Hello all,
I am so sorry I haven't written in so long--it's been over a month! I can't believe it. I have been keeping myself busy with teaching, of course, Korean lessons, a new language exchange, a new boyfriend =) and possibly, in the near future.....ceramics lessons!!! (I hope, I hope=)
Things at school have been going more and more smoothly. One of the teachers went back home to the US this week =( and a new Canadian guy came! Classes have shifted around and my work load has increased and new programs have started....students have left and some new ones have arrived....the months have been full of change.
For the rest of December, I shall be running around all over Seoul Christmas shopping...and loving it! And then....on December 25th (aka Christmas Day) I get to come home and see you all! (well, most of you reading this anyway=) I can't tell you how excited I am for that. I've been loving it here, but it is going to be splendid to see you all back home again.
Until then, have a wonderful, wonderful holiday season and see you soon! All my love,
Maria
giovedì 4 dicembre 2008
mercoledì 22 ottobre 2008
my life is a joke....I'm sure someone somewhere is laughing
I don't have this thought very often here in Korea, but when I do, I'm usually in my oven-less kitchen, accidentally pouring too much chili oil on my broccoli or trying to pick up thinly sliced pickled radish with chopsticks. Sometimes, it's when I'm in my bathroom and have forgotten to turn the dial from the shower to the faucet (long story, seeing pictures helps) and end up getting showered on in my clothes.
Other times it's when I'm tired of eating rice all the time! I miss mashed potatoes. Yummmm! I miss basil. I miss oregano.
Sorry, negative thoughts.
Other times, it's when my kindergartners say things like, "We never cry in any other teacher's class." That one hurts.
The other day I found myself giving my students a recipe for guacamole just so that I think about it for a while. Damn you, California! You've forever ruined my experience of just about everywhere else in the world....
OK, I'm feeling better now. Sorry, I was pretty hungry and tired when I wrote this blog.
Hope you're all well. I miss you tons. Sleep well.
Maria
PS: If you laughed at this at all, I guess you're the one I talk about in the subject header.
Other times it's when I'm tired of eating rice all the time! I miss mashed potatoes. Yummmm! I miss basil. I miss oregano.
Sorry, negative thoughts.
Other times, it's when my kindergartners say things like, "We never cry in any other teacher's class." That one hurts.
The other day I found myself giving my students a recipe for guacamole just so that I think about it for a while. Damn you, California! You've forever ruined my experience of just about everywhere else in the world....
OK, I'm feeling better now. Sorry, I was pretty hungry and tired when I wrote this blog.
Hope you're all well. I miss you tons. Sleep well.
Maria
PS: If you laughed at this at all, I guess you're the one I talk about in the subject header.
lunedì 20 ottobre 2008
my favorite moment of the day so far.....
So I teach two kindergarten classes when I come into work. The first one, "Bear class," has been the source of all the drama in my life. Today for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long we got through the entire lesson with no one crying....wonder of wonders.
My next class, "Chipmunk class," has been the source of all joy and pleasure (not to mention paper airplanes). I love this class to pieces! Two of the students, Sam and Jasmine (their English names), sit next to each other and are so cute! I keep secretly hoping they'll date someday soon.
Yesterday Sam was practicing a recitation of "The Hare and the Tortoise" for an English contest next week, and suddenly, Jasmine hugged him around the neck and started swinging him around. Everyone started laughing. Sam didn't seem to mind it either.=)
But, today there was a bit of scandal.
The students had to write a journal entry about their friends in class. Jasmine, Sally and Kate (all of whom sit nearby Sam) all wrote about how much they love him and how they should be married to him! Naturally, Sam wrote about his friend Leo.
His journal went something like this:
I like Leeeeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Yes, a good day =)
My next class, "Chipmunk class," has been the source of all joy and pleasure (not to mention paper airplanes). I love this class to pieces! Two of the students, Sam and Jasmine (their English names), sit next to each other and are so cute! I keep secretly hoping they'll date someday soon.
Yesterday Sam was practicing a recitation of "The Hare and the Tortoise" for an English contest next week, and suddenly, Jasmine hugged him around the neck and started swinging him around. Everyone started laughing. Sam didn't seem to mind it either.=)
But, today there was a bit of scandal.
The students had to write a journal entry about their friends in class. Jasmine, Sally and Kate (all of whom sit nearby Sam) all wrote about how much they love him and how they should be married to him! Naturally, Sam wrote about his friend Leo.
His journal went something like this:
I like Leeeeooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Yes, a good day =)
lunedì 13 ottobre 2008
Re new found purpose in life
New favorite activity: making funny faces at Korean babies without their parents seeing me do it. Hope by the end of the year to make all Asians think Westerners behave wildly inappropriately in the subway. Thanks God: have finally found purpose in life.
Have a good day everyone and special shoutout to Jordan for her birthday!! Love you!
Maria
Have a good day everyone and special shoutout to Jordan for her birthday!! Love you!
Maria
venerdì 10 ottobre 2008
John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany"
I don't like buying modern fiction unless it's specifically recommended to me by someone I can trust (extra points if the person is an English major). Turns out my fellow teacher Carly is one such person. On our first excursion to What the Book, a famous foreigners' bookstore in Itaewon (a spot of the city famous for its Muslim community and appeal to foreigners), she told me how much she loved A Prayer for Owen Meany. She's read it three times, and it began her love of John Irving's writing. She's read several of his books, and there was even a period of about 3 months when that was all she would read. I bought the book on the spot. Always take the passionate advice of an English major.
So glad I did. It is an exquisite book.
John Irving, himself, writes in the Afterward about the significance of the first sentence, which reads something like this:
'I am doomed to forever remember a boy with a wrecked voice--not because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he made me believe in God---I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.'
Irving has written a wonderful portrayal of adolescence which goes far beyond the tragic irony of A Separate Peace (not sure if you ever had to read that in high school--I did). The narrator, a New Hampshire-born expatriate living in Canada, tells the story of his best friend, Owen Meany, the only son of a granite quarryman. Owen Meany, a tragic and lovable character, believes in God's purpose for his life....and death. Spanning their boyhood in the 1950s, the hopeless war years of the 1960s, and the narrator's retelling of the story in the late 1980s, A Prayer for Owen Meany, weaves together historical events and fictional moments of love, friendship, and grief to perfection.
