tim burton exhibit at the seoul museum of art.

recently, the seoul museum of art opened an exhibit featuring tim burton. i'm not a huge tim burton fan, but i can respect his creativity and i genuinely like some of his films. the bit we'd managed to find online about the exhibit said it featured his art and various items from his films, so that alone sounded pretty cool. friends were also intrigued by the exhibit, so one saturday, we made our way into seoul to check it out.

(sidenote: for some reason, most of my photos seem to have come out a little blurry. which is unfortunate. well done, iphone.)

the facade of the museum was completely tim burton-ed. 

since it was a saturday, there was quite a line just to pick up tickets. then, there was an additional wait time inside the museum -- we had to take tickets with numbers and they called in groups of about 100 at a time. we waited about thirty minutes for our numbers to be called up. 

according to the brochure we were given, there are over 860 pieces in the show and about 85% are from burton's own collection, with the rest on loan from various studios and private collections.

photos weren't allowed inside the galleries, unfortunately, because there was quite a bit i would have liked to photograph. quite a lot of the rooms were entirely his drawings through the years -- old pencil sketches, drawings from art classes, doodles in the margins of school papers and on napkins... it was pretty damn cool. his characters and art are often a little too grotesque and ugly for me, but it was interesting to see how he had been drawing many of his well-known characters for years and trace their evolution.

outside the entrance to one of the galleries. i promise i was having more fun than this picture suggests.

here are examples of some of his drawings that were featured inside the galleries. for all of his creepy-weird art, i have to say that he does make use of color nicely. 

this was one piece that i really liked in particular, called "romeo and juliet." there's something very maurice sendak about it, but also a fair amount of tim burton weird. 

after going through the galleries of his art, the last sections of the museum were dedicated to his films. they featured props, conceptual sketches/art, and models of different characters. in the "nightmare before christmas" section, for example, they had an entire case of small jack skellington heads showing a variety of expressions. 

this section was also a no photography zone, but i managed to sneak a couple (of even more blurry, due to sneaky stealth mode photo taking) photos, because this is probably my favorite tim burton film...

"edward scissorhands" topiary! (well, a replica.)

the closest i will probably ever get to johnny depp. (and so blurry.)

overall, it was a pretty neat exhibit. one thing that did detract from the whole experience was it was a saturday, and therefore extremely crowded. i remember being pleased that i'm taller than most of this country because i was able to see over heads to look at the art. in most of the rooms, everyone was moving along in a (painfully slow) single-file line, so i bypassed the crowd and moved around behind them at my leisure. so, i recommend not going on a weekend, or just getting there very early. 

details:

the seoul museum of art is located near the subway station for city hall:

-from line one (blue), go out of exit one.

-from line two (green), go out of exit ten, eleven, or twelve.

the museum is located behind deoksugung (palace) -- if you're facing the entrance to the palace nearest to the above subway station exits, walk down the road that runs along the left of the palace wall. the museum will be on your left after about five minutes. 

the entrance fee is ₩12,000 and the exhibit runs through april 14, 2013. 

for information about the museum's operating hours, visit their website here. 

a real thanksgiving!

this wasn't the first thanksgiving i've spent in korea. during my first week here, aka the training week from hell, i grabbed thanksgiving dinner with a couple of my training classmates. since we'd been in the country for about five days and didn't know where anything was, we had something very spicy and very korean that was full of sea creatures. it was delicious, and it was a nice first thanksgiving in korea, but we definitely missed the traditional thanksgiving spread from home.

this year, my head instructor, will, and his wife, joanna, welcomed us into their gorgeous home to take over their (huge, western-style, oven-equipped!) kitchen and put together a full thanksgiving meal for everyone. of course we all jumped at this chance. they've had us all over for dinner before, once on cinco de mayo, aka when we realized joanna is an amazing cook, and again a couple months ago, for a potluck extravaganza.

joanna and analeece pieced together a menu -- everyone had an idea of what to bring, all thinking of things they love from home. they even tracked down a turkey at costco! i volunteered to bring cranberry salad, since i know for a fact that the family recipe i have is way better than that canned cranberry stuff, and a pecan pie. also, since it's a staple for my family back home, i decided to bring green stuff, which everyone found absolutely bewildering when i described it, but they promised to taste it regardless. (green stuff, as my family calls it, is basically a version of this, which a simple google search proves is not that unusual, thankyouverymuch, skeptics.)

