Job Security

Yes, we WILL be returning home next year.

Phobia

Before leaving the US for Korea, some people were very vocal in reminding us "that's not the good ol' USA over there.  Watch each other's back.  Keep your money in your underwear."  Apparently it is common international knowledge that anyone who is not white will rob anyone who is white.  Although I know we need to be careful and not flash our overly stuffed American wallets at the locals, I also know that I feel much safer in Yeongju, South Korea than I do in Greenville, South Carolina.  How's that for culture shock?  Jessica and I have felt quite at ease here.  Rarely do I worry if she walks by herself somewhere after dark, even if it involves some of the lesser lit city streets.  Even though many people stare, they don't often speak.  Nor have we ever been bothered.  People just go about their business.

However, I have developed one very legitimate fear.  Not of people.  Not of octopus.  Not even of the old ladies who brazenly cut in line at the grocery store.  (Note to future travelers in Korea: DO NOT question their line cutting practices unless you want to die.)  I'm afraid of the toilets.  Yes, the toilets.  Well not so much the toilet itself, but the act of using the toilets.  Why?  Again, we're not in the 'good ol' USA' anymore.  The majority of toilets here are of the squat version, meaning there's a hole in the ground.  Nothing to sit on.

For 3 months this paralyzing fear has kept me from using the facilities at school.  I have refused to do anything that involves more than a urinal.  That all changed for me last week.  I decided that I needed to overcome this fear.  I'm a grown man.  I'm taller than everyone else here.  Apparently my beard means I've got more testosterone than all the other men at school.  If they can do it, so can I.

Upon entering the stall with truck loads of determination, I stare at the hole for a few minutes, not exactly sure what to do.  My first though was that I can't afford for my pants to touch anything, or rather anything touch my pants.  I don't keep a spare in my desk.  So the pants come off.  As I hang them on the stall door, I begin to imagine everything that could go wrong in this situation.  The principal's office is right outside the bathroom. What if the toilet overflows?  What if I fall and can't reach my pants?  What if I'm so excited for overcoming my fear that I forget to put my pants back on after I'm done.  On top of all this, there's no heat in the bathroom.  No heat + no pants = cold.

I'll save you the details and simply say that I was successful.  I'm a brand new man.  The old ladies still scare me though.

Not Really Sure

When Jessica and I attempted to visit Sobaek National Park in Punggi one Sunday afternoon, we missed our exit point from the bus.  Once we realized, the bus driver was kind enough to stop and let us off to walk back to town.  Along the way we walked past these...

Lotte World

For some time I have considered changing the address to my blog.  The title The Tallest People in Korea began as a joke before Jessica and I left the far West for the far East.  I'm 6 feet, 6 inches tall.  Jessica is average height.  Naturally the jokes and speculation came as we prepared to leave.  "I bet they've never seen anybody as tall as you."  "You're gonna scare those little kids."  "Well if Asian people are that short, I bet kindergarten children are only like a foot tall."  I've learned that on average Asian people are indeed short.  I haven't seen anyone taller than me yet.  But this is not a land of pygmies or hobbit size folk.  The bigger cities we visited such as Seoul and Daegu generally contain Koreans with above average height.  Above the average stereotypical height that is.  So naturally I sometimes feel the need to explain my title.  I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm so ignorant as to believe I'm really the tallest person in an entire country.  I have already taken it upon myself to issue a blanket apology to all Koreans because of the joking I hear often about Asians mixing up their R's and L's.

                                   

I had a change of heart because I now understand why this happens.  At least in the Korean language, the same letter (ㄹ) can be pronounced as either an R or an L.  It is somewhat the same obstacle one may run into when learning the letter C in English.  It can either be used as a "cup" sound or a "cease" sound.  Language is a tough thing to tackle.  All this to say I'm a bit more sensitive and understanding about differences that were once humorous when I lived in America.  Until now.

Yesterday Jessica and I took a bus up to Seoul with two of our friends to visit Lotte World.  Lotte is a huge company in Korea.  There are Lotte cinemas.  Lotte marts.  Nine story Lotte department stores.  Lotteria fast food.  Last night I even saw a skyscraper with the logo Lotte Castle on top of it.  Lotte is everywhere.  Now, we have experienced Lotte World, an amusement park in the middle of Seoul.  It reminded me of Disney World, but on a much smaller scale.  There was an indoor area with roller coasters, a stage for musical shows, an ice skating rink, etc.  Outside was called the Magic Island.  After crossing over a moat we walked through a castle, very similar to Cinderella's, and came out at more roller coasters.  Bigger roller coasters.  Jessica and I love these kinds of rides.  We went straight for the biggest, most adrenaline pumping ride we saw.  It was cold, and the line was long, but we didn't mind the wait.  This ride was worth it.  For close to an hour we watched other people riding as the cars sped by on the track right beside where the line formed.  Every time people flew past us screaming, our hearts pumped a little faster.  As we neared the boarding area, I made eye contact with one of the Lotte World employees.  She started walking in our direction carrying a long metal stick.  I noticed markings on it, used to measure little children and then ruin their whole day by telling them they are too short to ride.  She stopped in front of us.  "Tall!  Bery bery dangerous."

