Sleeping on the job and dried anchovies

There are beds in the womans lounge, I presume it's in the hope that if my overworked co-workers can snag even 20 minutes of snooze time between classes that they will ultimately be more productive?



I think one of my favorite foods in Korea are the tiny whole anchovies, I admit that at first I was loathe to put an entire small fish in my mouth, but after that first bite...it was food heaven. It tastes like a salty morsel of fish jerky, dericious.

The Most Important Lesson My Mother Ever Taught Me

Sharing is the first and most important lesson I have ever learned in my life.

For the last two months I have noticed that my Korean co-workers bring food in every once in a while and they always share with everyone. So I thought since 추섴 (chuseok) is upon me and 추섴 is considered Korean Thanksgiving, that I would bring something to work as a thank you, this is me, have some American food, whatever you want to think gift. So last night I braved the local Lotte Mart, which is like a City Market or a Smith's, and located Feta Cheese (oh feta how I have missed your salty embrace in my mouth). I found garlic, onions, and tomatoes at the local vendors on the streets, and a nice crusty bagguette from the Paris Bagguette Cafe. I spent the night bathing in the smells of home- garlic simmering, onions sputtering, the smell of knives slicing into ripe tomatoes. Oh home how i've missed you. I put it all together in a tupperware and brought it to school today. After second period I whipped it out and placed it in a central location. Immediately all the teachers were buzzing around me, asking me what it was, how it's made, what's the name. Each teacher in turn spooning tomatoes and cheese onto crusty bread and popping the bite-sized morsels in their mouth. Their eyes lighting up in wonder as they tasted the sharp bite of cheese coupled with crusty deliciousness and tangy tomato. I couldn't stop smiling, they were all asking me in rapid Korean how to cook this new delicacy, I felt as though I had given them the greatest gift by being able to share one of my favorite foods with them. yay me!

On a side note, I also learned how to make refried beans last night, and then I proceeded to eat the entire tupperware full by myself in one sitting. WIN!

Anyeong!

Elephant Symphonies

Today the school inspectors are here, apparently 3 years ago my school won the best school in the area and today is our day to renew this claim. What this means is that everyone is going absolutely nuts. Yesterday everyone, students included, stayed after school and cleaned for literally 3 hours, I couldn't believe it!! I offered my services multiple time but each time I was rebuked, asked to sit quietly at my desk like the nice little girl that I am, and to not speak too loudly. I obliged, perhaps a bit perplexedly but obliged nonetheless. Today the teachers were asked to arrive at school an hour early, I was informed I should come at the same time as usual. I arrived to school to see banners, home-made signs, and sparkling hallways that had been freshly painted in the night. I attended an opening ceremony where I understood negative amounts of the information being imparted and then was whisked off to class. The funniest part about this whole day is that the students are eerily silent and all the teachers look like Asian clones of one another. On a normal day, during break hours, the students are reminiscent of a cacophany of elephants living above my head, clanging, banging, scraping, screaming, bellering, falling objects, and an inumerable number of pounding feet is the orchestra to which I produce my teacher magic. Today, with the silence, I feel as though I work in a tomb. Can I have my elephant symphony back please?!

Also, I am preparing to go to China for 7 days!!! I leave Saturday morning from Seoul and will return Friday afternoon! Travelling is amazing, and I can never wait to leave, but sometimes being dragged down by menial items like hostels and food irritate me. I mean honestly, why can't I just stay for free and eat for free wherever I go?? Ha, in my own perfect world I suppose that happens! I am meeting a friend of mine from college on Sunday and we are going to explore all over China (again, ha!)! I'm really really excited! We are planning on attending the world fair, the bund, and hopefully Beijing for the Great Wall! No guarantees though, Alex and I are just going to float along and see what happens. I'll keep you updated as we go!

Anyeong!

Can Ibuproefen fix that?

I can describe my day very simply: my pants are held together by safety pins and I had pig intestines for lunch. The next logical thing is: can ibuproefen fix that? It seems like everytime I think I wrap my head around Korea, BAM! Out comes something new, exciting, and most definitely alarming. How did this come to be you may ask? Well let me tell you...

For lunch today I looked down at this gelatinous, black, cylindrical mass with spicy red sauce on top. I tilted my head left, then right, hoping for some inspiration, since none came I chowed down. It tasted like a jello, rice noodles, spicy bean curd combination, so not bad overall. I ate a few more bites and decided I wasn't the biggest fan but it's not like I was eating intestine or anything so no problems. After lunch I asked my kids what we ate; this is turning into a tradition of mine because they rarely know how to say simple english words like "soup" and "salad", they responded with "pig intestine!!" I turned sheet white, I felt my stomach roll a bit, my temples pounded, I took a deep deep breath, bit back the bile and continued onward. Awesome.