why is the celery so big. who needs all those leaves, korea? 

things i am thankful for: electric mixers. whipping cream by hand is no fun.

red stuff and green stuff! all ready to go the night before! 

we all had to work on actual thanksgiving, so we scheduled our celebration for the following saturday. since i was on the pie baking committee, and we wanted to try to have those done before the turkey went in, i was up bright and early. sarah, analeece, and i headed over to will and joanna's around 9:45am so we could get as much done as possible before people started coming over around 3 or 4. 

will and joanna brined the turkey overnight, and the only container that was big enough? a trashcan. 

yes, please. 

pumpkin pie ready for the oven!

so, as we were getting pie stuff ready, we were facing an unexpected problem: we only had one pie pan, which was already occupied by the above pumpkin pie. joanna bought the pie pan here in korea, so surely we could find a couple more, right? no. nowhere. at all. will was sent out on the mission to find more pie pans. i'm pretty sure he checked three places, in addition to the two stores they'd checked earlier in the week. we even had eleanor check the grocery store near our apartments. not a single pie pan to be found. 

we decided to pause the pie-making for a bit while we looked up options and waited on the pumpkin pie that was occupying the single pie pan to be done. however, problem number two soon hit us: the pie wasn't cooking right. really, it wasn't cooking much at all. so we gave it more time... and more time... yet the filling was still jiggly. we checked the recipe again. everything had been done correctly. finally, it had firmed up a little, but it was officially time for the turkey to go in, so it had to come out. 

now the other pies had no choice but to be baked after the turkey. this was no problem, really, as it only took us a few seconds to rearrange the cooking schedule. this also gave us time to solve the pie pan problem: skillets! the internet told us it was possible. so we decided to give it a go. we also had no other options. 

while the turkey cooked, we started getting everything else ready and people started arriving to help with the other dishes. 

sarah working on stuffing, which was delicious. 

getting an apple pie ready to go into the oven as soon as the turkey was done. 

so many cooks in the kitchen.

ricer! gettin' mashed potatoes ready. 

will was busy documenting.

the thanksgiving feast! turkey, two kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes plus gravy, green bean casserole, home-baked rolls, cranberry salad, green stuff, olives... all of it. 

after-dinner digestion time. 

while everyone relaxed and digested their dinner, it was time to get back to work on pies. my pecan was all ready to be mixed and poured into a shell, and the apple was nearly done baking.

the skillets = success! not a bad back-up plan at all. the pies came out perfect. 

my pecan pie tasted just like my mom's. it changed lives that night, guys. it was gooood. 

pecan, pumpkin (which was still a little funky, but had firmed up when it cooled), apple, AND a cheesecake. AND there was another pumpkin in the oven -- which came out perfectly this time. 

just as thanksgiving should be: with people curled up on couches, unable to move. 

ready to abandon all attempts to stay conscious. 

tried a panoramic of the group playing cranium. not sure what happened to joanna's body or will's arm. 

to quote eleanor's facebook status from the day after, "there is no such thing as a friendly game of cranium when everyone is drunk and everyone is a teacher." turns out we are a pretty competitive group. (also, another glitchy panoramic, this time hitting brianna's face. -_- )

so, thanksgiving in korea was a great success! it was fun hanging out and cooking all day, and then it was even more fun eating good food with a group of great friends. oh, and:

my tiny little fridge, filled up with leftovers. i ate turkey sandwiches with stuffing, red stuff, green stuff, and pie for like five days after our thanksgiving party. i think leftovers are my favorite part of thanksgiving, so i was pretty damn pleased.

now to plan christmas festivities... 

Happy One Year Anniversary, Zannah & Korea!

This weekend marks one year in Korea. I left Oklahoma on the 18th of November and arrived in Korea on the 19th. One whole year. Dang.

It's odd to sit and think about this past year because it doesn't feel like much time has passed at all. The days and weeks fly by, making this anniversary seem... strange. I'm not sure what it is about the nature of my life here, but I honestly have no idea where the time has gone. Maybe it's working late hours... Or the fact that most weekends are so packed full of running around Seoul, going to festivals and shopping and seeing friends and eating good food. It seems like as soon as a week begins, it's already ending, and I'm sitting there thinking, "Where the hell did this week go?"

