I had a really interesting experience yesterday, followed up by some usedul information. First, the info...
As it turns out, culturally in Korea, your name means a LOT. Not just 'good name, bad name' type of stuff, but it actually tells something about you. Supposedly you have certain elements about you that are strong. Your name is supposed to be the thing that balances out those elements, making you a well rounded person. So, people will actually go to someone and pay a lot of money to get assigned a name in order to fit their personality and their element traits. Now, this is all very foreign to me, but it will help you understand the story I'm about to tell you a little bit better!
Yesterday, I was sitting for coffee with Ashley (one of the English teachers) and Sukhee, one of the math teachers. We began talking about English names, and Sukhee proceeded to tell me that she has been searching for a good English name for ten years. She said that since her personality is one that is always changing, she found it hard to choose a name (which makes sense now, but didn't at the time). Ashley brought up the name Sue, and I shot that one down pretty quickly. So, Ashley said, "Why don't you give her an English name?" Geeze, no pressure or anything. "Here Tori, pick a name for the girl who hasn't been able to decide on one for ten years." So, I thought very hard about it. Then we had 5 minutes before class started, so I really needed to come back to my office. I had decided to give her the name Kristi. This is a good traditional English name, but it also suited her well. So, I said "I think your English name should be Kristi." All of the sudden, she starts beaming, ear to ear. She stood up in front of the other teachers in her office and said "Hello, my name is Kristi." It was so precious, and she was SO happy about this name! I was glad that I had chosen well for her. Later on, I heard the information about how important a name is to someone, and I felt so honored that I got to choose her name for her! Anyway, I don't personally believe that your name changes who you are or balances out your elements or anything, but it was cool to be part of that process for someone else who was so thankful to me. I think it was the best gift I've given thus far in Korea, and I didn't even know it!
So, there's my story for the day...now I have a friend named Kristi here...but I'll probably still call her 숙희...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Identity what?
Sometimes when I need to be productive, I am productive....in creative ways. For example, right now, I need to be figuring out what on earth I'm going to do with my classes tomorrow. However, since I'm not in the mood to do that, I'm going to blog instead. So in a way, I'm being productive...just not in the way that I should be. Oh well...I'm sure anyone reading this might be appreciative! So, I want to take a moment to talk about identity theft in Korea...or the lack thereof.
I was talking to a Korean girl today about how trusting everyone is in Korea. The whole economy/business aspect of life is based on a trust system, which is so foreign to me as an American. Here is an example for you. For my Korean cell phone, I picked out a phone, picked out a plan, then filled out paperwork including my alien registration number and my bank account number. Yes, you read that right...I give the company my bank account number and they just deduct the appropriate amount from my bank account every month. My mind doesn't quite know how to wrap around this concept. A society where you give out important information freely without a second thought? As I was talking with this girl, I said "Identity theft really isn't an issue here." She responded with "Identity what?" as if she had heard me wrong....foreign concept. Also, I was on the bus the other day, crowded in with several others, with my purse slung to my back side, zipper wide open. I didn't even blink an eye at the thought of this, because there's maybe one person in the entire city of Cheonan that would even attempt to steal my wallet out of my purse. And even if that one person happened upon the bus behind me, there would be enough do-gooders standing around that that person would never get away with it. This whole idea kind of causes problems for some Koreans when they travel abroad. I have heard from many about their time in China or the Phillippines, where they had their purse or wallet stolen, or had at least been pursued in the attempt to steal it. Lesson from this is that I will enjoy it while I can, but I will definitely have to be guarded when I head back to the states!
Ok, especially to any former students of mine that might be reading my blog...random story of the day!!! :)
I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about some of the names that some Korean students pick out to be their English names. Just as some of us are familiar with picking out names for our high school Spanish or German or French classes, the students here often get great pleasure out of picking a name that suites the language. This is very helpful to me, as it's easier to remember the name Amanda, for example, than Hyung Soon...that kind of thing. Sometimes, however, this plan backfires on us as English teachers. Some of these names are ones that I've experienced, but some are ones that others have told me about. So now, enjoy this list of "awesome American" names....
*Cindy, Alice, Stella, Lucy...these kind of names...try calling a cute Korean girl Stella...then you'll see!
*Mex (like Tex Mex? I guess??)
*Jaina (like Jane...but with an 'uh' at the end)
* Exxon (like the gas)
*Starbucks...nuff said.
* Other (I don't know what they were 'other' than, but that was their name!)
* Interesting (that's one way of describing yourself...just name yourself that!)
So yeah...this concludes my story of the day on....interesting English names chosen by Korean students. Good times. :) Anyway, now that I'm heading back to school tomorrow, I'm sure you...whoever you all are, will be hearing from me more often...now that I have access to a computer at my school! But for now, peace out!
I was talking to a Korean girl today about how trusting everyone is in Korea. The whole economy/business aspect of life is based on a trust system, which is so foreign to me as an American. Here is an example for you. For my Korean cell phone, I picked out a phone, picked out a plan, then filled out paperwork including my alien registration number and my bank account number. Yes, you read that right...I give the company my bank account number and they just deduct the appropriate amount from my bank account every month. My mind doesn't quite know how to wrap around this concept. A society where you give out important information freely without a second thought? As I was talking with this girl, I said "Identity theft really isn't an issue here." She responded with "Identity what?" as if she had heard me wrong....foreign concept. Also, I was on the bus the other day, crowded in with several others, with my purse slung to my back side, zipper wide open. I didn't even blink an eye at the thought of this, because there's maybe one person in the entire city of Cheonan that would even attempt to steal my wallet out of my purse. And even if that one person happened upon the bus behind me, there would be enough do-gooders standing around that that person would never get away with it. This whole idea kind of causes problems for some Koreans when they travel abroad. I have heard from many about their time in China or the Phillippines, where they had their purse or wallet stolen, or had at least been pursued in the attempt to steal it. Lesson from this is that I will enjoy it while I can, but I will definitely have to be guarded when I head back to the states!