Remember a couple of days ago when I ripped my pant seam open in front of some of my girls?? Well this morning it was relatively cool so I didn't feel overly inspired to put on a skirt, so I opted for slacks, except that I only own one pair of slacks, and they have a hole in the crotch. So, in the manner of frugality (and lack of sewing equipment) I took two safety pins and jimmy-rigged my pants into a modicum of "back together." Thankfully i'm the only one that knows my dirt little secret.

Anyeong!

밥, bap, rice, meal.

밥 (bap) is the Korean word for rice, it's also the Korean word for meal. I find it absolutely fascinating that koreans associate rice with a meal, for instance, If you eat with a Korean and you order noodles, the koreans will say that you have not eaten a meal, but merely a snack. If you eat soup, you will also be served a small bowl of rice, because if you eat just soup you are not eating a meal. Every single day for lunch rice is on the menu, because you have to have a balanced meal, and only having rice with your meal makes it balanced. When I ask my kids what they eat for breakfast they always respond rice. When I ask them what they eat for brunch, lunch, snack, dinner, midnight snack... the response is always the same: rice. The fact that this one particular food is so ingrained in the culture is fascinating. I wonder what other, less obvious, implications this dependence on rice has within a global perspective?

On a side note...I can't imagine that Koreans are pleased when they come to America and we don't serve rice in every restaurant. Perhaps they carry microwaveable rice tubs in their luggage?! Sometimes I wish that I carried refrigerated tubs of cheese in my luggage...

Anyeong!

A Day of Debacles

Yesterday was a disaster, between farts, split pants and stolen teacups it's no wonder I needed a champions belt.

It all began bright and early, Wednesday is Bong gu day (remember the volleyball/soccer hybrid game?!) and all the teachers were asking me whether I was going to be playing or not, I replied, "no, i have to teach a teachers class instead." This led to sad faces and overall distress throughout the ranks of my co-workers. Regardless, I continued to forge on, since Bong gu appeared to be the topic of the day, I decided at lunch to ask the science teacher, who is extremely nice but speaks terrible English, whether he was going to play bang gu today (take extreme note of bang). One of my co-teachers was sitting across the table from me, when I said "bang gu" she snorted so hard soup came out her nose! The science teacher looked at me like I was nuts, then glanced at my co-worker, a slow smile crept up his face, my co-teacher struggled to maintain her composer. I had my "I'm smiling because I have no idea what's going on" smile firmly fixed in place, I was looking back and forth from science teacher to co-teacher. Thankfully Sunmi finally managed to regain her composure and explain to me that Bong gu is a game, Bang gu is a fart. I had been walking around all day asking students and co-workers whether they were going to fart this afternoon! Yikes! What a way to make an impression!


After lunch I went into the teachers lounge, snagged one of the cups from the cupboard, filled it with water and proceeded to my desk. Shortly thereafter I heard my name being said, I glanced around and two teachers I don't know very well were looking at me and talking. I had no idea what they wanted so I just smiled, they smiled back, it was oh-so-Korean-polite. About 20 minutes later Eunyeong came up to me and said "We all bring our own cups." I instantly realized that I had stolen somebody's cup at the prime coffee drinking time! Yikes! I blushed and hurriedly drained my water, scurried to the teachers lounge (yes, i've taken up scurrying), washed the cup and returned it to the cupboard. I just can't win today!


FINALLY my day was over, I had taught my first teachers English class and was feeling great, it was a real success! I was thinking about my night: my South African friend Colette was going to come out to Samgye for some Gamjatang and then we were going to go out for Mackeolli with some other english teachers! Gamjatang is a beef spine soup with vegetables and Mackeolli is a rice distilled liquor much like saki, both are absolutely divine. I walked up on some of my students sitting on the floor writing furiously, I asked them what they were doing and they replied "studying teacher!" What great little studiers!! I chatted with them briefly and had already left when I realized I didn't know where to find Gamjatang in Samgye! I ran back and sat down in a cross legged position, asking them "Where can I find Gamjatang?" As my butt plunked onto the floor I heard a RIP! POP! and the crotch in my only pair of slacks burst open to expose my underwear. *Sigh* Why me?? My students looked, I looked, I blushed, they giggled and we all went on our merry way.

Earlier this morning I was in class, my students are conducting interviews which I really like because it gives them a sterling opportunity to actually experiment with their English. I walked up on two boys, one was pounding the others palm with his fist (typical boys eh?) I asked, "Boxer?" The boy responded "No, teachuh! You boxer! Champion belt!" He pointed to the thick, shiny belt I had strapped about my waist. I burst into smile and replied "Yesuh!" He and I both laughed, I turned to leave, and he turned to tell all his friends that i'm a professional boxer. That one moment made up for all the other debacles of the previous day. God I love my job.