I've seen on Facebook that a number of people I trained with are going home soon, with the end of this term marking the completion of their contracts. Since I don't know how this past year has gone by already, I can't fathom leaving Korea at this point in my life.

As many of you know, I've signed another contract with my school. With this new contract, I'll be here through August of 2014, with a three month break at the end of February to mid-May 2012 so I can go home for a visit. After that... I have no idea what I'll be doing. And that's fine. Maybe I'll stay in Korea longer. Maybe I'll come home. Maybe I'll go teach in a different country. Maybe I'll go back to school. But as of now, I couldn't be happier. Korea has been an incredible experience so far, and I think the fact that this year has passed so quickly is just further evidence that this is the right place for me right now. Clearly, I'm enjoying my time here.

My job is still great -- I do really love teaching and trying it out here has made me more certain that it's a career I want to pursue back home. I'm exceptionally lucky because I work for and with good people, which is a large part of why I'm resigning at my particular school. I enjoy the classes I teach and the daily challenges that come from teaching ESL. I know this job is, in many ways, much easier than a teaching job back home, but I still feel like I'm learning and growing from this experience.

Living in Korea in general has been so much better than I'd anticipated. Before coming here, everyone I talked to assured me I would love it. Various blogs that I read said wonderful things about living here. Even with all of that, I don't think I was really ready for how much I would fall in love with this country. The people, the culture, the food, the fashion, the travel... It's amazing. And I feel like I've barely seen or done anything this past year! My Korea to-do list is still intimidatingly lengthy.

My first weekend here, I caught a little bit of the Seoul Lantern Festival, and last night, I returned to the same spot to see this year's lantern display. It felt funny, being there again almost exactly one year later. Last year, I barely remember the festival because that first weekend (and following week) was such a stressed-emotional-jetlagged haze. I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and had no idea where I was. This time was the complete opposite, and it was a nice feeling.

I've been thinking about this blog entry for the past week or so, trying to figure out what I wanted to say about the completion of my first year here. Basically, it comes down to: Korea is awesome, living here is awesome, so I'm really happy that I'm staying longer. (But also really excited to come home for a visit soon, duh.) The end.

ps. Quite a few blog entries in draft-mode right now that will be posted soon, such as:

• Everything Has Faces: A Photo Essay
• How-to: Eat Korean Food, Volume Two
• Observations About South Korea, Volume Four
• Dear Korea, Sometimes You Baffle Me
• How-to: Eat Korean Junk Food (An Expert's Advice)
• Surviving the Holiday Blues

how-to: eat korean food, volume one.

since arriving in korea, i've gotten numerous questions from family and friends about korean food. do i like it? what's delicious? what's my favorite? what's the best thing to get at a korean restaurant?

so, since i'm one of those instagramming iphone assholes users that loves taking pictures of her food, it didn't take long for me to compile a short list of some of my favorite dishes.

these are just a few of the items that i eat fairly regularly, so expect more installments of this how-to later on as i eat more and take more pictures.

김밥 - gimbap/kimbap

this is one of my staples here in korea. it's the roll on the right side of this picture, and it's delicious. basically, it's rice and other ingredients like radish, egg, spam, kimchi, tuna, mayo, etc. rolled up in seaweed and sliced. very cheap, too -- usually a little over $2 for a roll that fills you up pretty well. i eat this quite a lot -- there's a gimbap house in the bottom floor of my work building and the ladies that work there know what i want as soon as i walk in.

만두 - mandu

this is another go-to meal for me. my students have huffed and puffed when i've mentioned my love for mandu because "teacha! that is not korean! dumplings are chinese!" yeah, whatever. it's cheap and it tastes good. my favorite is the mandu with the meat inside, though the kimchi ones aren't bad either. you can find these boiled, grilled, fried, or steamed, and with a variety of fillings. i've managed to actually burn myself out on dumplings a little... i can still eat a few, but i can't put away an entire order of eight like i used to... still, so delicious. 

잡채 - japchae

i've been on a big japchae kick for the past week or two. according to wikipedia, the source of all knowledge, the cellophane noodles are made from sweet potatoes. with the noodles will be a bunch of stir fried veggies and sometimes also meat. the sauce is delicious and a little spicy. usually also comes with rice, which mixes nicely with the noodles and sauce. 