Ok, especially to any former students of mine that might be reading my blog...random story of the day!!! :)
I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about some of the names that some Korean students pick out to be their English names. Just as some of us are familiar with picking out names for our high school Spanish or German or French classes, the students here often get great pleasure out of picking a name that suites the language. This is very helpful to me, as it's easier to remember the name Amanda, for example, than Hyung Soon...that kind of thing. Sometimes, however, this plan backfires on us as English teachers. Some of these names are ones that I've experienced, but some are ones that others have told me about. So now, enjoy this list of "awesome American" names....
*Cindy, Alice, Stella, Lucy...these kind of names...try calling a cute Korean girl Stella...then you'll see!
*Mex (like Tex Mex? I guess??)
*Jaina (like Jane...but with an 'uh' at the end)
* Exxon (like the gas)
*Starbucks...nuff said.
* Other (I don't know what they were 'other' than, but that was their name!)
* Interesting (that's one way of describing yourself...just name yourself that!)
So yeah...this concludes my story of the day on....interesting English names chosen by Korean students. Good times. :) Anyway, now that I'm heading back to school tomorrow, I'm sure you...whoever you all are, will be hearing from me more often...now that I have access to a computer at my school! But for now, peace out!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
I wanted to take this moment...
.....to talk about public transportation here in Korea. Yes, that's right folks, public transportation. My favorite. Now, don't get me wrong, that is the primary way that I get from point A to point B here, especially when point B is across town from point A! But, I just have to kind of chuckle at the awesome driving skills of our dear bus drivers...particularly the one tonight. He was just....awesome. So, we're getting on the bus from the downtownish city-life part of our town. A large group of people are waiting around, all for the bus I'm getting on of course. So we all pile in and barely have room to even hang onto a pole or handle while standing. Then all of the sudden this guy comes barreling through the isle, knocking Julie almost off her feet and straight into me, knocking me straight into the lady in front of me. Now, normally I might find the guy who started this domino effect to be at fault, but this time, I blame the bus driver. Now really, let's think about it. If you had a car full of standing people, you might find it slightly humorous to drive really jerk-ily also just to watch them flail around and try to keep themselves on their feet. But, experiencing a bus ride like I did tonight (which was much worse than other bus rides I've been on), I know that if I were a bus driver, I'd try to drive a little nicer than that. That's all I'm saying. To conclude this thought, I just have to say that I think public transportation is great-I just don't want to take out a little old lady while trying to successfully make it home. :)
So I've been in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes this week as a student. I just have to say, I do miss learning things, but I do NOT miss sitting behind a desk all day. My little ADD mind is just traveling a hundred miles a minute, trying to pay attention in class. Those around me like to marvel at my little drawings and my little clay creations, but I'd really rather just be able to pay attention like a "normal person." All that to say I'm really ready to be back at school next week, teaching as usual. Also, I'm a little sad today, because my former students back in Garnett started school today. It makes me sad that they're lives are moving on without me there to watch. So, I had to remind myself a few times today that I am here for a purpose and that it was more than just me that brought me here. I am here because of God's purpose, not just my own. That makes it easier, but I do still have a place in my heart for my old students...for sure.
Ok, my roommate is going to sleep, so that means I need to get off my computer. Hopefully this is enough blog to keep you all entertained for a few days. Enjoy!
So I've been in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) classes this week as a student. I just have to say, I do miss learning things, but I do NOT miss sitting behind a desk all day. My little ADD mind is just traveling a hundred miles a minute, trying to pay attention in class. Those around me like to marvel at my little drawings and my little clay creations, but I'd really rather just be able to pay attention like a "normal person." All that to say I'm really ready to be back at school next week, teaching as usual. Also, I'm a little sad today, because my former students back in Garnett started school today. It makes me sad that they're lives are moving on without me there to watch. So, I had to remind myself a few times today that I am here for a purpose and that it was more than just me that brought me here. I am here because of God's purpose, not just my own. That makes it easier, but I do still have a place in my heart for my old students...for sure.
Ok, my roommate is going to sleep, so that means I need to get off my computer. Hopefully this is enough blog to keep you all entertained for a few days. Enjoy!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Moving On...
So I decided today that I'm gonna stop trying so gosh darn hard to "catch up" on this thing in order to make everything happen in chronological order. So, if there are any OCD friends of mine out there that might be annoyed by things not happening in the right order...well...you don't really know what order they happened in anyway, so it shouldn't matter to you! So, right now, I am going to talk about my trip last week across Korea. I start by saying that Julie and I are completely insane. Someone asked us "Who planned your trip for you?" and we were just kind of like "Uh...well...we just kind of looked stuff up online and wrote stuff down that people told us to see." So, that being said, last week actually went off without a hitch!
