Happy Birthday To Me!
Things can be so much nicer when you just go with the flow. For my birthday, the only thing I planned was to arrive in Seoul. The rest was up to chance. Ok, not quite. I made a mental list of things that "would be totally awesome if they happened," which included seeing friends I hadn't seen in months, and going ice skating. In the end, here's what happened.
My friend Leanne and I arrived in Seoul around two. She correctly suggested that I go get a pretzel from Auntie Anne's before we left the mall/train station. Yummy pretzels in hand, we headed for the subway to Hongdae. There was noodle- and pizza-eating, dessert crepe- (the Asian kind) eating, old friend- meeting, and an interesting hour in a cat cafe. Cat cafes are kind of awkward. Yes, the cat's are there. Yes, they each have their various moods (and thus should be handled accordingly... or not at all). Yes, we can touch them, and suck up warm fuzzy feelings from being in their presence. Still, there was the fact that a shop full of other customers were vying for these cats' attentions. Plus, half of the lot were sleeping, and we weren't allowed to pick them up. One man (whom one of my friends guessed was the significant other of one of the workers) sat in a chair while a fluffy persian rested on the table in front of him, and a few minutes later, in his lap. This man paid absolutly no attention to the cat, only raised his cellphone to eye level and continued to sit there. My friend fumed at this. The active cats had been actively avoiding our table, teasing us every once in awhile by sneaking up under our table. By the time we realized they were there, they slinked away, ducking under our outreached hands. Perhaps we should've gone to the dog cafe...
There was also a trip to the noraebang. In between all of this were many text messages from friends I'd met in Seoul long ago and was trying to meet again. I ended up finding some of them, and by the end of the night, had made even more new friends (Oh? You invited your friends? ...That's cool). Five hours after this whole thing'd started, a bunch of us took a taxi to Itaewon. We found a ... pub? It felt more like a "pub" than a "bar"... well, we found one and while the others drank their favorites, I feasted on Sprite and potato wedges. There, another friend found our group and we all began catching up on events.
We bar hopped, but just one hop, and I helped a friend find a gyros restaurant to sooth his hunger pangs. I discovered that the bar, Magpie, was one I had just learned about in a documentary a few weeks ago. I must find that documentary again and post it here. By midnight, I found myself invited to Cheongju to crash and maybe extend the festivities the next day.
My friend Jessica and I watched Les Miserables after breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. (Nothing like a fast food chain to break your pattern of Korean cuisine)! I headed to the train station after buying some souvenirs for people back home, and had to wait two hours for the next train (again... no worries! Go with the flow! ...That's what I get for not checking the schedule. And being inclined to train rides). Nevertheless, I got home just in time to relax and get ready for classes the next day.
It's strange, but the day BEFORE my birthday felt really special for some reason. It started to snow, which made me smile. I had a super-easy day at school. After school, I visited a coffee shop I hadn't frequented in awhile, and the shop owner chatted with me (never really happens). The day just felt special. I felt happy on my last day of being 22 years old. I wondered if the actual birthday would feel a certain way (one that I didn't create). In the past, I've usually had to celebrate my birthday early (friends on vacation or with family during the holidays). That special, surprising feeling the day before my birthday felt kind of like an early birthday present. Like someone saying, don't just celebrate the first day. Celebrate the last day, too.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Friday, November 23, 2012
Evening Outing
Yesterday after lunch, the first graders captured me and pulled me down the hallway, shouting, "Come on! Come on!" They also said some things in Korean and laughed and squealed like little children who have something disturbing to show you. I was led down the stairs and around the back of the building. Finally, I recognized a Korean word. Dong. Poop. Oh dear.
They all shouted my name, telling me to look at what they'd found. The pointed to some stones on the ground. One kid lifted one of the stones and the others squealed and laughed louder. A bunch of students pointed to their butts. Look, Shannon! Poo! Smelly! Ahahahah! Of course, all that was in Korean, but I don't need confirmation to know what they were telling me.
I'm not afraid of seeing poo. I raised a dog from early puppyhood, and I usually ended up being the first to find and clean up every mess that occurred. Still, my imagination went a little wild and I started wondering a few things as the kids ran around me. Why were they so excited about this particular amount of poo? Why was it more special than the poo I saw out by my bus stop? Surely, they walked past that without making a fuss. Was this poo, by any chance, human poo? It was possible. Why were rocks covering it? Was that to prevent others from stepping in it while they played back there? Possibly. Still....
----
Last night, I had dinner at the daycare teacher's house. I got to meet her husband and baby boy. As her husband picked me up from my home, we chatted in English. At school earlier that day, the daycare teacher told me that the health teacher (one of the teachers I regularly have dinners with.. you know, those "secret" dinners) would be coming over too. So as the husband and I were driving along, I expected us to stop by the health teacher's house. Instead, we drove over to the down town area and stopped outside a hospital. The husband said she was in there visiting her boyfriend. Boyfriend? Who? Oh, maybe... but does he mean boyfriend, or BOY friend? What happened? So, we waited for her to come out. Instead of one person, two people came out. It was the previous 4th grade teacher that I'd suspected. He was wearing a jacket over hospital clothes. When we were all in the car, they told me he'd been in a car accident, and he'd been in the hospital for back strain pain.
Ok. Now, if not for this dinner, I have a very strong feeling that I would never have found out that he'd been in an accident, or in the hospital. Sure, nothing was super serious. He was able to come join us for dinner, after all. Yet, I feel like the lack of info I get from my Korean FRIENDS extends beyond the school grounds. I settled for being unusually talkative and asking him questions about the accident. It had happened on Monday. Today was Wednesday. Hmm.
Dinner was great. Samgyeopsal at home is awesome. The daycare teacher's son was very hesitant to interact with me at first (I look very different, after all), but by the end of the night, he had successfully given me an apple slice and one of his toys. I also made friends with the husband. He proposed that I join his family for traveling trips whenever there was free time. He said I must be lonely (even though I expressed having several foreign and Korean friends). He said I should be more of a people-person. Honestly, why are all my Korean friends telling me to be more talkative? It's called being quiet and shy. It's a personality type. Despite that, I DO talk to people. I have somehow managed to make tons of friends here in Korea, despite not appearing to be a "people-person". But, Mr., I'll take your advice. You, like all the other Korean friends I've made, seem to know me better than I know myself.
He is the typical caring Korean, who wants to know what you eat for breakfast (if it doesn't sound as filling as a Korean breakfast, you fail); how many friends you have; and how you spend your time outside of work. The daycare teacher and her husband are very nice people. I wish I'd met them earlier, because I truly felt more alone earlier in the year than I do now. Now, I've gained many friends, especially Korean friends. There's much less time to interact with them all, but I hope that our friendships won't die when I leave Korea.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
They all shouted my name, telling me to look at what they'd found. The pointed to some stones on the ground. One kid lifted one of the stones and the others squealed and laughed louder. A bunch of students pointed to their butts. Look, Shannon! Poo! Smelly! Ahahahah! Of course, all that was in Korean, but I don't need confirmation to know what they were telling me.
I'm not afraid of seeing poo. I raised a dog from early puppyhood, and I usually ended up being the first to find and clean up every mess that occurred. Still, my imagination went a little wild and I started wondering a few things as the kids ran around me. Why were they so excited about this particular amount of poo? Why was it more special than the poo I saw out by my bus stop? Surely, they walked past that without making a fuss. Was this poo, by any chance, human poo? It was possible. Why were rocks covering it? Was that to prevent others from stepping in it while they played back there? Possibly. Still....
----
Last night, I had dinner at the daycare teacher's house. I got to meet her husband and baby boy. As her husband picked me up from my home, we chatted in English. At school earlier that day, the daycare teacher told me that the health teacher (one of the teachers I regularly have dinners with.. you know, those "secret" dinners) would be coming over too. So as the husband and I were driving along, I expected us to stop by the health teacher's house. Instead, we drove over to the down town area and stopped outside a hospital. The husband said she was in there visiting her boyfriend. Boyfriend? Who? Oh, maybe... but does he mean boyfriend, or BOY friend? What happened? So, we waited for her to come out. Instead of one person, two people came out. It was the previous 4th grade teacher that I'd suspected. He was wearing a jacket over hospital clothes. When we were all in the car, they told me he'd been in a car accident, and he'd been in the hospital for back strain pain.
Ok. Now, if not for this dinner, I have a very strong feeling that I would never have found out that he'd been in an accident, or in the hospital. Sure, nothing was super serious. He was able to come join us for dinner, after all. Yet, I feel like the lack of info I get from my Korean FRIENDS extends beyond the school grounds. I settled for being unusually talkative and asking him questions about the accident. It had happened on Monday. Today was Wednesday. Hmm.
Dinner was great. Samgyeopsal at home is awesome. The daycare teacher's son was very hesitant to interact with me at first (I look very different, after all), but by the end of the night, he had successfully given me an apple slice and one of his toys. I also made friends with the husband. He proposed that I join his family for traveling trips whenever there was free time. He said I must be lonely (even though I expressed having several foreign and Korean friends). He said I should be more of a people-person. Honestly, why are all my Korean friends telling me to be more talkative? It's called being quiet and shy. It's a personality type. Despite that, I DO talk to people. I have somehow managed to make tons of friends here in Korea, despite not appearing to be a "people-person". But, Mr., I'll take your advice. You, like all the other Korean friends I've made, seem to know me better than I know myself.
He is the typical caring Korean, who wants to know what you eat for breakfast (if it doesn't sound as filling as a Korean breakfast, you fail); how many friends you have; and how you spend your time outside of work. The daycare teacher and her husband are very nice people. I wish I'd met them earlier, because I truly felt more alone earlier in the year than I do now. Now, I've gained many friends, especially Korean friends. There's much less time to interact with them all, but I hope that our friendships won't die when I leave Korea.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
함 (Ham)
No, not the food. The wedding ham (pronounced hahm). This tradition is no longer practiced on a usual basis, but a few of my friends and I had the pleasure of witnessing one Monday night.
