Safely in Jeollanamdo!;

So, some of you may have thought that I've fallen off the face of the Earth lately. I haven't responded to emails, or updated this blog, or even........ been on facebook. Shocking, really. However, for the last week I haven't had internet! It's been, just like every week so far, a crazy, hectic week. But maybe this week was the craziest of all. Let me explain.

Orientation finished up last Thursday. =' ( It all happened so quickly. On Monday we had our Korean language final, on Tuesday we were in all day teaching/cultural workshops (10 - 5 pm T___T with one hour break for lunch), on Wednesday we had our last day of Korean class and MORE cultural workshops and an ETA talent show (which was amazing btw, the other ETA's have some impressive hidden talents!), and on Thursday we "graduated" from Korea University's course, cleaned our dorms, packed our bags, etc. etc.

On Friday, it was off to the Korean city that never sleeps....... Seoul! Everyone was up by 7 am and getting checked out the dorm rooms; once again, hectic. I have to say, while Orientation was fun, I will not miss those dorm rooms one bit. They were SMALLER than my single at Bard, except we had two people sharing the room! As a result, it was impossible for both of us to move around the room at the same time. After check-out, everyone lugged their impossibly heavily luggage down the stairs and then it was onto....... Seoul!

We stayed in Seoul for only four days, but I feel like I had so many random adventures there. My friends and I got cornered by a random drunk ajjusshi on the subway who made my two guy friends read a Korean family registry that was all in Chinese characters (and they can't read Chinese characters) while I laughed; since I'm a girl, the guy left me alone. I saw the changing of the guard outside one of the palaces (pictures, later) when I was walking back from a Kinkos, I met the U.S. Ambassador to S. Korea, who is an amazing man, I ate CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! for the first time in seven weeks (hoooooooooow I missed those ;_;), I stayed out until 7 am in the University area of Seoul since our dorm locked us out (don't worry parents, Seoul is v. v. safe), I visited one of the palaces, learned to find my way around the city by myself...... all in all, a fantastic time. Seoul provides a lot of different ways to entertain, and for anyone who's thinking of coming to visit me (hint hint), I can't wait to show you around! = )

You might be wondering why my organization took me to Seoul in the first place, aside from having fun. Well, there is a real reason. Following the conclusion of Orientation, it is customary for all of the ETA's to go to Yonsei University (one of the most prestigious universities in Korea, coincidentally), and from there go on to their assigned teaching placements. Monday is reserved for Yonsei Day, when the school principals and our co-teachers come to fetch us. Before they can take us away, of course, they have to sit through multiple hours of being barked at by my amazing program executive (this sweet old Korean lady who I swear is secretly a gangster); my organization wants to make completely sure that we won't be mistreated at our schools. Once all that is done, we our introduced to our principal, who generally knows no English, and our co-teacher, whose job is to know English very well and make sure we are taken care of. Co-teachers are usually the youngest teachers in the school because they are forced to take on the position by their superiors; being a co-teacher is a lot of extra work, so the superiors don't necessarily want to do it. ^^;;

I was so nervous before I met my principal and co-teacher, but it turned out to be fine. My co-teacher's English was very good, and right away he answered a lot of questions for me. His name is Soonchul, so from now on I'll call him that on this blog. I'll call my principal Kyojangnim, which means "principal" in Korean--you're not supposed to address your principal by name, it's rude. Kyojangnim used to be a P.E. teacher, so he's an unusually tall and strong-looking Korean man (not to imply that all Korean men are wimpy!), and of course his English is not very good. = ) Actually, I think he can understand a lot, but is very shy to speak to me in English. I spoke with him in pigeon Korean. The three of us went to this nice restaurant that had been pre-arranged for Yonsei Day, and I ate dish upon dish of vegetables. Delicious. I feared that the lunch would be beyond awkward, but Soonchul managed to think of things to say to me, and I had a lot of questions really. We also talked about his fiancee, who is the past ETA of three years OMG scandaaaaaaaaaaaaal. (Except not really. He was not her co-teacher and the whole school know they were dating and it was no big deal. But still I think it's amusing.) I felt a
little bad for Kyojangnim, who probably felt a bit left out. Once we left Yonsei U. behind and began our four hour voyage together back to my placement, though, the man really started talking. In Korean, of course. I love his accent, though--I can't explain it, you would just have to hear it--so I didn't mind listening to Kyojangnim ramble on to Soonchul. Once we were out of Seoul, though, Kyojangnim fell asleep, and Soonchul tried talking to me in the backseat. I couldn't think of much to say, however, so instead I chose to feign falling asleep. In truth, I actually did fall asleep, and was only woken up by the sound of Kyojangnim yelling into his mobile phone. XD; Also, Soonchul's GPS (EVERY Korean car has GPS) was crazy and wouldn't stop beeping randomly--apparently it points out where the speed traps on the highway are. SERIOUSLY!