파전 - pajeon

oh, pajeon. you are so good. this is sort of like a giant pancake, made from eggs and flour, but then with things mixed in. like green onions. and shrimp. and kimchi. then you dip it in some soy sauce and it makes your mouth happy. 

비빔밥 - bibimbap

another easy, go-to dish. it's basically rice with any or all of the following: egg, lettuce/green leafy things of some variety, beef, dried seaweed, radish, mushrooms... then the red pepper paste on top. you mix it all really well with a spoon and then eat! filling, cheap, and you can order it pretty much anywhere you go. 

고기구이 - gogigui (korean bbq)

i had korean barbecue once before i left home, and it was nothing like how they actually do it here. here you order the cut of meat you want and then they bring it to you. sometimes it's already nice and sliced, sometimes you have to use tongs and scissors to cut it into smaller pieces. then you put it on the grill in the middle of your table and cook it. from there, you can dip it in sauce, put it in a lettuce wrap with some other tasty things (like onions, kimchi, garlic, etc.), or just eat it as it is. 

만두 순두부 - mandu sundubu

dubu is tofu, and according to what i just read on wikipedia, the "sun" bit comes from how the tofu is prepared, and this tofu is "pure" or something, meaning it's got the highest moisture content of all fresh tofus. sure. anyway, this is perhaps my favorite thing to eat here. so much so that i've eaten it the past two days... there is a standing "tofu soup monday" thing at work -- it's what we do. it's a little spicy, but mostly savory and delicious. the soup is served boiling hot, which is perfect since you're supposed to immediately crack an egg into it. you also get a hot bowl of rice. in an empty bowl, mix some rice and soup together and enjoy. sundubu has many varieties -- meat, seafood, curry. i just almost always get the mandu one because, as i mentioned, i love dumplings. this soup is perfect for cold or rainy days especially. it's filling, warming, and just satisfying. 

now, we need to move on to the side dishes for a bit. because ohmigod, i love the side dishes in this country. there are so many! and they just keep refilling them!! it's amazing and probably my favorite part of eating in a restaurant here.

the unnaturally yellow stuff is a radish. it's okay... not the kind of radish i'm particularly fond of, so i usually skip eating that bit. plus it's just... too yellow. at the top is some kind of kimchi-like dish with cucumbers, to the left is something spinach-y (i think? i don't remember), and at the bottom is some glorious kimchi. (more on kimchi later.) 

a whole fish. minus the head and tail. at this point, i'm a professional at using chopsticks to tear into one of these and pull out all the bits of tasty meat. 

김 - gim/kim

seaweed! dried and delicious when you dip it in soy sauce. 

김치 - kimchi

when i think about a future without kimchi in my daily life, i get really depressed. i've grown so accustomed to getting a dish of this at every restaurant that i'm actually extremely disappointed (and a little annoyed) when i don't get kimchi with a meal. kimchi, for those who don't know, is usually fermented cabbage, made spicy by red chili pepper and other spices. i've also had kimchi versions of other veggies like cucumber, green onions, and radish. i was on the fence about kimchi before moving here -- didn't love it, didn't hate it, but now i'm obsessed with it. and when i get it at a restaurant here, they just keep bringing me more as long as i'm eating it! and it's good for you! not only is it full of vitamins, but it also has bacteria that boosts your immune system and might also stop you from developing cancer! (this is what the kids tell me, at least. and wikipedia.) i don't know what i'll do without kimchi in my life. 

and, to go with all of this food, when we don't want to drink water, we will get a bottle of:

막걸리 - makgeolli

makgeolli is delicious. and deceptively strong. this "rice wine" is made from fermented rice and wheat. it's thick, creamy, and you drink it out of small bowls. a couple weekends ago we went to a makgeolli house in seoul, where we tried all kinds of fancy flavored makgeolli (mango, honey), as well as some that was very old and had been served to some famous person or another. there's a spot nearby to my area of incheon that does a wonderful pineapple makgeolli mixture that goes nicely with some pajeon. 

aaaaand last, but not least, DESSERT.

