I only have four more weeks until I go home for Christmas....I think December is going to be a really great month! At school we are just preparing for the Christmas concert so we aren't really doing the "regular activities." I'll be spending the rest of my time Christmas shopping and hanging out with my friends (hopefully watching Christmas movies)...At least I hope it goes well! And I know its going to go by sooo fast because December always does. I have Christmas at home to look forward to!
You know whats really annoying...itunes has a very small collection of the Christmas movies that I want! Its A Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, Holiday (an old movie with Kate Hepburn and Cary Grant), and also The Sound of Music (yes its not a Christmas movie but hey I'm ranting here)...Itunes- you really need to shape up!
On Saturday, all of us CUA peeps watched Love Letter in Jen's apartment. Its a movie by this Japanese director called Shunji Iwai. It was a very sweet, well made film..But watching the movie with everyone in Jen's room, it really felt like senior year all over again. It was very comforting...
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
A change in weather...
It got COLD here in Seoul! Man oh man...was it cold on Sunday and today! But now its snowing! Snow is truly the only reason for cold weather in my book. I love snow! Its so pretty. Anyways seeing the snow kind of lifted my spirits. I had kind of a really happy/ kinda crappy weekend. The good parts were hanging out with Erica and Hye Young on Friday and of course Liz's birthday on Saturday...When I'm around my friends, my spirits are usually high! But for some reason, I also felt quite low especially on Sunday. I got kind of upset so I went to Starbucks thinking the smell of Peppermint Mocha would make me feel better, but it only made me more upset. Oh man did I embarrass myself there. I was kinda glad for it on a small level because maybe the people in there could truly that its not easy to live here sometimes...I don't know..something about this week has been hard. Its most likely because of Thanksgiving and it'll be my first Thanksgiving away from home...thats really hard because its a big holiday for us. I'm trying to tell myself that its just a meal and I'll get to have all of the same sorts of foods when I come home for Christmas. Plus I'll be having a Thanksgiving meal with my friends here.
Whats nice is that Elie my Korean co-teacher recognized that I was a bit upset.....how perceptive was that! I feel really lucky to have a good partner teacher...Anyways Happy Thanksgiving to all you kids at home! I'll be thinking about you.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
A letter to my family
I wrote this letter a couple of weeks ago and I think it accurately portrays what life in Korea is like. I do feel better now about Korea than I did when I wrote this letter though so things aren't all bad! Here it goes:
Now I have become comfortable with living in Korea. Having some of my close friends from college here is truly a blessing. I wouldn't be here without them. I feel like I have been here longer than two months! In the beginning, everything was new and different, but scary and exciting (as usually happens in a new situation I assume). But after the first couple of weeks, I began to have a strong case of culture shock and it hit me pretty hard. Korea is a very fast paced country definitely more so than America. Working hard is expected here. No one really seems stressed out by their long hours. As I said its just expected. Seoul definitely never sleeps! I don't think they know what rest is. And they are so developed with technology! Most Koreans have been very kind to me. I have Korean teachers at my school and I am free to ask them for any help. They have helped me so much with things such as setting up a bank account or even just going to a store and translating for me. Its made me lazy though because I should be learning more Korean!
Oh well...But then there are things about Korea that just aggravate me! First of all, being a vegetarian is just unheard of so finding food has been a challenge. And I get stared at everywhere I go. Sometimes I don't care but sometimes it makes me angry becuase I know that they are staring at me for being white....Also, common courtseies that Americans have just don't exist here. I get shoved and pushed all the time by people trying to move ahead of me on the street or to get on the subway. I realize that these may seem like small concerns but when you deal with them everyday, it can get to you. However, I'm trying not to let those aspects of Korea bother me because I realize that they are just cultural differences.
There are foreigners in certain parts of Seoul, but not too many in the area I live! But learning English is considered an obligation for Koreans so most know certain words or phrases. Sometimes on the street I'll get people saying "Hi!" or "Nice to meet you!" or "I love you!" Its pretty funny. Korean kids are very competitive and work way too hard. The kids I teach in the morning (its considered preschool and I teach two different classes from 10-1) are seven and the amount of English that they know is amazing. But once I asked them "What time do you go to sleep?" and some of them said "12"..They are seven! One of my students Sarah (they all get English names) leaves SLP (where I teach) at 2:30 and then goes to violin lessons, piano lessons, swimming lessons, drawing school, and Korean lessons...All in one day! So of course she's always tired and she's only 7! I can't imagine how hard they work in middle school and high school.
