Swings and Roundabouts (Part 2)

picking it up again here. I preface all of this by acknowledging that what I am comfortable with isn't what is inherently right. Without further ado, here are 5 things that are harder in Korea. 

1. Grocery shopping. The bane of my Korean experience. I've never been a good shopper, but I really struggle here. Partly it's hard because my Korean is dreadful (my own fault). Partly, it's hard because Koreans eat different foods to what I am accustomed to (their fault?). 

Mostly, it's hard due to cultural differences. Koreans have a different concept of personal space to what I have grown up with. Australian cities and towns are sprawling affairs, fueled by the knowledge that there is a pretty decent middle to the continent that is basically uninhabited [citation needed]. Korea is exactly the opposite, with the 22nd greatest population density in the world, as opposed to Australia's ranking of 233rd [Yes, Wikipedia said so]. I like to imagine (while grossly oversimplifying culture) this is why Koreans are much more likely to position themselves in a place where they are touching strangers for as long as it takes to choose which vegetables one might want to buy - which can take a while in any country.

In addition to personal space differences, Koreans and westerners have a different idea on how to behave towards strangers. In the west, we are (supposedly) polite towards strangers, while more likely to be distant towards the vague acquaintance we work with or live near, etc. Koreans, instead, have a concept of in-group versus others (according to the books we have read).  They are conscientious towards people in their in-group, maybe work colleagues, family, club members, but less bothered by strangers. I almost daily get to enjoy being in an in-group as a co-worker, but struggle with being a stranger in a crowd. It is not uncommon to see someone block a grocery store aisle with their trolley (editor's note: cart for y'all Americans) as they casually browse the shelves, or push in front of others to taste a free sample.

Anyway, shopping = harder.

2. Pedestrian safety. Koreans drive their cars like they drive their shopping trolleys. They park them like they park their shopping trolleys. This could be well out from the curb, congesting traffic, or more commonly, by mounting the curb and parking their car on the sidewalk - which, let me tell you, is a bit of a surprise until you get used to it. It makes sense, and is an efficient use of space when there is almost no on-street parking, but I am still getting my head around dodging moving cars (and motorbikes!) while window shopping.

Something Emily and I initially found interesting was that people rarely J-walk in Korea, particularly at traffic lights. Road rules aren't especially policed, so why this aversion to a law that everyone breaks in Australia? Well, we now think it is because of the aforementioned lack of road rule policing. Drivers in Daegu run red lights at will, especially fast food delivery motorbikes, who blow their horns, close their eyes and keeping going almost regardless of the flow of traffic. In such a situation, J-walking becomes a much more dangerous proposition.

3. Home maintenance. We rent a place in a 5 floor building where the landlords occupy the top floor. This is very convenient in some ways, we can ring their doorbell whenever we have a problem, and they are the most obliging lovely couple. But then what? How do you mime that plunging the toilet didn't solve the problem? Do you take the plunger with you? How do you explain that there is an odd water build up along the external walls that is resulting in mould? And most pertinently during the winter, how do you explain that sometimes the hot water doesn't work or disappears mid-shower only to return 10 minutes later after you're freezing, dry and dressed?

4. Cold school. This problem is almost universally complained about by foreign teachers working in Korea. Apparently, the school administration likes to save money on heating bills, and Koreans believe that cold, fresh air is good for our health (maybe it is, I don't know). I say 'apparently', because I haven't experienced this problem, my school is toasty warm except when students leave the staff room door open. Em's school, however, is cheap about heating. She recently got such cold toes that they exhibited signs of frost bite and we had to cancel a ski trip. Fortunately the toes seem to be healing now.

5. We aren't near all of you, our faithful readers (Ohhhhhh!). Nah, I lie, the cold showers are so annoying that they deserve a second mention.

I keep having to remind myself that I've never lived in a place before where I was so free to choose whether to leave or stay, meaning that Korea comes under closer scrutiny than I would normally subject my home to.  Em and I are loving living together, we love being in Korea, we love the area in which we live. 