On a scholastic note, if you have ever been confused about the meaning of symbolism or allusion or foreshadowing, Irving offers a textbook of examples in this novel. It's an absolute gift for the intellectual reader.
I hope you all get a chance to read it some day. It's a thing of beauty, and totally worth the two hours of sobbing at its conclusion. Highly recommended!
So glad I did. It is an exquisite book.
John Irving, himself, writes in the Afterward about the significance of the first sentence, which reads something like this:
'I am doomed to forever remember a boy with a wrecked voice--not because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he made me believe in God---I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.'
Irving has written a wonderful portrayal of adolescence which goes far beyond the tragic irony of A Separate Peace (not sure if you ever had to read that in high school--I did). The narrator, a New Hampshire-born expatriate living in Canada, tells the story of his best friend, Owen Meany, the only son of a granite quarryman. Owen Meany, a tragic and lovable character, believes in God's purpose for his life....and death. Spanning their boyhood in the 1950s, the hopeless war years of the 1960s, and the narrator's retelling of the story in the late 1980s, A Prayer for Owen Meany, weaves together historical events and fictional moments of love, friendship, and grief to perfection.
On a scholastic note, if you have ever been confused about the meaning of symbolism or allusion or foreshadowing, Irving offers a textbook of examples in this novel. It's an absolute gift for the intellectual reader.
I hope you all get a chance to read it some day. It's a thing of beauty, and totally worth the two hours of sobbing at its conclusion. Highly recommended!
Arts and Crafts
You know that arts and crafts project where you take a ball of foil, cover it in a tissue, tie a string around it, and it becomes a ghost? The unfortunate, sick, and twisted of you will have no idea what I'm talking about. I still remember when my babysitter showed me and my sisters that lil' trick.
I've been trying to think of enjoyable arts and crafts projects for my kindergartners. Friday is art day, and while they each have their own sketchbooks, complete with an art lesson for each week, it's always a struggle to figure out which lesson to do. They all have their favorite; they all beg me to pick the one they want. And painting is normally a blast, but with kindergartners they spend 10 minutes getting their stuff--from the palette to the paints to the water container to these plastic cuffs which keep their sleeves clean--then they need at least 15 minutes to clean up all that jazz. (They insist on using soap to clean watercolor paints--ahh!) Hence, when all's said and done, they can only paint for about 5 minutes of the 40-minute period. It's ridiculous. And my job isn't as an art teacher; I become a policemen or a referee. I just try to keep them on task and away from the sink.
So, as I was searching for some art project which could jive with our Halloween theme*, I suddenly remembered the ghost craft. It was a huge success (till my class decided to launch their ghosts across the room and almost hit each other in the eyes).
I hung their beautiful art projects on the window sill in one of my classes, and found out later from one of the other teachers that we had inadvertently participated in a Japanese tradition. Apparently, they hang ghosts on the window to keep the rain away. Children will do this before a big field trip in the hopes that the sun keeps shining. Sounds like a good idea to me. I wonder if it works on gloomy thoughts and feelings, in addition to weather....
*I am starting to realize that holidays and all the pizazz that comes with them are perpetuated by elementary school teachers who are just looking for some underlying themes to keep their classrooms decorated and things interesting for their students. It all makes sense.
I've been trying to think of enjoyable arts and crafts projects for my kindergartners. Friday is art day, and while they each have their own sketchbooks, complete with an art lesson for each week, it's always a struggle to figure out which lesson to do. They all have their favorite; they all beg me to pick the one they want. And painting is normally a blast, but with kindergartners they spend 10 minutes getting their stuff--from the palette to the paints to the water container to these plastic cuffs which keep their sleeves clean--then they need at least 15 minutes to clean up all that jazz. (They insist on using soap to clean watercolor paints--ahh!) Hence, when all's said and done, they can only paint for about 5 minutes of the 40-minute period. It's ridiculous. And my job isn't as an art teacher; I become a policemen or a referee. I just try to keep them on task and away from the sink.
So, as I was searching for some art project which could jive with our Halloween theme*, I suddenly remembered the ghost craft. It was a huge success (till my class decided to launch their ghosts across the room and almost hit each other in the eyes).
I hung their beautiful art projects on the window sill in one of my classes, and found out later from one of the other teachers that we had inadvertently participated in a Japanese tradition. Apparently, they hang ghosts on the window to keep the rain away. Children will do this before a big field trip in the hopes that the sun keeps shining. Sounds like a good idea to me. I wonder if it works on gloomy thoughts and feelings, in addition to weather....
*I am starting to realize that holidays and all the pizazz that comes with them are perpetuated by elementary school teachers who are just looking for some underlying themes to keep their classrooms decorated and things interesting for their students. It all makes sense.
mercoledì 8 ottobre 2008
Stephen Colbert's "I Am America and So Can You!"
So, as promised here's the first of my book reviews. Before leaving for Korea, I bought The Prehistory of the Farside. I figured there would be times when I would feel homesick or lonely, and I really wanted a quick and easy way to laugh handy. One of my fellow teachers had the same idea. She smuggled the glorious treasure that is Colbert's I Am America and So Can You and then lent it to me. Thank God she did.
This book is absolutely fantastic! I can't give it enough praise, or at least I can't give it as much as Stephen Colbert gives it himself on the front and back covers. An erudite textbook of Colbert's pearls of wisdom on every subject for the average American. From family to immigrants to class warfare to universities to the future, Stephen Colbert creates a handbook for the way we should all think. Each chapter comes complete with footnotes, margin notes, a fun activity zone, and charts and graphs, so that when just the regular writing isn't enough, you can have extra Colbert thoughts on everything.
Nation, the best thing about it is his honesty (and, of course, how he's right about everything he says). The answer to our bleeding border controls? Stephen Colbert has it: take all the old people who've given their time, money, and sweat in service to this country and help them keep on giving. Put them on a row of porches with rocking chairs and let them yell at the Mexicans trying to step on the lawn of American soil. The answer to how to snazz up your love life? Stephen Colbert's questionnaire. If you have problems of any kind, from sex to sports to money to politics, get Colbert's book. He'll prove to you that as a red-blooded American you can face your problems because America is about freedom! (If you're an immigrant and reading this, I'm afraid there's nothing I can tell you.)