One of my phone friends is getting married. He (for whatever reason) decided to do this ceremony with his wife's family. The groom will travel to the mother-in-law's house with his friends on one scheduled day. He comes with a "treasure box" containing gifts. It's kind of like a dowry that a bride might bring with her, only the groom offers this to the bride. Before entering the perimeter (passing the fence that surrounds the house), the bride must break a basket (by stepping on it). This is done to ward off misfortune, as the sound supposedly scares away any bad luck/spirits/etc. Once successfully done, he can now enter through the gate and go to the front door, where he must shout "Ham saseyo!" or "Buy the treasure box!"
...There's actually a lot more to all this than I'm explaining. The ceremony that we watched was a very shortened version of the historical tradition. Therefore, I can only continue by telling you what I saw Monday night.
The bride's maids (or really anyone except the bride) may answer the door to let the groom in. If he is let in, then he presents the box, bows to the family, and food celebrations begin.
Before going to see this, my friends and I were all at the phone shop talking about what was going to happen later that night. It was kind of hard for our Korean friend to thoroughly explain every part of the tradition. For example, he mentioned that the groom's friends would find entry into the house much more difficult. They had to get some sort of permission to enter, just as the groom does. People from inside the house would try to bribe the others with food, etc. The friends might be able to get in by being handed envelopes with money inside. They could recieve these and take one step closer to the house. We, luckily, didn't have to do this. We were swiftly pulled into the house after the groom.
At this point, I feel like I'm doing a really bad job at explaining all of this. I will resort to researching the correct information later, so that I don't fill your mind with a made-up tradition. So, please wait a bit! I will finish by saying that dinner (cooked by the mother-in-law) was fantastic! There was more than enough to go around, and it felt like an early Thanksgiving dinner. There were two separate tables (probably because there wasn't enough room to bring the two together), one with the bride's family and the other with the groom and his friends. From time to time, the bride would join our table and eat with us for a bit before going to sit with her family again. Our Korean friend mentioned that this time together was especially important because during the wedding, the groom might not be able to spend much time with his friends. Instead, he would be busy greeting everyone in attendence, and speaking to elders and other family members. This time was a good moment for him to be with his friends before the big day.
'Till next time,
-Shirby
One of my phone friends is getting married. He (for whatever reason) decided to do this ceremony with his wife's family. The groom will travel to the mother-in-law's house with his friends on one scheduled day. He comes with a "treasure box" containing gifts. It's kind of like a dowry that a bride might bring with her, only the groom offers this to the bride. Before entering the perimeter (passing the fence that surrounds the house), the bride must break a basket (by stepping on it). This is done to ward off misfortune, as the sound supposedly scares away any bad luck/spirits/etc. Once successfully done, he can now enter through the gate and go to the front door, where he must shout "Ham saseyo!" or "Buy the treasure box!"
...There's actually a lot more to all this than I'm explaining. The ceremony that we watched was a very shortened version of the historical tradition. Therefore, I can only continue by telling you what I saw Monday night.
The bride's maids (or really anyone except the bride) may answer the door to let the groom in. If he is let in, then he presents the box, bows to the family, and food celebrations begin.
Before going to see this, my friends and I were all at the phone shop talking about what was going to happen later that night. It was kind of hard for our Korean friend to thoroughly explain every part of the tradition. For example, he mentioned that the groom's friends would find entry into the house much more difficult. They had to get some sort of permission to enter, just as the groom does. People from inside the house would try to bribe the others with food, etc. The friends might be able to get in by being handed envelopes with money inside. They could recieve these and take one step closer to the house. We, luckily, didn't have to do this. We were swiftly pulled into the house after the groom.
At this point, I feel like I'm doing a really bad job at explaining all of this. I will resort to researching the correct information later, so that I don't fill your mind with a made-up tradition. So, please wait a bit! I will finish by saying that dinner (cooked by the mother-in-law) was fantastic! There was more than enough to go around, and it felt like an early Thanksgiving dinner. There were two separate tables (probably because there wasn't enough room to bring the two together), one with the bride's family and the other with the groom and his friends. From time to time, the bride would join our table and eat with us for a bit before going to sit with her family again. Our Korean friend mentioned that this time together was especially important because during the wedding, the groom might not be able to spend much time with his friends. Instead, he would be busy greeting everyone in attendence, and speaking to elders and other family members. This time was a good moment for him to be with his friends before the big day.
'Till next time,
-Shirby
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday Night Dinner (and other thoughts)
There's something to be said about making Korean friends (in Korea). On the bright side, there's a much easier cultural exchange. Actually, there are a lot of good reasons. I really just want to mention the bad side.
Even though I've been actively studying the Korean language since I got here (some months not as dilligently as others), to this day, I still can not understand most of what is said in a random conversation between two people speaking Korean.
I told you about my occasional outings with some of the teachers at my school, right? Just when I start to think it's been a super long time since I last had dinner with the teachers, I get a text message.
<unknown number> where are you?? we want to have dinner today.
<me> Who is this?
<un> im teacher of 4-1^^*
Oooh. I was wondering when I'd get her number again. When my last phone broke, I told the others that I 'd gotten a new phone and didn't have their numbers. Since they hint at things, I thought it'd be ok to do so, too. Stupid me, though. They didn't give me their numbers. I was forced to wait until they sent me messages, and therefore react this way.
Anywho, we went out for ribs (real ribs! They tasted like something from the States, and my taste buds were the happiest they've ever been in a long time!). It was a "take-a-break" dinner for the sports teacher. He'd just taken one of several difficult exams to become an official teacher. This dinner wasn't really to celebrate any results; rather, just to highlight him accomplishing one step in his goal. As usual, the conversations took place in Korean. Sometimes, one of them would say something or ask me something in English. I felt like they were making progress including me in the conversation like that. I thought about the first casual dinner I had with teachers and staff when I started working here. In contrast to last night's dinner, I wasn't talked to after the first 10 minutes. I spent almost 3 hours watching the others at the table gossip fiercely in Korean. Near the end of it all, when a server came over, one looked up and asked what after-dinner drink I wanted. Orange juice, please. Then they all dipped their heads again and began talking excitedly. It wasn't one of them had to leave that they all raised their heads and allowed me to join their reality. Welcome back, I think. In the car, on the way home, my MT apologizes several times. She doesn't say it, exactly, but she knows that they all forgot I was there and got carried away. Instead, she says that they rarely get to meet outside of school and talk casually, so this is why all that happened back there. In later months, I come across many instances where they are all gathered around talking and chatting.
My point in all this is that, at the beginning, I hardly knew more than a few words. There was absolutely no way I would ever guess what two people were talking about if I listened in. Today, my chances are much better; still, it's really difficult. At most, I can guess what the subject is (students at school, co-workers, hairstyles, etc.), but I have no idea what else is going on. I can't figure out why their talking about a co-worker, or what happened with 3 students in the 4th grade class. So, I still sit there trying to entertain myself until someone brings me into the conversation. Every once in awhile I'll try and tune in and see how many words I can understand, wonder what connection these words have with their facial expressions and gestures, and then give up and go back to entertaining myself.
Why go to these dinners if I feel this way? Again, because of the bright side. I'm becoming their friends somehow, if they constantly think of inviting me out time after time. I'm (in a way) learning Korean, and studying my friend's social habits. ...And, like I stated earlier, they're learning to include me in the conversations. We don't meet often, but each time, they talk to me a little more. Call it progress, no matter how freakin slow it's taking. It's better than sitting at home with nothing to do. Plus, the ribs were really delicious.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Even though I've been actively studying the Korean language since I got here (some months not as dilligently as others), to this day, I still can not understand most of what is said in a random conversation between two people speaking Korean.
I told you about my occasional outings with some of the teachers at my school, right? Just when I start to think it's been a super long time since I last had dinner with the teachers, I get a text message.
<unknown number> where are you?? we want to have dinner today.
<me> Who is this?
<un> im teacher of 4-1^^*
Oooh. I was wondering when I'd get her number again. When my last phone broke, I told the others that I 'd gotten a new phone and didn't have their numbers. Since they hint at things, I thought it'd be ok to do so, too. Stupid me, though. They didn't give me their numbers. I was forced to wait until they sent me messages, and therefore react this way.
Anywho, we went out for ribs (real ribs! They tasted like something from the States, and my taste buds were the happiest they've ever been in a long time!). It was a "take-a-break" dinner for the sports teacher. He'd just taken one of several difficult exams to become an official teacher. This dinner wasn't really to celebrate any results; rather, just to highlight him accomplishing one step in his goal. As usual, the conversations took place in Korean. Sometimes, one of them would say something or ask me something in English. I felt like they were making progress including me in the conversation like that. I thought about the first casual dinner I had with teachers and staff when I started working here. In contrast to last night's dinner, I wasn't talked to after the first 10 minutes. I spent almost 3 hours watching the others at the table gossip fiercely in Korean. Near the end of it all, when a server came over, one looked up and asked what after-dinner drink I wanted. Orange juice, please. Then they all dipped their heads again and began talking excitedly. It wasn't one of them had to leave that they all raised their heads and allowed me to join their reality. Welcome back, I think. In the car, on the way home, my MT apologizes several times. She doesn't say it, exactly, but she knows that they all forgot I was there and got carried away. Instead, she says that they rarely get to meet outside of school and talk casually, so this is why all that happened back there. In later months, I come across many instances where they are all gathered around talking and chatting.
My point in all this is that, at the beginning, I hardly knew more than a few words. There was absolutely no way I would ever guess what two people were talking about if I listened in. Today, my chances are much better; still, it's really difficult. At most, I can guess what the subject is (students at school, co-workers, hairstyles, etc.), but I have no idea what else is going on. I can't figure out why their talking about a co-worker, or what happened with 3 students in the 4th grade class. So, I still sit there trying to entertain myself until someone brings me into the conversation. Every once in awhile I'll try and tune in and see how many words I can understand, wonder what connection these words have with their facial expressions and gestures, and then give up and go back to entertaining myself.
Why go to these dinners if I feel this way? Again, because of the bright side. I'm becoming their friends somehow, if they constantly think of inviting me out time after time. I'm (in a way) learning Korean, and studying my friend's social habits. ...And, like I stated earlier, they're learning to include me in the conversations. We don't meet often, but each time, they talk to me a little more. Call it progress, no matter how freakin slow it's taking. It's better than sitting at home with nothing to do. Plus, the ribs were really delicious.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Inspiration
Last Saturday, I spent most of the afternoon and evening at the phone shop. Between helping customers, counting money in Korean, taking turns drawing in my sketchbook, and lots of other mini random conversations, one of the guys asked me which movie inspired me. Later that night, I wrote this short passage in my sketchbook:
'Til next time,
-Shirby
They asked me what movie moved me the most. I knew the answer instantly, but tried to think of another, and hide my original thought. Eventually, I cam clean. I couldn't think of anything else, anyway. Not too quickly. The answer? Kiki's Delivery Service.