This time, I'm really finished.

Swings and roundabouts (Part 1)

(Editor's note: I finished this blog post last night but couldn't post it, then Em snuck in and wrote an informative and engaging post that you can find below. How do I compete when she uses photos?)

There is an expression, "what you make on the swings, you lose on the roundabouts". I have no idea where the expression comes from, but to my understanding, it means to break even. We've lost things, but we've also gained things. I have recently been thinking about our move to Korea in this fashion. I should say from the start that we are really glad we are here, and we would do it again in a flash... rendering the theme of this post pointless and untrue... hmmm. Well, minutes have passed and I can't think of a more cohesive theme for what I want to write about, so let's just roll with it.

Anyway, some things here are harder, but many other things are easier. Let me tell you about 5 of each.

Easier

1. The availability of fresh kimchi. Can I describe something that is very fermented as 'fresh'? Anyway, it's much easier to find here in Korea.

2. Going to the doctor. This should be a difficult process. It should be painful, slow, expensive, and confusing. At least, that has at times been my experience in Australia, and Em's in America. But in Korea, wow! I've been to the doctor twice, Em, three times. We have each received prescriptions to be filled out at the pharmacist conveniently located next to any doctor's office. It hast cost under $5 each time we have gone, including medicine. It turns out you don't really need to speak to visit a doctor, just mime. I have taught more than one English lesson on going to the doctor, and can't help having a small existential crisis about what I offer the world.

3. Going to the gym. We joined a gym two days ago and it was easy, hence, its location in this 'Easier' list. It is a 10 minute walk, on the way to school, and it costs about $90 for 4 months membership. The guy who runs the gym seems really nice, even after he patted my protruding belly. It will be gone (again) soon.

4. Spending time together. We work the same hours at schools on the same block. We live a decent distance from our nearest friends. We live a massive distance from our nearest family. The TV is nearly all in Korean. This leaves us basically distraction free. We are so glad we don't need to set time aside for each other, it's happening so easily. This is definitely my favourite thing about being in Korea (Ohhhhh!).

5. Bestowing blessings. In Australia, I was pretty much anonymous to pretty much everyone. Sure I had my friends, family, acquaintances, neighbours I never spoke to, but to most people, I was a stranger that didn't warrant a second glance. In Korea, if Em and I so much as make eye contact with Korean teenager, it makes them excited. If Em and I so much as pretend we don't notice the elderly people staring at us, it  allows them to indulge their curiosity. But the real blessing, is when we say hello to an elementary student. Faces torn in half by huge smiles, they delight in their ability to cross - nay, destroy - cultural barriers. Their parents glow with pride, and I too am able to cross the cultural barrier as I read their thoughts - "my child is a genius and will be the president of Korea." Emily and I bring joy and hope wherever our feet take us. We make a more beautiful world. Previous existential crisis averted.

Now I would post the 5 things that are harder here, but my mother pointed out that Emily has been posting more than me. With that in mind, I'm going to terminate this blog post, with the intention of 

Our American Holiday in Seoul

As I mentioned in my previous post, Chris and I went to Seoul for a few days to submit his visa application (in preparation to hopefully go to seminary when we finish teaching here) as well as to get away and see some sights. Thankfully, everything went incredibly smoothly. We stayed in a hotel just a 10 minute walk from the Embassy, we were the first appointment of the morning, so we didn't have to wait at all. Everyone who helped us was very friendly, and we were assured that we had filled out all of our forms correctly and would hear back from the Department of Homeland Security within a few weeks. Step number one - CHECK. In fact, we even had some extra information that they didn't need. That's how prepared we were.