빙수 - bingsu
i am so in love with this it's not even funny. pictured above is the only kind of bingsu i've tried, actually, because any time i think about getting a different kind, i look at all the delicious fruit on top of this particular one and i just can't resist. bingsu is a popular summer dessert here, being served at nearly every coffee shop, but also on the summer menus at the likes of burger king and kfc. on the bottom is a layer of shaved ice, then on top you can get any combination of: cream, fruit, green tea flavored-something, azuki beans (which makes it the popular patbingsu), bits of rice cakes, flakes of cereal or chocolate, little candies, ice cream -- it's amazing. now, this berry bingsu that i'm in love with is about $9, which i can only imagine comes from the pricey fruit sitting on top, but it's worth it when i'm feeling like a fancy dessert on a hot summer night. 

that's all i've got for this installment, but i'm already making a list for the next entry. i even got some
of my students to help me -- they made a list of about a dozen korean dishes that i need to try, apparently, so i intend to do just that. and then i'll blog about it. 

How-to: NOREBANG.

So, it has recently come to my attention that my friends and I are quite spectacular at norebang. What is norebang? 노래방 translates to "song room" and it is just that -- so think karaoke, but not at a bar in front of tons of strangers, but a private room with your friends/coworkers. AND WITH TAMBOURINES. I've been to a private karaoke room once, last summer in Austin at the Highball, so if you've been there, norebang is like that, but BETTER. 


The room rentals are decently priced, especially when you split the cost among the group. The rooms range in size, from a small one perfect for four or five people, to huge ones that can accomodate over twenty. After renting your room, you can order drinks and food (or break out the ones you've smuggled in), settle in to flip through the songbooks, and then sing your little hearts out. 

Just look at that big book of songs! And the tambo! 

Typically, norebang seems to be a popular after-bar activity. They're open late and they're a good place to go as you sober up a bit. Or, it's the place to go once you've had a fair bit to drink and you've lost all fear of singing in front of your friends. They're so, so easy to find. I'm pretty sure I can't spit in my neighborhood without hitting a norebang. Just look for big ol' glowing signs like this in pretty much ANY area that has bars. 

Thank you, random site, for the stock norebang picture. 

Before coming here, I haaaaaated karaoke. I remember actually telling a friend once that if she tried to pull me up to the stage, she would literally have to drag my lifeless body as I had every intention of going into dead-weight mode. Here, it's different. Not only do the Koreans take it REALLY seriously, but it somehow isn't nearly as embarrassing. Maybe that's the makgeolli speaking, but having a private, dimly lit room with fancy disco lights and tambourines makes this pretty damn awesome. 

I believe this was during our rendition of "Build Me Up Buttercup."

Once, after a work dinner, by boss actually led the entire staff (Koreans and expat-teachers) to a norebang room, where I got to watch my normally quiet and polite (and one that I would actually describe as meek) Korean coworkers belt it out. And rap! And dance! Even my boss sang a few songs, and was very insistent that everyone participate. 

That's Mr. Kim there on the left, holding the microphone. 

At one point he was really concerned that I hadn't done a song yet. Sadly, Mr. Kim missed when one of our Korean staff, who knows I'm a dancer and also that I know some choreography to "Thriller," played it I could dance for everyone. So, that was interesting. Talk about a team-building exercise. Especially since we were all far from drunk. 

Yeah, it was awkward.

Recently, among my friends, norebang has taken on a dresscode: pajamas. 

Striking a pose on the sidewalk. And yes, Corey is wearing a fanny pack.

Why, after a long night (or day) of running around Seoul for shopping and hanging out and eating, stay in your going-out clothes? I'm not sure who among my friends started this trend, but I'm backing it 100%. (But this is coming from the girl who would happily stay in pajamas 24 hours a day.) 


We're into it. 

Singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" like professionals, nice and comfy in our pjs.

So, it turns out that the girl who never sings is completely into acting the fool and belting out a medley of 90's pop (and some classic oldies, obvs) with her friends on the weekends. Not all the time, as norebang as a tendency to kill my voice and throat ("go big or go home" is my approach to public singing), but it's definitely become a Korean hobby that I've embraced. 