The trip started on Tuesday when we went to Seoul. I hadn't been to Seoul yet, so I was pretty excited just to see it. Also, I planned to meet up with a friend from college (Jamie Rehmer, now Greer) and meet her husband, so I was pretty excited about that. We started our little excursion, got to Seoul Station, and patiently awaited the arrival of Jamie and JD. While we were waiting, I saw SO many homeless guys outside the station, just laying all over the curbs and stuff. I really wanted to find a kimbop nearby and just go buy a bunch for all of them to share! But alas, I was on the lookout for Jamie, who doesn't have a phone yet. Once we met up with them, we ate some overpriced "Western" food at Bennigan's. Honestly, I'd rather live a year without "western" food than pay almost 15 dollars for a lunch that was so-so. After lunch, we parted ways with Jamie and JD and headed for Changdeok Palace. This palace is from the Joseon Dynasty. It began to be built in the 1400s, but after it was invaded by the Japanese, parts of it were rebuilt in the 1600s, 1800s and 1900s. Something interesting that I learned here was that back in the day, the Chinese language was considered to be a more intelligent language than Korean. So on all of the buildings and such of this palace, the titles were written in Chinese to show that there were well educated people living there. Our tour group was pretty cool because we were in the English group...English here is virtually everyone's common second language. So there were people in our group from France, Taiwan, Switzerland, Italy, the US, Canada, and many more places! It was pretty awesome! So after visiting the palace, we went to a shopping district called Insadong. This place sold a lot of antique-like and handmade things. It was awesome and the atmosphere there was very warm and friendly. After out time around Insadong, we were exhausted and wanted to find where we were staying that night. So we went to a travel information center, conveniently located at the front of the Insadong district. We spoke with a girl there that referred us to one of the jjimjilbangs on our printed off list that was near her house. Now, first, you might want to know what a jjimjilbang is. It's a public bath house that also has sleeping facilities. A teacher I work with told me that when her family traveled and wanted to save money, they'd stay at a jjimjilbang. So, Julie and I decided to try the Korean way. This place we went to ended up being WAY out of the main area of Seoul. We just might have been the ONLY foreigners to ever walk the streets of this neighborhood! So, after we ate at a KimBop, we headed for the jjimjilbang. The ladies at the front seemed very excited that we were there. As we tried to determine how long we were allowed to stay (since it was only about 8:30 at night), the lady told us "stay...long time!" When we asked "Overnight?" She said "Ok, ok" which in this case meant yes. Moving on, we left our stuff in a locker, took our little pepto bismol pink outfits that they gave us, and headed to the lockers where we're supposed to leave our clothes. As we were stripping down to change into our awesome new outfits (insert sarcasm), we hear this lady say "Oh my! What are you doing here??" We turn around only to see a Korean woman standing there. Queue confusion. As we soon found out, Rina was actually a Korean born here, but she moved to California about 20 years ago. She was in town visiting her family and decided to come relax at the bath house. The reason she was so shocked to see Americans was because of the area we were in of Seoul...like I said, we might have been the only foreigners to ever walk into those doors! Fortunately, Rina took the time to show us around a let us know where everything was and what it was for. This experience was actually really cool...until the sleeping part. We went upstairs and discovered a sleeping room that was dark, quiet and peaceful. As we debated where we might sleep, these young boys came in and said "Girls...no!" meaning girls aren't allowed in here. Awesome. So, we went downstairs to where the women sleep...in a cave. Literally, they were these arched cutouts in a wall that were just as long as my body and a little wider than a twin bed. So, you crawl in to the mat on the floor, lay your head down on the brick of a pillow, and squint your eyes at the awkward "peaceful" red light above your head. Awesome. So, sleeping situation at this particular jjimjilbang...not so good. Other than that, pretty awesome experience. The next day, we went back to Seoul Station, got some breakfast and headed out to Namsan Tower or N-Seoul Tower. This place kind of looks like the Seattle space needle thing. I guess there's a restaurant up in the top, but we didn't go inside. We could see SO much city from up there, it was crazy. Also up here, I could see the line where the pollution/smog met the fresh, clean sky. It was really gross, but kind of refreshing just to see actual sky. So I guess Namsan is totally the place that you go on dates...they've got these love benches there that are wooden benches designed to slant in toward the middle. Also, all along the fences, people have written love messages on locks and attached them to the fence. Call me cheesy, but it was actually kinda cute. While we were in the area of the tower, they had some soldiers that were dressed up in traditional garb doing some sort of ceremony. It was pretty cool to see that, and I even got my picture taken with one of them! I put up my Victory V just like any good Korean would do in a picture! Oh, if I haven't said anything about the Vs yet...here ya go. Whenever any here poses for a picture, they put up two fingers, like a peace sign. When we asked why, they said "It's a v for victory!" Haha...it's great. So whenever we're feeling especially Korean, we sport the Vs proudly. :) That afternoon, we met up with a teacher that sits next to me at school. Her and her son came to meet us, and then she just said "ka-ja" meaning "let's go." We had NO idea where we were going, but we just followed! She ended up taking us to this 63 story building that had an aquarium, an art gallery, a wax museum, and many other things in it. It was a cool building, and in the elevator, you get to actually look at the outside as you go up or down. It travels at a floor per second, so you're covering some serious height in a short amount of time! Julie got a little queasy on the way down...uh oh! Anyway, my teacher friend (her English name is Cathy) dropped us off at Itaewon where we were going to shop some. She was so sweet to take us around and show us part of Seoul! And her English is not great, but she's got a kind heart, and she really tries...so yeah. So Itaewon is the foreigner's district where there's supposedly great shopping for foreigners, great food, etc etc. Julie and I were both really disappointed by Itaewon...I think it was just hyped up to us WAY too much so we were expecting a lot. However, we did have some good Mexican food at a place called Los Amigos...I got guacamole with my food...it was wonderful! Our server was from Bali and the owner of the restaurant sounded like he was from Jamaica. The entertainment was some Korean guys singing American cover songs. It was definitely an experience! Oh, something interesting about Itaewon is this. Itaewon actually means "another womb" and was a district that came about after the war when a bunch of Korean women came back from being prisoners and were pregnant from the Japanese. These women were shunned out of the regular society and were sent to go live in this place for those with half Japanese kids in their womb. It's kind of ironic that today this district is where most of the foreigners in Seoul live.
