Part 2 of 2

My dad spent much of his childhood in Hendersonville, NC where a number of his relatives still reside.  He does not see them as often as he would like, but he will be there every year around this time, no matter what.  Mr. and Mrs. John R. Hollingsworth are buried in a cemetery on Hwy 64 leading out of Hendersonville towards Brevard.  Every year at Christmas my family loads up the Lincoln Town Car and treks north toward Hendersonville with two goals in mind.  Number one: we place a Christmas wreath on the graves of my late grandparents.  I never knew my dad's parents, but I enjoy visiting the cemetery and allowing my dad the opportunity to reminisce.  After that is said and done, we make our way to the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site.  My mom's dream is to have the ultimate family experience...and by "ultimate family experience" I mean live on a mountain in southern Virginia with her entire extended family including three sons named John Boy, Jim Bob, and Shemp, or whatever their names were.  In short, she never misses an opportunity to fashion together a "memory", as she likes to call them.  She is giddy for a week leading up to the Christmas trip to the Carl Sandburg home.  Once there, we (grown adults) pile out of the car and are each handed a zip-lock sandwich bag containing bird seed and several red ribbons.  My mom is smiling from ear to ear.  This is her moment.  With our collective pride left in the car, my dad, my two brothers, and myself (again, grown adults) step onto the nature trail leading into the forest.  Our goal: to find a little Christmas tree, decorate it with the aforementioned ribbons, and scatter the bird seed on the ground.  We all (excluding my mom) try to find a tree off the trail.  Way off the trail.  This way no passersby will spot us.  Once the lucky tree is located, we all survey the surrounding area to make certain that we're alone.  Then we begin, decorating as quickly as possible to avoid ridicule of any strangers who may see us. 

Everyone is out of ribbons.  Bird seed is scattered.  Then it happens.  (Let me state for the record: I'm NOT making this up.  I don't think anyone could make this up.)  My mom begins to sing.  Every year.  She sings We Wish You a Merry Christmas.  To whom is she singing you may be wondering?  To us?  No.  Christmas caroling to the other people who may be passing by?  Nope.  She is singing to the little forest animals who are hiding nearby watching us decorate.  Usually my brothers or even my dad try to hurry everyone along after the seed is scattered because we all know what is about to happen.  But it never fails.  Not once since we were little boys.  My brothers and I look at each other and then back at the ground.  Is this really happening? 

This is our tradition.  Our memory.  I wouldn't miss it for the world...unless of course I'm on the other side of the world.  Like I said: maybe, just maybe, Jessica lucked out this year.  But I love to remind her that she can't avoid it forever.  There's always next year.

Part 1 of 2

We waited as patiently as possible.  In my book, the Christmas season DOES NOT begin until the day after Thanksgiving.  I don't care what the decision makers at Haywood Mall say.  We did listen to a little Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but that is the only concession I allowed us.  In Yeongju, South Korea Thanksgiving Day was like any other day.  We both got up earlier than we'd like.  We both went to work.  We both had regular classes.  Jessica told the little girl to either stop picking her nose or eat the boogers.  I dealt with that little punk in the third grade.  The usual stuff.  So when Thursday evening finally rolled around, the fact that it was now morally acceptable to transition to Christmas mode did not automatically become apparent to me.  We were on a regular trip to Homeplus when we saw the aisles of Christmas decorations.  And it hit me: IT'S TIME!  No more waiting.  Green light.  We bought our little Christmas tree, a couple strings of lights, and headed home to decorate.