Anyeong!

Korean Class...Or At Least I Think That's Where I'm Headed.

After a month of extended, valiant effort, combined with complete and total failure, i’ve finally managed to make it to free Korean classes in Changwon with Emily!! Woo!! Emily and I have not been slouches either, it’s not like those occasional times when you say, “Self, today we are going to Korean classes” and then you meander about, have dinner, get caught up in talking, and then miss class; or you don’t leave your apartment at all, oh no, Emily and I experienced a bus blowing up, a bad cross dresser, an hour and a half bus ride one way whenever we go, spontaneous bicycle riding, getting lost, being late, boarding the wrong bus, and being run over by a hajimama (this is what my friend Claire calls the old hajima ladies). Excellent.
Glad we finally got to Korean classes because these are amazing!!! The Koreans are here because they genuinely want a chance to speak English and teach Korean. They volunteer to show up once a week for an hour and a half to discuss the finer points of Korean grammar. In doing this, they get an hour and a half to explain everything in English. It’s a win win situation if you ask me, not to mention i’m making new Korean friends, and they will introduce me to their Korean friends, and they will introduce me…you get the picture. Networking like this is so infinitely important to success when you are learning a new language, once you make friends, you begin to be brought into the circle, hear new words, new meanings, new descriptions. You try them out, they fumble off your tongue the first time, but then the second, third, and fourth times they begin to sound natural, they begin to feel good. Then suddenly you don’t realize it, but you are speaking easily and freely. What a concept. I can’t wait for that moment of realization, until then, i’ll continue to weather the occasional bus blowing up to make it to class.
Anyeong!

Sweet Potatoe Pie

Sweet potatoes permeate almost every sweet food I eat in Korea.

Why???

I don't really understand it, but i'm attributing this fact to a basic premise (that I hear EVERYDAY) and that premise is that Koreans like to eat healthy foods, workout, and protect the environment. Weird right? Well it's the truth. Today for lunch, there was a delicious looking apple turnover steaming on the tray in front of me, oh I could taste the sugary sweet, flaky, buttery, mouth watering, tart taste of apples already. As is customary in Korea land, we eat our food first, so I slogged through 참치 비빔밥(chamchi bibimbop, tuna and rice stirfry) and fish bologne soup before I got to the main dish: apple streudel turnover pie. I picked the pie up in my hands, fingers shaking slightly, mouth already salivating ferociously, eyes locked on the pie. I took a big bite, crust infiltrated my mouth, butter washed over my tastebuds, but there was no tangy apple aftertaste. Instead, I was left with an almost creamy, but not quite, smooth starchy taste. Sweet Potatoe. I grimaced, this was good, but it was by no means apple streudel pie. I sighed deeply, reorganized my thinking, and bit in again, this time was much better. The pie crust melds ever so effectively with the potatoe, adding a mild sweet to an already buttery flake. If I wasn't expecting apple I would have said a perfect combination.

This similar thing happened to me last night as well, after Korean classes (which I slogged through a month of ordeals to get to) Emily, Brittoni, Angie, Joanna and I (all new korean class friends!!!) all wandered over to the Love Cup for a cupcake. I ordered what appeared to be a vanilla cupcake with cream cheese frosting, took a big ol' bite, and discovered sweet potatoe. *sigh* What IS it with the sweet potatoe?! Ah well, here's to adventures in food, Ganbei! (Cheers!)

Anyeong!

"Ok! I take it!", Octopus tentacles, blown away, and cell phone debacles.

A few moments from Korea land...

"Ok! I take it!" A student, insert: large, boisterous, black haired, and bespectacled, bellered this at me today as I was explaining what a parade is. I'm 90% sure he meant "Ok! I got it!" but to be honest? "Ok! I take it!" makes my day a little better, and therefore I approve of it over the correct one.

I found a baby octopus tentacle in my pork. *sigh* Koreans really, really just don't understand food sometimes. I grimaced slightly, plucked the offending arm from my meat, placed it daintily on the side of my tray, and continued my methodical eating. Sometimes it's best to just feign ignorance.

"So, if your computer blacks out, and your saved work blows away, what do you say?" hahaha (ㅋㅋㅋ) I don't even know where to begin on this one. I stared at Eunyeong and then burst out laughing, she cocked an eyebrow and stared at me completely flustered. I gained control of my mirth and continued to explain that if I were working outside, my papers could fly away, but that my saved computer documents would be lost, not blown away. We both shared the moment of comedy once I had explained. God I relish the language barrier sometimes, not only did I learn a new phrase, but I also gained some valuable insight into the way that Koreans think about computers.