Also, so much dancing! Really, you can't help yourself. It's infectious. 

long overdue...

oh, hey, rainy season. 

so despite my promises to write in this regularly, i have failed. spectacularly. it has been over two months since i've updated, and for that, i apologize.

since i last wrote, a term has ended and a new one is nearly halfway over -- we just finished week six of thirteen. i only have a little over four months left on my original contract here, meaning it's time to make some decisions about what comes next. my plan for now is to stay longer, but negotiate a term off either next spring or summer so i can come home for a bit. not sure if i'll be able to swing it, but i'm going to try. korea is still just too wonderful -- and my time here has gone by far too quickly. i'm not ready to say goodbye yet.

it's finally "hot" here, by korea standards. i haven't seen it break 90 degrees yet. the humidity here sucks, but really isn't any different from what i'm used to. the one thing about summer in korea that's really thrown me off is all the rain. summer means monsoon season. we've only had a week of it so far, but i'm already miserable. i need sunshine! especially when it's july and that's the time of year to be spent outside and in a swimsuit and sweating. the rain stopped last night and we actually have a weekend of blue skies and sun, so this morning was spend sunbathing at a park with a book. i'm thinking tomorrow may be outdoorsy... perhaps a hike and a picnic? i need vitamin d so i can survive the rainy weeks to come!

work is still great. this term i have some really spectacular students who just make my day better. the elementary kids in particular. this term i'm only teaching level two classes -- meaning these kids are really quite proficient in english. these classes are twice a week, one day dedicated to reading and the other to listening. each lesson is based around a particular topic, from honeybees to allergies, high fantasy literature (i got to talk about lord of the rings all class!) to bats (which also included a short reading passage on chupacabras?). sometimes the lessons are a little dry, but we find ways to have fun. for the most part, the kids are really receptive to my antics and i do my best to add interesting things to the lesson. for the bats lesson yesterday, i tracked down a good video of the congress bridge bat colony in austin, which they loved seeing. they were fascinated by the bats and asked me a million questions about what it looked like in person.

i'm also, after months of keeping my fingers crossed, teaching one of the masters literature classes. the theme is literary adventures and we're reading the true confessions of charlotte doyle, the hobbit, kidnapped, and peter pan. the students in this class have just moved up from lower levels, so literary analysis in english is still very new and intimidating. but guiding them along has been great -- they're starting to understand how to craft a strong thesis and express their analysis and interpretation of events in the novels. they've still got a long way to go, but they're definitely making progress. sadly, class was cancelled this week and next week because, as middle school students, they have their quarterly exams in their regular schools right now. we'd just started with the hobbit, but won't revisit it because by the time they come back, we're beginning kidnapped. with the other levels, classes being cut during middle school exam time doesn't affect the class -- each lesson is just for that class, so if you miss one, no big deal. with masters, it's cumulative, and we have a limited number of weeks to spend on each book. so, it's a bummer that we won't have a chance to finish the hobbit, but oh well.

besides work i've been trying to explore here and there. lately there's been a whole slew of birthdays, so the weekends have been spent in seoul celebrating in some fashion. my latest resolution is to go hiking more often. i've only done a little bit since getting here, and i'd really like to do more. there are a few mountains in seoul that i've got my eye on... originally, that was the plan for this weekend, but the rainy weather has made my knee so, so achy. since i'm gimpy, i'm going to take full advantage by resting and napping today, so hopefully tomorrow i can go for a walk up the small mountain near my apartment.

i also just bought my ticket to japan! my vacation is coming up in almost two months, and it is high time that i (finally!) go to japan. i'm really excited. i've been looking at all kinds of travel sites and blogs for ideas as well as listening to the suggestions from the friends i'll be visiting. i can't wait. though i do need to brush up on my japanese... it's seriously rusty after six? (or seven?) years of disuse. i've decided i'm staying in the general tokyo area, somewhat because i won't have a huge budget for this trip, but mostly because i don't want to cram too much into ten days.

that's really all i've got at the moment. life hasn't been particularly eventful, but it's been good. my birthday is coming up next week, so i'll try to post sometime soon to recap the festivities. (well, part one. part two comes on the 21st -- corey's birthday is a couple weeks after mine, so we're doing a joint party that weekend.) i think i'm going to challenge myself to update this weekly. i've come up with some ideas for entries -- like a review of the strange (and delicious) korean snacks! (there are SO MANY shrimp/squid flavored chips, and they're kind of excellent.) or maybe my observations about fashion here -- some of it is amazing, but then there are still a whooooole lot of mullets... and i've always got great stories about students to share... so, i make no promises, but i'll try to update more! really truly. i would even pinky promise this -- which is a SACRED oath here in korea. i make pinky promises with my students all the time.

but also, give me some feedback! family and friends: anything y'all want to hear about in particular? leave me a comment and let me know!