I'll post a picture of the Embassy below. It really wasn't impressive. The location was fabulous - across the street from a huge palatial complex as well as the cultural center (which is the lovely home of the Seoul symphony). Despite its nice surroundings, the embassy itself looks like a 1970's office building. What WAS impressing, though, was the number of Korean police officers swarming the place. They were guarding all the entrances and there were mobile police stations and we even saw the body shields that you see police carrying if you watch a riot on the news. Intense.

With all this in mind, when I lost my security badge while in the Embassy I started to freak out a little bit. I'm just one little person - no match for the entire Korean police force even with a husband who stands a half a foot (on average) above every other person in the country.  So yes, I lost my badge. Freaking out. I tried to tell a security officer who didn't understand me but then I kept seeing him everywhere watching me! On our way out of the building before we exited through security (and ideally turned in our badges) I asked the last American I saw what I should do. "Well, you're just going to have to risk it with them [meaning the security officers outside the door], we don't handle that." Umm... thanks.

You know what happened next? NOTHING. Chris turned in his badge. I didn't make eye contact with the security officer. We walked out the door. Perhaps I shouldn't be bragging about this in such a public forum, but really. I must look super innocent (or incapable) or doing anything  tricky, because she didn't even bat an eye when I left without giving back my security badge.

After our embassy adventure, we were free to explore at our leisure. We saw some really pretty sites - a famous palace, a trendy, artsy shopping street, some huge statues, and witnessed a Seoul snow-storm. Side note: apparently they don't plow roads in Seoul. No lie.

But, even though we did make the effort to see some nice, Korean spots in Seoul, we did a lot more "American" things. We went to a theater and saw an American movie (while eating popcorn and drinking Coke). We ate Dunkin Donuts one morning for breakfast, and then McDonalds another morning. We had Indian food one night, and then Subway another night. Oh yes, and I went to Starbucks an embarrassing number of times.  Don't judge us. That's right - you. I know what you're thinking, "Man, they were in Seoul! Why didn't they eat KOREAN food!!"

Upon reflection, we did feel bad about it -- but only for about a minute. We live here. We eat Korean food all the time and our TV has 70 Korean channels. And, for the record, I have missed Subway. It was actually kind of a nice mix of Korean and western on our holiday. I'm looking forward to going back to Seoul in warmer weather. And, I hear they have a few Taco Bell's, so that's definitely incentive. :) Just kidding.

Give me a break, give me a break, break me off a piece of that ....

As most of you know, our schools have been on winter break since just after Christmas. When I think about "school vacation" I think of sleeping in, watching movies, playing all day long, and generally relaxing until the point of boredom. This is not what Korean students experience. This is also not what teachers in Korea experience. We have been coming into school everyday even though school technically isn't in session, and we've been teaching extra classes. Our classes are a little more entertaining than the typical class during the semester, but they don't even compare to an afternoon building snowmen.

We've both had English conversation classes for the last 3 weeks and this week we had an "English Camp." Yes, its exactly what it sounds like. It's extra English classes that are jazzed up a bit so that the school can call it "camp." I asked a few of the students how many extra classes they are taking over the break and could only roll my eyes when several of them told me that they have about 4 classes a day - either at school or at a private academy. Give me a break!

In our English camps (we taught together at my school and at Chris's) we were asked to do our classes on practical, situational English. For example: going to the doctor, going to the movie theater, going on a trip, etc... At Chris's school the principal got it in his head that we HAD to take the students on a field trip of sorts for them to use their English. To the bank, perhaps, or the post office? Great idea, right? Wrong. No one at the bank speaks English. Who will the students talk to? The thought did run through my mind that I could make the students come along with me to run all of my errands and just have them translate for me. But, that would really be taking advantage, so this was our brilliant idea. Take the students to Home Plus (a super Walmart style store with groceries on the first floor and clothing/toys/electronics on the second floor).