Ok, so for now, I'm done. I will tell you all about our trip to Busan next time! I hope you're enjoying this and that I'm not just blabbering on and on for nothing. That's all!
The trip started on Tuesday when we went to Seoul. I hadn't been to Seoul yet, so I was pretty excited just to see it. Also, I planned to meet up with a friend from college (Jamie Rehmer, now Greer) and meet her husband, so I was pretty excited about that. We started our little excursion, got to Seoul Station, and patiently awaited the arrival of Jamie and JD. While we were waiting, I saw SO many homeless guys outside the station, just laying all over the curbs and stuff. I really wanted to find a kimbop nearby and just go buy a bunch for all of them to share! But alas, I was on the lookout for Jamie, who doesn't have a phone yet. Once we met up with them, we ate some overpriced "Western" food at Bennigan's. Honestly, I'd rather live a year without "western" food than pay almost 15 dollars for a lunch that was so-so. After lunch, we parted ways with Jamie and JD and headed for Changdeok Palace. This palace is from the Joseon Dynasty. It began to be built in the 1400s, but after it was invaded by the Japanese, parts of it were rebuilt in the 1600s, 1800s and 1900s. Something interesting that I learned here was that back in the day, the Chinese language was considered to be a more intelligent language than Korean. So on all of the buildings and such of this palace, the titles were written in Chinese to show that there were well educated people living there. Our tour group was pretty cool because we were in the English group...English here is virtually everyone's common second language. So there were people in our group from France, Taiwan, Switzerland, Italy, the US, Canada, and many more places! It was pretty awesome! So after visiting the palace, we went to a shopping district called Insadong. This place sold a lot of antique-like and handmade things. It was awesome and the atmosphere there was very warm and friendly. After out time around Insadong, we were exhausted and wanted to find where we were staying that night. So we went to a travel information center, conveniently located at the front of the Insadong district. We spoke with a girl there that referred us to one of the jjimjilbangs on our printed off list that was near her house. Now, first, you might want to know what a jjimjilbang is. It's a public bath house that also has sleeping facilities. A teacher I work with told me that when her family traveled and wanted to save money, they'd stay at a jjimjilbang. So, Julie and I decided to try the Korean way. This place we went to ended up being WAY out of the main area of Seoul. We just might have been the ONLY foreigners to ever walk the streets of this neighborhood! So, after we ate at a KimBop, we headed for the jjimjilbang. The ladies at the front seemed very excited that we were there. As we tried to determine how long we were allowed to stay (since it was only about 8:30 at night), the lady told us "stay...long time!" When we asked "Overnight?" She said "Ok, ok" which in this case meant yes. Moving on, we left our stuff in a locker, took our little pepto bismol pink outfits that they gave us, and headed to the lockers where we're supposed to leave our clothes. As we were stripping down to change into our awesome new outfits (insert sarcasm), we hear this lady say "Oh my! What are you doing here??" We turn around only to see a Korean woman standing there. Queue confusion. As we soon found out, Rina was actually a Korean born here, but she moved to California about 20 years ago. She was in town visiting her family and decided to come relax at the bath house. The reason she was so shocked to see Americans was because of the area we were in of Seoul...like I said, we might have been the only foreigners to ever walk into those doors! Fortunately, Rina took the time to show us around a let us know where everything was and what it was for. This experience was actually really cool...until the sleeping part. We went upstairs and discovered a sleeping room that was dark, quiet and peaceful. As we debated where we might sleep, these young boys came in and said "Girls...no!" meaning girls aren't allowed in here. Awesome. So, we went downstairs to where the women sleep...in a cave. Literally, they were these arched cutouts in a wall that were just as long as my body and a little wider than a twin bed. So, you crawl in to the mat on the floor, lay your head down on the brick of a pillow, and squint your eyes at the awkward "peaceful" red light above your head. Awesome. So, sleeping situation at this particular jjimjilbang...not so good. Other than that, pretty awesome experience. The next day, we went back to Seoul Station, got some breakfast and headed out to Namsan Tower or N-Seoul Tower. This place kind of looks like the Seattle space needle thing. I guess there's a restaurant up in the top, but we didn't go inside. We could see SO much city from up there, it was crazy. Also up here, I could see the line where the pollution/smog met the fresh, clean sky. It was really gross, but kind of refreshing just to see actual sky. So I guess Namsan is totally the place that you go on dates...they've got these love benches there that are wooden benches designed to slant in toward the middle. Also, all along the fences, people have written love messages on locks and attached them to the fence. Call me cheesy, but it was actually kinda cute. While we were in the area of the tower, they had some soldiers that were dressed up in traditional garb doing some sort of ceremony. It was pretty cool to see that, and I even got my picture taken with one of them! I put up my Victory V just like any good Korean would do in a picture! Oh, if I haven't said anything about the Vs yet...here ya go. Whenever any here poses for a picture, they put up two fingers, like a peace sign. When we asked why, they said "It's a v for victory!" Haha...it's great. So whenever we're feeling especially Korean, we sport the Vs proudly. :) That afternoon, we met up with a teacher that sits next to me at school. Her and her son came to meet us, and then she just said "ka-ja" meaning "let's go." We had NO idea where we were going, but we just followed! She ended up taking us to this 63 story building that had an aquarium, an art gallery, a wax museum, and many other things in it. It was a cool building, and in the elevator, you get to actually look at the outside as you go up or down. It travels at a floor per second, so you're covering some serious height in a short amount of time! Julie got a little queasy on the way down...uh oh! Anyway, my teacher friend (her English name is Cathy) dropped us off at Itaewon where we were going to shop some. She was so sweet to take us around and show us part of Seoul! And her English is not great, but she's got a kind heart, and she really tries...so yeah. So Itaewon is the foreigner's district where there's supposedly great shopping for foreigners, great food, etc etc. Julie and I were both really disappointed by Itaewon...I think it was just hyped up to us WAY too much so we were expecting a lot. However, we did have some good Mexican food at a place called Los Amigos...I got guacamole with my food...it was wonderful! Our server was from Bali and the owner of the restaurant sounded like he was from Jamaica. The entertainment was some Korean guys singing American cover songs. It was definitely an experience! Oh, something interesting about Itaewon is this. Itaewon actually means "another womb" and was a district that came about after the war when a bunch of Korean women came back from being prisoners and were pregnant from the Japanese. These women were shunned out of the regular society and were sent to go live in this place for those with half Japanese kids in their womb. It's kind of ironic that today this district is where most of the foreigners in Seoul live.