They got the answer (part of it) in a roundabout way. It's a cartoon, I told them. By Studio Ghibli. From Hayao Miyazaki. I explained to them that the particular movie has been more inspiring to me than it will probably be to anyone I show it to. It was moving when I first watched it (around 7 or 8 years old) and, to this day, the same inspiration can be found. I only have to watch a small scene or hear part of a song, and my soul knows.
...So then I came across the ending theme song hidden on my e-reader. (A gift to myself? I was/am so happy)! I started thinking about the movie, and I realized something profound. I remembered that Kiki was on a year-long trip away from home in order to complete her training (to become a witch). So, then I asked myself: Am I on Kiki's trip, following her path? Is this my trip away from home, my year of training? At the end of the year, will I have "become a witch"? Will I have earned my title... whatever it is? What's my skill?
Right now, that last question seems like the most important one. What skill will I take home with me?
I want to write Miyazaki a letter asking what happens to Kiki after her year. Maybe it's cheating, but I'm curious about what he might answer.I should mention: My friend (who asked me this question first) told me the movie that moved him was Braveheart.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
To Japan and Back Again
Three weekends ago (I think? Yes, it should be three.) I went to Japan with a TaLK scholar friend to see a Crystal Kay in concert. The three messages below summarize my trip. Sorry for not writing about it earlier!
>_<
I am stupid. Even though I wouldn't have made an effort to talk to the Korean banks anyways (in case I needed to speak more Korean than I knew), I still could've taken money out earlier. ...And that birthday party, I never got to go to it. It took so long to meet up with my friend once I arrived in Seoul; took so long to find a hotel; took such a long subway ride (almost an hour from the Gangnam area to the Gimpo airport area) that there was no hope to even stop by for 10 minutes. Instead I sent her text messages and stared longingly at the fancy cupcake I'd bought her. I didn't even get to eat the cupcake. I accidentally left it in the hotel fridge. I hope someone else enjoyed it. It looked delicious.
The Crystal Kay concert was AMAZING. It was my first official concert (I won't count the ones at anime conventions... nope). Though I didn't have any strong attachment to her or her music beforehand, I truly came to respect her, her music, and her performance by the end of the concert. The atmosphere was great. Plus, my Korean friend got it right. Japanese people do like to sit and enjoy the music when they go to concerts. So many calm, quiet people during the slow songs! Yet, they were totally in love with the music, so I know they appreciated it, too.
Meeting my friends relatives was awesome, too. We both struggled so hard to remember the Japanese that we'd learned in SA (in order to talk to the nephew, cousin, and her husband), but all the Korean and English kept getting in the way. His cousin made an amazing Japanese-style breakfast, which I can still imagine clearly in my mind. Dinner was also really good, but I will never say I like sushi again. I didn't realize that wasabi could be snuck into sushi! Bleh! The parents laughed at me so much.
Just being in Japan was amazing. Despite all the troubles and stressful situations, I could feel a strong sense of happiness underneath it all. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed Japan, and how much I wanted to be back. I somewhat expected it to be like returning and only seeing changes, and not liking them. However, true love might exist (at least, true good memories) because how else could I maintain a happy mood underneath all the troubles??? I really hope to go back under better circumstances (staying longer, not rushing, being completely prepared), and discover if I really do still love Japan as much as I seemed to a few weeks ago.
Oh! Oh! I have to say one more thing. I totally wasn't expecting to go to Hachi-oji! What's so great about that place? It's the hometown of a Japanese group I heard years ago and grew to love. The group's called Funky Monkey Babys. I don't know a lot about the various cities and towns in Japan, and the only reason I'd known about their hometown is because they mention it in a song I listen to very often. Needless to say, arriving in Hachi-oji had me feeling pretty good.
Also, on the bus ride back to the airport, I was cloud-watching. The clouds were enormous and poofy (probably due to being near the ocean). The amazing thing was that I saw faces in the clouds! Crazy, yeah? Seriously though, I saw detailed faces in the clouds, and it reminded me of a friend back in Korea who'd shown me a picture of a cloud angel floating over South Africa.
>_<
Tonight is the last night I have to get a good night's sleep for awhile.[AND]
I teach three classes tomorrow; head to the train station right after school; arrive in Seoul and find Vincent; get settled then head to a birthday party; get back to the hotel before the subway shuts down; fly to Japan the next day; go to a Crystal Kay's concert; [whatever happens after a concert]; fly back to Korea the next day; take the train home; rest and get ready to teach 3 classes the next day.
*GAME FACE* ... tbh, this is my game face: o _ o
Bittersweet weekend. Lessons were learned. ...I didn't realize just how much I missed Japan. Hachioji is a nice place, was a pleasant surprise. Waiting to visit again already. Until next time, Japan. Until next time.[AND]
Hey dad,so yes...
I'm back in Korea now. I told mom about the trip beforehand, but let me explain the trip so you know what happened :)A friend and I (we met in SA and came to Korea for the TaLK program together) went to Japan for 2 days to see a concert. We left Seoul Saturday morning and came back Sunday evening. I made the mistake of thinking there'd be time (the day of the flight) to get money out in Korea, but we ended up rushing to our flight with minutes to spare. I thought, Ok. I'll get money out in Japan and exchange it at the airport. I had my American credit card and Korean debit card on the trip. I didn't think about telling the Korean bank that I'd be out of the country, so when I tried it at the ATMs, it didn't work at all. I suspect they just blocked the transactions since they were from another country. I tried the Visa, but I've never used a credit card at an ATM before. I was surprised when it asked for a pin number. We tried so many machines that day. I looked online after I texted you, and it said that all 7-11 stores and post offices (besides banks) in Japan would have international ATMs. So we left the airport and tried at 7-11s. By the time we found a post office, it was closed (Saturday), and the banks weren't open either. So! I couldn't get any money out. I gave my friend what little Korean money I had on me to add to his amount. He exchanged it for Yen when we were at the airport. By the time I got your reply, we had left the airport, so I couldn't get any travellers checks.There also wasn't time to go to a base. We were almost late meeting my friend's relative because of the money issue at the airport. When we met up with him, he took us to some more 7-11s and a post office, but no luck. By then, it was time to go to the concert. After the concert, we had to take a long subway ride to the relative's house. The next day, (after you send the next round of messages), I tried at a 7-11 down the street, but it still didn't work. We had to leave Japan in the early afternoon, so there wasn't much point trying to get money out.
I really didn't know about credit cards being used at ATMs, especially with PIN numbers. Needless to say, I will remember now to just take out trip money days before the trip, in case I run out of time the day of.
I have to go to school now, but I'll email you again when I get back home.Love,-Shannon
I am stupid. Even though I wouldn't have made an effort to talk to the Korean banks anyways (in case I needed to speak more Korean than I knew), I still could've taken money out earlier. ...And that birthday party, I never got to go to it. It took so long to meet up with my friend once I arrived in Seoul; took so long to find a hotel; took such a long subway ride (almost an hour from the Gangnam area to the Gimpo airport area) that there was no hope to even stop by for 10 minutes. Instead I sent her text messages and stared longingly at the fancy cupcake I'd bought her. I didn't even get to eat the cupcake. I accidentally left it in the hotel fridge. I hope someone else enjoyed it. It looked delicious.
The Crystal Kay concert was AMAZING. It was my first official concert (I won't count the ones at anime conventions... nope). Though I didn't have any strong attachment to her or her music beforehand, I truly came to respect her, her music, and her performance by the end of the concert. The atmosphere was great. Plus, my Korean friend got it right. Japanese people do like to sit and enjoy the music when they go to concerts. So many calm, quiet people during the slow songs! Yet, they were totally in love with the music, so I know they appreciated it, too.
Meeting my friends relatives was awesome, too. We both struggled so hard to remember the Japanese that we'd learned in SA (in order to talk to the nephew, cousin, and her husband), but all the Korean and English kept getting in the way. His cousin made an amazing Japanese-style breakfast, which I can still imagine clearly in my mind. Dinner was also really good, but I will never say I like sushi again. I didn't realize that wasabi could be snuck into sushi! Bleh! The parents laughed at me so much.
Just being in Japan was amazing. Despite all the troubles and stressful situations, I could feel a strong sense of happiness underneath it all. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed Japan, and how much I wanted to be back. I somewhat expected it to be like returning and only seeing changes, and not liking them. However, true love might exist (at least, true good memories) because how else could I maintain a happy mood underneath all the troubles??? I really hope to go back under better circumstances (staying longer, not rushing, being completely prepared), and discover if I really do still love Japan as much as I seemed to a few weeks ago.
Oh! Oh! I have to say one more thing. I totally wasn't expecting to go to Hachi-oji! What's so great about that place? It's the hometown of a Japanese group I heard years ago and grew to love. The group's called Funky Monkey Babys. I don't know a lot about the various cities and towns in Japan, and the only reason I'd known about their hometown is because they mention it in a song I listen to very often. Needless to say, arriving in Hachi-oji had me feeling pretty good.
Also, on the bus ride back to the airport, I was cloud-watching. The clouds were enormous and poofy (probably due to being near the ocean). The amazing thing was that I saw faces in the clouds! Crazy, yeah? Seriously though, I saw detailed faces in the clouds, and it reminded me of a friend back in Korea who'd shown me a picture of a cloud angel floating over South Africa.
That's the angel cloud above. I filmed the clouds I saw. As usual, I will promise to share pictures with you and then promptly not have time to do it. Maybe once these adventures are over, I'll do an archive dump let you pour over the files.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Studying and Korean Ceremony
Here's what happened last night.
After much highly-unnecessary internal conflict, I decided to pay my phone friend a visit.
