Mandarin Heaven

I have consumed more sweet, juicy, delicious mandarin oranges in my two weeks in Korea than in my entire 27 years of life combined. And I've loved every bite. They are the cheapest fruit I've found in stores. They sell them on the side of the road. They've been handed to me at workshops and at school on numerous occasions. I'm usually carrying a few in my bag when I go to school, and when I come home from school, and my fridge is full of them! It's utterly delightful!

It's New Year's Eve here now, and despite more sunny blue skies in Jinju, I'm soon heading to the beach to bring in 2010 with about 20 other foreign teachers, only four of whom I've ever met. Somebody did a very nice thing and reserved us a pension (like a condo) for a few nights and apparently it overlooks the ocean. Should be a New Year's Eve to remember!

In other news, Jinju continues to grow on me more and more by the day. It's an amazing combination of natural beauty and mass urban development. I can walk about ten minutes along any number of trails behind my apartment and be up in the hills, away from the noise of the city, surrounded by trees and bamboo peering down on Jinju or out to the layers and layers of mountains surrounding me. Or, I can walk ten minutes to the Nam River, which makes a nice S-curve through the city. Heading west along an isolated path, with no shortage of beautiful white cranes in the water, I end up at a large lake (reservoir?) surrounded by more mountains (or hills, depending on how you see them). Heading east I walk past a massive 16th century fortress, past downtown Jinju and over to the far east side of the city--a place I've not yet explored. Amidst all of the natural beauty Jinju presents, there is evidence of development around every corner. Bridges, highways, high-rise apartment buildings--they're popping up everywhere. Yet somehow, Jinju still seems like such a peaceful city and I truly cannot wait to experience this place to it's full capacity!

Sending my love and best wishes to everybody for the new year! Yay for 2010!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate this day. To those of you who don't, happy Friday off from work or school :)

Today I'll be venturing out of town to a city called Tongyeong, which lies on the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. It sounds as though there will be about 8-10 foreign teachers on this trip, organized by a Kiwi woman whom I've not yet met.

I've made a nice group of friends here thus far, as there are quite a few teachers here in Jinju, which has a population of around 340,000 people. Last night, for Christmas Eve, six of us went out for pizza at a local chain called Mr. Pizza, whose slogan is "Love for Women." (Someday I will dedicate an entire blog post to all of the amusing English phrases I read here, like "Thousand Ireland Dressing" on a bottle of dressing I saw at the grocery store). Two of my friends arrived only two weeks before me, so it's nice to have some fellow "newbies" to learn with, and the others have been here at least 4-5 months and they've got all the answers so it works out nicely for me :)

Enjoy your holiday!

The Korean Shuffle

So much to catch up on...

Today is Christmas Eve in Korea, although it doesn't feel like that at all. I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas! Jinju has offered nothing but sunny, blue skies since my arrival, and I love it. Although, until yesterday it was FREEZING cold and I was about ready to march into one of the many outdoor stores that line the streets here and buy one of the puffy jackets that nine out of ten Koreans wear every day. I'm starting to understand this trend... So far, though, I've managed with my fleece and multiple layers underneath.

This past week and a half, as I expect my remaining 50.5 weeks will resemble, was full of surprises. I feel as though I'm constantly shuffled around from here to there, summoned to go do this, or directed to go do that. I do what I'm told and go where I'm told to go, and it all seems to work out. I just don't ever know what's going on until I'm in the middle of it! (Actually, there are a few things I've done that I'm still not sure of).

I showed up to school Monday morning and my co-teacher H, who is a beautiful, young and very sweet Korean woman, came over to my desk and asked with her pretty smile "Where did you go yesterday?" I thought she wanted to know about my first weekend in Korea--what I did, if I enjoyed myself, that sort of thing. Nope. Before I could answer she followed up by informing me that she knew I wasn't home because a man had come to my apartment Sunday to connect my internet and cable. WHAT?! Nobody had told me that this was going to happen. In fact, I had been informed that I'd have to wait until after I got my alien registration card (which would be about a three week process), so I had succumbed to the disappointment of having to stay disconnected from my familiar world back home for quite a while. But, she then set up another appointment for that day, and now I am happily connected :) What a pleasant surprise.