So, we bussed 60 middle school students to Home Plus for 2+ hours of English activities. We had those students working hard. They were describing different products in English, completing grocery lists, translating shopping conversations, and MORE. Most of the students had a great time and really got into the projects. Chris, however, lost a student. I mean, don't think too badly of Chris -- the student wanted to be lost, and by "lost" I mean that he ran away and hid. As you can imagine, Chris was not pleased. He looked all over the store for the missing child and couldn't find him. That's when special agent Emily stepped in and snagged the deserter and brought him back to base for a sound scolding. I literally escorted him back, as in I was holding on to his coat sleeve the entire walk through the store. Disaster averted.

Other than the fact that we aren't letting kids get away with ANYTHING over here, I have some other good news. We have 2 weeks of vacation starting in .... 1 hour! I thought the best way to spend my last hour of work would be to blog, clearly. We are heading to Seoul on Sunday for a few days (and an embassy appointment) then catching some friends to go skiing. Seoul is going to be teeth-chattering cold, so I'm not really all that excited about it - to be quite frank with you, but I guess I'll suck it up and try to enjoy going on a trip. Sigh. I'm actually really excited about being in a US Embassy. Is that sad? Its fun (obviously, in a nerdy way) to think about being on US soil for an hour or so.

Which gives me an idea - on Monday, Jan 24 at 10 am (that's Sunday night at 8pm for all you Americans in the Eastern time zone) you should stop whatever you are doing and enjoy the fact that Chris and I are visiting the States! woooo!

And, on that happy note, I'll sign off. Missing everybody back at home (and by home we clearly mean Toledo, Melbourne, AND Canberra... duh.)

The Past - any time before now

Earlier this semester, I studied simple past tense with my students.

"Today I eat breakfast. Yesterday I eat breakfast?"
"ATE"
Emily: "Yep, that's right. Yesterday I ate breakfast. Ate is the past tense of eat. What does the word past mean?"
Student A confidently: "Yesterday!"
Student B tentatively: "A...ago"
Student C loudly: "THROW"
Emily: "Throw? Are you thinking about passing a ball?"  
Writes pass and past on the board. 
Emily: "Back to the question. What does the word past mean?"
Student A (again confidently): "Yesterday.... Before"
Emily: "Good! Past means any time before .......?"
Students: "Now!"
Emily: Right!

Now that we've got the word past sorted, I'll actually get to the point. 2010 was a GOOD year. Chris and I each wrote a list of the blessings we experienced in 2010. It was about the easiest list I've ever made, which didn't surprise me at all. I knew that the past year had been amazing. There are the obvious joys - getting engaged, marrying the man I absolutely adore, seeing SO many friends and family that I love, having two wedding celebrations on two continents, and moving to a new country with my husband. Good stuff. Amazing stuff. Moments I will cherish for the rest of my life.

There were also a myriad of smaller blessings, though only smaller in comparison to the massive, life-changing blessings I already mentioned. I got to live with my family again for 6 months in a brief but wonderful stint between two seasons of life overseas. Chris had two great bucks parties. I hiked the Grand Canyon, top to bottom, with my dad (in 8 hours with icy trails - that's right, we are hardcore). I had beautiful flowers at both of our wedding celebrations. Chris saw moose in Colorado. We got to go on a vacation with BOTH sides of our family. All our paperwork for Korea made it on time and my passport didn't get lost in international mail. We can get familiar food here in Korea. On and on and on.

And this - all this - pales in comparison with the gift of our relationship with Jesus.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will. Ephesians 1:3-5


We also learned a lot of lessons. Spending almost our entire engagement on different continents taught us about perseverance and patience. Trying to get teaching jobs in Korea taught us about trusting God and not freaking out about everything that could possibly happen. Learning a new world in Korea has been teaching us about having grace with others and with ourselves and, frankly, how to look the other way as cars careen through red lights.

I could just keep going about all the great things and the difficult things that made 2010 a FULL and wonderful year. But, like I said to my students. The past is anytime before NOW. And, thankfully, the now we are living in God's hands as well. (Which definitely means it will probably be an adventure!)