---Oh, crap. I just found out I have to be the TaLK Day teacher. I'll write about it later. ---
Back to the story. I went to the phone shop with a list of all the Korean lessons I had learned in TTMIK's level two. I was ready to move on to level three, but wanted some sort of test from a Korean friend. I figured this would be the best way to get a quick review and test at the same time. When I walked in, there was a new person working with the usual group of guys. A female. At first I thought she was just one of their friends visiting the shop, but she bowed to me when I came in. My phone friend (one of the guys working at the shop) finished helping a customer and then came to sit with me at the table. I handed him the list and he immediately began quizzing me. At first I was really nervous. I have more practice reading and writing than speaking, and when I speak I tend to think slowly or forget whole phrases (thinking I don't know them when actually, I do). However, the way he asked questions was really helpful, and I was able to answer calmly. I think it helps that he had patience.
Soon another customer came in and the other brothers (he calls them his brothers, whether related or not. In Korea, it'd be natural to call them his brothers, or "hyeong") had disappeared. Only the lady was there, and he called her over and told her to introduce herself and speak to me in Korean. More tests, haha. It started off awkwardly because she wasn't sure what to say to me beyond "Hi, what's your name," etc. Still, after a few minutes we began coming up with things to say to each other, and that's when I found out she was a new worker at the store.
That night, I learned a lot more Korean, too. Nothing I can remember off the top of my head right now, but through the course of chatting with each other in Korean and English (both broken at times), we started talking about all kinds of things. One of her friends came to the shop for a short while and we started talking about IU (a Korean singer), and what to call the boss and subordinates at work. Things like that. After awhile, the phone shop boss came in we started talking about him (among other things). It was really funny because my phone friend and the boss just watched us talking and switching between Korean and English (in between sentences). Neither of us knew enough Korean or English to stick to one language, so I tried asking questions in English, and she'd reply in Korean. Of course, we often mixed our sentences with words from both languages. They thought it was funny and laughed at us a lot. It was all good fun. Finally, the boss came over and joined the conversation. I showed him what I was studying. I had written the lesson topics in Korean and English, so I think he started studying them rather than just reading the list.
Then, he was asking me if I could teach him English. A deal was made. I'd come to the shop and review/learn Korean, and he would learn English. We'd be sharing/exchanging information and learning from each other. Well, I agreed. I've never taught an adult before (er, someone so much older than me), but thanks to my current job, I know what it's like to teach someone who knows very few words in the target language to begin with. My first graders were the "guinea pigs," the first big test for me. ..And I have to teach so many of them, so at this point nothing should be a big shock. :) Now, I just need to remember to show up. It'll be a week before we start, and for me it's the equivalent of the first day of school. Remember to go to the right class. Remember to show up on time. Things like that. Actually, I'm really excited. I didn't expect to make so many new friends at a place I've visited so often. Rather, I didn't expect my relationship with the others to become more than just "Hi." and "Bye." conversations. I'm really glad.
After our little study party, we went to a traditional Korean ceremony.
At some point the bilingual conversation had died down, and the boss and my friend were talking to each other in Korean. I didn't know what they were saying, but sometimes I don't listen anyway. I'm still at the point where I have to force my ears to listen to Korean speech and prepare my brain to pick up any known words. So, I was sitting there not listening when the boss turned to me and said something in Korean. I tried to recall what he'd just said, but all I had picked up was 같이. Together. "같이?" I asked him, for clarification? What was happening "together"? Then my phone friend explained. One of their other "brothers" was having a ceremony that night. He was opening a new shop, and there was a traditional ceremony (my phone friend called it a superstition) involving a pig's head, money, and bowing, and food offerings. Did I want to go with them to see it? Honestly, it was a rare opportunity. I'd probably never get to come across it on my own. I let them know I'd only seen it once in a KDrama, and I can't even remember which drama that was. I asked them if it was ok for me to go. They said yes. The closed the shop for the night and we all headed out.
The location was a 15 minute drive out of the city. It was dark outside so I couldn't see much besides shadows of trees and the lights of other cars driving by. It reminded me of driving around the Texas countryside, or North Carolina. We pulled up to to the venue where people were eating and laughing together. The host waved us in as we parked. After a lot of greetings, we walked over to the building's porch . There it was. A pig's head. Money had been stuffed into its ears, and money envelopes were packed between the pig's lips, as if the pig was eating the envelopes. Sorry, I didn't take a picture, but I'll look for one and post it here. Surrounding the pigs head was a watermelon and an Asian pear, their ends sliced off so that the fruits' insides could be seen. There were also many cups sitting on the front end of the table. The boss did the ceremony and the rest of us watched. He received a cup of 막걸리 (rice wine) from the host, which he knelt down with. He circled the cup in the air between himself and the pig's head before putting it on the table (I didn't see if he drank from it). Then he stood up and knelt back down several times (three times, I think), bowing at each interval. He also put a money envelope into the pig's mouth. That was pretty much the entire ceremony. Afterwards, we walked over to the food tables for a nice warm meal.
I should mention that it was super cold outside. Once the sun went down, the cool breeze stayed behind and chilled everything. There was moisture in the air that left a thin layer of water over everything outside. Luckily, we had a nice stew to eat (honestly, it tasted kind of like something my mom would make), with rice, samgyeopsal, and many side dishes. There was celebratory dduk as well. I figured out that dduk shows up at almost every ceremony. The last time I saw it, a teacher's newborn baby had just reached 100 days of life. They celebrate that here in Korea. She gave all the other teachers dduk as a celebratory gift.
After eating and chatting, and playing with these cute puppies that lived on the lot, we all got into the cars and headed back home.
'Til next time
-Shirby
After much highly-unnecessary internal conflict, I decided to pay my phone friend a visit.
---Oh, crap. I just found out I have to be the TaLK Day teacher. I'll write about it later. ---
Back to the story. I went to the phone shop with a list of all the Korean lessons I had learned in TTMIK's level two. I was ready to move on to level three, but wanted some sort of test from a Korean friend. I figured this would be the best way to get a quick review and test at the same time. When I walked in, there was a new person working with the usual group of guys. A female. At first I thought she was just one of their friends visiting the shop, but she bowed to me when I came in. My phone friend (one of the guys working at the shop) finished helping a customer and then came to sit with me at the table. I handed him the list and he immediately began quizzing me. At first I was really nervous. I have more practice reading and writing than speaking, and when I speak I tend to think slowly or forget whole phrases (thinking I don't know them when actually, I do). However, the way he asked questions was really helpful, and I was able to answer calmly. I think it helps that he had patience.
Soon another customer came in and the other brothers (he calls them his brothers, whether related or not. In Korea, it'd be natural to call them his brothers, or "hyeong") had disappeared. Only the lady was there, and he called her over and told her to introduce herself and speak to me in Korean. More tests, haha. It started off awkwardly because she wasn't sure what to say to me beyond "Hi, what's your name," etc. Still, after a few minutes we began coming up with things to say to each other, and that's when I found out she was a new worker at the store.
That night, I learned a lot more Korean, too. Nothing I can remember off the top of my head right now, but through the course of chatting with each other in Korean and English (both broken at times), we started talking about all kinds of things. One of her friends came to the shop for a short while and we started talking about IU (a Korean singer), and what to call the boss and subordinates at work. Things like that. After awhile, the phone shop boss came in we started talking about him (among other things). It was really funny because my phone friend and the boss just watched us talking and switching between Korean and English (in between sentences). Neither of us knew enough Korean or English to stick to one language, so I tried asking questions in English, and she'd reply in Korean. Of course, we often mixed our sentences with words from both languages. They thought it was funny and laughed at us a lot. It was all good fun. Finally, the boss came over and joined the conversation. I showed him what I was studying. I had written the lesson topics in Korean and English, so I think he started studying them rather than just reading the list.
Then, he was asking me if I could teach him English. A deal was made. I'd come to the shop and review/learn Korean, and he would learn English. We'd be sharing/exchanging information and learning from each other. Well, I agreed. I've never taught an adult before (er, someone so much older than me), but thanks to my current job, I know what it's like to teach someone who knows very few words in the target language to begin with. My first graders were the "guinea pigs," the first big test for me. ..And I have to teach so many of them, so at this point nothing should be a big shock. :) Now, I just need to remember to show up. It'll be a week before we start, and for me it's the equivalent of the first day of school. Remember to go to the right class. Remember to show up on time. Things like that. Actually, I'm really excited. I didn't expect to make so many new friends at a place I've visited so often. Rather, I didn't expect my relationship with the others to become more than just "Hi." and "Bye." conversations. I'm really glad.
After our little study party, we went to a traditional Korean ceremony.
At some point the bilingual conversation had died down, and the boss and my friend were talking to each other in Korean. I didn't know what they were saying, but sometimes I don't listen anyway. I'm still at the point where I have to force my ears to listen to Korean speech and prepare my brain to pick up any known words. So, I was sitting there not listening when the boss turned to me and said something in Korean. I tried to recall what he'd just said, but all I had picked up was 같이. Together. "같이?" I asked him, for clarification? What was happening "together"? Then my phone friend explained. One of their other "brothers" was having a ceremony that night. He was opening a new shop, and there was a traditional ceremony (my phone friend called it a superstition) involving a pig's head, money, and bowing, and food offerings. Did I want to go with them to see it? Honestly, it was a rare opportunity. I'd probably never get to come across it on my own. I let them know I'd only seen it once in a KDrama, and I can't even remember which drama that was. I asked them if it was ok for me to go. They said yes. The closed the shop for the night and we all headed out.
The location was a 15 minute drive out of the city. It was dark outside so I couldn't see much besides shadows of trees and the lights of other cars driving by. It reminded me of driving around the Texas countryside, or North Carolina. We pulled up to to the venue where people were eating and laughing together. The host waved us in as we parked. After a lot of greetings, we walked over to the building's porch . There it was. A pig's head. Money had been stuffed into its ears, and money envelopes were packed between the pig's lips, as if the pig was eating the envelopes. Sorry, I didn't take a picture, but I'll look for one and post it here. Surrounding the pigs head was a watermelon and an Asian pear, their ends sliced off so that the fruits' insides could be seen. There were also many cups sitting on the front end of the table. The boss did the ceremony and the rest of us watched. He received a cup of 막걸리 (rice wine) from the host, which he knelt down with. He circled the cup in the air between himself and the pig's head before putting it on the table (I didn't see if he drank from it). Then he stood up and knelt back down several times (three times, I think), bowing at each interval. He also put a money envelope into the pig's mouth. That was pretty much the entire ceremony. Afterwards, we walked over to the food tables for a nice warm meal.
