The real culture shock

Alright, this is going to be a long one, seeing how I still don't have internet in my apartment and things have been moving quite fast in the last few days.

SO orientation ended on Friday, and everyone had to say their goodbyes. I was really excited to finally be out of the hotel room, until I realized just how lonely I'm going to be living in my own little apartment. I am living in the province of Gyeongsangbuk on the eastern part of South Korea. My group rode a bus into Daegu, a large city within the province (3rd largest in the country) where our coteachers picked up us. Mine is a very nice older lady named Chun Hee. She is sweet and helpful and very motherly and hospitable...but she barely speaks English. So trying to explain my needs has been VERY difficult, but I am trying so hard to be patient because I know she is trying her best and has been nothing but good to me so far.

Anyway, I was previously told I was going to be teaching in Bonghwa, a very very small rural town of about 40,000 people up in the northern most part of Gyeongbuk. I was a little thrown off at first, but I was really excited to be living out in the countryside...until! my coteacher informed me that I'm actually going to be living in the nearby city, Yeongju. It's a miniature version of the larger urban cities with surrounding rural areas and is about 20 min from Bonghwa. She said that she heard that "foreigners like to live in the city" so they decided to place me dead center on the main busy and loud street of Yeongju. Although the accessibility to stores and such is nice, I was a little upset because I was really looking forward to a quiet, peaceful environment and now I'm right back in the city. I asked if they had opening places in Bonghwa but apparently it's full.

My apartment (or shoebox, I should say) is fairly new, but was unfurnished. So I had to sleep at Chun Hee's apartment for the first night. I slept on the floor (the traditional Korean way) and because they have heated floors, I nearly died of heat overnight. Not to mention I am terribly sick with a cough and stuffy nose. Saturday we went out and bought all my necessary furniture (paid for by the school) and it was delivered within an hour. So now my place is furnished and I'm all unpacked! I got some really nice furniture with a lot of space. I did not realize just how much stuff I ended up bringing with me!

Here's the best part of my trip: right before going to bed, I went to close my bathroom door...and after I did, I found out it was locked! So I am not able to get into my bathroom. So this morning when I woke up I had no choice but to (DISGUST ALERT!) pee in my kitchen sink. It's okay to be grossed out. Here's the best part: the kitchen has a giant open window with no curtain, facing many many buildings, thus exposing quite a bit to half of the city. But when you've gotta go, you gotta go. So I did.

THE REAL CULTURE SHOCK. My coteacher and I've walked around a bit and had some really good local food. It is weird being out and about without the company of other foreigners. It makes me feel really insecure, yet I can see that it'll be one hell of a challenge, and I'm kind of excited for it. I know it'll be hard because everyone here assumes I am Korean too. And hardly anyone here speaks English. I just start telling people my parents are from Laos because trying to explain what Hmong is to non-English speaking Koreans is beyond their comprehension and way too much of a headache.

Saturday was Korea's Independence Day from Japan so everyone had been out celebrating. My coteacher took me to her church where her church friends were all engaging in some pretty exciting rounds of Yunori, a game where you throw 4 sticks and whatever side they land on determines how many steps you move on a different board. It's kind of like Trouble/Sorry, only not as colorful or ruthless. But it was great how open and kind everyone was to me. The people I've met so far are very kind.

About the people: high school kids dress very funky and trendy. They've all got their Chucks on, tight pants, and colorful entourage of shirts and sport jackets. Then the women are all wearing heels and fancy clothes, no matter what the weather is! I'm okay walking around with my North Face zip up and crocs. Also, one of my BIGGEST pet peeves (and for no explanable reason) is people who chew with their mouths open and/or chew loudly. And this is what the Koreans do. Maybe if I join in it won't bother me so much.

OH, the food is A M A Z I N G. I was told this before I came but even so, I think it's better than everyone made it sound. Mmmmm. And I now love kimchi and seaweed more than I ever have in my life (this takes me back to 4th grade when our Japanese visitor brought us dry seaweed to eat, and I screamed "EWW" out-loud and was reprimanded for it). So many types of soup, I is so happy!

Okay, I think this about wraps it up for now. My nose is dripping badly and I need to go back to bed. First day of work tomorrow!