Tuesday afternoon after the bell rang I headed to my assigned classroom (teachers always wait until after the bell rings to leave the teacher's office for their classes) only to find that it was not my co-teacher in the classroom but instead a teacher I'd never seen before. Confused, I went back to my desk to make sure I went to the right room, walked down there again just to double check that I didn't make a mistake, and then went back to my desk and took a seat. None of my English-speaking co-teachers were around so I just assumed this was an acceptable reaction. After the class period was over my main co-teacher came back to the office and I asked him about it. He just laughed out loud at me and said "This is the way of Korean School. We must be flexible."

Ain't that the truth.

Wednesday morning, before my first class was to begin at 9:10, I hurriedly changed the game that I had been playing in class to a Christmas theme. (Given the fact that I will be teaching the exact same lesson to 20 classes every week, I need to figure out how to keep things interesting for myself). The bell rang, I headed to class. The same thing that happened to me on Tuesday happened to me on this day. My co-teacher was nowhere to be found in my classroom. I returned to my desk and took a seat. When the period was over I found the co-teacher I was supposed to teach with and ask her about our next class together. She proceeded to inform me that I would teach no classes the entire day because students are taking national exams, and then ran off. I only found out that I also don't have to teach any classes today when I asked my main co-teacher about it later that day. Glad somebody told me this in advance... But hey, I got two days off from teaching!

On top of this, my main co-teacher came up to me in the afternoon and said "Stephanie, we will go to Immigration office now." Oh, okay then. As usual, I just grabbed my things and followed. In Jinju one can only apply for their alien registration cards on Wednesdays (this isn't as bad as applying for your driver's license here, which apparently can only happen once every three weeks, but only every other time is there somebody there who can work with an English-speaking individual--of course, we are in Korea).

And today, I wouldn't have expected anything different. Turns out we had a half day, a "teacher's lunch" and a third grade boy's soccer semi-final match to watch that I was completely unaware of until it was happening (middle school kids here are referred to as 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade, the equivalent of 7th, 8th and 9th graders back home).

This seems to be the norm here, finding things out as they happen. Suffice it to say, they keep me on my toes here in Korea.

The soccer match was great--and smell of sun-warmed turf made me happy and feel right at home. (Oh! Many times I am introduced by co-teachers as having been a soccer coach, even though it was one season for 10-year old girls. The boys are always so surprised when I tell them I play soccer. I've been invited by my co-teacher on the weekends to play with him and his all-male squad. And now, thanks to a kind male teacher at my school, I have my own pair of soccer shoes. Used and worn down they may be, but they're still soccer shoes!). This game was a big deal, as the principal and vice principal were there, along with a handful of other teachers. Team uniforms were pretty fancy and the refs looked sharp in theirs. We got to the game late and I didn't know the score, so you can imagine my surprise when at the end of the game the teams went into a shoot-out! The boys of Jinju Jeil lost :( There was a substantial amount of bowing that occurred after the game--each team to the other, each team to the other school's principal and vice principal, each team to their own principal and vice principal, and each team to the tent at the middle of the field that housed the people in charge of the games. (Don't be shocked if, when I come back home after my time here, I bow my head to you every time I see you! It's a habit I've already picked up).

I am kind of enjoying these surprises that occur on a daily basis, and am full of anticipation for the many more to come...

Happy holidays!

I Will Survive

For the past few days, I lost all ability to properly function beyond the absolute, bare minimum necessary to survive; this means I was able to withdraw money out of my new Korean bank account, walk myself to the convenience mart around the corner to purchase some instant ramen noodles for dinner and a sugary, powdered mocha mix for my morning coffee, and get myself dressed and to school in the morning. I have been walking around barely a step up from utterly exhausted—close to zombie status. I experienced the same feelings of fatigue my first few weeks in Guatemala—there are so many new stimuli around that take a lot of focus and concentration, and therefore energy. Trying to communicate with people who don’t speak your language, remembering how to find your way back home through the streets, standing in front of five classes per day full of 38 crazy middle school boys and trying, over their constant chatter and movement, trying to tell them things about yourself that ultimately, they may not care about, it all sucks my energy dry. Add to this a completely the jet lag and messed up sleep schedule and it’s a recipe for exhaustion. But, with each passing day I feel better and with each passing night I stay up a little later and wake up a little later (I have progressed from going to sleep at 6pm and waking up at 3am to going to sleep at 9pm and waking up at 6am (quite ideal, yes)… but even this is a struggle as I want to fall asleep much earlier and I still wake up a few times between the hours of 3-6am every morning before my alarm goes off). I know all of this will change with time, along with all of my current feelings and emotions that go along with my overall adjustment, but goodness this is difficult right now.