I should mention that it was super cold outside. Once the sun went down, the cool breeze stayed behind and chilled everything. There was moisture in the air that left a thin layer of water over everything outside. Luckily, we had a nice stew to eat (honestly, it tasted kind of like something my mom would make), with rice, samgyeopsal, and many side dishes. There was celebratory dduk as well. I figured out that dduk shows up at almost every ceremony. The last time I saw it, a teacher's newborn baby had just reached 100 days of life. They celebrate that here in Korea. She gave all the other teachers dduk as a celebratory gift.
After eating and chatting, and playing with these cute puppies that lived on the lot, we all got into the cars and headed back home.
'Til next time
-Shirby
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Fun, Fun, Fun
I must say it's getting easier to figure out how to hang out comfortably with everyone. Last weekend I managed to go clubbing with some friends without drinking. It feels so nice being able to do that, to make friends and spend time with them without feeling like a burden (of some sort). Honestly, I worry about that sometimes. My decision not to drink (unless I have to) during social situations is sure to cause a bit of concern, and maybe a little fuss. I was determined to show people that I could still have fun with them, even if I didn't do all the things they did. So, as long as I'm willing, I don't mind hanging out with these new people while they get drunk, especially if there's other things to do like dance and mingle with random people.
I went to my first club (ever) about two weekends ago, and last week joined the same friends again for a night of dancing. Actually, we were supposed to go bowling, which is why I showed up in the first place. I was already on that side of Korea (more or less), and I rarely get a chance to hang out with people I meet in Seoul a second time. Also, I was so happy that my friend set up a bowling outing. I love it when friends can gather to do more than just sit and drink. It's so rare (at least, among people my age) for there to be anything else. I absolutely had to go.
On Friday after school, I went to Jochiwon to visit an old friend and her son. These two people are probably the first Korean friends I made once I arrived in Korea. The lady is the nurse who works at the TaLK orientation. I became friends with her and her son during my orientation and have kept up the relationship ever since. While there, I also caught up with some other 8th generation TaLK scholars who were visiting the 9th gen orientation for various reasons. We all spent time playing with the nurse's son. I spent the night there, and the next day, while waiting for my train, I spent the morning chatting and eating with the nurse and her son.
I took an afternoon train to Seoul and, after some texting and a phone call, took the subway to the northern side of the city. There I explored a subway station while waiting for my friend to arrive. To my surprise there was a bookstore underground in the subway. Language has no boundaries when it comes to me and bookstores. I'd realized just how deprived I'd been when my friend Jessica and I went to the Kyobo bookstore in Gangnam a weekend ago. When I saw this bookstore, I ran in. I searched for "common ground"= the manga (manhwa in Korean) section and began browsing. I ended up perusing the rest of the store, making my way through computer programming books and language dictionaries. I stumbled upon a fashion design book that held my attention until my friend arrived. Honestly, despite the books being in Korean, I really want to visit that bookstore again. I don't even know if there are large bookstores like that in my town. I only ever see the small magazine shops, and those aren't appealing. :(
Back to the main story! My friend and I finally met up and we headed to Insa-dong. We picked up another friend and headed into the shops. The plan was to take pictures while wearing hanbok. These pictures were the kind that you take in those fancy picture booths. The asian ones are sooooo much cooler than ones in America. After you take 5 or 6 pictures, you go to a screen outside the booth and proceed to draw on and decorate the pictures before they're printed out. The couple running the booth had control over the timer so my friends and I spent a lot of time (probably more than he wanted to give us) adding funny things to the pictures.
After taking pictures, we made our way south to Gangnam to go bowling. Crazy things happend from that point on. We arrived only an hour after this bowling alley/bar/restaurant (yes, 3-in-one) opened, yet it was super busy. The man at the counter told us the wait for one lane would be 2 hours. It was still early in the evening, and my friend thought that more people would join us later, so we decided to wait. I got hungry at this time, and we considered leaving to eat somewhere cheaper to kill time and save money. As we headed to the exit, another man stopped us and told us that if we left, our names would be taken off the waiting list. Feeling dismay, we headed for the nearest table and cracked open the menu. Of course, everything was expensive. We shared a pizza and decided to play some of the games around the room. We played a really short (and expensive) game of air hockey (for 1000 won, we got about 3 minutes of play time). Next, we tried to play pool, but another man came out of nowhere and shooed us away, saying that there was a waiting list for the pool tables. How long, we asked. 2 hours. We laughed to ourselves and moved back to our table. After chatting a bit more... really, we were shouting above the loud dance music (there was a DJ at this bowling alley), we decided to make a move toward the dart boards. One group of people sat down and let us take over their board. There was a coin slot for keeping score and maintaining records, but were able to play the game without paying anything. I've never really played darts before, but in the first round I scored a bull's eye. After that, my shots landed all over the board. We even took turns having our darts bounce off the board and fly back to us. It was the most entertaining part of the time spent there.
Soon our guy friend said that some of his friends wanted to join us. We waited for them in the noisy room, getting sleepy from the onsetting boredom. Our guy friend spent most of this time walking in and out of the building to make or answer phone calls, or borrow my friend's phone when his started to die. Eventually the others showed up. I'd met one of them at last week's party, and he instantly remembered me. I met the other two, a girl from Canada and a girl from Japan (who might be Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hong Kong...inese lol). Let me say that during this entire time, we'd been checking in with the guy at the counter, asking how many more teams were in front of us. The wait seemed endless, so we reluctantly decided to leave the bowling alley and do something else.
My friend and our guy friend discovered that they'd be going to the same Eminem concert the next day, so when the other friends showed up, one of them said that Eminem would be doing a quick show at a club nearby in a few minutes. We decided to head for that club and try to get in. Actually, we tried this kind of plan several times that night. The idea was to get into a club before a certain time so that we wouldn't have to pay. Luck was not on our side that night. For Eminem's performance, we missed it completely because of waiting at the bowling alley for too long and making our way to the venue too late. We did, however, pick up another friend to join the group. At the next location, we had coupons to get in, but ... well, I'm still not quite sure what happened. My guess is that, I and our guy friend weren't dressed for the "occasion". One person in our group jokingly said I should wear his shorts and he should wear my jeans so we could get in. Honestly though, the line was so long that it wrapped around the block of this huge hotel, plus the buildings behind it. Waiting in that line again was definitely not worth it. After talking about it for awhile, we decided on a new destination. A smallish club that we were sure to get into. What was intersting about this club was that the pool table was turned into a regular table, and the workers put games like Jenga out for everyone to play. We had an enjoyable night hanging out, playing games, and dancing. I hadn't planned on spending the night in Seoul, but wasn't really surprised when it happened. I went to a jimjilbang (sauna, or spa) for the first time with my friend. I don't know how most look, but the one I went to was pretty nice-looking.
On Sunday morning, I ate a nice (and spicy ><) Korean meal at the jimjilbang with my friend, and then took off for the nearest subway station exit, which turned out to be a long long walk away. I'd forgotten that we'd been taking taxis all night. It hadn't dawned on me the true reason for doing so. It wasn't really to stick together or get to places in a timely manner; it was because the exits were all super far away. I finally came across a subway exit after walking for about 20 minutes, but I did manage to get a good look at part of Gangnam. I walked past some expensive car dealerships. There was also probably a fashion institute somewhere near my path (I saw a sign). I also passed by a museum or two. One of the nice things about walking around a city in the early morning is that there's not too many people around, no rushing, and the weather is still nice so walking up a hill doesn't seem so bad.
Well, 'til next time!
-Shirby
I went to my first club (ever) about two weekends ago, and last week joined the same friends again for a night of dancing. Actually, we were supposed to go bowling, which is why I showed up in the first place. I was already on that side of Korea (more or less), and I rarely get a chance to hang out with people I meet in Seoul a second time. Also, I was so happy that my friend set up a bowling outing. I love it when friends can gather to do more than just sit and drink. It's so rare (at least, among people my age) for there to be anything else. I absolutely had to go.
On Friday after school, I went to Jochiwon to visit an old friend and her son. These two people are probably the first Korean friends I made once I arrived in Korea. The lady is the nurse who works at the TaLK orientation. I became friends with her and her son during my orientation and have kept up the relationship ever since. While there, I also caught up with some other 8th generation TaLK scholars who were visiting the 9th gen orientation for various reasons. We all spent time playing with the nurse's son. I spent the night there, and the next day, while waiting for my train, I spent the morning chatting and eating with the nurse and her son.
I took an afternoon train to Seoul and, after some texting and a phone call, took the subway to the northern side of the city. There I explored a subway station while waiting for my friend to arrive. To my surprise there was a bookstore underground in the subway. Language has no boundaries when it comes to me and bookstores. I'd realized just how deprived I'd been when my friend Jessica and I went to the Kyobo bookstore in Gangnam a weekend ago. When I saw this bookstore, I ran in. I searched for "common ground"= the manga (manhwa in Korean) section and began browsing. I ended up perusing the rest of the store, making my way through computer programming books and language dictionaries. I stumbled upon a fashion design book that held my attention until my friend arrived. Honestly, despite the books being in Korean, I really want to visit that bookstore again. I don't even know if there are large bookstores like that in my town. I only ever see the small magazine shops, and those aren't appealing. :(
Back to the main story! My friend and I finally met up and we headed to Insa-dong. We picked up another friend and headed into the shops. The plan was to take pictures while wearing hanbok. These pictures were the kind that you take in those fancy picture booths. The asian ones are sooooo much cooler than ones in America. After you take 5 or 6 pictures, you go to a screen outside the booth and proceed to draw on and decorate the pictures before they're printed out. The couple running the booth had control over the timer so my friends and I spent a lot of time (probably more than he wanted to give us) adding funny things to the pictures.
