Pondering Foreign Relations

I am sure any of you who have traveled, probably, know that it is easier befriending other travelers than it is to befriend native inhabitants of wherever it is you decided to explore. The same conundrum exists when trying to live in a new locale, although let's be honest, I only lasted one month. All of my friends acquired from South Korea were either American or Canadian.

I think it makes complete sense that I liked most of the American individuals that I met during my short sojourn. One can only assume that this comes from a shared sense of understanding in a foreign country as well as the similarities that brought us to the same corner of the world. All of the people I met were generally affable people who wanted to see the world and have a good time. It was very refreshing to meet so many young people that wanted to experience life outside of the borders of the United States.

However, I really do wish that I could have befriended some South Koreans. The fact that I found it difficult to make Korean friends might come from the fact that many South Koreans tend to hang out with their co-workers and mine were not worth befriending or weren't allowed to talk to me.

These thoughts have irked me since I started reading about Greg Mortenson of the Central Asia Institute and Three Cups of Tea fame. He made fast friends with individuals in Pakistan and Afghanistan who helped him fulfill his mission to bring the literacy rates up in countries where the educational system is completely forgotten in certain areas. I am positive that it helps that he a) is doing something for the benefit of the people of those nations and b) that he speaks the language or languages. Eventually, I hope to be able to emulate his ease of finding individuals willing to help me venture forth and accomplish something for which I am passionate. Perhaps that will come in time. He was in his 30s after all and had found his calling. And I am not sure that teaching English as a second language is of the utmost importance to me. It frankly was a vehicle to get me to a foreign country and, bluntly, I feel like a spreader of "soft imperialism." Once I find a cause worth mentioning maybe I can rally troupes around said cause.

Anyway, I would recommend that everyone read Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools about Greg Mortenson's work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The story is inspirational and yet the books do not romanticize his work or how he happened to accomplish many of the things he did. It shows a man who traveled to far flung reaches of the world and found a place where he could feel useful by helping educate the children that he grew to admire for their dedication to their studies even under very harsh conditions. These two books really helped highlight the urgent need to help people even if it seems impossible. But, it also shows that small steps help to fix huge problems. We just have to take the initiative to take those first small steps forward.

Life 1, Whitney 0

So, who is really really frustrated with their precarious position within South Korea? ME! 


Today is Chuseok. The Korean version of Thanksgiving. For me, this means going to the supermarket, Lotte Mart, and to McDonalds. Now let me explain my relationship with Mickey Ds. I do not like to purchase food from them. However, today, the French Fries were delicious. I have been craving salt for way too long. Never in my life have I looked forward to a snack at McDonalds or been so satisfied that I had eaten there.

Other than being way too American during this traditional Korean holiday I have been worrying about my next step. I am looking in the United States for a job just in case Asia does not work out. But, I am also looking for teaching jobs in South Korea with bosses who would actually go up to bat for me and find out what I need to do to placate the immigration office. It would be really nice to work for someone with a modicum of intelligence or gumption not to mention a working knowledge of english.

Right now the best prospect is a school system for which a friend of mine works. I would not be working in the same school, but at least I could ask her for some advice. I really hope this works out. But, considering my luck in the land of the morning calm, I am not holding my breath.

Anyway, everyone have a happy Chuseok and enjoy all of the American food that I am not capable of obtaining.

Keep on Truckin'

When I was younger, after peeling off a mass of wallpaper in my bedroom so that painting could commence a message written on the wall in pencil was discovered. "Keep on Truckin'." This is exactly what I plan to do.

After a mentally harrowing week filled with incompetent English speakers I was told, via email, that YLS, the school where I work would be finding a new teacher because the Korean government has a huge stick up it's ass and doesn't want to give me a residency card. True I failed the drug test, however, there was a study done that apparently shows that it is very easy to fail this drug test. For instance, more melanin in the skin (yeah okay, this one doesn't apply to me, but still it illustrates the point) could make the drug test come out positive.

Well, quoting Lady Chablis from the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil :"Two tears in a bucket mother fuck it." In a way this ruling is a relief. I don't like the school where I work, so moving on sounds like a wonderful proposition.

Once again I am job hunting in Asia. This time in the beautiful and cosmopolitan country of Japan. I really hope something pans out for me.

I do have to say though that I enjoyed a wonderful weekend filled with new friends from the Air Force Base and another ESL school. I  ate delicious Korean food (yeah that's right not all Koreans are obsessed with what they term healthy food and which I deem to be disgusting), went to a soccer match, and went to a place where you get a private room with your friends and you can sing karaoke until all hours of the night. I had a marvelous time!

Whitney Loves the Little Children... It's Just not Mutual

Hello readers from many locales.

