Monday, May 23, 2011

Can You Wipe Your Own Ass?





At what age should you be wiping your own ass!? Kids usually start potty training between ages two and three. I'm pretty sure that if your old enough to attend school, you should be able to wipe your own tush! Right!? Okay, oaky… so, I teach little kids and they may need some assistance at times. That's okay… really, I don't mind helping them out but the Korean way is just a little ridiculous. The little kids don't even try to wipe themselves after pooping. They can finally handle taking off their pants on their own but that's about it. They scream my name after their done. When I walk in the bathroom they are bent over next to the toilet with their hands around their ankles… this is what their moms probably taught them. I should start making them do it on their own… it's a process, at least they can wipe after peeing without my help! After what Skip told me this weekend… I might re-think my idea. He taught at a private school last year and when one of his 8 year olds asked him to wipe his bottom after he pooped… Skip looked at him like he was crazy and said NO! Confused as ever, the child wiped himself without Skip's help. The student went home and told his mother what happened. Completely and utterly enraged, The mom called school and reprimanded the staff for Skip's wrong doing… "my child should NOT have to wipe his own bottom!!!!" HAHA! Five weeks of teaching left.. what should I do! Risk getting in trouble for not wiping a few tushes or just continue to wipe those tushes!?

This weekend was wonderful. I finally made it to the beach!!! The beaches of South Korea of nothing like the beaches of North Carolina, but they were still pretty great. On Saturday morning, a big group of friends and I met at the bus station with all our gear, where we bought our tickets to Heanam. Heanam is at the southern most tip of South Korea. It is about 2 1/2 hours away from Gwangju. Our bus dropped us off right on the beach, it was so convenient. Luckily, we had warm weather and sunny skies. We immediately set up camp, made lunch and got into our bathing suits. Lunch… haha! Camping to me means roughing it. Skip and I packed our bags full of non-refrigerated items such as bread, peanut butter, nuts, dried fruit, hard boiled eggs (those were fine for 24 hours without being cold), seaweed and fruit. We were happy with what we had until Molly and Fliss pulled out their grill, marinated chicken and veggies.. damn! We were a little jealous. We lathered up in sun block and baked in the sun for a few hours while enjoying a few cock tails. I thought to myself… what alcoholic beverage is always delicious, warm… red wine of course, a little cab sav.. you know Daddio! I don't know many people who sip on red wine on a warm day at the beach. I will say, its quite satisfying. The weekend was off to a good start. Hours went by as I collected handfuls of shells and finished off a few more glasses of wine. As the sun went down, I thought I would try to build a fire. With the help of my toilet paper to get it goin, I made a lovely little bon fire. Thanks to Ryan the pyromaniac… ;) we had a great fire that lasted us until bed time. Luckily the rain waited until we were snuggled up in our tents. The rain scared away the monstrous ants and we slept pretty good throughout the night. The waves crashing and the light rain falling on our tent was such a peaceful, relaxing sound that certainly put me right to sleep… the wine probably helped a little as well. When morning came, we all crawled out of out tents trying to avoid the huge ants and curious Koreans who were fascinated by us. All the old people in the town were walking along the beach in amazement that foreigners knew how to camp. We aren't retorted ya know! Our beach camping adventure had come to an end… and that's probably the only use I'll get out of my new tent. New biggie… It said it was a three person tent but Skip and I barely fit. I guess that means three Korean people… Skip was a few feet too tall for that little tent! WOOPS!

Oh, I am so glad we have three days of work this week! Monday is gone… Tuesday and Wednesday will fly. Thursday doesn't count to me only because we have a fun field trip. Right when school starts, I am taking my cuties to Pizza Hut where we will learn how to make pizzas. We will create our own pizzas all morning then enjoy them for lunch. After lunch, we will come back to school and everyone will head home. That's when the vacation starts. Even though our school doesn't have any money… a huge limousine bus is picking us all up at 2 p.m. in front of TNE. It will take us directly to the airport and we will fly away to Cebu, Philippines. Tune in next week for my Cebu/ scuba blog. I don't get back from Cebu until late Tuesday evening so I will either have a very late blog or I will skip a week.