It's now Sunday, and Jessica and I are putting the Christmas ornaments, garland, and star on the tree.  We decided to make homemade ornaments this year, not because we had to, but because we want to...and because we are both crafty creative people.  We took our bottle cap collection and attached hemp string to each one to make ornaments.  This is by far my favorite tree I've ever had.  But I started thinking while we were decorating about all of the Christmas traditions that we'll miss this year, and with this being our first Christmas as husband and wife, the thought of being so far from home is especially heavy on my heart.  Not sad, just very apparent.  I won't get to attend the annual Christmas party at Jessica's uncle Calvin's house.  She looks forward to it every year.  Jessica won't get to meet my cousins for the first time at our annual Christmas Eve get-together that has been growing with new children every time.  We both won't get to experience the busyness that comes with being married and having to attend multiple Christmas dinners and parties on the same day, and eating way too much at each stop.  This is an excellent way to experience our first year together as a married couple, and we'll learn many valuable lessons having no one to depend on but each other, but it's just not the same.  Perhaps most dissappointing of all, Jessica will miss the annual Hollingsworth trip up the mountain to Hendersonville, NC.  Or maybe, just maybe, she lucked out this year.  Let me explain....

Black Friday

This is a picture from earlier this evening.  Hyewon and Jiwon really enjoy playing on our bed because they've never seen one raised up off the ground.  The two sisters belong to Susie, one of my co-teachers.  They came over for dinner tonight with Sophy, my other co-teacher.  I invited the special Ed teacher, Ralph (the English name i gave him) but he had to cancel this afternoon.  It would have been nice to have another dude to talk about dude things with.  but his English isn't the greatest, so it probably wouldn't have made a difference.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll note that we are very thankful for the friends we've made in Korea.  My co-teachers have made this transition super easy.  They've gone out of their way on numerous occasions to make sure everything was going well for us.

For all of you that have been waiting in suspense to see where we're living, here you go.  The small room with the couch and Christmas tree was a storage and laundry room, but we removed the doors and expanded our little studio apartment with a sitting room.  We're so excited to have a Christmas tree, even if its no bigger than Charlie Brown's.  All of our ornaments are going to be homemade with hemp, bottle caps, and a hot glue gun.

Headed to Daegu (Starbucks) tomorrow.

Thursday

Life has gone on as usual here in South Korea.  I understand that North Korea presents a serious situation, but we are honestly very unconcerned about yesterday's events....unconcerned about our safety that is.  The shelling took place on Yeonpyeong Island, near the disputed Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas.  The island is approximately 75 miles off the shoreline of Incheon, which is about an hour's drive away from Seoul.  Once arriving in Seoul, it would take 2.5 hours to get to Yeongju by bus.  All that to say that we're a long way from there.  We're also shielded by mountains in every direction.  We're fine.  We wouldn't even know anything had happened if we hadn't seen the American media outlets.  Like I said, its a serious situation, but the folks at home are probably more spooked by the news than we are.  But don't worry, we'll leave should it become necessary.

Now that that's out of the way, we can move on to Thanksgiving, or lack there of.  Today is Thursday, but it's just another day here.  We had planned to go visit the DMZ this coming weekend, but obviously we changed our minds.  I think we'll go to Daegu instead and enjoy Starbucks again.

This afternoon.

Check out this article concerning this afternoon's attack on South Korea.  We're not that close to where this took place, but we'll keep an eye on it none the less.

Lost in Translation

One of the frustrating things about living in another country is that no one can understand you.  One of the best things about living in another country is that no one can understand you.  Jessica and I have experienced so many moments of confusion and disappointment because what we are trying to accomplish cannot happen for some reason we do not understand.  As I mentioned in another post, we have tried to purchase various items at Homeplus on multiple occassions, and our efforts have gone for naught.  The last time this happened, we had a grocery cart full of items, over 100,000 Won (more than $100).  We bought chicken, cereal, make-up, toilet paper, coffee, an alarm clock, etc.  But for some reason, the cashier would not let us purchase two pillows for our couch.  To this day I still have no clue what the problem was.  She tried to explain, and we tried to explain that we wanted to buy them, but in the end we left with no pillows.  Life would be so much easier if we could understand what people are saying here.  On the flipside, this lapse in communication skills affords us the opportunity to speak freely when we otherwise wouldn't.  Last Saturday at the grocery store, an old lady blatantly cut in line in front of us at the checkout.  It was a long line.  There was no mistaking that we were standing there with our basket of groceries.  Jessica and I freely joked out loud about how we'd love to karate chop that old lady between the eyes, or hold her head under the water in one of the many octopus tanks we pass.  No one knew what we were saying (I hope).  At least no one reacted.  This is one of the pleasures of a culture that speaks another language.  In my classroom yesterday, I was teaching third graders.  I was having a hard time quieting them on this particular day.  They usually aren't this difficult.  The class calmed, except for one particular student.  When my patience ran dry, I looked the boy directly in the eyes and said with as much sincerity as was possible, "if you don't shut up, I'm gonna break your arm."  Nothing.  Blank stares.  I felt better though.