I’ll just go ahead and say that a lot has happened in the past few days. Unfortunately I do not have internet in my apartment yet, and have therefore neglected to write much of anything (even hand-writing in my journal was too daunting a task). So, I’ll just start here:

My first day at school was Wednesday (although on Tuesday I was introduced to the “important” people in the school). I had five classes that day, but my involvement in each class varied depending on my co-teacher. (I technically have one main co-teacher, “J,” whom I will not teach with at all but is instead in charge of taking care of me, so to speak, and then right now I have three co-teachers with whom I will teach). My two classes with “H” consisted of me introducing myself and answering student questions for about the first 15-20 minutes of class, then she sent me back to the staff room to sit and stare at my computer. “Mr. O” gave me the floor for the entire 45-minute duration of both classes with him—a bit of a struggle, but it ended up alright. Finally, in my one class with “Mrs. G,” I tried to introduce myself and answer student questions, but after about five minutes I realized that there was no way I could get these boys’ attention. And, there was no way Mrs. G was going to help me out. Instead, she engaged in conversation with me, asking me if I’ve been down to the river yet, telling me where she lives, things like that. I was so confused, thinking to myself “Isn’t this supposed to be English class?”

For all of you who assume Korean middle school students are better behaved than American middle school students—think again. This may be true for the girls, but these boys are awful! On my very first day stepping into the school (Tuesday), I followed my co-teacher out of the teacher’s office into the hallway at the very moment the bell rang for lunch. The school is four stories, and as we rounded the corner to the stairwell, it sounded exactly as I imagine a stampede of elephants making way through the African desert. Add to their running down the stairs the simultaneous actions of kicking, punching, throwing things and yelling and screaming and you have the boys of Jinju Jeil Middle School heading to the cafeteria for lunch. I was trying my best to hide my amusement at the situation, as all I wanted to do was laugh out loud!

I walk through the hallways between classes, and the only thing I see is more kicking, punching and shouting. I walk into the classroom and it continues. When they do finally settle down to take their seats (which I think they only did so quickly on these first days because they were curious about the new foreigner), I only have their full attention for about two minutes before this group of four is playing cards, that group of five is chuckling about something, this kid is punching the kid in front of him, and that kid throws a paper airplane (literally). Suffice it to say, I am still looking forward to this experience because amidst all this madness, I’ve found hope.

My hope lies in a few good classes (I had ten total in two days this week) and a few good students. There were perhaps two or three classes that gave me their full attention for my entire time there (and they were all classes of Mr. O, interestingly, which makes me wonder if it’s him or if it’s that he’s male). And, there were always students (who not surprisingly sat in the front rows) whose eyes were always on me and I knew that even if they didn’t understand everything I was saying or didn’t ask a single question because they were too shy or insecure, I still had them with me. So many things about my own life as a student, and the lives of teachers are already beginning to come clear—and I’ve so much ahead of me still.

To all of you teachers out there, I commend you for all that you do!

I’ve had a little fun in class already also. One of my good classes with Mr. O (which I later found out is his homeroom so he had made his students prepare questions) was with me all period, and I was caught completely off-guard when the bell rang 45 minutes later I was having so much fun with them. I was asked if I liked to lift weights; I answered Yes, on occasion, but I don’t do it often. Then, a student followed up by asking me if I was strong. I replied with I’m not sure… then I motioned him to come up to the front and arm wrestle with me to find out. He wouldn’t do it, but a few kids pointed to a louder kid up front to wrestle with me, so he stepped up to the plate. He put up a good fight, but I ended up winning. Okay fine, only because he let me… BUT, I we held it in the middle for quite a while! He was surprisingly strong for a teenage kid. The class tried to make me sing a song (Mr. O said it’s Korean tradition for the new person to sing a song—yeah right!). I said maybe another day, but then I heard a kid singing what I thought was Jingle Bells so I said if he came up front with me I’d sing with him. We both sang the first few words, but I think it wasn’t Jingle Bells he was singing afterall. Oh well!