I am blogging to recap my past week. I am really starting to like Korea. This past weekend I went exploring near my neighborhood in Suwon, by Hwaseo Station. I found a small river, maybe it is more of a large creek, that has a trail on both sides that is very close to the train station. I went running on Sunday on the trails and it was fun to see all of the people out and about on their day of leisure.  There was finally some sun (hallelujah). It made my little jaunt very picturesque. Dang, I didn't have a camera. It was fun to watch the kids playing in the river near some really bizarre workout "equipment" that is found in all of the parks that I have seen thus far and is utilized by the scary Korean grandmas who like to run the young'uns like myself off the road with their little rolling shopping carriers. They have got places to be people!

Anyway, besides the river, I found a school resplendent with a dirt soccer pitch not far from my abode. I also spotted some weird compound that had two baseball diamonds and more grassy areas very near to where I live. I didn't think this was very common for Korea. I mean most of the land is allotted for something. For instance, next to Hwaseo station there is a small garden patch that an old man tends that is maybe three feet wide but much longer. And this sizing is being generous. I mean in the USA nothing would be there. It truly amazes me.

When I went to get groceries at Lotte Mart I looked around the surrounding area as well. I found a lot of different boutique type stores (or think a small Nike store because American brands have thrown up all over Korea), and a 24 hour MacDonalds (American pride?) and the ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts. Oh and yes I stopped in and devoured a simply delicious glazed donut. What a treat.

All of my food excitement has worn off (where as all the good cheese gone?). Especially since my captors, now I have officially become Jenny's problem, worry constantly about my eating habits. It is not my fault that I am not crazy about tofu. Leave me alone! Good grief.  These people are health nuts in a very judgmental way. I mean, yes, I judge morbidly obese people when they decide to supersize everything in quadruple servings, but I just want to eat some ice cream or eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich in piece thank you. I am a satisfactory size. And just a side note, air conditioners do not kill people when set below 75 degrees. The students even want it cooler. So there!

Okay, meandering rant done. School has gotten better in some ways and worse in others. First, I finally decided to talk to Jenny about the problems I have been experiencing with some of the students. Such as Ha Na won't look at me because she is ashamed that she doesn't understand english or because she hates me. I can't decide. Or, another example is a class of three boys who do not want to study english and who are completely obnoxious. She completely understood my frustration and we worked somethings out, basically she will be in the room with me. Yay!  I just hope everything gets fixed satisfactorily. I apparently committed a sin when I took tests away from students who were cheating and threw them in the garbage. Apparently, that was sacrilege of the worst kind in the eyes of Educator Jenny. Oh well. You win some and you loose some.

The biggest joy of my week comes from the smallest bodies. My youngest classes are the most fun to teach. Especially the children who have just started english. They are freaking adorable. I want to take them home with me. Especially one seven year old boy. He is so precocious and crazy. I love it. There is also the sweetest little girl in the same class. She paints her nails, read her mom paints her nails, and she wears pigtails and I just think about wanting to talk to her in Korean to hear the crazy things she says in Korean first hand. My heart screams out "You want one" and then I realize... jam hands. Ewww gross.  Scratch having a cute Asian five year old off the bucket list.  Hopefully my other classes eventually will bring me as much happiness as the adorable one.

That was super long and I appreciate if you actually read this far.  Have a wonderful week!

One Week Down

I have finished my first week living in Korea!

Many things have transpired since I have been here. Most notably the incomprehensible response to the medications I take from the Korean government and my host school. No one in my school speaks or understands english tremendously well.  They also cannot understand that I cannot just stop taking certain medication (even with two doctors notes). I might yet be kicked out of Korea. It is really fun to explain dysmenhorrea to a Korean man who does not wish to believe that, indeed, my doctors believe my medicine is important to my health.

Speaking of Dave, let me describe this annoyance. I have finally come up with a pretty good personality description of Dictator Dave (DD). He has a weird way of blinking his eyes repeatedly. It reminds me of Gollum for some reason. He also has a machismo problem. Luckily, I think he has figured out that, in fact, I do not like him to touch me, or guide me in the streets, and I don't particularly like to talk to him. Furthermore, he finds himself to be very smart and funny. I can assure you that in english this does not translate. Maybe it works well in his native korean. But, as far as not talking to anyone, even the U.S. Embassy disagrees with DD. In short, everyone thinks he is a moron.

Other than this hang up teaching has been interesting. I am not a good teacher. Most of my students, before they walk in the door, do not wish to be there. I can't blame them. I am not supposed to deviate from the textbooks they use. Basically I push a button on a CD player so that they can repeat after an english speaker. Wait... why am I here again? Oh, so that they can hear me speak english? Hmmm... interesting, I don't get that impression. Making these textbooks fun seems impossible to me. There is no creativity in the learning process they are supposed to memorize and that is all. How to use the language is irrelevant. So, I am frustrated to say the least.

This weekend, I spent time with a high school friend outside of an U.S. air force base. It was great to see her and many other native english speakers (from the U.S. and Canada). It was a fun night and I met new friends, which was awesome. I left early, at about 1:00 in the morning, to return home because I could barely keep my eyes open. But, will hopefully get to hang out with them again.