Sunday

We woke up today to a text sent to both of our phones that said "Will you come to church today at 11:30?  If you come, you will get a gift."  Not entirely sure what to make of the text, we decided not to go.  I don't think either one of us were necessarily thrilled about the church to begin with.  We were excited about finding an English speaking group there, and were excited that it was so close to our apartment, but not the actual "church."  The text message confirmed our thoughts that we would not return, and seek other options.  A little later in the morning we listened to a sermon from Brushy Creek, the church we had been attending back at home.  So we will continue to search.

We finally got out of the apartment some time not long after noon.  It has been a very nice day in Yeongju.  Comfortable weather, sort of like Fall at home....not cold, but not hot.  Walked through a market close by and explored some of the narrow pathways that lead through "neighborhoods".  The houses in Yeongju are packed in tightly with no room for cars to pull up to the front door and unload groceries.  I like that.  Even though there are many cars and morning traffic scares me to death when I walk to the bus stop, I still get the feeling that this is a "pedestrian friendly" town.  When I say "pedestrian friendly" I mean that in the same way as New York City.  There are millions of cars and taxis that fill up the Manhattan streets every second of the day, but so many people walk and use public transportation.  This is something that I enjoy.

 My goal when we return home is to continue this habit of transporting myself without the use of a car.  I know Greenville isn't designed to cater to the walker, but its a worthy goal.  We're healthier from all the exercise we get.  We're able to save more money without spending our entire paycheck on gas, insurance, oil, etc.  It's just a better lifestyle.

Included in this post are several pictures from our day about town.  The first is a pathway between houses.  Next is what we refer to as the "fish market" near our house.  The vendors sell much more than fish, but there's enough fish there to smell your way to it if you're lost.  Third is another alley way leading into a group of houses right in the middle of town.  We've had a good time exploring these narrow passages.  They are one of the things that really give me the feeling of being on the other side of the world.  It's odd to me that I don't always feel like i'm so far from home.  There are so many of the same modern conveniences and familiar businesses.  I actually have to make an effort to feel like I'm in a completely different country on a completely different continent.  Odd.  Following that picture is the Fish Market again.  Jessica tried to snap a few shots of the lady and her octopus buckets.  We're never sure if people mind us taking pictures of their goods.  The last picture is a from a balcony we were able to climb to while we were wondering through the houses.

Learnin'