After taking pictures, we made our way south to Gangnam to go bowling. Crazy things happend from that point on. We arrived only an hour after this bowling alley/bar/restaurant (yes, 3-in-one) opened, yet it was super busy. The man at the counter told us the wait for one lane would be 2 hours. It was still early in the evening, and my friend thought that more people would join us later, so we decided to wait. I got hungry at this time, and we considered leaving to eat somewhere cheaper to kill time and save money. As we headed to the exit, another man stopped us and told us that if we left, our names would be taken off the waiting list. Feeling dismay, we headed for the nearest table and cracked open the menu. Of course, everything was expensive. We shared a pizza and decided to play some of the games around the room. We played a really short (and expensive) game of air hockey (for 1000 won, we got about 3 minutes of play time). Next, we tried to play pool, but another man came out of nowhere and shooed us away, saying that there was a waiting list for the pool tables. How long, we asked. 2 hours. We laughed to ourselves and moved back to our table. After chatting a bit more... really, we were shouting above the loud dance music (there was a DJ at this bowling alley), we decided to make a move toward the dart boards. One group of people sat down and let us take over their board. There was a coin slot for keeping score and maintaining records, but were able to play the game without paying anything. I've never really played darts before, but in the first round I scored a bull's eye. After that, my shots landed all over the board. We even took turns having our darts bounce off the board and fly back to us. It was the most entertaining part of the time spent there.
Soon our guy friend said that some of his friends wanted to join us. We waited for them in the noisy room, getting sleepy from the onsetting boredom. Our guy friend spent most of this time walking in and out of the building to make or answer phone calls, or borrow my friend's phone when his started to die. Eventually the others showed up. I'd met one of them at last week's party, and he instantly remembered me. I met the other two, a girl from Canada and a girl from Japan (who might be Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hong Kong...inese lol). Let me say that during this entire time, we'd been checking in with the guy at the counter, asking how many more teams were in front of us. The wait seemed endless, so we reluctantly decided to leave the bowling alley and do something else.
My friend and our guy friend discovered that they'd be going to the same Eminem concert the next day, so when the other friends showed up, one of them said that Eminem would be doing a quick show at a club nearby in a few minutes. We decided to head for that club and try to get in. Actually, we tried this kind of plan several times that night. The idea was to get into a club before a certain time so that we wouldn't have to pay. Luck was not on our side that night. For Eminem's performance, we missed it completely because of waiting at the bowling alley for too long and making our way to the venue too late. We did, however, pick up another friend to join the group. At the next location, we had coupons to get in, but ... well, I'm still not quite sure what happened. My guess is that, I and our guy friend weren't dressed for the "occasion". One person in our group jokingly said I should wear his shorts and he should wear my jeans so we could get in. Honestly though, the line was so long that it wrapped around the block of this huge hotel, plus the buildings behind it. Waiting in that line again was definitely not worth it. After talking about it for awhile, we decided on a new destination. A smallish club that we were sure to get into. What was intersting about this club was that the pool table was turned into a regular table, and the workers put games like Jenga out for everyone to play. We had an enjoyable night hanging out, playing games, and dancing. I hadn't planned on spending the night in Seoul, but wasn't really surprised when it happened. I went to a jimjilbang (sauna, or spa) for the first time with my friend. I don't know how most look, but the one I went to was pretty nice-looking.
On Sunday morning, I ate a nice (and spicy ><) Korean meal at the jimjilbang with my friend, and then took off for the nearest subway station exit, which turned out to be a long long walk away. I'd forgotten that we'd been taking taxis all night. It hadn't dawned on me the true reason for doing so. It wasn't really to stick together or get to places in a timely manner; it was because the exits were all super far away. I finally came across a subway exit after walking for about 20 minutes, but I did manage to get a good look at part of Gangnam. I walked past some expensive car dealerships. There was also probably a fashion institute somewhere near my path (I saw a sign). I also passed by a museum or two. One of the nice things about walking around a city in the early morning is that there's not too many people around, no rushing, and the weather is still nice so walking up a hill doesn't seem so bad.
Well, 'til next time!
-Shirby
Friday, August 17, 2012
New Friends & New memories
Hi there! Sorry for the long wait. Long time no see....
This week's been an interesting one.
First of all, the rains came. Last week felt just like living in Texas. High 90's, and although I never checked the weather forecast, I'm pretty sure it felt like 100. The humidity was pretty strong. It didn't take long to start sweating after walking outside, and the sun was as piercing as ever. Then, the new week brought new weather. Though it's still hot on occasion, the rain has been a welcoming change. Well, almost welcoming. *scratches mosquito bites*
Jecheon has an annual music and film festival, titled, "Jecheon International Music & Film Festival." It started on Thursday of last week, crossed into the weekend, and ended on Wednesday of this week. To be honest, I'd been waiting for it since I moved here. After finding out where I was staying, I looked up info about this city and found out about the festival. However, by the time it rolled around, I wasn't sure if or when or even how much of it I'd get to see. To my luck, I managed to catch two movies and one band. There were tons of films and music going on all at once, so it was impossible to catch everything, but to me, just experiencing a part of it was satisfying enough.
It reminded me of my childhood. One of the things that made my family feel like a family was going to festivals together, and boy, we went to tons of festivals when I was young. It's something that will probably always make me happy: the festival atmosphere. All I have to do is sit in the center of it and I'm good.
So, I caught one movie in particular called, "The Peach Tree." It was directed by Ku Hye Sun (who played Geum Jan Di in Boys over Flowers). Here's a link to the film description:
[http://www.jimff.org/en/movieprogram/movie01view.asp?idx=155&sec_idx=28&sec2=Feature]
Let me just say it was a very powerful movie. It makes you think; it's intriguing and sad, but also somewhat wonderful in a way. My review sounds mysterious? Yes, somehow I can't quite desribe it in just a few sentences, but that's the kind of time I have right now, so sorry!
On Monday, I decided to go out to eat instead of go straight home. This random change in my daily schedule led me to meet the mother of one of my students. This lady, her daughter, and two other classmates (one of whom was also my student) were having lunch at the restaurant I'd chosen. The girls saw me and the next thing I know we're all eating lunch together. The mother bought me lunch, actually, even though I tried to pay. I feel a bit weird meeting parents. I'm not sure if it's ok to "hang out" with them outside of school. Even so, I became friends with her. We (she, her daughter, and I) ended up going to a movie, eating lunch/dinner (linner?), and snacking at a coffee shop on Wednesday. She's a really nice lady, and I sorta feel like I'm slowly being adopted lol.
Tuesday night was movie night, but before going, I stopped by my friend's phone shop to ask for help with Korean. (I plan to make a video response on Youtube in Korean soon. I'll post it here when it's done). He told me it was going to rain, but honestly, it'd just been super-cloudy all day and I didn't really believe him. He playfully argued about it with me, and I ended up leaving with one of the many spare umbrellas in the shop. It's a nice big one with rainbow stripes near the edges. I told him I'd bring it back the next day, but he just said keep it for a month or two. Haha, like it'd rain nonstop for 2 months. Anyways, I have my own umbrella.
Oh, and before that! I met two Korean girls around my age (FINALLY!) who live in Jecheon. I met one of them in a Family Mart over the weekend, and we agreed to go to a coffee shop Tuesday with another one of her friends. We enjoyed each other's company, making fun of Twilight movie stars (among other things), and speaking Korean and English. (Well,,, I tried at least).
Today, when I get home, I have to get ready to go traveling again. This time I'm going to Jochiwon, the place where this Korean journey began. You see, the 9th generation TaLK scholars are there right now having training, and I want to spy on them. Ok, not really, but I am going to visit the camp nurse and her son. Hopefully I'll make some new friends there. There also might be a trip to Seoul this weekend if things end up that way.
'Til next time!
-Shirby
This week's been an interesting one.
First of all, the rains came. Last week felt just like living in Texas. High 90's, and although I never checked the weather forecast, I'm pretty sure it felt like 100. The humidity was pretty strong. It didn't take long to start sweating after walking outside, and the sun was as piercing as ever. Then, the new week brought new weather. Though it's still hot on occasion, the rain has been a welcoming change. Well, almost welcoming. *scratches mosquito bites*
Jecheon has an annual music and film festival, titled, "Jecheon International Music & Film Festival." It started on Thursday of last week, crossed into the weekend, and ended on Wednesday of this week. To be honest, I'd been waiting for it since I moved here. After finding out where I was staying, I looked up info about this city and found out about the festival. However, by the time it rolled around, I wasn't sure if or when or even how much of it I'd get to see. To my luck, I managed to catch two movies and one band. There were tons of films and music going on all at once, so it was impossible to catch everything, but to me, just experiencing a part of it was satisfying enough.
It reminded me of my childhood. One of the things that made my family feel like a family was going to festivals together, and boy, we went to tons of festivals when I was young. It's something that will probably always make me happy: the festival atmosphere. All I have to do is sit in the center of it and I'm good.
So, I caught one movie in particular called, "The Peach Tree." It was directed by Ku Hye Sun (who played Geum Jan Di in Boys over Flowers). Here's a link to the film description:
[http://www.jimff.org/en/movieprogram/movie01view.asp?idx=155&sec_idx=28&sec2=Feature]
Let me just say it was a very powerful movie. It makes you think; it's intriguing and sad, but also somewhat wonderful in a way. My review sounds mysterious? Yes, somehow I can't quite desribe it in just a few sentences, but that's the kind of time I have right now, so sorry!
On Monday, I decided to go out to eat instead of go straight home. This random change in my daily schedule led me to meet the mother of one of my students. This lady, her daughter, and two other classmates (one of whom was also my student) were having lunch at the restaurant I'd chosen. The girls saw me and the next thing I know we're all eating lunch together. The mother bought me lunch, actually, even though I tried to pay. I feel a bit weird meeting parents. I'm not sure if it's ok to "hang out" with them outside of school. Even so, I became friends with her. We (she, her daughter, and I) ended up going to a movie, eating lunch/dinner (linner?), and snacking at a coffee shop on Wednesday. She's a really nice lady, and I sorta feel like I'm slowly being adopted lol.
Tuesday night was movie night, but before going, I stopped by my friend's phone shop to ask for help with Korean. (I plan to make a video response on Youtube in Korean soon. I'll post it here when it's done). He told me it was going to rain, but honestly, it'd just been super-cloudy all day and I didn't really believe him. He playfully argued about it with me, and I ended up leaving with one of the many spare umbrellas in the shop. It's a nice big one with rainbow stripes near the edges. I told him I'd bring it back the next day, but he just said keep it for a month or two. Haha, like it'd rain nonstop for 2 months. Anyways, I have my own umbrella.
