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.