Ga-Hae, Hyun, and Jessica

We had a great time last night with Jessica's two new friends from Dunkin' Donuts.  The menu consisted of ham and cheese omelettes and chips....all eaten with chopsticks.  One thing that I really like about young Koreans is that they are eager to learn English.  Hyun (center of picture) even brought her English study book.  We have a Korean language book as well, so after eating we learned new words and phrases in the other's language while enjoying various drinks...just one example of the wild parties at the Hollingsworth household.  Last week Jessica and I had the random conversation of regretting things we haven't done.  We're both in agreement that coming to live in Korea was one of the best decisions we've ever made.  We miss home, but this experience is one that we could never get if we didn't leave everything we've ever known and traveled to the other side of the world.  Along those same lines, I realized that if I don't make it a point to take a part of this experience back to the US with me, I will definitely regret it.  That was the day I decided to learn the language.  Up until this point I really had no desire to learn Korean.  I'll have no use for it at home.  There's one Korean restaurant in Greenville, but I've never been.  I don't run into any Korean people (that I know of) on the streets of Greenville.  If I learn to speak Korean I'll simply forget it when we return for lack of use.  What's the point?  However, I came to the realization that this entire year will be a waste if I don't do what it is we came here to do...experience life in a way we never have.  Learning a language is not an easy process, but it can be an exciting one.  I have by no means learned to be conversational, but I have at least learned to not be socially awkward.  I can say hello and goodbye.  I can say please and thank you.  I can order coffee, with milk, and ask a shopkeeper how much a particular item costs.  There's a little more, but these are the phrases that have been most helpful so far.  So we'll see where this little journey takes us.

Saturday

its been a pretty uneventful Saturday so far.  we had planned to visit Sobaek National Park which is very close by, but opted for sleeping in.  very wise decision.  did a little grocery shopping.  cleaned.  we've got a couple of guests coming over tonight for dinner...two of jessica's new friends that work at Dunkin' Donuts.  they've never had omelettes so thats what i'm cooking.  thats all folks.

Kim Jong-Un

Those poor North Koreans just can't seem to catch a break.

English For Life newsletter

the school where i took the TESOL certification course, English For Life, sends out a monthly newsletter.  This month they included an email interview i did about my experiences with kindergarten children in Korea.  of course there was some editing for the newsletter, but my original responses made me smile when i wrote them.  here you go.  enjoy.

During the course of the month-long intensive TESOL training in Greenville, SC last summer, we spent a few days covering everyone's favorite topic: the antichrist.  Or children, whatever you want to call it.  Specifically children that 1) do not speak your language, 2) have no desire to learn your language, and 3) really don't even know what a language is or that others exist.  The instructor for this particular section of our course asked what each person had learned after the lesson.  My answer to the class was crystal clear: I DO NOT want to teach children. So, as fate would have it, I signed a 12 month contract that obligates me to spend the entire working week teaching English to the above referenced "children".  Children are very cute, especially when they are from other cultures.  I have even caught myself thinking "I'd like to have a few of my own one day."  However, the truth is that they will eat you alive if you turn your back for even a second.  For the first few weeks I dreaded going to my classes.  To make matters worse, my Korean co-teachers would not be joining me in the classroom.  They had their own classes to teach.  So there I was, alone with 15 Korean five year olds who think I'm crazy because the words coming out of my mouth sound like gibberish.  Apparently they interpreted this as a green light to tear my classroom apart.  Then one day the realization came to me that if I don't figure out how to deal with my current situation, it will be a very long and miserable year.  I began to ask myself what children enjoy doing.  They like to be loud.  They like to run around.  They like to color.  How could I combine these three activities into an educational 40 minutes?  And then the light bulb came on.  I created a game that involved yelling, running, and colors.  We went outside where I had cut out big letters spelling different colors and tacked them to trees.  I also had made big flash cards with four different colors on them.  I managed to get the children into a group and then I held up a color flash card.  I yelled the color as loud as I could.  Their eyes lit up and they yelled the color as well.  Then I ran to the tree with the color.  They followed.  This was all the instruction that was needed.  When I held up the next color flash card, they hesitated for a second and then yelled the color and ran to the next tree.  We did this for 30 minutes.  Here's what I learned:

1) When working with small children, no activity is too simple.
2) Incorporate what children do best: yell, run, color.
3) Even though an activity seems simple and repetitive, it is actually reinforcing the target material.  Children need repetition for understanding.
4) When a child falls down and starts crying, just give it a minute, he'll get over it.

and then it hit me....