<3

Observations about South Korea, volume three.

1. Kids are fascinated by my romances, real or completely pretend. Some of you have heard these stories already... My students seem... preoccupied with imagining ridiculous and/or elaborate romances between teachers. This past term it seems that I've become a target. To begin with, these kids immediately want to know if I'm married. Then if I have a boyfriend. Then if I have children.

And then, every now and then, one of them will very seriously look at me and say something like this:
"You know, teacher, when you wear a ring it means you have a boyfriend."
"Any ring? On any finger?"
"Yes."
"(sensing where this is going) Oh, okay."
"Teacher. (serious stare) You have seven rings on."
"Yes. I have seven boyfriends."
"WHAT?! TEACHER!!"

So, to be fair, I haven't done much to dispel any rumors about me...

Since I have all these supposed boyfriends, much has been done to figure out who they are. According to my students, one of the other teachers is my "secret" boyfriend. But, our love is tragic, because I love him but he doesn't love me back. He's only toying with my emotions and I am very heartbroken.

Then there's my "scandal" boyfriend: one of the Korean counselors who happens to oversee most of my classes. Clearly, him coming into my class a couple times every day isn't because, say, he's doing his job and needs to check in with certain students, but it's because he's madly in love with me and he can't bear to be away from me. Yeah, okay, kids. And, because middle schoolers are ridiculous human beings, they think they have definitive proof of our gossip-worthy love: when we talk to each other, we make eye contact. Oh! The scandal!

And then there's my actual boyfriend, but my students don't much care about him. They probably don't think he's real or something. (Sorry, Corey.) Well, except a couple of my middle school girls. They are obsessed with my relationship and like to ask me "scandalous" questions. "Have you kissed your boyfriend?!? MORE THAN FIVE TIMES?!??!"

2. A day at the park is taken seriously. By this I mean Korean families set out for a day in the park all organized and seemingly packed like they were going camping for a long weekend.

I remember trips to the park as a kid -- usually with a picnic, a blanket, maybe some stuff to play with. This past weekend I spent a solid amount of my saturday hanging out at a park by the Han River and what did I immediately notice? Dozens. Of. Tents. Seriously. THAT is how you spend the day a the park. I'm impressed, Korea. As someone who quite enjoys a leisurely, shaded picnic in the park, you've made me kinda want to track down a tent of my own.

3. This country is too. Damn. Nocturnal. I'm a night owl. I have a bad habit of falling into a schedule where I stay up until 3am or so and then sleep late. (Or just nap a whole lot.) This bad cycle really got its hold on me in college. And I've tried to correct it, especially now that I'm working from 3-10pm, and sleeping until noon or one pm completely wastes my day. So I've tried really, really hard to be in bed by one am at the latest. Doesn't always work, but it's generally my goal.

However. Lately, it's finally warmed up. It's spring! I can leave my windows open! And it's wonderful. Except my neighborhood is full of bars. Bars that like to blast the same damn ten songs over and over. Until 3am.

I've looked like a damn zombie lately because I'm not sleeping well. Tried ear plugs -- they're annoying and kinda freak me out. So until it gets hot enough for my A/C, this is my battle. And I think it may mean just staying up late. Or, wearing myself out enough during the day that I can just pass out and sleep through the noise.

I'm just used to quiet neighborhoods. I've never lived IN the city like this before, so it's an odd adjustment to make.

4. That think-before-you-speak tact filter doesn't exist here. My students are always quick to tell me what they think of my appearance. More often than not, it's complimentary. "Teacher, you look so pretty today." "Teacher, I like your hair. It is cute today." Several girls, upon assessing my daily outfits, are convinced I'm filthy rich, and it's just not fair because I am also "smart, funny, and beautiful." It's all very sweet, but these kids are also quick to tell you what they really think.

"Teacher, your stockings. So red. Like blood."
"Oh, you don't like my tights?"
"They are not pretty. Because they look like blood."

"Teacher, you straight your hair today?"
"Yeah, my perm is starting to go flat. It's old. Time for my natural straight hair again."
"(appraising stare) I think it is much better."
"...Thanks?"