Ok, so for now, I'm done. I will tell you all about our trip to Busan next time! I hope you're enjoying this and that I'm not just blabbering on and on for nothing. That's all!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Well on my way....
Well, I've added a week's worth of time...I'm getting there. Only what, 3 more weeks, and then I'll be caught up? Something like that. Anyway, now, for some more random journaled thoughts from Tori. Ahem...
July 8
School today was fine, aside from the sweating I did all day! I really enjoy teaching with Olivia. She's so animated, and the kids really seem to enjoy her teaching. It's good when you can tell that the kids like and respect their teacher. Tonight I went with Deborah, LeeEllen, David, Dr. Han, Dr. Kim, and one other professor to a high school to speak about KNU's English Dept. We were posing as KNU professors, which is kind of funny. We got into groups with kids and they asked us questions. Then they had to recite what they knew about us in sentence form. I had an enthusiastic group of girls that were into music-they were stoked when they heard that I was a music teacher. Oh, and I got asked my blood type...again! Haha! After that we went with Dr. Han to McD's for ice cream, and Dr. Kim asked me to proofread a paper for him...here's a little preview. The title is "A Corpus-based Lexical Analysis of the Text of Speech: A Collocational View." Yeah, I'm going to enjoy this....
July 9
Today, it rained. Turns out it's monsoon season here right now! So, I put on my rainboots, opened my umbrella & headed out the door. Oh, sidenote, they must not have the same superstitions here about umbrellas, because I see people opening them inside all the time! I found out today that the women in my school play badminton and the men play this foot volleyball game. It's like volleyball, but with a tennis net and you play with your feet instead of your hands. Tonight I did laundry, and I found out that at the end of a load, the washer plays a little victory song. It's funny...the washer just does its thing, as if to say "You have set the challenge before me to clean your clothes and BEHOLD...I am victorious!" Haha...it's the little things in life.
July 12
I had the most restless sleep last night! From nightmares about messing up at school to the buzzing of a mosquito in my ear, I'd find myself waking up time and time again scratching my skin (really hard). I still don't know, as I sit here fully coherently, what was wrong with my skin! Weird. Anyway, it POURED rain this morning. It's been raining pretty much all day, but it seemed to rain just a bit harder as we tried to make out way across campus to church. We met a girl at church today named Jolie, and she's Korean-American. It's always funny whenever you see a Korean-American here...it totally takes you off guard! It's like wait a second...you're speaking English...fluently...with an American accent. Haha.
July 13
I just have to say that it's wonderful that Koreans use the same calendar system as the US. I just find slight comfort in being able to look at the calendar and not have to use my brain to decifer. So there's this pet peeve of mine...mouth noises. I can't stand when people make unecessary noises with their mouths. The unfortunate thing about that is that Koreans are LOUD eaters. The even more unfortunate thing about that is that there's a lady in my office who is really nice....and REALLY loud when she eats. It drives me bonkers, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. On a different note, I had a really good God experience yesterday in church. We sang the song Blessed Be Your Name, which I think we've sang all 3 Sundays since we've been here. My favorite part of that song has always been where we sing "You give and take away...my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name." I just started thinking about the critical attitude I've had toward church here and how I was stuck on the fact of missing "real worship" and my church. However, when I think of all I've been "given" when that was "taken away," I rejoice in God's blessings. God has given me such an awesome opportunity, and with that things will be taken away. But I made the choice yesterday in church to accept those changes and say Blessed be Your name. I had to consciously decide to allow my heart to choose to follow His will for me . It's a very freeing feeling though...duh Tori.
As I sit here at my desk waiting for my next class, I remember that I've yet to tell you the conclusion to my skin-itching mystery. I woke up today with HUGE mosquito bites all over me. Huge probably because I scratched them to death that night! So, I just counted, and I have 34 bites, just on my arms...maybe more, but there's 34 that I can see. The mosquitos here are ridiculous! Jenny says I have sweet blood...haha. Ok, let's take this moment to talk about corporal punishment, AKA discipline in Korean schools. I'm REALLY not sure what I think of this. It's such an odd concept to me that it doesn't seem good..but is it? Is it even better than American schools' punishment systems? I have seen kids get paddled, do squats, get whacked by a stick or knuckles on their heads, chest, back and hands. It seems to me that either this method doesn't work, that there are a lot of kids who misbehave, or that the teachers are more strict with who gets punished for what...because there are constantly kids in the office getting their punishment from the previous class. I don't know, but either way, the verdict's still out on my decision on the issue. At the end of my day today I got to help this girl who's preparing for a singing competition in English. So I got to help here sing with correct English pronunciation...isn't that fun? Granted, the song she was singing was "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, but nonetheless...it was fun to be back in the element of music in school! Tonight I'm hoping that I don't get eaten alive again by mosquitoes!!!