Since arriving in Korea many people have informed me that I'm very tall.  They will pass us on the sidewalk and without fail we'll hear the words beautiful and very tall.  Apparently these are the only two adjectives taught in Korean schools for describing the foreigners.  

She kept standing there looking at me as if I was supposed to respond.  Wait.  Am I being kicked off this ride?

Long story short, I didn't get to ride the roller coaster.  I watched from the side as Jessica rode in the front car.  I've seen short children denied entrance to a roller coaster.  I've seen fat people exit as the shoulder harness would not come all the way down.  But being too tall to ride?  (sigh...) Only in Asia.

Picture of the Week

This is a shot I took at Lotte World in Seoul earlier today.  I call it Whipped.

Snow...finally

Finally got our first real snow fall in Yeongju.  We were losing hope of having a white Christmas.  But things are looking up.

Update...

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Here's a quick one.

• I have begun to study Korean.  So far, I've learned the alphabet which uses different characters (햐 ㅣㅑ더랜ㄷ......etc.)  This means I can sound out words, but I still have no idea what most of the words mean.  Learning Korean is much different than learning Spanish in high school.  Given that English and Spanish use the same letters, I should have picked it up so easily.  Ahhh....wasted time.
• Only one more week until winter break begins.  Contrary to popular belief, winter break does not mean I actually get a break...well at least not a huge one.  We will have English camp for the students (half days of nothing but English class) for 3 weeks.  After that I'll get the last week of January and the first week of February off.
• First significant snowfall today!
• Jessica and I are traveling to Beijing for a week at the end of January.  (MC....thats in China).
• Headed to Lotte World in Seoul on Sunday.  It's an amusement park.  We're going with Jessica's two friends from Dunkin' Donuts, Hyun and Gahae.  Should be fun.  And cold.

Merry Christmas.

Pictures

Here's a sample of Jessica's photo collection.  These were all taken within the past two weeks in Yeongju, Punggi, and Daegu.  Hope you enjoy.

This is what it will look like if North Korea decides to nuke the South.

Front drive of Dongyang University in Punggi.

Students playing pick-up basketball at Dongyang University.

Us.

I took this one.

Tracks.

This is my favorite one.  Jessica captured the sun perfectly.

At our favorite coffee shop.  I've never had foam like this guy makes it.  

Chair and alleyway.

Buddhist temples in Korea have long used the symbol seen here on the door.  Koreans are quick to tell you that Hitler stole and perverted their symbol.

Lions

First snow in Yeongju.

Daegu.

Conversation

When you're a foreign English teacher, sometimes it seems that you are given an impossible job description.  The recurring thing that I hear most from other teachers is that each person's respective principal or school board requires that he or she teach "conversation."  What exactly does that mean?  You'll be hard pressed to find a clear explanation of this requirement.  Especially when you ask those that sneak it into the contract.  It is much the same as asking when you're vacation time will be.  "Ummm......I don't know yet."  When is the semester over?  "Ummm.....I don't know yet."   Will all of my classes meet today?  "Ummm....I don't know yet."  Sound outlandish?  Welcome to EPIK (English Program in Korea).  Better known as the public school system. 

Conversation.  Teach someone to have a conversation.  To converse.  Maybe I should teach them words first.  Then they'll have a better shot at the aformentioned "conversation."  And what exactly is it that we should be discussing?  Baseball?  Politics?  Kim Jong-il's extremely high sideburns?  Needless to say I've been at quite a loss for the past 3 months as to what exactly I'm supposed to be doing.  Until last week...

I have finally realized (I think) what it means for me to be a conversation specialist.  It's not every day that these children get to interact with a real, living, breathing, white American that speaks English.  From me they get to hear correct pronunciation, correct sentence structure, and correct syllable stresses.  I'm here for them to practice and interact with. 

Today my fourth grade class spent 40 min answering the question "What grade are you in?"  

And they're paying me for this?

Picture of the Week

This is the first of a regular installment of the ...in Korea blog.  I want to use these pictures to capture some of the day to day life of the people we see about town every day.