You'd think me being stuck in a car for 4+ hours with two Korean men who are about ten and thirty years older than me would be the most awkward thing in the world, but I think I was so giddy about getting to my placement that it didn't really bother me. We even stopped on the side of the road and had a snack at a rest stop together--walnut cakes for all of us (so so soooooo good--they're essentially tiny red bean rolls), and strawberry milk for Soonchul and Kyojangnim. (I know, it's ridiculously adorable. Grown men drinking strawberry milk. Oh, Korea.) At this point my host father was ringing Kyojangnim like crazy and asking, "What does she want to eat?????" Like hell I wanted to think about dinner, I was already eating my weight in walnut cakes! But I said that I wanted to eat fish, since I was going to a fishing port.

Okay, so a bit about my placement. I got assigned to Mokpo, which to most Koreans in the North is a hilarious place. It's mostly well-known for the fact that most of Korea's fish comes through Mokpo, and there's a film about Mokpo being the home of Korea's gangsters. Since most of you no doubt have no clue where Mokpo could be, here's a map!:



.......... Yep, right at the bottom of South Korea. XD It's very easy to get to Jeju Island from where Mokpo is (there's a ferry and everything) so I'll probably visit at some point. Before coming to Mokpo, I had done as much research as I could through the internet and the advice of past ETA's who lived there, but I still had really no clue what I would be getting. When we arrived in Mokpo, it was sadly already dark (about 8:30), so I couldn't make out the area that well. I did see a looooot of churches, though. (Mokpo is a quite religious area--goody. On the plus side, this means that the drinking culture at my school is not too bad and I will not be forced to drink like some ETA's are!)

Soonchul, who was driving Kyojangnim and I around, told me, "We're going to go by the school first." I though, Okay, why not. School is out for the week for Yongheung (the school I'm working at) students, so I thought they'd want me to see the school when it was empty. It was 8:30 pm, after all. But when we got to the school I actually saw few students walking around in uniforms! I asked, "Aren't they out for break?" Soonchul said yes, but that they come to school to study anyways! Some students study 9 am to midnight!

Soonchul was explaining how the walls build around the school were commemorative of the 100-year school history, when the car suddenly turned the corner and I saw two lines of students standing in front of the school. Okay, not two lines, two THRONGS of students. They started screaming and waving when they saw the car. And I realized that they were screaming for me. I tried to shrink into my seat, hide under something, but I knew there was no way of getting out of it. I was scrambling back into my high heels when someone opened the door for me. I don't know how female celebs are able to get out of cars gracefully in dresses, btw. The whole thing was so surreal. Students were screaming things like "yeppuda!" (pretty) and "sexy!" over and over, people were whipping out their mobiles and taking pictures of me.......... one of the male students handed me a beautiful bouquet of roses and said quietly in English, "Welcome to our school." I felt like some sort of strange queen, holding this huuuuge bouquet in one arm and waving with the other arm. It was really, really odd. I had been warned that I would get treated differently, but I wasn't expecting this. Still, I know that after a while, my students will get used to me and no longer be excited to see me (more like "Oh God, you again, teacher"). After a while Soonchul and Kyojangnim got back into the car and I followed suite, still feeling
dazed.

One good thing about this encounter is that it really got me even more psyched to begin teaching these students. However, I really don't want to let them down and give them boring lessons, either, so I feel a bit pressured. =\ I must try hard!!

After screaming "ottokke ottokke?!" ("WHY?!") at Kyojangnim and Soonchul for a bit--who both just chuckled at me--we drove to the restaurant where we would be eating with my host family and two other Yongheung teachers. I didn't share this past information, but I actually met my host brother at Camp Fulbright! I taught one of his classes and everything. The former ETA told me his name, and I was able to properly introduce myself before the camp ended. So coming to Mokpo, it was a relief to see him again. His father and mother were both very smiley and friendly with me from the get-go, so I felt instantly at ease with them. The group of us--eight in all--had a private room in the restaurant, where the waitresses gave us some free dishes, and we ate more seafood than I can possibly imagine. I ate raw fish of all sorts--one kind was the smelliest fish I have ever come across--raw octopus, raw beef, cooked beef and fish, etc. etc.......... it was all so good. Mokpo fish really is delicious. Jeolla-do (there is Southern Jeolla, where I live, and Northern Jeolla, the province above me) is where most of Korea's farms and fisheries and so on are, so we have the best, freshest food in the whole country! And it shows. All of the markets I have been by had amazing looking produce and fish. This is an exciting place to be for a foodie. =3