July 8
School today was fine, aside from the sweating I did all day! I really enjoy teaching with Olivia. She's so animated, and the kids really seem to enjoy her teaching. It's good when you can tell that the kids like and respect their teacher. Tonight I went with Deborah, LeeEllen, David, Dr. Han, Dr. Kim, and one other professor to a high school to speak about KNU's English Dept. We were posing as KNU professors, which is kind of funny. We got into groups with kids and they asked us questions. Then they had to recite what they knew about us in sentence form. I had an enthusiastic group of girls that were into music-they were stoked when they heard that I was a music teacher. Oh, and I got asked my blood type...again! Haha! After that we went with Dr. Han to McD's for ice cream, and Dr. Kim asked me to proofread a paper for him...here's a little preview. The title is "A Corpus-based Lexical Analysis of the Text of Speech: A Collocational View." Yeah, I'm going to enjoy this....
July 9
Today, it rained. Turns out it's monsoon season here right now! So, I put on my rainboots, opened my umbrella & headed out the door. Oh, sidenote, they must not have the same superstitions here about umbrellas, because I see people opening them inside all the time! I found out today that the women in my school play badminton and the men play this foot volleyball game. It's like volleyball, but with a tennis net and you play with your feet instead of your hands. Tonight I did laundry, and I found out that at the end of a load, the washer plays a little victory song. It's funny...the washer just does its thing, as if to say "You have set the challenge before me to clean your clothes and BEHOLD...I am victorious!" Haha...it's the little things in life.
July 12
I had the most restless sleep last night! From nightmares about messing up at school to the buzzing of a mosquito in my ear, I'd find myself waking up time and time again scratching my skin (really hard). I still don't know, as I sit here fully coherently, what was wrong with my skin! Weird. Anyway, it POURED rain this morning. It's been raining pretty much all day, but it seemed to rain just a bit harder as we tried to make out way across campus to church. We met a girl at church today named Jolie, and she's Korean-American. It's always funny whenever you see a Korean-American here...it totally takes you off guard! It's like wait a second...you're speaking English...fluently...with an American accent. Haha.
July 13
I just have to say that it's wonderful that Koreans use the same calendar system as the US. I just find slight comfort in being able to look at the calendar and not have to use my brain to decifer. So there's this pet peeve of mine...mouth noises. I can't stand when people make unecessary noises with their mouths. The unfortunate thing about that is that Koreans are LOUD eaters. The even more unfortunate thing about that is that there's a lady in my office who is really nice....and REALLY loud when she eats. It drives me bonkers, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. On a different note, I had a really good God experience yesterday in church. We sang the song Blessed Be Your Name, which I think we've sang all 3 Sundays since we've been here. My favorite part of that song has always been where we sing "You give and take away...my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name." I just started thinking about the critical attitude I've had toward church here and how I was stuck on the fact of missing "real worship" and my church. However, when I think of all I've been "given" when that was "taken away," I rejoice in God's blessings. God has given me such an awesome opportunity, and with that things will be taken away. But I made the choice yesterday in church to accept those changes and say Blessed be Your name. I had to consciously decide to allow my heart to choose to follow His will for me . It's a very freeing feeling though...duh Tori.
As I sit here at my desk waiting for my next class, I remember that I've yet to tell you the conclusion to my skin-itching mystery. I woke up today with HUGE mosquito bites all over me. Huge probably because I scratched them to death that night! So, I just counted, and I have 34 bites, just on my arms...maybe more, but there's 34 that I can see. The mosquitos here are ridiculous! Jenny says I have sweet blood...haha. Ok, let's take this moment to talk about corporal punishment, AKA discipline in Korean schools. I'm REALLY not sure what I think of this. It's such an odd concept to me that it doesn't seem good..but is it? Is it even better than American schools' punishment systems? I have seen kids get paddled, do squats, get whacked by a stick or knuckles on their heads, chest, back and hands. It seems to me that either this method doesn't work, that there are a lot of kids who misbehave, or that the teachers are more strict with who gets punished for what...because there are constantly kids in the office getting their punishment from the previous class. I don't know, but either way, the verdict's still out on my decision on the issue. At the end of my day today I got to help this girl who's preparing for a singing competition in English. So I got to help here sing with correct English pronunciation...isn't that fun? Granted, the song she was singing was "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion, but nonetheless...it was fun to be back in the element of music in school! Tonight I'm hoping that I don't get eaten alive again by mosquitoes!!!
One of these days I'll catch up...
So, I had it set in my head that once I have my own computer at school, THEN I will be able to catch up on blogging. Unfortunately, that's not true now...and even if it were, I'm on vacation this week! So, I am going to give some more little snips from my journal to keep you updated on the things I've been doing here. I hope you enjoy!
July 2
...So today at school, I set out to learn Hangul (the Korean letters/alphabet). No big deal, lol. I watched videos & wrote notes for HOURS...aside from the occasional email or facebook break, that pretty much consumed my work day. I've got most of the alphabet learned though...well, not their names, just their sounds.
July 3
I'm currently sitting at my desk awkwardly waiting for what is to come. I'm going out with the single teachers from my school tonight (I was told there are 7 of them). The guy who's giving me a ride has not spoken a word to me on his own yet...that should be interesting! Today in class I gave my introduction. Also, a rumor I heard was proven true today...I got asked my blood type! Lol I couldn't believe that it was something they're actually interested in! Anyway, I taught 2 classes today, and it ended up being about 20-25 minutes of introduction and 20-25 minutes of awkward. I spent a few hours catching up with emails, facebook, and...yes...I even started a blog. Tsk tsk to caving into the norm!