Oh and amazingly I lived through a typhoon! Not only that, but I slept through the entire thing. Check out the CNN article on it : http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/02/korea.typhoon.deaths/index.html?eref=rss_topstories


All in all I really like Korea. Where I work is a bummer, but as I get better as a teacher maybe the students will be more engaged. :)

My First Day- Thank God they have Milk

After waiting 3 hours on the tarmac for take-off in Chicago and a thirteen hour, 10,574 mile, flight I finally reached the "Land of the Morning Calm."

I breezed through customs even though I should have known my address and did not. I stopped to exchange some currency (thanks Mom, Dad, Nanny and Mel), and finally headed out the door to find Dave, essentially my caretaker.

My first thought when stepping out into the horridly humid Korean night air was "Holy Crap I made it!" We jumped into a cab and started our journey to my new home: Room 401 in a rather decrepit looking building.

The entire flat is smaller than my room at home (albeit that room is abnormally large) but comfortable, except for the cockroach infestation--they are really small so I have no qualms with killing the bastards. The bathroom is really weird for someone used to a bathtub. First of all, the shower is just a hand held nozzle that you spray on yourself (along with the rest of the bathroom) in the middle of the room. Also, do I have hot water? Dream on! Actually I do, but not very much of it. I might just be compelled to go to a bathhouse. The kitchen is tiny but useable and the utility room is right next to my bed. The washing machine is larger than I thought it would be (SCORE!). My bedroom/living room is spartanly decorated but comfortable. The closet is almost the perfect size. All in all I think I can make this work.

After inspecting my living space last night I fell asleep very quickly. Dave called and woke me up an hour later and told me I should turn of the air conditioner. I complied, but was not happy. Today he explained that people get very sick with cool air in a room when they sleep-- lucky me I fully intend to not listen to that bit of folk healthcare advise.

After unpacking, much easier than packing I must say, I waited for Dave to take me to the supermarket at Lotte World (the big department store in Korea). I thankfully found pasta, milk, and cheese, peanut butter, and potatoes. I now know that I can survive in Korea. Hooray!

I am just experiencing a little bit of homesickness and don't want to break out into tears all the time. I am feeling somewhat lonely at the moment. Which is a nice reason to have a blog. It feels like I am talking to someone.  A good thing considering that Dave has warned me against making friends or meeting people. A very strange warning. He told me to just say hello to people and then not answer anymore. This he even recommended in dealing with my co-workers. I don't know if I like that plan. I want to make friends and talking is the only way I can think of so I will slyly start building relationships on the down low.

Tomorrow I go to the hospital to get some blood drawn so that they can determine if I am healthy enough to get the Korean version of a green card and, although I intend this next comment to drip with sarcasm, I am glad to get the process going. I can't wait.

I am now going to go over the books from which I will be teaching. Thank you all for taking the time to read about my culture shock filled day.

The PKC

As I wait to go through security at O’Hare to board my flight to Seoul I have decided to pass the time by trying to update my woefully neglected blog. And posting it once I get to Korea.

Going on a journey of any kind becomes immensely stressful for me as the departure date looms. There is so much to do and a good chance I will forget something.

Luckily, I got my visa a couple of months early. When I showed up in the Korean Consulate in Houston one girl was getting her visa to be able to travel in less than one week. I, thankfully, had plenty of time.

Or so it seemed. Towards the end I was scrambling to get things accomplished on my PKC or Pre-Korea Checklist.  I needed to renew my driver’s license, I needed to find adaptors and I needed to pack.

I have a neurosis about packing. I hate it. Not only am I chronically over packing I procrastinate because of all the anticipated pain associated with leaving something I might need at home.  Upon arrival at the airport I had to unpack some of the heavier items from my bag with promises from my parents to mail said items to me as soon as feasibly possible.

Speaking of the parental unit, it was incredibly hard to leave them. Last night my mom revealed to me that she and my dad were concerned about me leaving. Yes, they were very proud and excited for me, but fear kept creeping into their consciences.  Part of me did not want to leave them. However, when I finally cleared security, after being manhandled by a masculine looking female TSA employee in a very uncomfortable way, and reached the plane--just in the knick of time I might add--I did not feel as freaked out as I did when departing for college. So, this has to be good right? The fact that I was not experiencing any panic attack symptoms stands as a good omen. I’m ready to take on South Korea. They best be prepared because READY OR NOT HERE I COME!

Prologue

Having just graduated from university and not knowing the next step I should, as a conscientious citizen of the world, take,  I looked for information in the one medium I have learned to trust more than any other as a Humanities major: the printed word.

I knew that I wanted something different, something that I could experience that would awaken a part of me that was disabled so that I could concentrate in my literature classes. In effect, this disability allowed me to read, and not yearn to do.

 Now the wandering beast of adventure, my version of D. H. Lawrence's Bitch Goddess of Success, has devoured me and I intended to follow it to the ends of the earth, quite literally, until my thirst for adventure is satiated.

I have decided to settle on the notion forwarded by J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on page 56 of the hardback copy sold in the United States when Dumbledore is talking to Harry:

"And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress adventure."

My adventure will begin in South Korea.