Pass the eel, please

Tis Monday and I've been at work for a little over 3 hours. We have no heat. Our boss informs us that the electrician came to fix it but said it wouldn't work when it is 0 degrees (C). Now that makes sense, right? A heater not working when it's freezing outside. Only in Korea can you get away with excuses like this. So, we are sitting here in our coats wrapped in scarves and trying to keep our fingers warm. I recieved a Christmas package from my dear friend Kari. It was a special surprise and made me feel all warm inside. She sent candy canes, Kit Kats (my favorite candy) Glee CD's and a journal. Such a thoughtful package and one to arrive at the perfect time. Thanks, Kari!

My Christmas was very nontraditional but fun. Went to Christmas Eve mass and then out to a restaurant that serves eel. It was surprisingly very tasty.

 It may be my favorite meal I've tried thus far.

 On Christmas Day we rented a pension and spent the day eating, drinking and being with friends.

Our Christmas pension

Warm enough to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air

Equipped with a nori bong (kareoke machine),
we all sung our hearts out on Christmas

Was thinking a lot about home during the Holiday. Sure missed the snow, Grandma Kelly's mac-n-cheese, and laying around in PJ's watching Christmas movies with the siblings.

Planning a Skype date for tomorrow morning with the family! Can't wait to see everyone, especially Izzy.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Korean Christmas

It is Christmas Eve in South Korea. Here in the office, we are currently listening to Korean Christmas music, discussing Christmas plans, and preparing for our last day of classes before the Holiday. My Christmas Eve plans will consist of going out to eat at a place that serves eel (I'll let ya know how that goes) and attend the Midnight Mass at the Catholic church in Jinju.

This week we put up a Christmas tree at the school.  My Korean co-workers loved decorating. For some, it was the first time they ever decorated a Christmas tree. Dad told me I must have a Christmas tree, so I figured this one would suffice.

They made me put the star and lights on cause I'm the only one who could reach the top.

Some of the teachers (from left to right) Esther, Stella, me, and our receptionist Shirley

Dad also said I needed a Nativity Scene. This is what a 4 year degree from a private university does for your creativity. My coworker, Seu thought this was the cutest thing she's ever seen. She made me hang it in the office next to her desk.

It's funny coming to this country and being bombarded with compliments. Koreans love to tell you that you look like a movie star and you are absolutely beautiful.... after hearing this enough times, you start to believe them. My coworker, Seu drives me home after work every night. Just last night I was thanking her for being so nice to me. Her response was, "Well, it's because you are so beautiful. I want to be nice". She proceeds to tell me how envious she is that I'm tall and blond and thin. She doesn't believe me when I tell her I don't have a boyfriend, "You're too pretty not to have a handsome and rich man, Grace". She informs me that she knows a man in Seoul that I should meet, but she doesn't like the men in Jinju so she won't introduce me to any here. I had to refrain from laughing during this conversation because Seu was so sincere about everything she said. Oh these Koreans, they make you feel so good about yourself!

Another funny occurence you notice in this country is the horrible English grammar present. See, a lot of things are in English here- Western influences have a lot to do with this. However, most Koreans don't speak the language so when an advertisment, sign, caption, or description is in English they have no idea what it says. And for those who do read English, grammatical errors aren't readily caught.
For example, I went to a restaurant called Beans Farm- they make an attempt at serving an American style breakfast (*side note- if you were to ask me the one meal I miss most, it would be Mom and Dad's Sunday morning breakfast*). Well, the restaurant's slogan is "you also said to me that 'I love you' ". Okay, I'm not even sure why this is their slogan in the first place. It's just another one of those things you shrug off. But I'm sitting at breakfast enjoying a waffle and laughing with my friend over the horrible grammar that is staring us in the face. It's these types of things that add humor to my Korean experience.

                                   

The following is for Grandpa, Dad, and all you Michigan apple farmers:
I purchased my first bag of apples this week! 5 apples in a bag cost me 3,500 won (close to $3.50). It's generally cheaper to buy fruit from a street vendor but I plunged into my apple purchase through the grocery store near my apartment. No bruising to report and the overall quality was high. However, and please don't judge me for this, I'm not sure what variety of apple I bought *insert gasp* !
I think it's a Fuji, it tastes simlar to it anyways. Man, I need to practice my Korean more so I can understand the words on that bag.

Maybe my fellow apple farmers can tell me the variety based on its look. Any guesses?