And the gem from today:
"Teacher, you have black eyes?"
"What?"
"Here, around your eyes. So dark today."
"Yes, teacher, like a panda!"
"I... have dark circles?"
"Yes! Like a panda! Are you very tired?"
"Well, yes, there's this bar near my apartment that plays loud music..."

Some of it is just kids being kids. I'm told some of it is also just Korean culture -- it isn't unkind or rude to bluntly comment on someone else's appearance. So I know they aren't doing it to be mean, they're just making observations... aloud.

5. Random elderly people LOVE talking to me. This has really been one of those random and delightful things about living in a country where I am very clearly from somewhere else. I seem to get approached nearly any time I'm out on my own, typically when I'm in a fairly captive situation, like a cab or on the subway/train. But luckily, the majority of these conversations have been charming and funny, even if we barely communicated much of anything.

One of the first memorable conversations was in a cab. It was the first time I'd been in a cab on my own here, and it was for a fairly long ride. After we got through the standard, "Where are you from" and "Are you teacher?" questions, the cabbie seemed to have run out of material. There was a long pause, and then:

"JFK!"
"I'm sorry -- what?"
"JFK! President! You know?"
"Ohhh, JFK, yeah. I know about him."
"Ronald Reagan!"
"Reagan? Yeah, him too."
"President!"
"Yeah. What about Barack Obama?"
"Accckkkkkk! (scoffing noise)"
"Haha..."
"Ahh... pop music! Michael! Jackson!"
"Yes! Music! I like his music."
"Basketball! Michael Jordan!"
"Yeah, Michael Jordan!"

This went on for like fifteen minutes. We covered pretty much every sport, various celebrities and musicians, as well as military ranks? It was funny. He was very, very nice. Tried so hard to have a conversation with me. And really made me wish I spoke more Korean so I could at least attempt to put in the same effort.

I had a very similar conversation with an old woman on the train not long after. Equally entertaining, although she spoke less than he did. But we tried really, really hard to communicate. At that point I'd picked up a few more Korean vocab words, so I was able to say a little bit more to her.

One day, heading home on a full subway car, an old man gave up from his seat after seeing that I was standing and basically herded me into it. Grabbed my shoulders, pushed me, pulled my backpack off of me, set it in my lap, and then stood and calmly chatted with me in English.

"Where are you from?"
"The United States."
"Ah! U.S.A.! Are you a student?"
"No, teacher. English teacher."
"Ahh, what age?"
"Elementary and middle school."

We chatted for a minute or so longer about very basic things: how long I'd been in korea, what city I was living in, etc. His english was really quite good for the basic conversation we were having. Then, my favorite part, was at the next subway stop when he suddenly threw his hands up and said, "Oh! I must leave! I am going to the senior center! To play ping pong!" This included him miming ping pong for me before giving me a friendly wave and literally bouncing out of the subway car.

The latest memorable conversation was with a middle-aged businessman, sitting across from me (on the floor) in the standing room only snack car on the KTX train. We'd made eye contact a couple times, mostly to share a laugh over the drunk guy who was absolutely belting it out in the private noreabang (karaoke) room on the train car. Then he scooted over to me cautiously.

"Excuse me, you speak English?"
"Yes, I do."
"Okay. I got this email... From my boss. American boss. I do not understand. (holds out cellphone)"

The email read: "Can back ups cover?"

Now, that doesn't really make much sense to me either. I asked if I could read the original email, which he agreed to. This businessman had explained in the email that he would be out of town and unable to take a certain conference call. After a few seconds of thinking, it dawned on me.

"Ohhh, are there other people working on this project? Like back up people? Who are helping you?"
"Yes."
"I think he's asking if one of them can take the conference call for you, since you'll miss it."
"AHHHHHH! Okay!"
"Does that help?"
"Yes. Very much. (pause) English is strange."
"I know, it really is."

--

So, that's all I've got to update with at the moment. In the next couple weeks I should be finding out a little bit about what I've got going on next term. Fingers crossed I'll be teaching a lit class...

I'm also planning an update with my overall reflections once I hit the six-month mark, which is just a few weeks. Crazy! I can't believe I've been here that long. The weeks are flying by, which I have very mixed feelings about. More on all that later. It's time to attempt to sleep despite the blaring music...