After dinner, I was taken to my new home! We live in a high-rise complex in the newer part of Mokpo, on the seventh floor. I have my own room, which after the dorm is absolutely HUGE, and even better--MY OWN BATHROOM. I haven't had a private bathroom or shower in weeks, I feel like a princess now. The whole apartment is very clean (pictures, soon!) and simply designed, just how I like it. The kitchen and living room are one big room, so it's easy for us to socialize together. My host parents--I call them Esther* and Samchon**--are also health freaks, so there is lots of fruits, vegetables, tea and so on stocked in the house. More or less, the house right now seems perfect for me! Anyways, the night I arrived, my parents sat me down and talked to me about how they want me to feel at home, tell them if I have any problems, etc. etc. My host mother's English is pretty good, but my host family's English is nonexistent, which is fine with me. Like with Kyojangnim, though, I feel bad since my brother--No Ah--Esther and I can talk amongst ourselves in English, while Samchon cannot. I must learn more Korean for Samchon. = (

Yesterday was my first real day in Mokpo; because Samchon was at work all day and Esther, too, had work from 2 pm until 7 pm, I rang up Soonchul with the phone the school had given me and asked him to show me around Mokpo. We hung out for about two and a half or three hours, and it wasn't as awkward as I feared it might be. I just was a bit paranoid that people thought I was his Russian escort lady or something. -_- It's not common for men and women to hang out together casually as friends, and even less so if the woman is WESTERN. We got a few stares, maybe because I'm taller than him, too. XD Still, I'm grateful to Soonchul for taking time out of his day to show me around Mokpo--we saw the new and the old town, the area near my school, which is actually a nice shopping/eating/etc. area, the "old" downtown, one of the many mini-mountains that is smack in the middle of Mokpo, and the fish market. Kamsahamnida (thanks), Soonchul!

Aside from that, I've been getting used to living with my host family. They are a little different from typical Korean families. Samchon is a civil engineer of important status, and he gets sent to various places to complete projects. Once he is done with the project, the family moves. They have lived in Daegu, Wonju, other Korean cities, Malaysia, and Cyprus, CA! (Despite this, Samchon's English is still not good. XD I think his family lived in CA longer than he did.) Right now their daughter, Su Ah, goes to uni in Malaysia. I really want to meet her, she sounds like a fun person. The whole family is very sweet and affectionate with each other, and they have a great dynamic which I'm happy to be included in. I'm sure they have bad days, but they seem to all love each other so much. Last night, after dinner, the four of us trekked to E-mart (think Walmart) together, to try to find me EXERCISE CLOTHES! Because apparently I cannot go hiking with them until I acquire real Korean exercise clothes. Last night we had no luck, maybe today we'll find some? They also dragged me around the food part of E-mart and bought me some things I wanted: vegetables, soy milk, bananas, cereal and bread....... I have to be careful that my host family doesn't try to spoil me! They haven't tried to overfeed me yet, though, which is a relief. (My host mum doesn't even think I'm super fat, just a little "full" in the stomach. XD Ahah. She's mainly fixated on my rib cage area, though, which cannot get smaller until I get a rib removed.)

Today I need to finish unpacking my luggage, start really lesson planning and not just brainstorming, and try to get Samchon to go walking with me! Last night I accidentally went w/out him--I should have waited for him to come home. ^^;;; And my little brother is taking me to see Dark Knight--he got super excited when I told him I had to see it. I suspect we will watch lots of films together, as he started asking me about the Mummy 3 and other films, too. But right now he's off being a player and hanging out with his female friends. *snort* He's a baaad Korean student, but that makes him more fun. I just have to be careful not to influence him too much with my delinquent American ways. His hard-studying/working parents will hate me if I sway him the wrong way.

So, this is a sufficient essay about my life story. -_-; If you made it to the end of this, congrats! You get a cookie, just not from me, since Korea has no cookies that are worth eating. You get a walnut cake instead! I know the last two entries have been very talkie-talkie, so I'm going to start uploading all my ridiculous photos from Chuncheon, DMZ (Girl Sam, I couldn't take many 'cos it's ILLEGAL and I didn't want to get shot -_-;), Seoul, Mokpo, etc. The next post will be allllllll photos and must easier on the brain. Even so, I hope someone enjoyed reading this post--I had a lot of fun writing it and reliving all the excitement of the past few days. I don't teach until Monday, which I am both excited and nervous about. I know, I know, I will do fine, but I really want the students to have an exciting semester with me. I have to think hard about what sort of lessons to teach them! I can't wait to meet them!

Signing off for now. ♥

*Esther is my host mum's Christian name.
**My host day doesn't go by his Christian name--maybe he doesn't have one--but instead chooses to be called "uncle," which is Samchon. In Korea, calling elders by their names is a little rude, so....... Samchon it is! =D