Oh, and before that! I met two Korean girls around my age (FINALLY!) who live in Jecheon. I met one of them in a Family Mart over the weekend, and we agreed to go to a coffee shop Tuesday with another one of her friends. We enjoyed each other's company, making fun of Twilight movie stars (among other things), and speaking Korean and English. (Well,,, I tried at least).
Today, when I get home, I have to get ready to go traveling again. This time I'm going to Jochiwon, the place where this Korean journey began. You see, the 9th generation TaLK scholars are there right now having training, and I want to spy on them. Ok, not really, but I am going to visit the camp nurse and her son. Hopefully I'll make some new friends there. There also might be a trip to Seoul this weekend if things end up that way.
'Til next time!
-Shirby
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
New Name & Weekend Fun
Did I tell you I got a Korean name? Some of the teachers at my school decided for me. I told them what my English name means, and they created a name based on the same meaning. My Korean name is 어 소 현, Eo So Hyeon.
I just realized this, but if I moved to many places and learned many languages, I could collect all kinds of new names. The thought is kinda inspiring.
Ah, so this last weekend was as tiring as it was fun. Let's start with Friday evening. I visited a Korean friend at his shop and showed him the video of me paragliding. He was really jealous, so we agreed that if he could plan a paragliding trip, I'd go with him and whoever else wanted to join. I told him I was going to Seoul the next day and needed to go to bed as early as I could.
Why? I signed up for a trip to theYeosu World Expo which was hosted by Talk To Me In Korean and ROKING Korea (not sure about the spelling, sorry). It was my choice to meet the group in Yeosu (almost the southern-most point in Korea), or join the team in Seoul and travel with them. I decided on the latter, and that meant catching a 3:50 AM train to Seoul from my town. Two hours later, I arrived in Seoul and took the subway to the meeting spot (about 30-40 mins away). At some point, I was confused about a subway transfer and decided to take a taxi in order to avoid being late. The taxi driver was a funny old man who spoke a bit of English and had been to Atlanta... or at least I think he'd been there. When I told him I was American, he kept saying "Atlanta!" This guy was very kind and patient with my attempts at speaking to him in Korean. When we arrived at Ewha Woman's University, I wasn't quite sure where to get dropped off, but asked him to stop anyways. "Here?" he asked in Korean. Just then, we both saw a foreigner walk by the taxi. "Oh, yes, here. There's a foreigner," he said and chuckled.
I eventually called out to the foreigner and together we searched for the meeting spot. With the help of a couple phone calls and recalling directions from the email, we found it. It was really great seeing everyone meet like that. Seeing the TTMIK staff and cameramen... oh yeah. KBS came with us on the trip to film the adventure.
It takes 4 hours by bus to reach Yeosu from Seoul. We stopped twice on the way there: once for bathroom breaks, and a second time for lunch (which was some pretty tasty bibimbap!). The entire trip was a sunny one, but once we reached the expo clouds covered the sky and it occasionally sprinkled with rain.
This wasn't just a site-seeing trip. We (100 of us) were put into teams of 5 and given various missions to complete. One was a creative picture-taking mission, and the other involved collecting 10 stamps from any random location at the Expo. Each team member had at least one person using KakaoTalk to send and receive info about each team's progress. Once we arrived at the Expo, we took some group photos, received final instructions, and were set loose to explore the various pavillions.
Oh... yes, so the cameramen. They followed various teams around, filming their progress and asking questions. They even interviewed some of us during the bus ride. ...Including me. I'm not sure when the program will air, but I hope I can see it.... lol.
After running around the Expo for 5 or 6 hours, everyone met up again by the buses for award announcements and final pictures. We even did a few chants, cheers, and poses for KBS. No, my team didn't win anything, but, really, just participating in the missions gave us a chance to really see a little bit of everything at the Expo. It was a really great opportunity, and a wonderful experience. Plus, free t-shirts are awesome! : D
We were allowed to stay at the Expo (and find our own transportation back home), but I decided to travel back with the buses. We didn't arrive in Seoul until 10 or 11 PM. By then, I just focused on finding a place to stay before the subways shut down for the night, and resting up for the next early train back home.
On Sunday, I made a rare trip to E-Mart, feasted on a cheese bulgogi hot-dog and 2 scoops of ice cream, did some grocery shopping, and got stared at by the other shoppers. Maybe I should visit there more often. They probably thought I was a brand new foreigner to Jecheon. Well, I was in the pots and pans section for awhile....
I'm going to try making a shepard's pie... or a pot pie. I'll tell you about it if it goes well. ...Or doesn't go well.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
::EDIT:: http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/shows/2012yeosuphotos/
I just realized this, but if I moved to many places and learned many languages, I could collect all kinds of new names. The thought is kinda inspiring.
Ah, so this last weekend was as tiring as it was fun. Let's start with Friday evening. I visited a Korean friend at his shop and showed him the video of me paragliding. He was really jealous, so we agreed that if he could plan a paragliding trip, I'd go with him and whoever else wanted to join. I told him I was going to Seoul the next day and needed to go to bed as early as I could.
Why? I signed up for a trip to theYeosu World Expo which was hosted by Talk To Me In Korean and ROKING Korea (not sure about the spelling, sorry). It was my choice to meet the group in Yeosu (almost the southern-most point in Korea), or join the team in Seoul and travel with them. I decided on the latter, and that meant catching a 3:50 AM train to Seoul from my town. Two hours later, I arrived in Seoul and took the subway to the meeting spot (about 30-40 mins away). At some point, I was confused about a subway transfer and decided to take a taxi in order to avoid being late. The taxi driver was a funny old man who spoke a bit of English and had been to Atlanta... or at least I think he'd been there. When I told him I was American, he kept saying "Atlanta!" This guy was very kind and patient with my attempts at speaking to him in Korean. When we arrived at Ewha Woman's University, I wasn't quite sure where to get dropped off, but asked him to stop anyways. "Here?" he asked in Korean. Just then, we both saw a foreigner walk by the taxi. "Oh, yes, here. There's a foreigner," he said and chuckled.
I eventually called out to the foreigner and together we searched for the meeting spot. With the help of a couple phone calls and recalling directions from the email, we found it. It was really great seeing everyone meet like that. Seeing the TTMIK staff and cameramen... oh yeah. KBS came with us on the trip to film the adventure.
It takes 4 hours by bus to reach Yeosu from Seoul. We stopped twice on the way there: once for bathroom breaks, and a second time for lunch (which was some pretty tasty bibimbap!). The entire trip was a sunny one, but once we reached the expo clouds covered the sky and it occasionally sprinkled with rain.
This wasn't just a site-seeing trip. We (100 of us) were put into teams of 5 and given various missions to complete. One was a creative picture-taking mission, and the other involved collecting 10 stamps from any random location at the Expo. Each team member had at least one person using KakaoTalk to send and receive info about each team's progress. Once we arrived at the Expo, we took some group photos, received final instructions, and were set loose to explore the various pavillions.
Oh... yes, so the cameramen. They followed various teams around, filming their progress and asking questions. They even interviewed some of us during the bus ride. ...Including me. I'm not sure when the program will air, but I hope I can see it.... lol.
After running around the Expo for 5 or 6 hours, everyone met up again by the buses for award announcements and final pictures. We even did a few chants, cheers, and poses for KBS. No, my team didn't win anything, but, really, just participating in the missions gave us a chance to really see a little bit of everything at the Expo. It was a really great opportunity, and a wonderful experience. Plus, free t-shirts are awesome! : D
We were allowed to stay at the Expo (and find our own transportation back home), but I decided to travel back with the buses. We didn't arrive in Seoul until 10 or 11 PM. By then, I just focused on finding a place to stay before the subways shut down for the night, and resting up for the next early train back home.
On Sunday, I made a rare trip to E-Mart, feasted on a cheese bulgogi hot-dog and 2 scoops of ice cream, did some grocery shopping, and got stared at by the other shoppers. Maybe I should visit there more often. They probably thought I was a brand new foreigner to Jecheon. Well, I was in the pots and pans section for awhile....
I'm going to try making a shepard's pie... or a pot pie. I'll tell you about it if it goes well. ...Or doesn't go well.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
::EDIT:: http://www.talktomeinkorean.com/shows/2012yeosuphotos/
Monday, June 18, 2012
Goodbye?
This last weekend was kind of hard. For many reasons. I'll get started.
One:
You know that saying, "You are your own worst enemy?" In my case, not only that, but the weapons I use against myself are enough to make anyone want to give up. Anyone without confidence, that is.
So, as I face this obstacle once again- this SAME obstacle I thought I was overcoming- I am finding it hard to summon the strength to defeat it for good. Oh, this is why it's been reappearing. I never defeated it, I just turned around and walked in a different direction hoping to avoid it.
If life is about finding out who you are, then I have never found it an easy task. If life is about an important journey that we must all take, then I have never known where I was going, or why my past is so important to my future. My biggest supporter should be me, right?
What will I do with myself after teaching here? That is the big question of the hour. ...And even through all the turmoil my mind has wrestled with this weekend trying to figure it out, I was able to receive some lovely advice from a friend: Get a new outlook on life. So I ask myself, why have I always thought of discovering "the next step" as a painful process. Sure, it may never stop being tiring, but at least I should take advantage of this mystery and make use of the energy in a positive way.
Two:
So this, my Facebook post, sums it up.
"Another dose of culture shock. Not being told anything is bothering me this much? Well, back to the drawing board. Maybe I shouldn't try to make friends at school. REEEEEEEEAAAAAALLLLY wishing Seoul wasn't so far away. Or Chungju. Or Jochiwon."
One:
You know that saying, "You are your own worst enemy?" In my case, not only that, but the weapons I use against myself are enough to make anyone want to give up. Anyone without confidence, that is.
So, as I face this obstacle once again- this SAME obstacle I thought I was overcoming- I am finding it hard to summon the strength to defeat it for good. Oh, this is why it's been reappearing. I never defeated it, I just turned around and walked in a different direction hoping to avoid it.
If life is about finding out who you are, then I have never found it an easy task. If life is about an important journey that we must all take, then I have never known where I was going, or why my past is so important to my future. My biggest supporter should be me, right?
What will I do with myself after teaching here? That is the big question of the hour. ...And even through all the turmoil my mind has wrestled with this weekend trying to figure it out, I was able to receive some lovely advice from a friend: Get a new outlook on life. So I ask myself, why have I always thought of discovering "the next step" as a painful process. Sure, it may never stop being tiring, but at least I should take advantage of this mystery and make use of the energy in a positive way.