Since no one can speak as well for himself as Colbert, himself, here are some highlights from the bestest parts of the book.
1. The sex and dating questionnaire. Questions include: "What would you be willing to do to get someone to love you?"
a) anything b) not that
"Which president would you assassinate?"
a) Taft b) Ulysses S. Grant c) Harry Truman d) Martin Sheen
2. Colbert on foreign relations:
I'm afraid of Koreans.
Bamm! That's me right off the cuff. I think. I say it. You read it. Sometimes I don't even think it.
3. Chart on how you know which class your in.
Question: "What keeps you up at night?" (Please check one.)
Lower class: The sound of my own weeping.
Middle class: The sneaking suspicion that I've been duped.
Upper class: Should I arrange my topiaries according to alphabetical order by the kind of plant or by the animal?
4. The chapter on "The Future"
Warning! Don't read until the future!
5. "Appropriate bookmarks for this book include: money (no less than a twenty) and another copy of this book."
Yes, folks, you have to buy it for yourselves and read it to get the full effect. I give it 7 Colbert stars*. Before you vote, read this book! Then vote the way a red-blooded American should vote: the way Fox news tells you to.
*Note: Each Colbert star is worth approximately one and a half normal stars.
This book is absolutely fantastic! I can't give it enough praise, or at least I can't give it as much as Stephen Colbert gives it himself on the front and back covers. An erudite textbook of Colbert's pearls of wisdom on every subject for the average American. From family to immigrants to class warfare to universities to the future, Stephen Colbert creates a handbook for the way we should all think. Each chapter comes complete with footnotes, margin notes, a fun activity zone, and charts and graphs, so that when just the regular writing isn't enough, you can have extra Colbert thoughts on everything.
Nation, the best thing about it is his honesty (and, of course, how he's right about everything he says). The answer to our bleeding border controls? Stephen Colbert has it: take all the old people who've given their time, money, and sweat in service to this country and help them keep on giving. Put them on a row of porches with rocking chairs and let them yell at the Mexicans trying to step on the lawn of American soil. The answer to how to snazz up your love life? Stephen Colbert's questionnaire. If you have problems of any kind, from sex to sports to money to politics, get Colbert's book. He'll prove to you that as a red-blooded American you can face your problems because America is about freedom! (If you're an immigrant and reading this, I'm afraid there's nothing I can tell you.)
Since no one can speak as well for himself as Colbert, himself, here are some highlights from the bestest parts of the book.
1. The sex and dating questionnaire. Questions include: "What would you be willing to do to get someone to love you?"
a) anything b) not that
"Which president would you assassinate?"
a) Taft b) Ulysses S. Grant c) Harry Truman d) Martin Sheen
2. Colbert on foreign relations:
I'm afraid of Koreans.
Bamm! That's me right off the cuff. I think. I say it. You read it. Sometimes I don't even think it.
3. Chart on how you know which class your in.
Question: "What keeps you up at night?" (Please check one.)
Lower class: The sound of my own weeping.
Middle class: The sneaking suspicion that I've been duped.
Upper class: Should I arrange my topiaries according to alphabetical order by the kind of plant or by the animal?
4. The chapter on "The Future"
Warning! Don't read until the future!
5. "Appropriate bookmarks for this book include: money (no less than a twenty) and another copy of this book."
Yes, folks, you have to buy it for yourselves and read it to get the full effect. I give it 7 Colbert stars*. Before you vote, read this book! Then vote the way a red-blooded American should vote: the way Fox news tells you to.
*Note: Each Colbert star is worth approximately one and a half normal stars.
a coffee lovers dilemma
Oh my gosh, I just paid 4,000 won for an espresso here. That's about $6 with the dollar down the way it is.
On my lunch break yesterday I joyously discovered a LavAzza cafe'. LavAzza is one of my favorite Italian espresso companies. I'm pulling an especially long day today (subbing for one of the other teachers who's sick), so I decided to treat myself to some espresso (my worst vice). I just paid 4,000 won for an espresso here.... It was 90 cents in Italy. Dang it!
I'm trying to think of the Korean equivalent for something really cheap that's much more expensive anywhere else.... I'm thinking anything made of paper or plastic. But who needs paper and plastic when you can't get coffee! I know some of you out there feel my pain. I'm talking to you, Louis. =) So much for tempering my caffeine addiction.
Happily my parents (enablers that they are) just sent me a package!! The package's contents? A couple food items and two different kinds of coffee beans, a grinder, a coffee cup, and a coffee maker. I knew I could count on them. =)
In the meantime, if you think Starbucks is expensive in the US, you ought to come to Korea. You'd feel much better.
On my lunch break yesterday I joyously discovered a LavAzza cafe'. LavAzza is one of my favorite Italian espresso companies. I'm pulling an especially long day today (subbing for one of the other teachers who's sick), so I decided to treat myself to some espresso (my worst vice). I just paid 4,000 won for an espresso here.... It was 90 cents in Italy. Dang it!
I'm trying to think of the Korean equivalent for something really cheap that's much more expensive anywhere else.... I'm thinking anything made of paper or plastic. But who needs paper and plastic when you can't get coffee! I know some of you out there feel my pain. I'm talking to you, Louis. =) So much for tempering my caffeine addiction.
Happily my parents (enablers that they are) just sent me a package!! The package's contents? A couple food items and two different kinds of coffee beans, a grinder, a coffee cup, and a coffee maker. I knew I could count on them. =)
In the meantime, if you think Starbucks is expensive in the US, you ought to come to Korea. You'd feel much better.
lunedì 6 ottobre 2008
life lessons (yes, a rather cheezy title, but read on)...
