Observations

Observe the image:
Humm, I see a woman dancing on a platform, loud speaker, another on a megaphone and another on stilts. This was the magical display outside my apartment this afternoon. I think it was some "grand opening" of a store in my building. These sort of displays are all to usual.

Let me share a few more strange but true things about Korea:

1. Grocery shopping is a sport.

2. Women wear high heals everywhere and all the time.

3. Men dress incredibly well and care just as much about appearance as women do (one of my favorite things about Korea).

4. People dress very well.

4. Public Displays of Affection are rampant; when on the subway it sometimes seems like the couples are competing to see who can be the most obvious about their love.

5. Friends are very affectionate no matter the gender; males walk around with their arms around one another shoulders as do females.

6. Rock, scissor, paper can be used to decide ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME.

7. Lingerie is sold in matching male and female sets.

8. If you are a foreign woman and happen to be attractive it is assumed that you are Russian and a prostitute.

9. Korean moms are crazy and usually think their children are God.

10. Soju ( a vodka like drink) is drank like water.

11. Most Korean foods are "Number 1 health food!"

12. There is no tipping in restaurants and to call the waiter you just yell waiter in korean then you say what you want and give me in korean- no need for politeness.

13. Staring at strangers is perfectly acceptable.

14. There are no dryers so clothing is continually crispy and wrinkled.

15. Their version of toothpaste sucks as does the mascara.

16. Heat comes through the floor.

17. The bathroom does not separate the shower, toilet and sink so after showering your whole bathroom is wet. I find this really annoying.

18. Shoes are never to be worn in the house, even your own, and separate shoes are worn in the bathroom.

19. Traffic is always bad no matter the day or time.

20. When shopping you are followed very closely. Not the "we think your stealing" following but the "silly foreigner let me help you to the fat section" kind of following.

21. Koreans do not understand the concept of a yard because homes are apartment buildings and do not have yard space.

22. Cheese and whipping cream is crazy expensive. I am talking 20$ for a medium block of cheddar.

23. Fruit is often given as a gift.

24. Men smoke like chimneys and women smoke in secret.

25. Rain is kryptonite and must be avoided at all costs.

26. Alcohol samples are given at the grocery store.

27. Physical fitness is non existent.

28. Koreans want to know your height, age, weight, nationality and marital status within moments of meeting. My students are always inquiring about these things.

29. Kimchee is eaten with everything. Loving Kimchee is a requirement of all Koreans.

30. Instant coffee is drank as much as kimchee is eaten and loved almost equally.

These are in no particular order. This is not a hate on Korea list. This is an observation of differences list.

On the Subway

I would want to shake my hand too.

A few weeks ago Sarah and I were on the subway. It was around 9 am and rush hour(s) was over so the subway was not too crowded. We are standing towards the back of the car chatting when I notice a group of about 7 teenaged boys at the other end of the car. They are talking and looking over at us and slowly begin to creep down the car towards us. After some shoving and such they end up at the other end of the car a few feet behind Sarah and I. Now, in Korea it is pretty much socially acceptable to stare shamelessly at people. So I have no problem obviously staring at this group of boys through this whole interaction. I watch them play a few rounds of rock/paper/scissor (this method is used frequently to make decisions in Korea) and someone is chosen. One boy emerges from the group and walks towards us then hurries back. He is pushed out of the circle again in our direction. His friends are all in the background watching and laughing. He finally makes it up to me, eyes darting around trying to avoid contact with me, and sticks out his hand for me to shake. I oblige and shake his hand. No words come out of his mouth or mine. He quickly turns around and is welcomed back to his friends with pats to the back and hi-fives. I could not help but laugh and continue to stare at them, just to make them feel uncomfortable. It worked and they got off at the next station.

This whole situation was comical to me. They were not being rude in anyway. They were driven by shear curiosity.

Changgyeonggung Palace

Try saying that word 10 times fast (or even once at all)! I went to this palace on Sunday afternoon. It was another windy and cool day but the sun was out. Perfect weather for a walk around a palace. This palace is basically right in the middle of the city. It was only a 10 minute walk from the subway station! We don't have palaces in the US and if we did I doubt they would be right in the city.

This palace was built in the late 1400s by King Seongjong because the original palace was just too crowded. Then the Japanese came over and basically took control of it for quite some time. They destroyed it once, then rebuilt it. Then it burned down and was rebuilt again. Then in 1907 was destroyed again and replaced by a zoo and botanical garden. Then in 1983 the Korean government began to restore it to its original state (sans the garden and zoo).

I wondered around the grounds for a few hours. The grounds were beautiful and there was a lot to see. Here are my highlights.

There were 5 or 6 phone booths randomly placed around the palace. Weird.

This photo is crooked. Oops.

Contemporary Art Museum

Greetings all! I admit, I have been entirely negligent about posting. Forgive me.

First of all my actual job, teaching, is off to a nice start. I am finally learning my students names and trying to build up a little rapport with each class. Some students have a tendency to think they can just do whatever they want when a native english teacher is teaching. They can be really disrespectful and take advantage of that fact that you don't know what they are saying when they speak in Korean (which is not allowed in class). I have been trying to get to know my students personally by asking about their hobbies and such. They also like to ask me all kinds of questions about my love life, eating habits and family. I don't mind answering. I do this in the hopes that they might be inclined to be more respectful of a teacher who they like and feel cares about them and is interested in them a people. We will see if it works.