I’ve gotten some pretty amazing questions in class. The first questions are always “How old are you?” and “Do you have a boyfriend?” Then, they always ask my height, perhaps my weight, why I have come to Korea, if I speak Korean, if I know this famous Korean person or that one, if I like to play Starcraft (the popular computer game here that ALL the boys play), if I’ve ever met anyone famous, things like that. THEN, there are always those random kids who have the guts to ask me questions like when my first kiss was, at what age I had my first boyfriend, how many boyfriends I’ve had during my life, whether my hair color is natural, and whether I’ve had plastic surgery.

If I’ve gotten this much out of spending two days at school, I can only imagine what an entire year holds for me. And honestly, I can’t wait.

Pay it Forward

I love being reminded that there are still countless numbers of good people in the world.

I was only in Korea for about 12 hours before I had my first mishap. From my motel yesterday morning I was to catch the subway back to the airport for my final flight. Having been awake since 3:30am, I got the show on the road early and headed out before 6am for my 8:20 flight. I suppose since I never had any problems using my credit or debit cards while in Central America and Mexico, I assumed the same would be true for Korea. Wrong. How naive of me...

I had forgotten to get some Korean cash (Won) at the airport the night before. I walked into the subway station hoping to either find an ATM or be able to use a credit card to buy my ticket. Wrong again. The man working at the information booth spoke about two words of English, and was simultaneously not interested in helping me out. He did, however, tell me to try the 7-11 for an ATM.

Apparently ATMs in Korea do not take American cards like they do in Guatemala. I had no luck getting any cash, but I did successfully navigate this ATM that was entirely in Korean (but let's be honest here, all ATMs ultimately do the same thing so I just used common sense and pretended I was using one from back home to make guesses of which selections to make). Again unsure of how I was going to get cash to buy my ticket, and beginning to feel a slight sense of panic set in, I tried pleading with the young male behind the counter. He, too, spoke about two words of English, but we were able to communicate enough that he understood I did not have the cash I needed to get myself on the subway to the airport. I tried asking him if it was possible to give me cash back if I made a purchase. He just swiped my card and charged it the $.50 or so for a pack of gum. I don't think he got it. I tried to ask a customer if I could purchase his drinks for him on my credit card, which totaled more than twice the cash I needed, and then he could just give me the 1,500 Won (a little over the equivalent of US $1). They didn't get it and instead acted annoyed that I was trying to interfere with their transaction.

The young 7-11 employee, probably around 18-20 years old, made a few phone calls in the middle of all this. I had no idea who he was calling or why, but I knew he was genuinely trying to help me. And he told me to wait, so I knew he was up to something that would be of my benefit. I just let him do his thing, and asked every new customer who walked in if they knew English. They all just shook their head and turned away.

Then, finally, only moments after I could not hold in the tears and began wandering around the store to distract myself from the increasingly overwhelming sense of panic and anxiety, a college-aged guy walked in who knew some English and was willing to talk to me. He told me that the clerk got off work at 7am (it was about 6:40 at this point), and that he would then take me to the subway station AND all the way to the airport. I immediately turned to thank the store clerk, letting him know that I FINALLY understood what he was trying to tell me; he probably thought I was an idiot!

This poor, kind young man took me to the subway, bought tickets for both of us, rode with me to the airport, walked inside with me and found me an airport employee who spoke English and could tell me where to go. Then, he had to buy himself another subway ticket to go back wherever he needed to go. I wanted to give this guy a HUGE hug I was so relieved and thankful! I asked him if I could have his address, thinking I would send a card and small token of appreciation, including his money back, but when I asked he quickly put his hands up in front of him and said "no, no, no." I hope he didn't think I was trying to hit on him...