Well, friends and family, I have not written a blog is soooooo long, I'm not even sure what to write about now. Sorry about that! I have realized over the past few weeks that one of the biggest life lessons I'm gonna get from coming to Korea will be learning how to manage my time. Not because I have too little (I already know how to deal with that=), but because I have so much! I never thought this would be a problem. It seems like some sort of ironic injustice of the universe that I should be going out of my way to be busy, while my younger sister juggles two jobs, an honors program, and being a full-time student...in one of the busiest cities in the world! Sorry, Anna.=)
Anyway, part of the reason it's important to keep myself busy is simply the fact that the busier I am, the less likely I am to feel the lonliness that surrounds you when you live alone for the first time, especially in a foreign country. It's been an adjustment. I am steadily learning. My fellow Americans here don't seem nearly as intent on spending time together. Well, that's not entirely accurate, but let's just say, I'm not from the right little town in Ohio. So I'm learning to enjoy every moment on my own, savor things at my own pace, be decisive about my wants and needs, listen to the thoughts running around in my head without going insane (although would I really know if I was going insane?). I'm also learning the value of predictability, the value of doing the same thing every day, going to the same places every day, seeing the same people every day--to create rituals, if you will.
Another thing that has struck me is how I am finally in a position to choose the books I read and to read them for pleasure!!! I have always loved reading for school, even those college film journal essays, but to be able to read fiction at my leisure has been quite a blessing. I've already finished three books since coming here. I've found the three best foreign bookstores, and shall porbably be shipping books home in large boxes. =) So, I thought it migh be fun to include book reviews in my blogs. That way when we get sick of talking about Asia (which porbably won't actually happen), we can talk about books. What is more, you will be able to buy the books for yourselves, after being completely enthralled by my descriptions of them. =)
Last night I finished a book entitled A Prayer for Owen Meany, and sobbed for over an hour. This is an exquisite book. I can't do it justice here in this blog (it deserves it's own review), but let me just say that John Irving, the author, spoke to my heart when he wrote, "Ritual combats lonliness." If I weren't here, I'm not sure I would fully appreciate that line in the book. How true it is!
Missing you all. Hope all is well.
Maria
Anyway, part of the reason it's important to keep myself busy is simply the fact that the busier I am, the less likely I am to feel the lonliness that surrounds you when you live alone for the first time, especially in a foreign country. It's been an adjustment. I am steadily learning. My fellow Americans here don't seem nearly as intent on spending time together. Well, that's not entirely accurate, but let's just say, I'm not from the right little town in Ohio. So I'm learning to enjoy every moment on my own, savor things at my own pace, be decisive about my wants and needs, listen to the thoughts running around in my head without going insane (although would I really know if I was going insane?). I'm also learning the value of predictability, the value of doing the same thing every day, going to the same places every day, seeing the same people every day--to create rituals, if you will.
Another thing that has struck me is how I am finally in a position to choose the books I read and to read them for pleasure!!! I have always loved reading for school, even those college film journal essays, but to be able to read fiction at my leisure has been quite a blessing. I've already finished three books since coming here. I've found the three best foreign bookstores, and shall porbably be shipping books home in large boxes. =) So, I thought it migh be fun to include book reviews in my blogs. That way when we get sick of talking about Asia (which porbably won't actually happen), we can talk about books. What is more, you will be able to buy the books for yourselves, after being completely enthralled by my descriptions of them. =)
Last night I finished a book entitled A Prayer for Owen Meany, and sobbed for over an hour. This is an exquisite book. I can't do it justice here in this blog (it deserves it's own review), but let me just say that John Irving, the author, spoke to my heart when he wrote, "Ritual combats lonliness." If I weren't here, I'm not sure I would fully appreciate that line in the book. How true it is!
Missing you all. Hope all is well.
Maria
mercoledì 17 settembre 2008
Random Acts of Kindness
One thing I can and must say for Koreans is that they are incredibly kind people. I have been blessed to experience such touching kindness on several occasions, a few of which I wanted to tell you about.
Carly (one of the other American teachers at my school) and I love going to the same restaurant (the "orange restaurant," so named because it's bright orange) at least 3 times a week. You can get a decent meal for only 3,000 won (about $3), and the workers are super friendly. I'm sure they've begun to recognize us by now. Lord knows what they think of us. Anyway.... we were sitting there one night, and someone else was sitting behind me with her elbow resting on the back of the chair. It kept poking me in the back, and I mentioned it to Carly, but just made a point of sitting forward a bit. A few minutes later, the restaurant owner asked the woman behind to move her elbow. We all bowed to each other, and she sat on the opposite side of the table. I can't even imagine how closely he must have been watching to notice my discomfort, and then to do something about it! Amazing!
The next act of kindness which really stuck out to me was in another restaurant called Kraze Burger (a fantastic burger place with a Korean twist, e.g. they serve your burger with pickled garlic and kimchi on the side, and they have an awesome raspberry-rosemary soda I'm bringing back to the US with me). Again with Carly, I was eating there, and the waitress came by and said, "I thought you might need this." In her hand were two miniature subway line maps and a couple of travel guides. I still use that little map everyday.
On another occasion, I was taking a walk along the Han River. Most people stare at me (being Western and strange-looking and all that), but I try to bow my head or avert my eyes. At one point, an old man on a bicycle and a woman walking with him were taking up most of the path. I walked along the edge, bowed, smiled, and kept walking. A few moments later, the man was traveling the other way on his bicycle, caught up to me, and said in his best English, "Have a good day." It meant so much to me!! He then turned his bike around and went back the other way.
The final act of kindness I wanted to talk about happened at the Namsan Hanok Village during the circus performance. Everyone seemed to have fold-out mats to sit on. (I've noticed they don't much like sitting on the ground.) My friend Injeong and I didn't have one, but an older woman invited us to share hers. During the performance, she noticed the bag I was carrying had a hole in the bottom. She insisted on giving me one of her plastic bags. She removed some of her things, and put my broken bag inside the new one. This amazing kindness seems even more remarkable when you consider how many people were pushing and shoving to have a view of the performance.
I'm sure there'll be more to come, but I wanted to share these moments with you while they're fresh in my head. Have a good night.
Carly (one of the other American teachers at my school) and I love going to the same restaurant (the "orange restaurant," so named because it's bright orange) at least 3 times a week. You can get a decent meal for only 3,000 won (about $3), and the workers are super friendly. I'm sure they've begun to recognize us by now. Lord knows what they think of us. Anyway.... we were sitting there one night, and someone else was sitting behind me with her elbow resting on the back of the chair. It kept poking me in the back, and I mentioned it to Carly, but just made a point of sitting forward a bit. A few minutes later, the restaurant owner asked the woman behind to move her elbow. We all bowed to each other, and she sat on the opposite side of the table. I can't even imagine how closely he must have been watching to notice my discomfort, and then to do something about it! Amazing!