That is all for today. I wish everyone a most blessed Christmas season. I love and miss everyone back home, especially my family. Stay warm and enjoy the Holiday. As the Brits say it, HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Seoul

I took a spontaneous trip to Seoul a couple weekends ago. Woke up on a Saturday morning and thought, hmmm what should I do today? Seoul? Sure! So off to Seoul I went with another adventureous friend. The bus trip took 4 hours and cost 20,000 won (close to 20 dollars).

After living in Chicago for 4 years I had this perception that I could tackle any city. Seoul forced me back into realization that I really am just a small town girl. Chicago has a population of close to 3 million, right? Seoul is home to 10 million people. It puts Chicago to shame.

It's a city constantly moving in unison. The subway system is clean, quiet and precise. The streets are crowded, loud and inviting. The people are pushy, intriguing and welcoming. I loved it.

The most eccentric and lively cities I've visited thus far.

The subway system. Thankfully I wasn't in charge of navigating.

Street in Myeng-dong; neighborhood of Seoul

Christmas was in full swing

There are foreigners everywhere in Seoul. There must have been a Santa bar crawl going on cause everyone was dressed up. I found it appropriate they are at a bar called HO BAR III.

We stumbled upon some tap dancers in a park. They had a band accompanying them. It was really cool to see. I have a video of their performance- hopefully I can post it soon.

Itawan is another neighborhood in Seoul. A lot of foreigners live in this area. The U.S. military base also resides here. We went to this tiny little store to pick up some "foreign" food. I wanted a little taste of home so what do I buy?
Peanut butter (extra crunchy), Nutella and Nesquik!

My little reminders of home.

After visiting Seoul, Jinju just seems so tiny. I've become jaded....

Lots of people have been asking me about Christmas here, so let me give you my 2 cents:
Christmas isn't hosted as the momentous holiday in Jinju as it is back home. Sure, there are some Christmas lights and English Christmas music playing in stores and coffee shops, but the lack of snow greatly effects that Christmas feeling. According to my co-workers, most Koreans spend time with their families in the morning and go out with friends in the evening. Shops, restaurants and bars are open on Christmas so apparently everyone goes out for dinner and drinks.

My Christmas plans are work till 9pm on Christmas Eve and then stay at a pension (cabin) near the river on Christmas Day to BBQ (no baking-since Korean don't believe in ovens), play cards and be with friends. A very different Christmas than what I would be having in Michigan.

There are tomatoes on my waffle...

As a sociology major, my mind is constantly racing with hundreds of sociological findings I've observed since I took up residency in South Korea. Like any good sociologist, most of it's based on race and gender. Language consciousness, cultural ettiquette, and age-based constructions have been brought to the forefront of my mind as well. I won't bore you with details, but if you've ever taken a sociology or phyc class I would highly recommend living in a different country for a while... it's amazing what you'll pick up on and think about.

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I have been living in Jinju for 3 weeks now. My love for this country has not receded in the least bit. I continue to find this place facinating. I'm so happy to be here, I'm in absoulte love.

I've met some amazingly cool people here. The foreigner community is pretty close-knit and being such a small city, everyone knows everyone. I've met people from all over the world (well, from the English-speaking countries anyways). You got your Brits, New Zealanders, Scotts, Australians, Canadians, Brazilians, and lots of Americans from the south and west coast. I've heard this setting described as a scene from the Real World- we're all living together in this foreign land, working on the weekdays at jobs none of us majored in, and spending the weekends bonding over the English language and Korean beer.

Nori (kareoke) bars are popular here. This isn't an actual Nori bar, but we are busting out the kareoke songs. Typical Nori bars are in private rooms with large TV screens. You pay per hour or per number of songs, depending.

Kevin hitting those high notes

Being the adventureous type I've had the opportunity to try lots of new things. Prime example below. My friend Joe and I decided to order a cocktail off the menu that we couldn't translate. Well, Joe could read "grapefruit" but the rest was unknown. After the cocktails arrived and a cheers was made we sipped what tasted like a mixture of vodka and mouthwash. It was absoultely horrid.

I'm pretty sure I had a nightmare about this drink. Just terrible.

Joe, myself, and those awful green drinks.

Not all cocktails in Jinju will make you want to keel over. Soju- popular Korean drink- is pretty tasty. It tastes similar to vodka but not as strong. Everyone loves it here.

My 1st Soju. We had it mixed with some strawberry flavoring- would remind you of a daquri. The Soju itself isn't all that bad.