when we arrived in Korea, everyone looked the same.  black hair.  fair to semi-dark skin.  narrow eyes.  they were short.  somebody made a killing selling sandals.  the feeling was compounded when i began teaching.  i had classrooms full of small Asian clones.  the first morning that i was going to ride to school with a fellow teacher, i was secretly anxious as i stood at the appointed space on the sidewalk.  would i remember what he looked like?  i mean, I've been working with this guy for about a week, but for the life of me i couldn't recall his face in my mind.  i resigned myself to the hope that he would know who i was.  six feet.  six inches.  white.  red beard.  i stand out in a crowd.  and then time passed and i began to notice subtle differences in each person's appearance.  its amazing how different each person's eyes are.  contrary to popular western stereotypes, not all Asians have the same "slanted" eyes.  some of my students are quiet.  some of my students are participatory.  some of my students are class clowns.  with most of my students, i know to what point they will try to push my patience, and consequently where to counter-act their pushing.  over two months I've gotten to know 100+ little Korean personalities.  and today it hit me: I don't know any of their names.  learning 100+ little Korean names at the beginning of our stay here was too much to even think about.  now, i really want to be able to call them something.  but i can't.

weekend update

the day count in korea is officially 2 months....as of nov. 12.  we arrived here sept. 12.  two months have passed, but it really doesn't feel as long.  we're happy here.  both of us are staying busy.  we've gotten into a few routines.  every wednesday we have dinner with my two co-teachers, their kids, and whoever else happens to be there.  last week the office manager at school was there with her two sons.  its a lot of fun.  we're really happy about the relationships we've built/are building with the koreans.  they have been very hospitable, and have made this transition for us very easy and comfortable.  Jessica has also made a friend.  We frequent Dunkin Donuts quite often and have gotten to know the manager and one of the employees, Hyun Kwack.  Jessica and Hyun had lunch this week and are getting together with one of the other girls from DD's this evening for dinner at their apartment.  I was a bit worried about not getting involved with the "locals" here but we've been able to meet some really nice people who want to be our friends.  We have also been invited to a musical by one of the student's parents this afternoon.  we're not sure yet what "musical" means in korea but we're up for the adventure.  other than that, we're just relaxing over the weekend.

cold

we bought big coats lastnight in preparation for the coming winter...and just in time.  this morning while walking to the bus stop i had to pull my hood up as the wind was quite strong.  the skies were blue and clear but there was snow on the mountains surrounding town.  jessica and i have been looking forward to seeing snow that lasts more than 24 hours.  but now i'm realizing what we had forgotten.  snow = cold.  and cold = colds.  and colds = no fun for anybody.  but we'll learn how to manage and stay warm.  at least it'll be a white christmas. 

I have only one class today.  we have standardized testing at school in the morning, so i'll just have my one afternoon 2nd grade class.  then no class tomorrow or friday.  this is the easiest money i've ever made.

update...

i just noticed its been a week since my last post.  sorry.  here's the past week's highlight reel:

- Jessica went to the doctor last week.  she isn't on my insurance yet.  what did the visit and small procedure sans insurance cost us?  one (1) bag of homemade korean rice cakes.  you're turn mr. president.
- Yesterday was a sort of multi-cultural day at school.  given the fact that i'm basically Mr. Multi-culture at my school, it would make sense that some part of the day's festivities would involve me, or at least the english center.  nope.  classes cancelled.  i'm not complaining though.
- One of my Korean co-teachers in the English center came over for dinner with her two little girls (2yrs and 4yrs) wednesday night.  Had fun.  pics on Jessica's Facebook.
- Taking a trip to Daegu tomorrow.  "Luke, you must travel to the Daegu system."  That's from Gabe...wish i could claim that bit of wit.
- I'm up to four cups of coffee per morning.
- We found a church.  and all this time its been a 60 second walk from our apartment.  1st Pres. Yeongju.  there's an english Bible study on sunday mornings and the small group of about 8 is trying to get together an english worship service.  we're really excited about that. 
- Thats really about it.  not much to report.  we'll put up some pics from Daegu after the weekend.