Peace, love, and Kimchi. (pictures soon once I get internet)

Inauguration of new president

SO yesterday was the inauguration of South Korea's new president, Lee Myung-bak. Apparently he's quite the conservative. Already within 24 hours, he implemented all these new changes to the country. It's been said that he plans to (basically) wipe out all Korean culture and language and make EVERYTHING English-friendly. This includes teaching Korean in ENGLISH. The National Ministry of Education has now merged with some other Science and Sport or something department, so there was a lot of changes in the administration, particularly in the program that I am working through, English Program in Korea (EPIK). Our director was relocated and they are throwing in a new one. This is unfortunate because the previous director was wonderful and such a great man. So now we are going to be having to deal with someone who knows nothing about the program.

Not only this, but EPIK's funds have been temporarily frozen until after March 1 when the new director arrives. So this means that a lot of the orientation's funding will be taken directly out of the pockets of the EPIK staff (thankfully all the hotel stuff has already been taken care of) and our airfare reimbursement that we were supposed to receive at the end of orientation has been pushed back. So instead of us each opening our own bank accounts once we arrive at our sites, the EPIK staff is opening one for all of us right now so that they can deposit our refunds into our accounts later. It's a bit messy and a bit crazy that this all happened on the SAME day as the inauguration. Supposedly, this isn't going to affect me as a teacher, but apparently things are never set in stone in this country. I'm looking forward to a great year.

In the meantime, I've been sitting in countless lectures learning about teaching techniques, Korean culture and lifestyle, and other semi-beneficial training information. Food is getting a bit old (and I'm eating way too much of it), but today we had noodles and it was delish.

Fun stuff to follow.

Holy cow I am really here

So I arrived last night to WARM weather (okay, anything relative to Wisconsin weather is warm so HA!). Korean Air is a very nice airline--great selection of movies/shows (I got to watch all the best goals of the Barclays Premier League from the 06-07 season) and pretty decent food. It was great when the flight attendants kept talking to me in Korean. This is going to take some getting used to.

So after a LONG 14 hour flight, we had to take a shuttle bus ANOTHER 2.5 hours to Daejeon. We were immediately provided a Korean dinner where we sat on the floor. Unfortunately, I have very poor circulation so my foot fell asleep within 2 minutes. I need to work on this. Darn blood system. We had lots of kimchi (YUM) and beef soup. The city lights up quite a bit--a bit Vegas-like. We also passed by the Daejeon World Cup stadium (WOO!).

Then we basically crashed as soon as we reached the hotel. Today we walked a bit around. Very different here. I will be here for the next week for orientation. So I've basically only met other foreigners.

Otherwise, I'm not used to being part of the "majority." It's kind of like being at a Hmong tournament 24/7, only I can't understand the people at all versus can't understand most of them.

I miss everyone! But hey, I'm in South Korea DUDE! I'm so excited that I get to add South Korea on my "Where Have I Been/Lived?" map!

What is the purpose of this entry?

I want to try and be one of those people who only blog about sophisticated, profound, political observations and interpretations. But the truth is, I'm kind of a bonehead when it comes to those things. I relish and thrive in the sillyness and amusement I receive from my daily encounters (i.e. Silly man spills coffee on himself from staring at my boobs or I trip over a curb laughing at the silly man that spills coffee on himself from staring at my boobs). So be on the lookout for all of the above. Whichever comes to mind first. Or whichever I remember at the time. Or whatever.

So, I've got my visa. I've got my passport. I've got my plane ticket. All I'm missing is my sanity. Has anyone seen it? I was told it was supposed to arrive with sexy, but JT brought sexyback empty-handed. Anyway, I've connected with many fellow program teachers (via the ole mighty Facebook) and I've been able to prep myself a bit for what I'm about to endure. I'm kind of scared of the unexpected things that will disappoint my super high expectations but I figure, hey what the infierno. C'est la vie. I should really learn French.

Officialized and worrysome

It's official. Well, getting my work visa will make it official. But it's a little more official now that I have purchased my ticket. I am leaving at 9:15am on February 20th.

2 weeks!

Oh, this also kind of freaked me out. Read if you have the time. If you don't, it's basically one foreigner's account of being arrested in South Korea for calling the police about a drunk man who was harrassing him non-stop. Ridiculous story.

I Got Arrested for Calling the Police

Anxious

I have less than 3 weeks left until take off. I. AM. FREAK. ING. OUT. And most of it is not because of the fact that I am leaving per se, but rather because I have yet to receive my documents to apply for my visa and information regarding FINALLY purchasing my plane ticket (crazy, I know). But it makes me feel a little more secure knowing that other EPIK (English Program in Korea) teachers are in the exact same position.

I am getting really sad. I will miss everyone. Please miss me too--that'll make me feel like it's actually worth going somewhere and doing something different.