July 4
Happy 4th of July! Haha...it's kind of weird being out of the country on a day only celebrated in the US. Today we headed down to Daecheon Beach. I've never been to the beach before today-only lakeside. But today we went swimming in the Yellow Sea-the water between Korea and China! It was great! There was some nasty seaweed, some jellyfish (luckily only seen washed up and dead) and some schools of fish that would congregate beside you in the water. We played volleyball, and even Red Rover. I may or may not have gotten clotheslined...twice. Darn tall people!
July 5
So about that sunburn...ugh. Last night my back felt like there were small razors sticking in it. I could really only sleep on my stomach...if I slept any other way, I would wake up in pain. After church I took about a 3 hour nap...it was amazing! Even aching from sunburn couldn't keep me from enjoying that nap! I went tonight to a practice room to play and sing. It was theraputic, but it made me really homesick for Nall and the Gathering...just homesick mostly for pure worship where I felt enveloped by God's presence. Anyway, I haven't gotten much motivation to blog yet...maybe tomorrow.
July 6
Another day, several more experiences. I am currently sitting at my desk enjoying the rest of my 70 minute lunch time. It's ridiculous how much time we get! Anyway, I have the strong feeling I'm being talked about in my office...awesome. Everyone keeps giving me fleeting glances as they chat away to each other....it's wonderful. :P Someday I'll understand what they're saying...or someday I'll just learn to ignore it...maybe a bit of both. Pretty sure they're talking about my nose ring right now, lol. Tonight, Martha invited people over for game night. It was Julie, Ryan, Katie, Abby, Nesheba and me. We played that pictionary telephone game and Hoopla. It was tons of fun actually!
July 7
I'm sitting in my office before class thinking about how much a computer helps in making time pass. KNU has not given me a computer yet, so for now, I have this empty desk that just sits there...holding my pencils and calendar....after school I had to wait around until 5:00 to go to dinner. The principal invited me, the English teachers, the vice principal, and a couple others to a restaurant. We had pork, pork ribs, and duck. Decisions, decisions. I opted for duck which was very chewy, but tasted good. My stomach will probably be digesting it for days though! My decision, however, was made in vain, because I was forced into eating a pork rib as well. But, the main dish was delicious! And not just Korea good...I mean it was really good! It was water, angel hair pasta, some kind of hot seasoning and various vegetables. I don't remember what it was called, but I should probably find out so I can order it again sometime! Also at dinner I got drilled about which single guy at my school is most attractive...I tried to deter them by saying "Oh, I have to know their personality." Fail. They just pushed and pushed! Finally Olivia said "Oh, I think you forgot." Thank you! An out! Anyway, my principal is so excited that I'm here and is excited to see progress in the kids and their English skills.
July 2
...So today at school, I set out to learn Hangul (the Korean letters/alphabet). No big deal, lol. I watched videos & wrote notes for HOURS...aside from the occasional email or facebook break, that pretty much consumed my work day. I've got most of the alphabet learned though...well, not their names, just their sounds.
July 3
I'm currently sitting at my desk awkwardly waiting for what is to come. I'm going out with the single teachers from my school tonight (I was told there are 7 of them). The guy who's giving me a ride has not spoken a word to me on his own yet...that should be interesting! Today in class I gave my introduction. Also, a rumor I heard was proven true today...I got asked my blood type! Lol I couldn't believe that it was something they're actually interested in! Anyway, I taught 2 classes today, and it ended up being about 20-25 minutes of introduction and 20-25 minutes of awkward. I spent a few hours catching up with emails, facebook, and...yes...I even started a blog. Tsk tsk to caving into the norm!
July 4
Happy 4th of July! Haha...it's kind of weird being out of the country on a day only celebrated in the US. Today we headed down to Daecheon Beach. I've never been to the beach before today-only lakeside. But today we went swimming in the Yellow Sea-the water between Korea and China! It was great! There was some nasty seaweed, some jellyfish (luckily only seen washed up and dead) and some schools of fish that would congregate beside you in the water. We played volleyball, and even Red Rover. I may or may not have gotten clotheslined...twice. Darn tall people!
July 5
So about that sunburn...ugh. Last night my back felt like there were small razors sticking in it. I could really only sleep on my stomach...if I slept any other way, I would wake up in pain. After church I took about a 3 hour nap...it was amazing! Even aching from sunburn couldn't keep me from enjoying that nap! I went tonight to a practice room to play and sing. It was theraputic, but it made me really homesick for Nall and the Gathering...just homesick mostly for pure worship where I felt enveloped by God's presence. Anyway, I haven't gotten much motivation to blog yet...maybe tomorrow.
July 6
Another day, several more experiences. I am currently sitting at my desk enjoying the rest of my 70 minute lunch time. It's ridiculous how much time we get! Anyway, I have the strong feeling I'm being talked about in my office...awesome. Everyone keeps giving me fleeting glances as they chat away to each other....it's wonderful. :P Someday I'll understand what they're saying...or someday I'll just learn to ignore it...maybe a bit of both. Pretty sure they're talking about my nose ring right now, lol. Tonight, Martha invited people over for game night. It was Julie, Ryan, Katie, Abby, Nesheba and me. We played that pictionary telephone game and Hoopla. It was tons of fun actually!