Korean drinking facts:

• When you are drinking (with Koreans) you must hold your cup with two hands while the person next to you pours the alcohol into your cup. In respect, you return the favor and pour the beverage into your neighbors cup as he holds it with two hands. You must never pour your own drink.
• Korean drinkers know how to drink. Bars are filled everyday of the week. And drinking is a long affair- usually done with huge platters of food to share among the table. Interestingly, you don't hear of alcoholism being a social concern and drunken rages merely don't exist. Koreans keep it simple- they drink and they're merry when they do it.

Another fantastic little find was at a coffee shop. The Couples Waffle is heavenly. Joe and I split this one. Dressed with strawberry serbert, cookie's-n-cream ice cream, bananas, kiwi, tomatoes... wait. what?... and drizzled with chocolate it was the perfect dessert for any carb-loving customer.

Tomatoes? On a waffle? Really?

Spontaneous trip to Seoul (with pictures) coming soon.

More photos from the job

This is my favorite decor in the school. Our director told us, "very expensive".



The library. Mom, you would be impressed with the book selection.

Our directors are concerned with the cleanliness of the floors so they make us wear specific SLP slippers. Women wear black, men brown, and the students have bright colored slippers. My feet are too large to fit into the black ones... oh the tragedy of being a big-footed American.

 

Teacher Grace



3rd floor receptionist, Shirley

2nd floor receptionist, Jenny

"Kh, wake up"

Ah yes, my job. As I've said before, I work at SLP- a new Hogwon that opened in late November. We don't have many students yet, but I hear in March we're grabbing up some Kindergarteners.. and more teachers.

As of now, I teach 3 classes- 2 on M/W/F and 1 on T/Th. One student in each class. Each class is 40 minutes long. It's been a rough work schedule ;)

Unfortunately, the kiddos don't wear these.. I'm not even sure why we have them displayed. I try not to ask too many questions about such things.

One of the classrooms. It's adorable!

Each classroom is named after an American Ivy League colleges. I teach in Cornell and Harvard. 

For you gentlemen, please use the bathroom to the left- the one that looks like "Han"

Since we work 1-9pm, the school buys us dinner... I mean supper. Rice, noodles and kimchi have been the staple food groups for me here. My pants don't fit quite as well anymore- in the good way. Cutting out portions of meat and sugar from your diet will do that to you, I suppose.

Yesterday Kh (pronounced K-He), the boy in my afternoon class, fell asleep. He's the only one in the room with me. How do you fall asleep when it's just you and the teacher? We had to lightly shake him awake... it was a great start to the work week.

More to come, soon.

The VERY humble abode

Some pics of my apartment. Very, very tiny, but it's home and I love it.

My view when I first walk into my apartment. Like the pink wallpaper?



My kitchen. Notice the absence of an over? Koreans don't ever use them, so no baking for an entire year. How will I ever master my baking skills?



View from kitchen into the main room.

The pink butterfly decor on my fridge may be the highlight of the apartment.

The bathroom.

Koreans typically don't have a seperate bathing area. You shower right next to the sink and toilet. Mine is especially unpleasent because I have to hold the shower head when I bathe. One of these days I'll buy a drill and move that stand.

The view outside my window.

Another view.

Ahhh yes, my washer machine. It's all in Korean, right? So, my first laundry experience consisted of me pressing every button imaginable until water started flowing. This process will be much faster once I learn Korean.

Most places in Korea don't have dryers. Hence forth, I've become very creative in how I hang my clothes to dry.

Jinju Castle

Some images to go along with my last post about Jinju Castle. As always, pictures can never capture the real beauty of a place.

Jinju Castle.

I'm such a tourist...

Since my tour guides spoke little English, this was described as "Korean soldier".

I found my man :)

View of the city.

A bridge connecting one side of Jinju to the other. Isn't it beautiful!?

I agree, a perfect date spot.

An outlook post. You can walk under it, too.

My co-worker, Rob and me.

Shirley and Jenny took us to a photobooth store. It was funny to see these policemen here since the store targeted high school girls. Sidenote- Koreans love throwing out the peace sign when getting their picture taken with Americans.

Street vendors... the food is delicious and cheap!

There is a street vendor downtown that sells this amazing waffle sandwhich. Essentially, it's a waffle folded in half with a sugary-syrup in the center. It costs 800 won, which is close to 80 cents. Mmmm it's so good!

I'll be posting picture of my apartment and school soon. Stay tuned.