Two:
So this, my Facebook post, sums it up.
"Another dose of culture shock. Not being told anything is bothering me this much? Well, back to the drawing board. Maybe I shouldn't try to make friends at school. REEEEEEEEAAAAAALLLLY wishing Seoul wasn't so far away. Or Chungju. Or Jochiwon."
A friend asked what happened. I tried so hard to keep the story witihin the unwritten "acceptable paragraph length of Facebook responses."
"
i started making friends w/ a few of the younger teachers. then on friday i found out one of those teachers was leaving the school for good that day. usually, i don't get informed about stuff at school, but i somehow thought something like this would be announced early. i dunno if the other teachers knew beforehand, but how couldn't they? i dunno the story, dont even know if it's ok to ask... but if you make a friend you care about them a bit, right?"
There wasn't time on Friday to ask why this teacher was leaving. I walked into the teacher's classroom and couldn't summon of the courage (rudeness) to interrupt the steady flow of rummaging through papers and writing a million notes. Ok, I did say something. Are you leaving? Today's your last day? A quick "yes" and then back to rummaging. "Oh," I said. The next reply, not from me, was (a seemingly careless) "Goodbye".
..Let me interrupt to mention that Korean people, for some reason, want to wave hello and goodbye with both hands. I reminds me of Mickey Mouse. That is all....
So, I felt dismissed from the scene. I left to go catch the bus home. I don't know if I'll be voluntarily told why this teacher left. Today is Monday, and I usually help teach in this teacher's class today. My mentor teacher hasn't said whether or not I'm suppose to help teach today. Like stated above, I'm not often told things. Yet, I somehow manage to play along as if everything is normal. Is this the right thing to do?
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Making Friends
So, let me tell you about the friends I've made here. The Korean ones.
Actually, let me tell you about the people I met on a whim, the ones whose relationship status I'm quite unsure about.
Let's start with the guy I met at school. His parents were installing blinds in all the classrooms. On this day, he was home from school and helping them with their work. My mentor teacher wasn't in the classroom, so when his father entered and started working, I wasn't sure if I needed to leave. My desk is, after all, next to the window. Then this boy (really, he's about my age) walks in and says, "What's up?" It was funny and surprising at the same time. Yet another reason why you shouldn't judge a person on looks. I totally wasn't expecting to hear such a phrase come from a Korean person. This guy spoke perfect English, and I found out that, yeah, I was in the way. I settled with our initial small talk conversation, but later on as his parents moved on to the classrooms upstairs, I suddently got crazy courage. I went and asked him if he was from Jecheon. Honestly, I just wanted to know someone who could tell me more about the town. This guy was kind enough to give me his number (I didn't have a phone at the time ahahahah), and he and a friend of his invited me and my friend to eat pizza and walk around downtown. He told my friend and I that he went to school in Daejeon, so he'd be leaving town on the weekend. So, I've only met this guy on two occasions. I messaged him my number once I finally got my phone, and he replied. We're friends on Facebook. That's about it. I figure the university friends that I make will be preoccupied with school unless on break.
Hmm, there's the guy on the train. This grad student ahjussi who spoke English very well and decided to strike up a conversaton with me. He was very much into religion (going to a theological school), and learned several languages. Now, it's a bit scary meeting older people. In an attempt not to be completely rude, but also to calm my nerves, I keep up such casual conversations with these total strangers. Though, I secretly wish that I have a friend with me to help judge the character of every older stranger I meet. This guy was pretty interesting and kind (he bought me a soda from the snack car), and talked mostly about himself. Ok, sounds good, but then we started talking about church and church songs, and I somehow ended up being "forced" to write down the lyrics to a song and sing it with him. It was a bit embarrassing. What's more is he ended up with my number, and I with his. We had to part ways at the train's destination, but he wondered if I'd be catching the same train back as him. I (honestly, not purposely) missed that train and had to take the next. I apologized to him and said maybe one day I would visit his church. At this point, I really wished for a friend to help me deal with this stranger. When the work week started, I talked to my mentor teacher about him. She said it was ok not to talk to him. Another friend, once I told her the story, suggested I not talk to him at all. So, my readers, I completely ignored the next several text messages I received from this man. Honestly, I don't want to meet him again unless I'm with someone else, but I feel weird not being able to make a sound judgement about such matters on my own. He's probably harmless, but easily just the opposite? Who knows?
Last night was writing night, so I walked to the other side of town a bit early and sat in a nearby park, studying Korean. Two high school kids (whose names I cannot remember lol) gained some unforeseen courage to speak to me. Perhaps because they had each other as backup, they started slow. "Hello." Then, "What are you doing? Do you speak Korean?" I thought this was great, to be honest. High school kids RARELY talk to me, so I welcomed this opportunity. We ended up having a jolly conversation about learning English, playing Diablo in PC bangs, music, and Korean food. Pretty soon, It was time for me to go, so I apologized to them (they were getting so confident in speaking broken English by this point) and told them I had to go. "Ok, see you later," the boy said. Then, he whispered to his friend (a girl) something in Korean. It sounded like, ...but when will we ever see her? True enough, because I live clear on the other side of town. Does this sound stupid? I gave them my phone number. I wonder if it was a good idea. Today, I woke up and thought, will they text me in English or Korean? Will they feel brave enough to try English? ...Yeah, and will I ever run into them again?
Oh, finally, I should mention the owners of the coffee shop I frequent. Now, I know these owners are not responsible or obligated to become my friend or get to know me. I alone have made an effort to be a frequent customer, ridiculously ordering the same thing every time I go (hot chocolate, minus a few exceptions). One or two times, I got up the courage to ask one of them to help me read Korean, or about what their other customers preferred to order. You know, I may be a little bit frustrated now. They've never made much effort to ask me about where I'm from or what I'm doing here. I get these kinds of questions from many other shopkeepers once they find out I know one or two Korean words. Maybe it's a good things? It makes me think of the bartender in a Western saloon, who sees and knows everything but says nothing.
I'll write about the people I know well another time.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Actually, let me tell you about the people I met on a whim, the ones whose relationship status I'm quite unsure about.
Let's start with the guy I met at school. His parents were installing blinds in all the classrooms. On this day, he was home from school and helping them with their work. My mentor teacher wasn't in the classroom, so when his father entered and started working, I wasn't sure if I needed to leave. My desk is, after all, next to the window. Then this boy (really, he's about my age) walks in and says, "What's up?" It was funny and surprising at the same time. Yet another reason why you shouldn't judge a person on looks. I totally wasn't expecting to hear such a phrase come from a Korean person. This guy spoke perfect English, and I found out that, yeah, I was in the way. I settled with our initial small talk conversation, but later on as his parents moved on to the classrooms upstairs, I suddently got crazy courage. I went and asked him if he was from Jecheon. Honestly, I just wanted to know someone who could tell me more about the town. This guy was kind enough to give me his number (I didn't have a phone at the time ahahahah), and he and a friend of his invited me and my friend to eat pizza and walk around downtown. He told my friend and I that he went to school in Daejeon, so he'd be leaving town on the weekend. So, I've only met this guy on two occasions. I messaged him my number once I finally got my phone, and he replied. We're friends on Facebook. That's about it. I figure the university friends that I make will be preoccupied with school unless on break.
Hmm, there's the guy on the train. This grad student ahjussi who spoke English very well and decided to strike up a conversaton with me. He was very much into religion (going to a theological school), and learned several languages. Now, it's a bit scary meeting older people. In an attempt not to be completely rude, but also to calm my nerves, I keep up such casual conversations with these total strangers. Though, I secretly wish that I have a friend with me to help judge the character of every older stranger I meet. This guy was pretty interesting and kind (he bought me a soda from the snack car), and talked mostly about himself. Ok, sounds good, but then we started talking about church and church songs, and I somehow ended up being "forced" to write down the lyrics to a song and sing it with him. It was a bit embarrassing. What's more is he ended up with my number, and I with his. We had to part ways at the train's destination, but he wondered if I'd be catching the same train back as him. I (honestly, not purposely) missed that train and had to take the next. I apologized to him and said maybe one day I would visit his church. At this point, I really wished for a friend to help me deal with this stranger. When the work week started, I talked to my mentor teacher about him. She said it was ok not to talk to him. Another friend, once I told her the story, suggested I not talk to him at all. So, my readers, I completely ignored the next several text messages I received from this man. Honestly, I don't want to meet him again unless I'm with someone else, but I feel weird not being able to make a sound judgement about such matters on my own. He's probably harmless, but easily just the opposite? Who knows?
Last night was writing night, so I walked to the other side of town a bit early and sat in a nearby park, studying Korean. Two high school kids (whose names I cannot remember lol) gained some unforeseen courage to speak to me. Perhaps because they had each other as backup, they started slow. "Hello." Then, "What are you doing? Do you speak Korean?" I thought this was great, to be honest. High school kids RARELY talk to me, so I welcomed this opportunity. We ended up having a jolly conversation about learning English, playing Diablo in PC bangs, music, and Korean food. Pretty soon, It was time for me to go, so I apologized to them (they were getting so confident in speaking broken English by this point) and told them I had to go. "Ok, see you later," the boy said. Then, he whispered to his friend (a girl) something in Korean. It sounded like, ...but when will we ever see her? True enough, because I live clear on the other side of town. Does this sound stupid? I gave them my phone number. I wonder if it was a good idea. Today, I woke up and thought, will they text me in English or Korean? Will they feel brave enough to try English? ...Yeah, and will I ever run into them again?
Oh, finally, I should mention the owners of the coffee shop I frequent. Now, I know these owners are not responsible or obligated to become my friend or get to know me. I alone have made an effort to be a frequent customer, ridiculously ordering the same thing every time I go (hot chocolate, minus a few exceptions). One or two times, I got up the courage to ask one of them to help me read Korean, or about what their other customers preferred to order. You know, I may be a little bit frustrated now. They've never made much effort to ask me about where I'm from or what I'm doing here. I get these kinds of questions from many other shopkeepers once they find out I know one or two Korean words. Maybe it's a good things? It makes me think of the bartender in a Western saloon, who sees and knows everything but says nothing.
I'll write about the people I know well another time.
'Til next time,
-Shirby
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)