On this particular day, Jessica and I were taking the long scenic route to Homeplus for groceries.  We noticed an unusual sound, at least unusual for Yeongju, and most likely Korea in general, coming from a convenience store.  I looked in the window and saw this man, probably the proprietor, sitting in between the beer cooler and racks of dried squid.  Right in the middle of the store.  We walked in to watch and listen.  His demeanor told me he was a very kind man, happy that we had stopped by.  Jessica did her best to ask him if she could take his picture.  He smiled and obliged.  As he continued to play what sounded like an old Baptist hymn, we snapped a few photos, listened for a minute, thanked the nice man, and went on our way.  I still wish that I had bought something...the squid didn't look that bad.

Who are you?

One of the most rewarding things for a writer is to know that people are taking a moment to read.  Whether the audience loves it or hates it, at least eyes are viewing what the author has put effort into.  A very cool feature that Blogger provides is a page when the author signs in that allows him or her to view the number of times the blog has been read and where the readers are located.  So far, readers from 14 different countries have viewed this blog.  Canada, South Korea, United States, Netherlands, England, Ecuador, Vietnam, Malaysia, Russia, Japan, Germany, Australia, Denmark, and Mexico.  Wow.  I wanted to take an opportunity in this post to thank all those that are reading.  I also want to get to know you all.  It would be great to swap stories of the often awkward, confusing, and hilarious experience of foreign travel.  I assume most of you outside the US are English teachers.  Maybe not.    What ever it is you're out there doing, I'd love to hear about it.  Thanks!

Hope to hear from you soon.

3 months

I feel the need to do this every month around this time.  Jessica and I have been in Yeongju for 3 months now.  We have had many opportunities to learn.  Learn about the culture.  Learn about each other.  Learn that its not a good idea to bite each other's head off when we're frustrated because we are each the only person the other has.    We've also learned to just roll with it when the principal wants to hold your hand on a social outing.

One of the best experiences we have had has been with the people we have met and formed relationships with.  I have heard from several different people that Korean's have a lot of heart.  They will go out of their way to help, especially when you're white and obviously confused and not from around here.  There was that random teenage couple who walked with us across town to point out where the bus stop was, and made sure we understood what bus to get on and what time it was coming.  There was that man in Seoul who helped us get a taxi when the subway stopped running at midnight on the line we needed.  And that time at Field Day at my school when the vice principal invited me to join him under his tent for grapes and rice cakes.  My two co-teachers have been extremely helpful in so many respects.  Sophy helped us get adjusted when we arrived.  She left school one day to help when Jessica was at home alone and the washing machine delivery men arrived.  She also made kimchi for me to take home.  Susie took me to the doctor both times when I was sick.  She is always quick to answer the phone when we need a translator for the taxi driver or cashier.    When I went to the doctor this week for my tonsillitis, they gave me a prescription, which I thought was a receipt.  Mrs. Kim, Jessica's direct supervisor, offered to go with us to the doctor for another examination just to make sure we understood what was going on.  She didn't have to.  She was just being motherly.  And it meant a lot to us.

In these three months, which have flown by rather quickly, we have had the opportunity to live together.  We did get married before leaving the US, so this is a bit obvious, but hear me out.  Jessica and I have had an opportunity that most married couples don't have the benefit of.  When a young boyfriend and girlfriend become husband and wife, they generally spend a week at some exotic location.  Then they go back home to a house or apartment full of new blenders, bed linens, and fine china.  Mom is generally just a phone call away and a night out with the girls or guys provides for a little stress reliever or sorts.  Friends are there to distract from that annoying little tick you never knew she had.  Life for us after marriage has been a little different.  After our wedding (which we put together in 27 days) we enjoyed a one night honeymoon in a downtown Greenville hotel.  Both of us had quit our jobs before the wedding in preparation for the move East.  My visa ended up taking two weeks to process.  So we just got married and we've got no money (literally) and we've got nothing to do for two weeks.  On Sept. 11 we board a plane, leaving behind everything familiar.  We can't ask where the bathroom is.  We can't read simple road signs.  We don't even know where we can buy toilet paper.  These are just a few of the things that would have contributed to a ticking time bomb for some couples.  Not us.  Like I said earlier, this was an opportunity, not a problem.  These three months have been the best three months of my life.  Jessica and I, who were best friends before, have now become even better friends.  We have had the opportunity to live life together, unhindered by the "honeymoon phase" crutch.  We've experienced real life.  Frustrating life.  Disoriented and un-understandable life.