The next act of kindness which really stuck out to me was in another restaurant called Kraze Burger (a fantastic burger place with a Korean twist, e.g. they serve your burger with pickled garlic and kimchi on the side, and they have an awesome raspberry-rosemary soda I'm bringing back to the US with me). Again with Carly, I was eating there, and the waitress came by and said, "I thought you might need this." In her hand were two miniature subway line maps and a couple of travel guides. I still use that little map everyday.
On another occasion, I was taking a walk along the Han River. Most people stare at me (being Western and strange-looking and all that), but I try to bow my head or avert my eyes. At one point, an old man on a bicycle and a woman walking with him were taking up most of the path. I walked along the edge, bowed, smiled, and kept walking. A few moments later, the man was traveling the other way on his bicycle, caught up to me, and said in his best English, "Have a good day." It meant so much to me!! He then turned his bike around and went back the other way.
The final act of kindness I wanted to talk about happened at the Namsan Hanok Village during the circus performance. Everyone seemed to have fold-out mats to sit on. (I've noticed they don't much like sitting on the ground.) My friend Injeong and I didn't have one, but an older woman invited us to share hers. During the performance, she noticed the bag I was carrying had a hole in the bottom. She insisted on giving me one of her plastic bags. She removed some of her things, and put my broken bag inside the new one. This amazing kindness seems even more remarkable when you consider how many people were pushing and shoving to have a view of the performance.
I'm sure there'll be more to come, but I wanted to share these moments with you while they're fresh in my head. Have a good night.
Chuseok!
As I mentioned in my last blog, this past weekend was a very important holiday in Korea, and I got 4 days off of work!! I had a wonderful time enjoying the festivities.
On Saturday night, one of the other American teachers, a girl named Carly, came over and I attempted to make "kimbap" (a sort of Korean sushi) for us. Turns out it's much harder than it looks. Mine ended up as more of a taco than a sushi role, but at least we got some good pictures out of it. Afterwards we went downstairs to our next-door grocer and bought some cheap ice cream. We sat on my bed, and watched "About a Boy," quite a splendid film.
The next evening we took the metro and a bus (which is a whole experience in and of itself in a foreign country=) to the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts outdoor theatre for a moon-greeting Shaman ceremony. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit too late to see the Shaman, but there was a traditional dance performance, music, a rice planting field song, and Korean tightrope walking. The dancers wore "hanbok," the traditional costume at Chuseok, the Lunar New Year, and weddings. The costumes are made of silk and come in various colors, particularly blue and red (Korean flag colors representing the heavens and the earth, respectively), light green and burgundy, and dark/light shades of pink. They are composed of an empire waist dress, with a small jacket on top--very adorable! When the women danced, they looked like they were floating on bubbles. It was spectacular! After a couple of performances, the audience went to a nearby field in the venue for the tightrope walking. Carly and I had to climb down a small cliff of large rocks without getting pushed over to get there--by the far the weirdest thing I've done as an audience member. But it was well worth it--the tightrope walking was fantastic. Again, in traditional costume, a man not only walked, but jumped up and down on a tightrope about 4 meters high. I took a few videos; you must see it to believe it. Apparently, this tradition goes all the way back to Korean dynasties, when the tightrope walker fulfilled the role of a court jester. At the end of the festivities, we were invited to join in a moon-greeting dance, which was surprisingly like Greek dancing. It basically involved holding hands and skipping in a circle. Of course, I was ecstatic. =) It was a little like being at my church's Greek festival, which I was so sorry to miss for yet another year. On the way home Carly and I met a few more foreign teachers, a few from the US, a few from England. There really is a wealth of us over here. It's lovely.
The next day, I met up with a new friend Injeong, whom I met at What the Book: an English bookstore in Itaewon (a neighborhood famous of its attraction to foreigners, as well as its Muslim population, as it has the only Muslim mosque in Korea). We went to the Namsan Hanok Village for traditional Chuseok games, food, music, and activities. I can't even express how much fun this was! There were rice cakes everywhere, in all shapes, colors, and sizes. I even got to help make some! We walked around for a bit, left to get some lunch (we had "sam-bap" which involves wrapping cooked meet and miso paste in a leaf, with rice served on the side), and then returned to the festival. We played some traditional games, including "arrow throwing," hoop rolling, and Korean seesaw. This was particularly cool because in Korean seesaw, the players stand, so it's much more like a trampoline with two people than a seesaw. Amazingly fun, although not too easy. Later we saw some other children doing it and they got 10 feet hight, at least. I got a picture. =) While learning to make "songpyeon" rice cakes, we met a Japanese woman, also a language teacher, named Maki. It was so fulfilling for me to have a new Korean friend and experience the holiday to the fullest. At the same time, it was very fulfilling for Injeong to meet a foreigner so interested in sharing her culture. The festival workers reacted to my interest similarly. For example, to play with a hoop in the game area, you had to give an ID card. I didn't have one on me, but the worker said I was special, and let me use one anyway. Later, I got in line to mash some rice with a huge hammer-like object. When it was my turn, the man told Injeong that it was only for children, but he let me do it anyway. =) I did a bit of gift shopping, and then Injeong and I shared a ton of rice cakes . We bought a "variety pack," consisting of cakes rolled in cinnamon, green tea powder, sesame seeds, and black rice powder. So delicious!! At the end of the afternoon, we were just about to leave, when a crowd started to gather in front of a stage. I am so glad we waited to see what was going on because the only Korean circus ended up performing. It was fantastic!! There were plate spinners, acrobats, and jugglers (who actually juggled with jugs). I got some amazing pictures I can't wait to show you all. It was incredible! Afterwards, Injeong and I went home.