Korean Facts/ Randomness:

-To carry on with last week's blog… "No Creative Thought" … I was thinking more about it. Even my students agreed with me on the subject. I was praising them for their hard work. They were laughing at me because I said "good job" in so many different ways (wonderful, lovely, great, awesome, fabulous, terrific, beautiful, fantastic, amazing… etc.). We all agreed how crazy it is, the fact that there are SOOOO many ways to say, "good job"/ give praise. It's funny because in Korean, there is only one way to say good job.
-Because Koreans have to take their shoes on and off constantly, all the backs on their shoes are destroyed. The majority of them don't even fully put on their shoes. They step on the backs and their shoes turn into slip ons. I was looking at all the shoes on the shoe rack at my gym the other day. Out of about 45 pairs of shoes, 10 of them, including mine were not ruined by smashed in backs.
-A lot of kids in Korea can't tie their shoes… since kids have to take their shoes on and off so much, their parents buy them slip ons or velcro. They never get the chance to practice tying because they don't have laces.
- Children in Korea are not educated on sex or drugs in school. Korea has the highest abortion rate than any other Asian country because men and women are so uneducated on the subject. I feel like I'm living in the 1950's sometimes… this country acts oblivious to so many things! It's absurd!
- Koreans believe that it is good luck to throw old teeth and umbilical cords on the roof of your home (not just any old tooth or umbilical cord.. I don't know who would have these lying around anyway haha. Obviously, your own teeth and your child's umbilical cord). This is what I researched as far as teeth go: "If it is a lower baby tooth, throw it up onto the roof; and if it is an upper tooth, throw it underneath the 'en-no-shita' (the lower portion below the floor of a Japanese/Korean house). It is done so that the upper tooth grows healthy downwards, while the lower tooth upwards" (Multicultural Pedia).

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Creative Thought... where is it?

We went to an alien nore bang (karaoke room) on Saturday night.. what a time we had!! (Felicity, Krish, Molly, Skip and I)


Is it odd that I was comforted by this… my dad told me that even in the states, people are not getting paid on time. My company over here in South Korea can not afford to pay its employees on time either. I'm new to the business world but I did not think it was going to be this way. I guess I can't expect it to be that much better when I come home. I have applied for dozens of teaching positions back home and haven't heard a peep. I'm keeping my fingers crossed… do the same for me, please! :)

This weekend was gorgeous… especially on Saturday when I had to sit inside all day and work. We had a mandatory work day this Saturday because of the many days off we had/have this month. I don't get it but whatever… I went into work and did what I was told… carried on with the typical slave work. All the classes were split up so each teacher only had to teach one class from 10:30 to 12:30 then write the next three month's lesson plans. Luckily, I was out of there by 4ish so it wasn't too bad. I had a higher level class in which I taught one 16 year old boy. Between you and me, I was a little intimidated because I've never taught high school, but I played it off ….you would have never sensed my timidity. I actually learned a lot from James. We discussed the issue of racism in Korea and why so many Koreans dislike foreigners. It is a lot better now than what it used to be but some Koreans just don't want to share their country. They hate to see it growing with foreigners… the idea of diversity just sickens them. I think diversity is definitely one thing I miss most from the states. In our free time, I often show my students music videos on youtube. My Kindergarten class loves Justin Bieber so I always show his music videos. I never noticed it before because it is what I am used to seeing but, like in any music video, there is a diverse mix of people. I like for my students to see how these different races/ nationalities interact. I wish I could take every single one of my students back to America with me. I want them to see how different our society is.

While i'm on the subject, I'll share with you some major differences that I have seen. So, my fourth graders are currently writing an argumentative essay on why there should be no school on Saturdays. When I tell them that students in the US don't go to school on Saturdays, they are just blown away. Like I have said before in my earlier blogs, these poor kids never get the chance to just be kids. Sundays are spent doing homework and studying and maybe the occasional trip to the mall but that's it. One of my students said, "well, that's why Koreans are so much smarter than Americans!" I responded with… "well David, you may be right about that but ya know what, we are happier and less stressed!" I went online and showed him that Korea has the largest number of suicides in the world because Koreans bottle up all their emotions and stress and then finally they take their lives because it's too much to deal with. After telling them this.. they all just sat back in their seats in awe. They even admitted to me how stressed they always are because of school and the pressure from their parents to do well not only in Korean school but in English school, violin, piano, hapkido, Chinese, etc. It's really sad, I don't remember feeling that way until I was a sophomore in high school. We are still in the brainstorming stage but, I am very anxious to see how these essays turn out.

