korean style

One thing I was admittedly kind of worried about before I came here was, "Man, I'm leaving NYC, such a cool city for style... what in the world am I going to do for clothes in South Korea???"

Well, my fears have been calmed. And I am BLOWN AWAY! I've truly been missing out. The style in Daegu (and probably South Korea as a whole) is remarkable. I was so nervous about leaving that aspect behind in New York, but really, I had nothing to worry about. I went shopping downtown today with my new bud Kathryn. We were drooling over all the oversized knits and chunky sweaters that are 8 sizes too big. Perfect! In looking in my closet in its current state, I'd say that I definitely overpacked! I already know I'll be doing a wardrobe transformation in the coming months :)

Other than that, this weekend was a lot more eventful than last. I met a bunch of new people with my cousin Ashley. Everyone is so nice here. I'm beginning to realize that everything is going to be fine. And I made the right choice in coming here.

I'm feeling the most excited I've felt since being here. It would be easy to stay inside my apartment on the internet all day long, by myself, but that's not why I moved halfway across the world. i can't wait to begin exploring more!

Time for bed, and my second week of teaching begins tomorrow.

xo

Ramen

I can't make this stuff up.

I have been advised against drinking the water here, so I buy 2-liter bottles of water across the street at a bodega. (are they considered bodegas outside of NYC/ Latin America??)

Tonight after work I popped in to pick up my bottle of water. The woman that works there is so friendly and so curious, even though we don't speak each other's languages. A few nights ago she grabbed my right hand (the hand that I always always always wear 2 giant silver rings on) and just smiled, said "ahhhh" and held it up to her face so she could inspect it. She looked so happy and pointed repeatedly at my hand. All I can do is laugh. I really need to learn some Korean!

Anyway, tonight's trip offered something more. As I set my water down on the counter, waiting for her to tap the total into her calculator so I would understand, she shoved a chunk of dried ramen into my palm and grinned. I responded "eh..??" and promptly bit off a piece without thinking. This immediately rendered laughter from her and 2 other ladies that are just hanging out in the store. But they weren't making fun of me, they were pleased.

I have no idea what flavor the ramen was, but who cares?

humpday!

Today marked my third full day of being a teacher.

It has FLOWN BY. I know 3 days is nothing, but if I think about it, I've already been here 9 days. And Greg comes to visit in less than a month! (fingers crossed)

Today was a testing day, which basically means I taught 2 kindergarten classes this morning, then literally handed out tests and did nothing else. I worked roughly 3 hours. Maybe 4 if you count the time I spent monitoring the kids while eating a moonpie and watching portions of 'The Incredibles' on dvd.

The power was out for a couple hours today. We still carried on though, but it certainly brought tons of memories flooding back of being in elementary school when the lights would flicker off for a few minutes. Everyone would get so rowdy and animal-like!

I've finally got internet in my apartment. I've been taking full advantage of it this evening. Posting pics on Facebook, chatting, and generally just being lazy in my stretch pants. For some reason the only American TV in This town is action movies, old American Idol, and Oprah. So I'm catching some Sylvester Stallone movie as we speak.

It might be time for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 3 very basic ingredients, but not so easy to come by here! So I'll be savoring each and every bite.

Goodnight!
xo

mirror man

By the time I post this it will be a few days old, but I wanted to type it all down now while it's still fresh.

After moving into my apartment yesterday I tallied all the items I'd need to purchase at the neighborhood E-Mart (Korea's answer to Wal-mart). I needed some basic things- like a full-length mirror, rubber gloves, and a toothbrush cup. I also made a grocery list because I got an Asian vegetarian cookbook in NYC that I've been dying to try out. After perusing every. single. aisle in E-Mart, I was able to cross most things off my list. Sidenote: you have to pay for shopping carts here. And plastic bags, too.

Once I got up to the checkout line I realized I had way too many things in my cart for the 10 minute walk home. A young male worker was nearby, so I motioned at him to take the cumbersome mirror away; I would come back and purchase it later. He obviously misread my finely honed acting skills, and promptly repositioned the mirror so the cashier could scan the barcode. D'oh.

'Well,' I thought. 'I'm a strong, independent woman. I can carry all this home.' That and I had no clue how to describe to a taxi driver where to take me.

Big mistake.

After waddling 3 blocks with my load, and receiving no lack of curious stares from the locals, I had to rest. I gave myself 10 minutes and set out again. This time I made it another block before I had to take a break. Laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, but hurting from the weight and awkwardness of everything (including a 12-pack of toilet paper that I was roped into purchasing by a very persistent E-Mart employee), I pep-talked myself for the remaining 2 blocks.

While crossing a parking lot, barely shuffling forward, I heard someone jogging up beside me. A man was motioning wildly and before I knew it he grabbed the mirror out of my thankful hands and was walking next to me, speaking in Korean. Now, I've been told a thousand times there is "no crime in Korea." But honestly it didn't even cross my mind that this man might be robbing me. And he wasn't.

Even though he was headed the opposite direction, he took the time to walk my mirror all the way to my apartment. Along the way he asked if I was there to teach English, and I found out that he works in sales for film developing and has been to the US several times, his most notable trip being to Las Vegas.