The next day (Tuesday) I met up with my friend Jiyoon in Itaewon. She's from Seoul, but she went to high school in Michigan and then attended Notre Dame (where I met her in my dorm). It was so wonderful to see a familiar face. I can't even tell you how nice it is to know someone here. We went to a Jordanian restaurant for kebabs and hummus and falafel, then walked around the city. I found some wonderful antique shops, and restrained myself from buying a bookshelf only by remembering the flight home it would have to survive. We stopped in "Paris Baguette," a popular bakery for coffee and green tea ice cream (it's so good here!). Then we went on the metro closer to her neck of the woods to a shopping mall with a large bookstore in it. The upper floor has foreign books, and I found Aesop's Fables with the Korean translation at the back. I'll let you know how this whole teaching myself Korean thing goes....
It was a wonderful weekend--by the far the best I've had yet. Hopefully many more to come. Today it was back to work. I'll be doing lesson plans for October tonight. And tomorrow there's a field trip for the kindergarteners. I'm pretty pumped. =) Thanks for reading all this (if you made it this far=) Lots of love. Take care, everyone.
On Saturday night, one of the other American teachers, a girl named Carly, came over and I attempted to make "kimbap" (a sort of Korean sushi) for us. Turns out it's much harder than it looks. Mine ended up as more of a taco than a sushi role, but at least we got some good pictures out of it. Afterwards we went downstairs to our next-door grocer and bought some cheap ice cream. We sat on my bed, and watched "About a Boy," quite a splendid film.
The next evening we took the metro and a bus (which is a whole experience in and of itself in a foreign country=) to the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts outdoor theatre for a moon-greeting Shaman ceremony. Unfortunately, we arrived a bit too late to see the Shaman, but there was a traditional dance performance, music, a rice planting field song, and Korean tightrope walking. The dancers wore "hanbok," the traditional costume at Chuseok, the Lunar New Year, and weddings. The costumes are made of silk and come in various colors, particularly blue and red (Korean flag colors representing the heavens and the earth, respectively), light green and burgundy, and dark/light shades of pink. They are composed of an empire waist dress, with a small jacket on top--very adorable! When the women danced, they looked like they were floating on bubbles. It was spectacular! After a couple of performances, the audience went to a nearby field in the venue for the tightrope walking. Carly and I had to climb down a small cliff of large rocks without getting pushed over to get there--by the far the weirdest thing I've done as an audience member. But it was well worth it--the tightrope walking was fantastic. Again, in traditional costume, a man not only walked, but jumped up and down on a tightrope about 4 meters high. I took a few videos; you must see it to believe it. Apparently, this tradition goes all the way back to Korean dynasties, when the tightrope walker fulfilled the role of a court jester. At the end of the festivities, we were invited to join in a moon-greeting dance, which was surprisingly like Greek dancing. It basically involved holding hands and skipping in a circle. Of course, I was ecstatic. =) It was a little like being at my church's Greek festival, which I was so sorry to miss for yet another year. On the way home Carly and I met a few more foreign teachers, a few from the US, a few from England. There really is a wealth of us over here. It's lovely.
The next day, I met up with a new friend Injeong, whom I met at What the Book: an English bookstore in Itaewon (a neighborhood famous of its attraction to foreigners, as well as its Muslim population, as it has the only Muslim mosque in Korea). We went to the Namsan Hanok Village for traditional Chuseok games, food, music, and activities. I can't even express how much fun this was! There were rice cakes everywhere, in all shapes, colors, and sizes. I even got to help make some! We walked around for a bit, left to get some lunch (we had "sam-bap" which involves wrapping cooked meet and miso paste in a leaf, with rice served on the side), and then returned to the festival. We played some traditional games, including "arrow throwing," hoop rolling, and Korean seesaw. This was particularly cool because in Korean seesaw, the players stand, so it's much more like a trampoline with two people than a seesaw. Amazingly fun, although not too easy. Later we saw some other children doing it and they got 10 feet hight, at least. I got a picture. =) While learning to make "songpyeon" rice cakes, we met a Japanese woman, also a language teacher, named Maki. It was so fulfilling for me to have a new Korean friend and experience the holiday to the fullest. At the same time, it was very fulfilling for Injeong to meet a foreigner so interested in sharing her culture. The festival workers reacted to my interest similarly. For example, to play with a hoop in the game area, you had to give an ID card. I didn't have one on me, but the worker said I was special, and let me use one anyway. Later, I got in line to mash some rice with a huge hammer-like object. When it was my turn, the man told Injeong that it was only for children, but he let me do it anyway. =) I did a bit of gift shopping, and then Injeong and I shared a ton of rice cakes . We bought a "variety pack," consisting of cakes rolled in cinnamon, green tea powder, sesame seeds, and black rice powder. So delicious!! At the end of the afternoon, we were just about to leave, when a crowd started to gather in front of a stage. I am so glad we waited to see what was going on because the only Korean circus ended up performing. It was fantastic!! There were plate spinners, acrobats, and jugglers (who actually juggled with jugs). I got some amazing pictures I can't wait to show you all. It was incredible! Afterwards, Injeong and I went home.
The next day (Tuesday) I met up with my friend Jiyoon in Itaewon. She's from Seoul, but she went to high school in Michigan and then attended Notre Dame (where I met her in my dorm). It was so wonderful to see a familiar face. I can't even tell you how nice it is to know someone here. We went to a Jordanian restaurant for kebabs and hummus and falafel, then walked around the city. I found some wonderful antique shops, and restrained myself from buying a bookshelf only by remembering the flight home it would have to survive. We stopped in "Paris Baguette," a popular bakery for coffee and green tea ice cream (it's so good here!). Then we went on the metro closer to her neck of the woods to a shopping mall with a large bookstore in it. The upper floor has foreign books, and I found Aesop's Fables with the Korean translation at the back. I'll let you know how this whole teaching myself Korean thing goes....
It was a wonderful weekend--by the far the best I've had yet. Hopefully many more to come. Today it was back to work. I'll be doing lesson plans for October tonight. And tomorrow there's a field trip for the kindergarteners. I'm pretty pumped. =) Thanks for reading all this (if you made it this far=) Lots of love. Take care, everyone.
sabato 13 settembre 2008
Dog...the other white meat
During my first couple days here in Seoul, I attended an SLP (Sogang Language Program) teacher training at the Sogang University. Apparently, I lucked out because they only do the training program twice a year, and I arrived in Seoul the night before it started=) Most of the teachers had been working for a month or so, and couldn't understand why they had to attend training at all. The good thing about it was that a) I was introduced to aloe and lycee juices and b) I got to meet alot of other foreign teachers from Canada, the US, South Africa, Great Britain, and Australia, who teach all over the greater Seoul area. One of these teachers, a girl named Lindsay, told me a wonderful story....