I spent my Sunday with Skip discussing some of these same issues. Skip made a very interesting point that makes so many thoughts about Korean culture so perfectly clear. He was stating that yes, Koreans are very smart but a lot of their knowledge is information from books that is just regurgitated… memorized. Very few of them think creatively! Ah… YES, he hit the nail on the head! I think about all my classes and the times that I have asked my students to just think about something.. give me your opinion. They look at my with blank stares or hurry to find the answer in the book. NO NO… it's not in your book… think outside the box! This is so hard for them. Creative thoughts just don't run in their heads naturally. The language itself is this way. In English, we have so many different words for one thing but in Korean, if you say a word then that's it and you aren't going to hear a synonym or any type of slang for it. Everyone says hello the same way. You never hear any slang like we have… "what's up", "hey", "how's it goin", "hi"… etc. No creative thought, it's crazy to me! That's why this country has NO sarcasm! I really have to watch myself sometimes because my students get so confused with my sarcasm.


Korean Facts/ Randomness:

I went to a pet shop this weekend and had a ball playing with all the little kittens. Several of the kitties stared at me in the weirdest way. I finally figured it out… they were looking at my just like the Korean people look at me, like a crazy foreigner. I certainly didn't mind this kitty staring at me because he was adorable but I get so sick and tired of being gawked at. Some might think it is flattering but trust me, it's not! They do it in such a rude way too.. it makes you feel so uneasy. They don't just glance, they literally gawk.. no exaggeration. If they see you coming they tap their friends on the shoulder and all giggle and point. Often just looking at you in the time they pass is not enough, they have to turn around and keep staring as they walk away. MY GOD… enough already! I have gotten really good at ignoring them- sunglasses and my ipod, that's the trick! Ya know, my mom always taught me that it was rude to point… well, not in Korean cause even parents do it.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mugunghwa!

The first three are from the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival... a little boat ride, some pig chasing and beautiful butterflies!






The highlight of my week was my day off on Thursday (Children's Day). Mom… are you ready for this, here is your Mother's Day gift… I love you and…I got a tattoo. Ahhhhh… I know what you're thinking family, but it's in a hidden place (the outside of my right foot). I have been thinking about this since September and I told myself that if I still wanted it in spring, it was going to happen. The tattoo is a Korean word, written in Hangul (the Korean language). The word is mugunghwa which is the Korean national flower. The flower is a hibiscus, it represents ever lasting life, love, determination, prosperity and hope. The people of Korea live by this flower's meaning. They put the hibiscus on sides of buildings, on cabinets, refrigerators, wall paper, etc. In my apartment, there is a hibiscus print all over my curtains, cabinets and on my wardrobe. I have learned to live by its meaning as well. This flower's strongest meaning is determination and that is something that I will always carry with me. In the hardest of times, I have been able to fight through the pain and sorrow with determination until I reach prosperity. I was just thinking about myself this time last year. I was graduating from college on this same weekend a year ago. I have grown in so many ways since then. I have learned what it means to be an adult and to make it on my own. Not currently but…I have been stressed to no end and homesick.. I've learned how to push through it and find the light at the end of the tunnel. I've learned how to make it in a country where English is not the first language. After living here, I feel like I can do so much in life. I have learned a lot of life lessons thanks to Korea. With all that being said, I wanted this tattoo to forever remember my amazing journey in South Korea.

After a great day off, we had to go back to work on Friday.. ugh! I hate how all these holidays fall in the middle of the week. Why am I complaining, it's a day off from my TNE hell! Tuesday is another holiday, yay! Thank goodness for Buddha's birthday! Anyway.. this weekend was lovely, as most are! It was supposed to rain all day Saturday but I don't know what happened, I didn't see one drop! My friend Molly and I went to a little town about 40 minutes away, Hampyeong. Hampyeong is known for it's beautiful butterflies and every year at this time, they hold a 10 day butterfly festival. Usually these little festivals are kind of corny but this one was extremely well done and so much fun. The flowers were incredible and the plethora of butterflies were just amazing! The festival stretched out over a huge area of land. Not only were many types of flowers and butterflies but there was a farm, an amassment park full of rides, mud fishing, a variety of food vendors, gift shops, museums, train rides through the park, pig/chicken/duck chases/races and swan paddle boats. The swan paddle boats were a must. The man running the swan paddle boats saw two white girls coming and he reached down into the bottom of the box for the largest life vests he could find… this is so typical. No matter how small you are, if you're white, the Koreans always think you are way bigger than you actually are. My life vest was so giant that I had trouble catching my breath. The damn thing was choking me! Minus the choking, the day was fantastic!

Molly and I were having so much fun together, we didn't want it to end. We continued our day "date" late into the night. We drank wine while listening to what reminds us of home, more specifically, our dads….James Taylor and Neil Young… good feelin music! We reminisced about our child hood until we were good and tipsy then it was time to head downtown. We danced and sang until the wee hours of the morning. Good old Saturday nights in Korea!