We know where we're headed.  We know who we are and who we want to be.  Life will shoot more serious arrows at us, but we'll be OK.  We've been given an opportunity for a little practice.  9 more months?  That's nothin'.

Sick

• Went to the Ears, Nose, Throat clinic yesterday.  They say I've got Tonsillitis.  Got some medicine and a shot in the buttocks.  Ouch.
• Going back today for the doctor to check up on my progress.  I don't feel that much better, so I'm curious if I have Strep Throat instead.  
• Sorry, more interesting posts to come.

Sunday

I wonder if other travelers feel the same way.  It's quite disappointing.  I came to South Korea for one reason.  To teach English?  No.  My job is simply a means to an income.  I came here to have an adventure.  To feel different.  To experience life in a different way.  To see things I've never seen before.  I would be lying if I said Mr. Banaszak's 7th grade English class had nothing to do with the fact that I often wonder what the stars look like from the other side of the world, or what it feels like to breath the air after finding my way out of Mirkwood.  Jessica is a good wife.  She will often go along with my compulsive behavior because I constantly want to take a different route across town to Homeplus.  I have a need to see what else is out there, to have an adventure.  I'm like an addict.  Curse you Bilbo.

Often times Jessica and I will go out for groceries and spot a narrow alleyway winding through cramped houses.  We always take a detour to see what lies at the other end of the path.  It's just so fascinating to us.  And so it is most disappointing when I cannot conjure up the feeling that I really am 12,000 miles from home.  In all honesty, probably 96% of our time here has felt like we are living in any random city in America.  Sure, I've never seen so many Asian people or octopus vendors in my life.  I don't use forks anymore, and it will take some getting used to when we return home and once again understand everything that everyone is saying.  But all this considered, I rarely feel like I'm somewhere different.

Yesterday Jessica and I were exploring Punggi (Poon-gee), the next town over from Yeongju.  We were attempting to go to Sobaek National Park but we did not exit the bus at the right time.  Regardless, the day was not wasted.  We were standing on a hill in front of Dongyang University overlooking the town and the surrounding mountains.  The wind blew across my face and the afternoon sun was in my eyes.  For a moment, probably no more than 3 seconds, I felt it.  We were travelers for that instant.  We were exploring the Orient.  I tried my best to hold on.  But it was gone, escaped from my feeble and disoriented attempt to hold it.

So this is now my aim in this season of life...to get what I came here for.

Weekend update 3.0

I call this piece Weekend in Bullet Points.

• Friday: Went to Susie's house for dinner.  Ralph picked us up at the apartment and we rode across the river.  Ate a traditional Vietnamese meal.  According to 2010 cables leaked from an anonymous source, we liked the meal but not Vietnamese people.
• Saturday: Bought a new computer.  The carbon dating on our current laptop concluded that it is approximately 2 billion years old.
• Sunday:  While waiting to board a bus to Sobaek National Park, a man insisted on having a conversation with us in Korean.  Please stay tuned for the next WikiLeaks cable that will state that the two white people at the bus stop are not responding because they don't speak Korean.

Kindergarten

Yesterday was Thursday, also known as Kindergarten Day.  My favorite.  My co-teacher wasn't feeling well so I went solo.  They've gotten used to me.  There shouldn't be that frenzy of excitment that comes with something new.  This will be OK. 

Anyone laughing yet?

I had planned to make paper-mache snowmen, teach them the letter S, and do a little coloring.  Sounds simple enough.  All was going semi-well.  The children have rarely, if ever, seen a man with a beard.  Korean men don't (can't?) grow hair on their face.  My beard is somewhat of a novelty here.  Several of the little boys couldn't stand it anymore and decided they just had to touch it.  It's RED for crying out loud...what a treat on this otherwise dull Thursday morning.  I thought I would make this fun by snapping at them as if I would bite when they put their little finger out to feel.  They thought this was the most hilarious and exciting thing ever.  So of course everyone else had to try it.  After about 4 or 5 had their fun, it was one of the smaller boy's turn.  He was beaming from ear to ear.  He approaches.  Finger out.  Inching closer. 

I snap.  He's not fast enough. 

At least half of his finger was in my mouth when my teeth came together.  Yes, I bit him.  There was a look on his face of confusion, disappointment.  He wanted to cry but everyone else was laughing.  I thought he would jump and pull back his finger like the rest.  His reaction time was a little slow.  He won't try that again.

Strange Thing about Korea #74

I'm having trouble finding the words to describe these pictures in downtown Yeongju.  I think I'll just let them speak for themselves. Apparently Korean couples are known to coordinate their unmentionables from time to time.  At least a number of retailers think so.