything I need I have to walk to get it. I'm getting more used to the area of town I live in. Last night after work Derek and I took the subway to Hong Die (not correct spelling but that is how it sounds). It is an area of Seoul that has many westerners in it. When we got off the subway it was like a different world. Neon lights, huge buildings, so many people, peddlers on the sides of the narrow roads selling food, clothes, shoes. Lots of bars. I passed by two Starbucks : ) There is also a lot of food variety. I am getting a little anxiety about the food situation here, it is sooo different from what I am used to. I think I will go there on the weekends so that I can have different food. They have greek, vietnamese, and other types of restaurants there.
I met Derek's highschool friend, Kyle, and many Canadians last night. They all seemed a little younger than me. Maybe 24-26 and all were very preppy looking. They were nice enough, but I still felt a little out of place not knowing anyone. They like to party hard. Apparently, Derek is a party animal. We went to a cool upstairs bar that I liked a lot. I had a vodka orange juice. Derek and his friends had shots and drinks. After about 5 drinks I was spent and ready to go home. After I asked Derek to please take us home, he told me that I could go home by myself in a cab. I was a little hurt by that. I didn't want to go home by myself so I stayed out with him and his friends. I dont expect Derek to be my babysitter, but I sure as hell wasnt going to leave his side for the night in a foreign place, so I just drank a lot of water and waited until he was finished. We took a cab home, it was about $6 for the cab, and made it home around 5am. I will never do that again.
It's funny, being around all of those white people last night should have made me feel more connected, but ironically enough it made me lonely. I felt lonely for the first time last night. I'm sure it wont be the last. I'm not terribly sad, just felt a little pang of lonely. And the fact that it took some white people to make me feel it was just funny to me. It was good to go out and see something new, and see westerners all around me, but I just dont like staying out like that so I will figure something out.
I made a friend on the plane ride over here. His name is Yong Jeong. We have made contact through email and we will get to visit each other next weekend probably. He is going to show me around the city. I am excited about that. He is so nice and I think we will be good friends. Also, Mandy is coming next week!!!!!!!!!!! She will be working with Derek and I. She will live in the apt. complex right beside me. I have talked with her on facebook. From her pictures she looks very fun and cute. She looks like she likes to party too, so I'm sure Derek and her can handle that part of our adventures. It's not that I don't like to go out, but I guess I'll just find people that have a going-out schedule more like mine. Home and in bed by 2 or 3am : ) Anyway, I am so ready to have an American woman near me. I need a girlfriend here! So am very anxious for her to get here.
In my apartment complex there is always the owner of one of the two maintenance men that stay at the front desk. I have rarely walked by the front door and not seen someone in there. I dont know if they stay all night, but I think they do. Which is comforting to me. One of the maintenance men is a short guy probably in his 50's who always smiles at me. He also likes to sing very loud in Korean, and it cracks me up. The other night when I went out to smoke a cig. he brought a chair out for me and motioned me to sit under the carport. I usually sit on the short wall by the street. He kept slapping his arm saying "bogas, bogas"! I finally realized he was saying bugs. And then he said "Americans" and put his fingers to his mouth like he was holding a cig. He went back and forth a few times. I think he was trying to say Americans are chain smokers, but I'm not sure. He is always talking to me in Korean, like I can understand a word he is saying, but it is nice to have the attention and I try to be very polite to him so he will be on my side and help me out when I need it in the future maybe. Most of the Koreans I see everyday on the street do not smile. A lot of the men in the evenings get together outside of little convenience stores and hang out. Today when I was walking home I saw a few of them squatting outside talking. It was odd to see men squatting and hanging out, but that is a comfortable position for them I guess.
I am glad I live in Youngdeongpo. There are not as many Americans around, but it is quieter and more peaceful than Hong Die. And Hong Die is only two subway stops away when I want to get out. I think god was looking out for me when she helped me find this job. She/he -whatever. Whoever god is she is looking out for me I think.
I miss my family very much. I am so glad that I have such wonderful people in my life, and that I am able to have this adventure and tell it to you all that I love. It fills my heart, I am grateful. Ok, so obviously I am starting to feel very emotional and corny, so I will leave you for now. I am doing very well, eating well, sleeping well, and happy to be here. Talk soon. Love -Katie