I don't know what's better… a fun filled adventurous day with one of my best girls or a relaxing evening of at home with my boyfriend, scary movies and a tasty meal!? Well luckily, I enjoyed it all! Thank god we don't have school Tuesday… it's wearing me out and I want one more relaxing day with my boy!

I'm crossing my fingers that I get paid this month… ahh, my school is hangin on by a limb and they are trying so hard to put off paying us. It's so, so sad and pathetic. Some people live paycheck to paycheck.. I don't think they would do very well here. I still can't understand why we are going on this extravagant vacation to the Philippines in a few weeks? Don't get me wrong, I can't wait. It just seems a bit silly to be going on this vacation when school can hardly afford to pay us.


Korean Facts/ Randomness:

-Sunday was Parents Day… a little history about this special Korea holiday: In South Korea, May is the month for families. May 5th denotes Children's Day while May 8th reflects as Parent's Day. Originally called Mother's Day, 8th of May is now celebrated as Parent's Day in South Korea. This was done to make the fathers feel that they are not alienated. Parents Day, just like Mother's day or Father's Day, is meant to commemorate the efforts of the parents in building up their children - physically, psychologically, emotionally and socially. Though there is no national holiday declared on 8th of May, Parent's Day is still deemed as one of the special days in South Korea's yearly calendar. The recent times have not only modernized one's thought processes, but also one's expression of emotions. People in South Korea are now giving their parents cosmetic surgery as a gift for Parent's Day. Face lifts, botox treatments and hair transplants, to enhance the look of the parents and to make them young again, are common resorts by children in the 21st century. In this fast paced world, a day like this helps us to realize and thank our parents- our mentor and guide who have made us what we are today.

-It is incredibly hard to find bathing suits here… well, other than sport bathing suits. I am looking for something that shows a little skin but is tasteful. I am going to the Philippines at the end of the month with my co-workers and the entire Korean staff. I feel a little awkward wearing my tiny bikinis. I hope I can find something!
-If your a size bigger than a 4… from what I've heard, it is hell to go shopping. They don't make any big sizes. If you see something bigger that you want to just try on or even buy for a friend, they give you a dirty look and tell you, "oh, I don't think this is what you're looking for"… it's like a scene out of Pretty Woman. This country has encouraged me to slim down cause I love to shop.
-It's bad enough they don't make shoe sizes bigger than an 8 and if they do, there is not much of a variety in that size… it gets worse… no bra sizes bigger than a B cup. Thank god I have tiny boobs… if only my feet were the same, dammit! Occasionally, you will see a woman with larger breasts. These women have to get their bras made specially, order them, wear spot bras or go to Seoul. Sorry to all my big breasted friends!
-The yellow dust from China is here and its killing us all. It's very similar to pollen but ugh, so much worse!

Monday, May 2, 2011

2 Months... I refuse to say goodbye!!!!

Due to rain, our Easter egg hunt was a little delayed. What a process... these are real eggs hollowed out, painted white then then painted with color/patterns, stuffed with hand cut confetti. To close, we sealed the tops with newspaper and glue. Once the kids found the eggs we smashed them on each other's heads. It was a lot of fun!

Ahh.. so sorry for the delay. I had a friend visiting from Seoul this weekend and she didn't leave till late Sunday evening. It was so wonderful to hang with an old college buddy. Tonya and I went to East Carolina together and really bonded around junior year. It was like being home hanging out with her again. She got to meet all my wonderful friends, including my boyfriend. Despite the rain, we went out for dinner and drinks and had a very memorable evening. Okay okay… i'll back things up a little bit. Boyfriend….?? WHAT!? yes ;) I get butterflies just thinking about him! I know I'm only here for a few more months but we just adore each other and wanted to be together, officially. Maybe it's silly but I don't care, I'm very happy. Who knows where life will lead us… even though he's coming home 8 months after me, we could find each other again! Did I mention, he's from Raleigh! :)

So.. that long 8 months was only 6 but I'm coming home early. Like every week, Monday was crazy! After work, I had a meeting with my managers. All four of them sat me down and told me that the business is going under. To keep it going they will need to let four teachers go. They asked me if I wouldn't mind breaking my contract and leaving early. Hell NO I don't mind as long as I get prorated pension, my prorated year end bonus, severance and my plane ticket home! Throughout the week I practically had to beg my mangers to give me all this information in writing. I wanted to be able to sign something because ya never know what will happen around here. I mean hell.. they could tell the pension board I quit and I would never see a won of my pension money. I Finally got an official letter on Friday. The Koreans thought it was so strange that I wanted it all in writing… WHY? It seems perfectly reasonable. They thought it was even more crazy when I asked for a copy of the letter. Whatever, it's just culture differences.