This man was just one more kind display of the generosity I have seen in the short week I've been here. I'm really looking forward to learning more about this amazing culture.

some notes on my school

After catching the lastest episode of Jersey Shore online today I was chatting with my mom about the school and the kids and various other things, and I came to the realization that I haven't really mentioned much about them! The school is called International Language School (ILS). It's very small, on the third floor of a building off a busy street. The first floor is a market, and one of the floors has recently been converted into a senior citizens rec center.

It's a private school, which makes it far less intimidating than it should be. Each of my classes has roughly 5-10 students, but mostly around 5-6 each. I teach kindergarten in the mornings, have a lunch break, then teach around 6/7 year olds up through middle schoolers. The earliest I ever start class is 10:50am, and that's only once a week! We get out late, around 7. But some days I get out around 6. Classes are 40 minutes each. The most unique thing is that we don't wear shoes! As soon as you get off the elevator, there is a small foyer with lots of shelves full of slippers. Everyone removes their shoes and puts on their own slippers if they have them, or they grab a pair that's not being used. I don't even feel silly wearing slippers while talking to my boss. Everyone does it, and no one even thinks about it. It's totally natural.

Monday will be my first day actually alone in the class with my students. Last week was a total whirlwind full of emotions, new surroundings, and tons of new faces. Though I've been on the verge of tears half the time wondering what I've gotten myself into, I haven't felt like an outsider at all. That may change once I begin exploring this city, but my co-teachers and students have made me feel like they already love me. This is why I came here. When I get really sad and think of everyone back home that I miss, I think back to last April when I vowed to change my life into a direction I longed for. I never dreamed it would be this hard, but even if someone told me it'd be difficult, I think most of you know that I would have done it anyway.

Time to finally move into my apartment- across the hall! I'll provide a description of my apartment once I can put up pictures, mostly because verbally describing the shower won't do it any justice without some photographic evidence!

One more thing: the teacher bathroom in the school has an electronic bidet!! Sadly, I may never have the courage to use it, but it is there in case I'm feeling fancy-free one day.

first impressions!

I know it's way too early to make judgments on my new journey, but I wanted to write down some first impressions, mainly so I can look back at them in a year and see what actually holds up.

In no particular order except how they come to mind:
-5 year old Koreans speak better English than 10 year old Koreans
-even vegetarian dishes contain shrimp
-"excuse me" does not exist
-there are very few sidewalks
-pale American redheads are a novelty
-the bathrooms are freezing
-Koreans go out of their way to make you feel welcome
-it's handy to have a translator
-the Daegu subway is laughable compared to NYC (but much, much nicer)
-speaking of the subway, unlike NYC, you MUST NOT occupy the seats desginated for the elderly and/ or pregnant women, unless you really are
-"meat" and "seafood" are 2 separate categories
-Koreans have no problem telling you you're fat. luckily I've been deemed skinny.
-there is no central heat- it all comes through the floors

I'll add more as they come!!

I move into my place tomorrow. Probably going to spend the day exploring my neighborhood :)

Goodnight!

the butcher is in korea!

It started with a tearful goodbye at JFK, followed by a 6 hour flight to San Fran, a quick burrito during my layover, a 14 hour flight from SF to Seoul, and a 4.5 hour bus ride to Daegu. The flights themselves weren't so bad. But I didn't sleep at all. On my flight to Seoul I sat next to a kid that had just joined the army. He had never been out of the country, let alone to Asia! We swapped sob stories about how we'll miss our significant others, but quickly had to cease because we were both almost crying. Then we looked at trashy gossip mags. I think I bought one of each.

I made the mistake of wearing my green army jacket and a pair of black canvas boots during the trip. When I landed in Seoul I was greeted by no less than 37 cab drivers asking "army? army??" I almost had to laugh, but I was too tired and bloodshot to do so. After picking up my 3 large bags off the baggage claim and clumsily carting them through the airport, I purchased a bus ticket to Daegu. A kind employee noticed I was struggling and on the verge of tears trying to figure out a payphone so she let me borrow her cell to call my boss who would later meet me at the bus "station" (really just a lot on the side of a building).

I got into Daegu well after 1am (roughly 35 hours after I left NYC). I'm staying with my cousin Ashley for a few days until my apartment is ready on Saturday. I've gone into my school the past 2 days. Currently I'm just shadowing the guy whose position I'll be taking. The kids are really nice and VERY curious. One even stroked my hair today. I didn't know how to react, so I simply said "it's ok!" and another one handed me a sausage stick wrapped in cheese. When I left it on table at the end of class he ran after me and gave it to me again.

I'll try to post pics soon. I'm still not in my own apartment. I've been sleeping on Ashley's floor! The jetlag is worse today than yesterday. I remember when I went to Hong Kong 2 years ago- I could fall asleep fine, but I would be wide awake around 4am and just stare at the wall until it was time to get up. In a few days that'll all be gone.

Time to go back to class! I miss everyone terribly and hope you're all well. xxxo