She was teaching a unit to kindergarteners about how to take care of a dog. They were talking about petting it and washing it and feeding it, when one of her students said, "Teacher, you eat the dog!" And it took her several minutes to convince the student that "taking care of the dog" did not mean eating it.
I, myself, have not had any personal "dog-eating" experiences... yet. It's supposed to be rather expensive, but do wonders for your sex drive. To be honest, since I'm single, I don't really see the point. So, maybe later.... probably not though.
She was teaching a unit to kindergarteners about how to take care of a dog. They were talking about petting it and washing it and feeding it, when one of her students said, "Teacher, you eat the dog!" And it took her several minutes to convince the student that "taking care of the dog" did not mean eating it.
I, myself, have not had any personal "dog-eating" experiences... yet. It's supposed to be rather expensive, but do wonders for your sex drive. To be honest, since I'm single, I don't really see the point. So, maybe later.... probably not though.
wait, you're supposed to refrigerate rice after you cook it?
Hey everyone,
Happy Chuseok!! This weekend is one of Korea's most important holidays: Chuseok (if you hadn't already guessed=) It's comparable to Thanksgiving in the US, and involves families gathering together in celebration of a bountiful harvest. As part of the festivities a memorial service is offered to ancestors. Traditionally, small, moon-shaped rice cakes (songpyeon) steamed on a bed of pine needles are given as gifts and consumed on a mass scale. Businesses are closed for 2 or 3 days; I get a 4 day holiday from school!
So far, the best thing about being a teacher is the gifts-I promise I'm not really this shallow. =) This week I received some beautiful rice cakes, in all shapes and sizes with all sorts of stuff in them, from a couple of students. One of them gave me a lovely box of beautiful rice cakes, and for some reason, I forgot that you refrigerate cooked rice.... I'm apparently that dumb foreigner who doesn't apply the laws of physics to strange-looking foods. So this morning after a beautiful church service (which included a celebration of the Elevation of the Holy Cross and a memorial service for Chuseok), with the Metropolitan and four other priests, whose first languages include Greek, English, Korean, and Russian, present, I tried my five-day-old rice cakes....and discovered a small village of mold on each one =( I then spent way too long (about 45 minutes) painstakingly trying to remove the mold and still have some rice cake leftover. After all, this was a cultural experience and I wasn't going to let a little green fuzz get in my way!
Then, I realized that mold just makes things taste bad. And however these cakes tasted before, they didn't taste that good now. Bummer. I just started laughing at myself as I threw them all away. =( Too bad none of you are here to laugh at me, too.
Tonight I'm going to a traditional Korean dance/music/Shaman moon-greeting festival, and I can't wait to write to you all about it. Enjoy the weekend wherever you are.
Lots of love, Maria
Happy Chuseok!! This weekend is one of Korea's most important holidays: Chuseok (if you hadn't already guessed=) It's comparable to Thanksgiving in the US, and involves families gathering together in celebration of a bountiful harvest. As part of the festivities a memorial service is offered to ancestors. Traditionally, small, moon-shaped rice cakes (songpyeon) steamed on a bed of pine needles are given as gifts and consumed on a mass scale. Businesses are closed for 2 or 3 days; I get a 4 day holiday from school!
So far, the best thing about being a teacher is the gifts-I promise I'm not really this shallow. =) This week I received some beautiful rice cakes, in all shapes and sizes with all sorts of stuff in them, from a couple of students. One of them gave me a lovely box of beautiful rice cakes, and for some reason, I forgot that you refrigerate cooked rice.... I'm apparently that dumb foreigner who doesn't apply the laws of physics to strange-looking foods. So this morning after a beautiful church service (which included a celebration of the Elevation of the Holy Cross and a memorial service for Chuseok), with the Metropolitan and four other priests, whose first languages include Greek, English, Korean, and Russian, present, I tried my five-day-old rice cakes....and discovered a small village of mold on each one =( I then spent way too long (about 45 minutes) painstakingly trying to remove the mold and still have some rice cake leftover. After all, this was a cultural experience and I wasn't going to let a little green fuzz get in my way!
Then, I realized that mold just makes things taste bad. And however these cakes tasted before, they didn't taste that good now. Bummer. I just started laughing at myself as I threw them all away. =( Too bad none of you are here to laugh at me, too.
Tonight I'm going to a traditional Korean dance/music/Shaman moon-greeting festival, and I can't wait to write to you all about it. Enjoy the weekend wherever you are.
Lots of love, Maria
martedì 9 settembre 2008
"Maria Teacher"
Hello everyone,
I'm sorry I haven't been very good about keeping this blog up. So much has been going on these last few weeks, it's been a little challenging to maintain it. That being said, it occurred to me that I haven't written anything about the reason I'm here: to teach English!
So, a short (or rather as short as I can possibly make it) message about the school where I teach and the children in it.
I teach from 11:30-7:20 (not including lesson planning and grading!=) Mon.-Fri. (thank God no Saturdays!) The day begins with two kindergarten classes, with a lunch break in between. Lunch deserves it's own blog because most of the time I don't know what I'm eating, and it's always fun to see little kids gobble up dried squid and kimchi and octopus soup like it's no big thing. So that'll be the next blog maybe.
In Korea parents choose to send their children to an English-speaking or a Korean-speaking kindergarten. SLP (Sogang Language Program) runs an English-speaking one. Once a week we do science "experiments" with the kids. Once a week we do art class. The rest of the time it's fun workbooks with lots of coloring pages and stickers, from which I would love to learn Korean, but alas, they have things like conversation practice for adults who want to learn a foreign language-blast!
My kindergarteners are amazingly adorable. They call me (sometimes with a whiny voice), "Maria Teacher." I love it! There are already tons of fun stories, so I'll save those for their own blog. That way you can get to know each one.