So, not only did I get my letter on Friday but my place ticket home was bought. I will be leaving Gwangju early, early July 3rd (2 months from today.. WOW). Listen to what I have to do to get home… ugh, it gives me a headache. 4 hour bus ride from Gwangju into Incheon (Seoul, airport area). Fly out of Seoul around 1 pm and get to Tokyo around 4 pm. 19 hour layover in Tokyo, Japan. 19 hours, you heard it. Since I'm stopping in another country and my layover is so long, they don't transfer bags. I am hoping I can find a locker or something to put my years supply of luggage in, then, venture out into the city. Maybe I can even find a hotel to sleep in and take a shower. It will be another adventure fore sure! I will fly out of Tokyo and into Chicago, going back in time.. I love it! I have an hour and a half layover in Chicago on the 4th and I arrive at 1ish pm on July 4th. What a fitting day to come back to my home, my country! I am so excited to see my friends and family I can't believe it's only 2 months away.

With teachers leaving, classes changing and students dropping, the work load is going to be horrendous. I got a taste of it today… Mondays are always bad but I got so stressed out today with all the things I have to do, I think I gave myself a fever. I tried so hard to be strong but dammit… my roommate and lead teacher Alicia knows me oh too well. She could see my frustration. Even though she is my friend, I hate to show my weak side in the professional atmosphere. My troubles all faded away when I went into the classroom and taught. Thank god I love those kids. They really are the little ray of light on a cloudy Monday!

Other than the work shenanigans, I've got many other things to look forward to. Thursday is a holiday (Children's Day.. read below if you want to know a little more about this day). Thursday is also Cinco de Mayo and since Alicia is a fantastic Mexican chef… we are making a variety of Mexican food, margaritas and having a few friends over to share the love. I just ordered a tent that came in the mail today. A big group of friends and I are going camping at the beach this coming weekend!! My scuba trip in the Philippines is only weeks away. Work is never that bad when I think about all the good things I've got! :)

I'm currently on a search for a job with Wake County public schools. I would love to teach in Wake but things are not looking good right now. Keep your fingers crossed that the hiring freeze is lifted soon and that someone will hire me!


Korean Facts/ Randomness:

-Children's Day: Children's Day (Eorini nal) is a South Korean national holiday celebrated on May 5. It was founded by the Korean children's writer and storyteller Bang Jung-hwan in 1923 as a way to instill in the children a sense of independence and national pride. Children's Day highlights the dignity of children and their need for love, care, and respect. It is also a day to honor adults that have contributed to improving the lives of children. 
This day is celebrated with various programs for children, who enjoy themselves to the full with their parents. Amusements parks, zoos, and national parks become crowded with families enjoying the holiday in the Spring weather.
-Do you remember me telling you that people pee on the street anywhere they are, at any time? Well, I thought it was only men since it's easier for them. I was wrong… my roommate saw a woman and her child leave their hogwan (private school) and walk a few feet around the side of the building (keep in mind its broad daylight) to use the bathroom. Both mom and child pulled down their pants together and pooped…. EWW! Korea.. really?!!???
- If you own a pet… usually anything other than a dog, you often don't name it.
-During the Korean war, food was very scarce. Instead of asking someone, "how are you?", people would ask, "have you eaten?". This stuck and so Koreans will often ask you if you've eaten instead of asking how you're doing. One of my friends said her co-workers ask her this all the time. For a while she thought they were trying to tell her something… like, you eat too much.
-My friend Tonya just got a new camera. One of the effects it has is, it tells you when someone is blinking. Now, I know it's kind of mean that I think this is funny but I'm sorry…every time she takes a picture of a Korean the camera detects blinking because of their squinted eyes.
-It's a good thing I am obsessed with eating seaweed cause it extremely good for you and it's very, very low in calories. Seaweed (obviously) grows in the ocean, where it picks up a range of minerals and other nutrients. It is also a fairly simple food, making it easy for the body to break down and release the healthful substances inside, providing a variety of vitamins and minerals. Seaweed also has no fat or other unhealthy component, and it is usually prepared without any oils or other naughty additives. The way I see it, the optimal diet focuses on a variety of fruits and vegetables. Since seaweed grows in the ocean, it contains certain vitamins and minerals that aren't as available in land-grown vegetables. This extra variety makes seaweed a good food to mix into your diet.
-The azaleas are finally in bloom.. between the cherry blossoms and the azaleas, spring in Korea is just fantastic!