As I said, the food in Korea has definitely been a challenge. Luckily I eat fish so I can eat most things. However, eating octupus and squid are not very appetizing to me! I don't know if you've had Korean BBQ but its very popular and I can't eat it! I have to get side dishes..I just have to know the names of foods and I'm fine. But I can't really go out to Korean BBQ or anywhere else by myself because eating alone is a social taboo. Its a very social eating and drinking country.
I know that not being home on Thanksgiving and missing some of the Christmas season at home is going to be hard and I'm trying to prepare myself for that. I'm looking into finding a place to have some kind of Thanskgiving feast. We'll see what happens. They have an American military base here so maybe I can sneak there!
Now I have become comfortable with living in Korea. Having some of my close friends from college here is truly a blessing. I wouldn't be here without them. I feel like I have been here longer than two months! In the beginning, everything was new and different, but scary and exciting (as usually happens in a new situation I assume). But after the first couple of weeks, I began to have a strong case of culture shock and it hit me pretty hard. Korea is a very fast paced country definitely more so than America. Working hard is expected here. No one really seems stressed out by their long hours. As I said its just expected. Seoul definitely never sleeps! I don't think they know what rest is. And they are so developed with technology! Most Koreans have been very kind to me. I have Korean teachers at my school and I am free to ask them for any help. They have helped me so much with things such as setting up a bank account or even just going to a store and translating for me. Its made me lazy though because I should be learning more Korean!
Oh well...But then there are things about Korea that just aggravate me! First of all, being a vegetarian is just unheard of so finding food has been a challenge. And I get stared at everywhere I go. Sometimes I don't care but sometimes it makes me angry becuase I know that they are staring at me for being white....Also, common courtseies that Americans have just don't exist here. I get shoved and pushed all the time by people trying to move ahead of me on the street or to get on the subway. I realize that these may seem like small concerns but when you deal with them everyday, it can get to you. However, I'm trying not to let those aspects of Korea bother me because I realize that they are just cultural differences.
There are foreigners in certain parts of Seoul, but not too many in the area I live! But learning English is considered an obligation for Koreans so most know certain words or phrases. Sometimes on the street I'll get people saying "Hi!" or "Nice to meet you!" or "I love you!" Its pretty funny. Korean kids are very competitive and work way too hard. The kids I teach in the morning (its considered preschool and I teach two different classes from 10-1) are seven and the amount of English that they know is amazing. But once I asked them "What time do you go to sleep?" and some of them said "12"..They are seven! One of my students Sarah (they all get English names) leaves SLP (where I teach) at 2:30 and then goes to violin lessons, piano lessons, swimming lessons, drawing school, and Korean lessons...All in one day! So of course she's always tired and she's only 7! I can't imagine how hard they work in middle school and high school.
As I said, the food in Korea has definitely been a challenge. Luckily I eat fish so I can eat most things. However, eating octupus and squid are not very appetizing to me! I don't know if you've had Korean BBQ but its very popular and I can't eat it! I have to get side dishes..I just have to know the names of foods and I'm fine. But I can't really go out to Korean BBQ or anywhere else by myself because eating alone is a social taboo. Its a very social eating and drinking country.
I know that not being home on Thanksgiving and missing some of the Christmas season at home is going to be hard and I'm trying to prepare myself for that. I'm looking into finding a place to have some kind of Thanskgiving feast. We'll see what happens. They have an American military base here so maybe I can sneak there!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Halloween at SLP
=LOCOness
I didn't realize that it would be so exhausting! The day before Halloween we had to set up at SLP, but we had to wait for the evening classes to get out(they end at 9) before we could get everything up. The day of Halloween was fun especially because I was in the Haunted House and I got to scare kids! Some of them were so upset! This one girl Judy, after going through the Haunted House and crying hysterically, asked "Why does Halloween have to be so scary?" All in all, it was fun...can't wait for Christmas because I'm sure it will be a big deal! I'll post pics from Halloween up later!
I didn't realize that it would be so exhausting! The day before Halloween we had to set up at SLP, but we had to wait for the evening classes to get out(they end at 9) before we could get everything up. The day of Halloween was fun especially because I was in the Haunted House and I got to scare kids! Some of them were so upset! This one girl Judy, after going through the Haunted House and crying hysterically, asked "Why does Halloween have to be so scary?" All in all, it was fun...can't wait for Christmas because I'm sure it will be a big deal! I'll post pics from Halloween up later!
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