And the funny thing? While we were on the subway, he asked me where I was from and told me he liked Metallica. WHAT?! Where was all this English when I needed it earlier???

I guess that's all the more reason for me to try to convince these boys to actually try to learn what I am teaching them for the next year--so they can learn more than how to say "I like Metallica." (Not that I think anybody should have to learn English--but they might as well take advantage of the opportunity while it's there!).

Anyhow, it's nice to be reminded of the existence of good people in the world. AND, it's all the more incentive to pass on the good deeds of this young 7-11 clerk to somebody else in need--to pay it forward, so to speak.

Well, this morning I slept all the way until 4:30am. Hopefully tomorrow I can make it to 5:30am... Today on the agenda: a 10:00am meeting with my co-teacher at the Education Office and then I get to see my apartment.

Let the journey continue!

Sleepless in Seoul...

It's 4:14am in Korea right now and I am wide awake. I arrived last night--well, 7pm Sunday evening Korean time--to the Incheon International Airport, which is about an hour from Seoul. Thankfully, I have a long enough layover to where it was arranged that I be brought to a motel for the night. Nothing like a bed to sleep in and a hot shower before I arrive to my final destination, especially after 12+ hours on a plane! (I did, however, get to enjoy three movies, a glass of wine, and two meals during the flight, which helped pass the time).

Having traveled to Japan before and being quite heavily exposed to Japanese culture for several years growing up, I recognize Asian when I see it. (Somewhat unrelated, but still interesting, in Japan my host family's toilet had some strange contraption on top of the tank which, every time one would flush, music would play and a few tiny mechanical butterflies would flap their wings). On my flight from Seattle to Korea, classical music was played for all to enjoy as we boarded the plane, as well as the first and last 15-ish minutes of the flight. As I walked down the isle to my seat, I was greeted by at least four young female Asian flight attendants, flashing sweet smiles as they politely bowed and welcomed every single passenger on board. Bouquets of fake pink flowers decorated the wall of the bathroom 'station' in the middle of the plane. A short cartoon video appeared on each of our individual screens at the beginning of the flight that ended with the words "Beautiful manners make you smile" on the screen. While waiting in line to go through Immigration and Customs, I noticed that there were three sets of eyeglasses on a small table for anyone to utilize, each of course properly labeled and each on a small chain so nobody could run away with them. Not to mention all the neon lights, small cars, heated floors and other such conveniences in my motel room as every possible toiletry item, shower slippers, and bath towels the size of hand towels!

I do not dare say that Korea is just like Japan, lest I offend anyone because chances are I would, but oh how I am reminded of being in Japan right now.

Well, I've now successfully wasted 45 minutes and I think it's time to take a shower and find my way to the subway station so I can get back to the airport for my 8:20am flight to Busan. I will be met at the airport there by my recruiter and taken to Jinju, my home for the next year. Then, tomorrow, the craziness begins...

Boys Boys Boys!

Beastie Boys. The Beach Boys. Boyz II Men. Fallout Boy. Backstreet Boys. Los Lonely Boys. Soulja Boy. Pet Shop Boys. Jersey Boys. Boy Scouts. Boy bands. Lost Boys. Bad Boys. Good boys. Busboys. Bellboys. Altar boys. Cowboys. School boys. Drummer boys. Emo boys. Boy jeans. Boy genius. Mama's boys. About A Boy. Balloon Boy. Dutch Boy. Big Boy. Baby boys. Little boys. Big boys. American boys. Korean boys.

Yes, Korean boys. Korean boys will be a huge part of my life for the next year, and this is where you can come to read all about it. (Oh yeah--newsboys).

Beginning December 15th, 2009, I will be assuming the position of Native English Teacher at an all boys middle school in Jinju, South Korea. If you're feeling extra ambitious or curious about Jinju, take a look here: Jinju City website. Or, there's always one of my favorites, Wikipedia. Otherwise, stay tuned to my blog and I'll do my best to share my experiences with you!

"South Koreans Struggle with Race"

Here is an interesting article recently published in the New York Times about racism in South Korea. Just some random food for thought...