Last day before teaching on my own

Today is Friday. I have spent the week observing other teachers. Although this seems adequate, I am still feeling nervous. We have not been given a lesson plan, looked over the books we are using, or told how to teach. Just observing classes is helpful, but next week is definitely going to be a challenge. It's sort of a sink or swim situation.
Yesterday Derek and I went to the hospital with John and Julie (school director and recruiter) to get a visa health check where they took blood and pee test, xrayed my chest, tested my sight and hearing and teeth. As usual there was difficulty finding a good vein for me, but the lady only had to try once, she was very steady.
I am getting used to the surrounding area by my apartment, but not that well yet. I know how to walk left toward the market and internet cafe (I haven't gone back to the market yet. I know where to avoid the dog bodies, but I am just still struggling with the image and am apprehensive about going anywhere near that again. But, honestly the rest of the market was fine. Lots of fish out and rice in huge tubs, fresh fruit. So it would be silly of my not to take advantage of it at some point). To the right, left, right takes me out to a large intersection, huge intersection, I will try and take a picture of it today. Then across the huge intersection to my school, about a ten minute walk. I'm a little more familiar with the places right by the school, but don't go very far down either way.
Near the school there is a great little restaurant that one of the other teacher's has shown us. $3-4 gets you a huge helping of bulgulgi and also this pork dish with a really yummy brown gravy that has a tangy flavor. Behind the school and about a five minute walk is Lotte Mart. It is a huge store with food court, clothing, electronics, groceries, home goods. The food court has a Dunkin Donuts and fruit ice cream and a coffee cafe, and Korean food. I go there for things I need in my apartment. Lotte is a huge corporation in South Korea. I am told that there are just a few corporations here , but that they are huge corporations. There's Lotte Mart, Lotte Hotels, Lotte Theme Park, and the list goes on.
There are two Korean-American teachers names Matt and David that grew up in America and are over here teaching also. They have shown us around quite a bit and are very kind. They are both leaving by next week, but David is staying in Korea to take language classes in Korean, and plans to stay indefinitely, so I will have a good contact with him this year. This weekend Derek and I are going with him to Ittewan, and area of the city that has more American goods. I need some books and shirts. I'm excited about using the subway because I need to learn so that I can get mobile.
Next Thursday once our health checks come back, we are going to immigration office to "officialize" our stay here. It's quite a process to get a job over here. And next Monday I start teaching. I'm nervous, but I have this weekend to try and get prepared mentally.
There is so much more to say, but its still kindof jumbled around in my head. I'll keep trying though. I love this blog so that I can keep everyone updated! Love-Katie

First day of teaching!!

I am going to have a mini class today, to introduce myself to the kids. I have found a coffee shop, not really coffee shop. Its a photography studio slash coffee shop. I have gotten a iced mocha there for the second day, not bad. There is fresh fruit all around me. There is also a meat market right by my apartment, so the are smells like fish, kinda hard to stomach, but I'll get used to it. I also saw dog meat for sale, an entire body in a freezer. It was pretty shocking, but I expected it before I came here. My coworkers tell me that it is something that Korea is trying to move away from, so that would explain why they wouldnt let me take a picture of it I guess. It's stuck in my head right now. Anyway, its not bad here. The directors of the school and my recruiters are doing everything to make my stay comfortable, and I am getting internet in my apartment today! And a cell phone. Well thats all for now. I'll start taking pictures of the city and post them soon.

First day

Made it to Seoul. Live close to a fish market. The streets are very clean, narrow roads and no sidewalks. Start training today. Found this internet cafe so as soon as I can get my head straight I will try to describe it better. I am having trouble attaching photos, but will try with this. Talk soon. -Katie