Up until this week I have been something of a celebrity (and let me tell you, my head is getting HUGE!) the fact that i'm young (younger by at least 5 years than all of my other co-workers), i'm from America, and I have blonde hair all contributes to this new-found stardom. Because i'm such a cool cat, my newness and some fun social norms of perfection or death, my students were afraid of speaking up in class; now for some, this lack of student talking may seem like a great thing, there's no discipline involved! Until you realize that I teach a solely dialogue based class. If my students don't speak up...no one speaks and how awkward is that?! So it was an infinite relief when I found myself struggling to control my first class today! THEY WERE TALKIN'!!! And quite boisteriously at that! Now I just need to reign in their enthusiasm and apply it towards more constructive, english based work.

Another interesting thing about my students, is that up until this week, they have hung enraptured on my every word, soaking in my Mollyness like they were dehydrated water lilys; but this week, I found that their cute little personalities are starting to come out, along with their quirks, voices, lack of respect, and oddities. I'll save the respect your teacher rant for another day (god knows I haven't been a teacher nearly long enough to make up for all the ignoring I did to my teachers...). But I will say that I giggled when I realized that my students are terrible at hiding their true intentions, for example: one student was texting, I could see it, it was so blatantly obvious, when I walked up beside him he quickly lunged for his pencil, slammed his hand down on his paper and began furiously scribbling the English alphabet (he was supposed to be writing questions to use to interview his peers). I couldn't contain it! The giggle just bubbled up out of my throat and turned into a full-throated spasm of laughter. The kid looked at me sideways, "Is she mad?" clearly displayed across his forehead, I reached down and plucked the cell phone from his clenched fist, said: "Mine" and walked away, still giggling like a lunatic. I just couldn't help it!! I remembered soo vividly the first time I had my cell phone taken away and the remorse, guilt and fury I felt towards my teacher. Hopefully i've not damaged this child beyond belief with embarrassment and guilt. Oh well, I suppose it's good for him in the long run!

Anyeong!

봉구 (Bong Gu) (Volleyball Soccer)

봉구 Or bong gu, in romanized korean, is very simply the most erratic combination of volleyball and soccer ever. The funniest part? My co-workers LOVE it and they are EXTREMELY serious about their bong gu. So don't even THINK about laughing. haha Let me describe to you the ridiculousness surrounding this game: I was sitting at my desk happily researching my lesson plans for next week when Eunyeong (my co-teacher ^.^) asked me "Would you like to think about going to auditorium for teacher's day?" This is the way that Koreans phrase everything, I don't really understand it, but, they ask me if I would, or could like to think about doing anything; they never ask me straight out. So after some confused dialogue I ended up trekking to the fourth floor with Eunyeong to the gymnasium (which I didn't know existed until yesterday). We arrived there and all the teachers were dressed in their workout outfits. A side note here, Koreans are extremely serious about their sports, they always wear matching outfits, have sweat bands, and wear tennis shoes. They don't mess around. So there we were in the gymnasium, everyone was wearing these cute little outfits, everyone but me. I was dressed in dress pants and button up blouse. Win. As I walked in they looked at me and said "B! B! B! Mori B!" I smiled and nodded, "Ya! B!...What's that?" They smiled and nodded, I smiled and nodded back. Well once the smiling was finished I was watching them line up on the courts, 13 on one side of the court, 13 on another side of the court, suddenly there was a chorus "Mori! Mori! lsjdf23480faj (this is to signify the Korean words that I didn't understand)" One of the women jogged up to me, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me onto the court, everyone turned and smiled at me, a few gave me the thumbs up sign and we were good to go. Except that I didn't know what we were playing, nor the rules. Awesome. So turns out, with this game you can use your feet, hands, or head to push the ball up in the air. Same principles as volleyball in that three hits and then over the net, except that the ball can bounce on the ground once, but not twice. Right. Good to know. Well after about an hour of this game my team lost, or won, i'm not really sure. I'm also not sure what the strategy for this game was, but i'm sure there was some. Anyways, at least i'm finally getting invited to group outings?

There is definitely a well-earned lesson in this: take everyday as it comes, go with the flow, and always remember to smile. The longer that I stay in Korea the more I realize that those three little sentiments are everything that I need in order to maintain my sanity. I'm also starting to believe that those sentiments don't conform specifically to Korea, they should be applied to my entire life, regardless of the country. The simplicity of my life here is wonderful, no car, no debt, no bills, no real means to communicate. It's amazing how once you've been stripped free of your material bonds that you realize the things you needed the most were really a smile and an ok.


Anyeong!