One of my favorite things is when I get new student. Unless they already have an English name I get to choose one for them (well, they choose but I give them the options)!! I have named a Paul, Chris and Calvin. They are already 3 of my favorite students.

Today we went to the National Museum of Contemporary Art. It is not far from where we live and was free so why not. The weather today was what I call "a Seattle day" because it was overcast, looking like it could possibly rain, windy and mildly cold. Totally like a fall day in Seattle.

Anyways, when we got out of the subway we went to find the shuttle bus to the museum. Once we exited the unusually quiet subway area the street above was oddly deserted as well. There was hardly another person around. The wind was strong today, we could just hear it howling as we made our way to the shuttle. We eventually got on a train that took us to the museum. We were literally the only people on the train. There was also a tram to the museum but we decided we would probably freeze to death if we took it. Well, on our train ride we saw one lone person bravely riding it in the freezing howling wind. I seriously felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something. We made it to the museum and it was very interesting and fun to spend the afternoon looking at art. I wish I could take photos of the art inside but no such luck.

Naturally the order of these photos is messed up, but I'll explain best as I can.

Out front of the entrance. Not getting very far guys.
These are two of my coworkers. Amy is waving and Deborah is trudging on forward.
There was an outdoor sculpture garden. This is part of it.

And here we have more out door sculpture. (Thats the tram in the background)
This dude was set up with some serious speakers and stuff. He sang and his arms and mouth moved. It sounded really cool actually mostly because you could also hear the wind sailing through the bridge in the background and the water falling.
See what I mean! No people!

On our way back we were just about to sit down and wait in the bitter cold and wind for the train back toward the subway when a lady drives up and offers us a ride! Sweet! We totally took it!

A Wedding!

Not mine, don't worry.

Today us teachers were chatting before classes and Arthur, the only male teacher, walks into the room. He recently became engaged so we were asking him how his future wife was doing and when the weeding will be. Then he darts out of the room and comes back with wedding invitations for us in hand!! Ah! How exciting! We are all invited to his wedding! I am so excited about this. Seriously.

So the initial excitement dies down and we realize we have nothing to wear to such an occasion. I brought like 1/16 of my wardrobe to Korea so I KNOW I will have to buy something. Koreans typically dress very well even for mundane activities like grocery shopping, so I am a little intimidated by their formal wear. I tried to ask some of my students for advice but I think my question was lost in translation. I was told first by a a student to wear a white gown (I think they thought I was getting married) then I was told to wear a suit (not sure where that came from, maybe Korean women wear suits). So basically they were no help.

Also finding sizes that fit my body type might be a challenge here in Korea. I have noticed the ladies are quite slim over here. Now I'm not that big, some in the states would say I'm a slim woman, but I'm not in the states anymore. When I stand next to a Korean lady I appear nearly obese. Hum. Looks like I might need to find Korea's plus size stores.

Despite all that I know I'll find something fabulous! The wedding is in April, Easter Sunday to be exact! I cant wait to tell you all about it.

My Address

A-Class Academy
1099-2 Daelim Plaza Bld. 5F
Sanbon-dong, Gunpo-Si
Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea

That is it! Send me something if you want!!

Going to the Doctor

So the other day I notice a cut on my hand, no big deal right? Well it turned into a big deal when it started to hurt and look, um well, not right. So I think I can just heal it myself. You know a little tea tree oil and a band-aid that should do the trick. The situation was not getting any better so I start to look up "hand infection" online to see what else I could do. Everything online was saying "go immediately to a doctor ...untreated infection can lead to AMPUTATION...". So now I'm freaking out a little and thinking I need a doctor ASAP.

But there was a little problem with that simple solution.

I don't have my medical card yet and I don't speak Korean so its not like I can just waltz into any doctors office or an ER. What to do, what to do?! I did not know so I called another teacher that I work with and she says I should Sione (my school's director) and ask him what to do. So I'm thinking "great, this is going to be awkward." But whatever if a little awkwardness is what I have to do to keep my hand so be it! So Sione said someone could take me to a doctor in the morning! Great!

So the next day Sione tells me that MS (another director type at my school) is going to take me. Off we go to the doctor. We get there and next thing I know it is me, MS, the Doctor and a nurse. The doctor has my hand and is talking to MS in Korean. I have no idea what is going on. Then the nurse starts to bring in needles and knives and scissor looking things. Shoot, this is getting serious. MS says a few things to me in English, but I dont know what is happening. At this point I decided to shut my eyes because, well, I don't know but I knew watching would not make me feel any better. I hear some Korean speaking, I feel a needle go into my hand and the doctor says "pain injection". Yea, pain is right. I feel poking prodding and hear more Korean and I am still confused. Then they lead me into another room and the doctor says something to MS, he laughs a little and looks away and leaves the room. Then the nurse says to me "injection, buttox" and I realize why MS was laughing. So the nurse gives me a shot, of what I do not know. The doctor comes back and bandages my hand and we are on our way.

Oh yes, it gets even more awkward! They also gave me some mystery pills to take. Well, MS did not know how to tell me what to do with said pills in English so he has to bring in another one of my coworkers to help translate!

See the nice bandage they gave me! I don't know what is going on underneath there but I guess I have to go back tomorrow to make sure they don't need to amputate .
These are the mystery pills. I hope it works!