July 7
I'm sitting in my office before class thinking about how much a computer helps in making time pass. KNU has not given me a computer yet, so for now, I have this empty desk that just sits there...holding my pencils and calendar....after school I had to wait around until 5:00 to go to dinner. The principal invited me, the English teachers, the vice principal, and a couple others to a restaurant. We had pork, pork ribs, and duck. Decisions, decisions. I opted for duck which was very chewy, but tasted good. My stomach will probably be digesting it for days though! My decision, however, was made in vain, because I was forced into eating a pork rib as well. But, the main dish was delicious! And not just Korea good...I mean it was really good! It was water, angel hair pasta, some kind of hot seasoning and various vegetables. I don't remember what it was called, but I should probably find out so I can order it again sometime! Also at dinner I got drilled about which single guy at my school is most attractive...I tried to deter them by saying "Oh, I have to know their personality." Fail. They just pushed and pushed! Finally Olivia said "Oh, I think you forgot." Thank you! An out! Anyway, my principal is so excited that I'm here and is excited to see progress in the kids and their English skills.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Journal Entries
I thought maybe the easiest way to catch up would be putting little parts of my journal on here. So, I hope you enjoy! :)
[morning of June 24th]
"After a great morning of exploration, it was off to orientation for us. This included our health examination, which consisted of peeing in a Hello Kitty cup, stripping off our top garments for an X-ray and giving blood, among other things. On this day we also got to meet Dr. Han & have a genuine Korean lunch. It was certainly interesting and I discovered that I might end up having issues with textures of food here."
[June 26]
"Friday we started orientation with videos on Cheonan City & KNU. Turns out, they LOVE using the word ubiquitous to describe their city! Cheonan City is trying to be very cutting edge in their technological advances.....also we went to the Cheonan City Hall. They showed us their U-City (U for ubiquitous of course!) which was a faux apartment full of futuristic technology. It was pretty legit."
[June 27]
"....We also went to get our T-money cards at the subway today & had our first experience trying out the subway system. It was very nice-clean and well kept. Also, there's English letters on the signs and stuff which makes things much easier! We went after that to Baskin Robbins. I had the most wonderful ice cream. It was cappuccino espresso delightful deliciousness...or something like that!"
[June 29]
"This morning, Terry took Julie and me to our schools. I walked in, got yelled at in Korean to take off my shoes, and then was greeted by two English teachers who told me to call them Monica & Olivia. The three of us, Sam, the assistant & head principal all met together. The principal seems very nice-definitely a well respected man! He was a tae kwan do major in college & was a 6th or 7th level graduate! We had conversation about me and the school (all through translation of course). Then he gave me a picture of some duck eggs that were near the school last week & said he hoped it'd bring me luck. He also gave me a vase with a tae kwan do cat on it & told me to use it to keep pencils in! Monica said I was very lucky because she's never received a gift from the principal!........After lunch we all went to the clinic. I had several bug bites that I was having a weird reaction to and Jenny wanted me to make sure they were nothing else. So, for a doctor's visit, a prescription & a bottle of anti-itch solution, I paid less than 20,000 won (about 15-16 dollars). This was WITHOUT insurance. Once I have my insurance, it's 3,000 for the dr. appt. and 3,000 for a prescription. Can you believe it??"
[June 30]
"Tuesday started at 4:00 in the morning when the fire alarm went off! It was this crazy loud siren with some lady speaking in Korean (the same lady that talks in the elevator). We were all so out of it that I'm pretty sure if there had actually been a fire near us, we would've been toast...then when we actually got up in the morning, there was no hot water...wonderful."
Ok, I'll be able to add more later. For now, I'm sitting in a room with no air conditioner, and it's getting very stuffy in here! So I'm going to go back to my office where there's air. Enjoy!
[morning of June 24th]
"After a great morning of exploration, it was off to orientation for us. This included our health examination, which consisted of peeing in a Hello Kitty cup, stripping off our top garments for an X-ray and giving blood, among other things. On this day we also got to meet Dr. Han & have a genuine Korean lunch. It was certainly interesting and I discovered that I might end up having issues with textures of food here."
[June 26]
"Friday we started orientation with videos on Cheonan City & KNU. Turns out, they LOVE using the word ubiquitous to describe their city! Cheonan City is trying to be very cutting edge in their technological advances.....also we went to the Cheonan City Hall. They showed us their U-City (U for ubiquitous of course!) which was a faux apartment full of futuristic technology. It was pretty legit."
[June 27]
"....We also went to get our T-money cards at the subway today & had our first experience trying out the subway system. It was very nice-clean and well kept. Also, there's English letters on the signs and stuff which makes things much easier! We went after that to Baskin Robbins. I had the most wonderful ice cream. It was cappuccino espresso delightful deliciousness...or something like that!"
[June 29]
"This morning, Terry took Julie and me to our schools. I walked in, got yelled at in Korean to take off my shoes, and then was greeted by two English teachers who told me to call them Monica & Olivia. The three of us, Sam, the assistant & head principal all met together. The principal seems very nice-definitely a well respected man! He was a tae kwan do major in college & was a 6th or 7th level graduate! We had conversation about me and the school (all through translation of course). Then he gave me a picture of some duck eggs that were near the school last week & said he hoped it'd bring me luck. He also gave me a vase with a tae kwan do cat on it & told me to use it to keep pencils in! Monica said I was very lucky because she's never received a gift from the principal!........After lunch we all went to the clinic. I had several bug bites that I was having a weird reaction to and Jenny wanted me to make sure they were nothing else. So, for a doctor's visit, a prescription & a bottle of anti-itch solution, I paid less than 20,000 won (about 15-16 dollars). This was WITHOUT insurance. Once I have my insurance, it's 3,000 for the dr. appt. and 3,000 for a prescription. Can you believe it??"
[June 30]
"Tuesday started at 4:00 in the morning when the fire alarm went off! It was this crazy loud siren with some lady speaking in Korean (the same lady that talks in the elevator). We were all so out of it that I'm pretty sure if there had actually been a fire near us, we would've been toast...then when we actually got up in the morning, there was no hot water...wonderful."
Ok, I'll be able to add more later. For now, I'm sitting in a room with no air conditioner, and it's getting very stuffy in here! So I'm going to go back to my office where there's air. Enjoy!
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