After kindergarten comes my "real job." As part of an after school program, I teach students of all ages (from 5-13)* and all levels (from "a is for apple" to full-on essay and journal writing in English). Once again, these classes are much more interesting with personal stories about the crazy things the kids do, so I'll save that for later. But for now, just know that I love being a teacher. I even like the grading (thus far...) and I am taking notes. So far, I enjoy kids, but you really don't teach until the kids are older. Until then it's a cross between babysitting and charades. =)
The school is a clean, safe, and new environment for them to learn. A little on the sterile side, I will admit, but it's beginning to feel like home, which is a comfort. I mostly just love being surrounded by children's books all day. I'll share tons more as the year goes on, but here's a start. Thanks for reading=)
*PS: just a note about Korean age calculations. They add 1 to 2 years to Western age for the time in the womb (I think), so I really have no idea how old the kids are. For the kindergarteners I just calculate based on how many teeth they are missing. For the older kids, it's a bit more difficult....
PPS: sorry about the lack of photos on the blog! I'm still trying to figure that all out, but photos there will be!
I'm sorry I haven't been very good about keeping this blog up. So much has been going on these last few weeks, it's been a little challenging to maintain it. That being said, it occurred to me that I haven't written anything about the reason I'm here: to teach English!
So, a short (or rather as short as I can possibly make it) message about the school where I teach and the children in it.
I teach from 11:30-7:20 (not including lesson planning and grading!=) Mon.-Fri. (thank God no Saturdays!) The day begins with two kindergarten classes, with a lunch break in between. Lunch deserves it's own blog because most of the time I don't know what I'm eating, and it's always fun to see little kids gobble up dried squid and kimchi and octopus soup like it's no big thing. So that'll be the next blog maybe.
In Korea parents choose to send their children to an English-speaking or a Korean-speaking kindergarten. SLP (Sogang Language Program) runs an English-speaking one. Once a week we do science "experiments" with the kids. Once a week we do art class. The rest of the time it's fun workbooks with lots of coloring pages and stickers, from which I would love to learn Korean, but alas, they have things like conversation practice for adults who want to learn a foreign language-blast!
My kindergarteners are amazingly adorable. They call me (sometimes with a whiny voice), "Maria Teacher." I love it! There are already tons of fun stories, so I'll save those for their own blog. That way you can get to know each one.
After kindergarten comes my "real job." As part of an after school program, I teach students of all ages (from 5-13)* and all levels (from "a is for apple" to full-on essay and journal writing in English). Once again, these classes are much more interesting with personal stories about the crazy things the kids do, so I'll save that for later. But for now, just know that I love being a teacher. I even like the grading (thus far...) and I am taking notes. So far, I enjoy kids, but you really don't teach until the kids are older. Until then it's a cross between babysitting and charades. =)
The school is a clean, safe, and new environment for them to learn. A little on the sterile side, I will admit, but it's beginning to feel like home, which is a comfort. I mostly just love being surrounded by children's books all day. I'll share tons more as the year goes on, but here's a start. Thanks for reading=)
*PS: just a note about Korean age calculations. They add 1 to 2 years to Western age for the time in the womb (I think), so I really have no idea how old the kids are. For the kindergarteners I just calculate based on how many teeth they are missing. For the older kids, it's a bit more difficult....
PPS: sorry about the lack of photos on the blog! I'm still trying to figure that all out, but photos there will be!
giovedì 4 settembre 2008
I have a few minutes in the morning....
and I just thought I'd take this time to say a couple things about bananas, juice, and sugar (yum!)
A quick note first though about my mom's ridiculous ability to foresee my needs and problems. Picture this: my living room, covered with clothes, toiletries, books, and other random crap I insist on having with me when I travel. To all of this my mom is frantically and clandestinely (I might add) trying to pack food (it's the Greekness I think=). She packs: honey, nuts, dried fruit, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar packets (in case Koreans don't eat sugar=), cookies, Pringles, and a lunch. I love you, Mom!
The funny thing is she had no idea how hard it really is to find sugar around here! As it turns out, coffee is quite popular, but when you buy it at the store, it comes in dry form with sugar and (dry) milk already added! so thanks for the sugar, Mom. But turn down the foresight, if you please, it's freakin' me out=)
On a side note, I love bananas here cuz they're half-size. And I'm not the biggest banana fan to begin with, so this works perfectly for me. I don't have to commit to an enormous banana this way. I can handle my little one, and before I know it, I've eaten it-it's a good thing! Unfortunately, all the other fruit is really expensive. Blast my birth in California. Now whenever I go pretty much anywhere in the world, the fruit seems expensive and horrible-dang it!
Finally, the best thing about Korea (no, not really-just one of the amazing things) is how much juice they have. No one has juice like this. For example, a new favorite of mine: aloe juice. Yes, that's right. The stuff that you use in the form of a cream to relieve your itchiness....it just became digestible! And it's amazing! The juices are incredible, and the variety is outstanding, so this might be just the time to seek help for my caffeine addiction, and switch it up to another drug of some kind.
There's lots more to say about food, but I thought I'd start with this. Talk to you soon! And Happy September!
Love, Maria
A quick note first though about my mom's ridiculous ability to foresee my needs and problems. Picture this: my living room, covered with clothes, toiletries, books, and other random crap I insist on having with me when I travel. To all of this my mom is frantically and clandestinely (I might add) trying to pack food (it's the Greekness I think=). She packs: honey, nuts, dried fruit, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar packets (in case Koreans don't eat sugar=), cookies, Pringles, and a lunch. I love you, Mom!
The funny thing is she had no idea how hard it really is to find sugar around here! As it turns out, coffee is quite popular, but when you buy it at the store, it comes in dry form with sugar and (dry) milk already added! so thanks for the sugar, Mom. But turn down the foresight, if you please, it's freakin' me out=)
On a side note, I love bananas here cuz they're half-size. And I'm not the biggest banana fan to begin with, so this works perfectly for me. I don't have to commit to an enormous banana this way. I can handle my little one, and before I know it, I've eaten it-it's a good thing! Unfortunately, all the other fruit is really expensive. Blast my birth in California. Now whenever I go pretty much anywhere in the world, the fruit seems expensive and horrible-dang it!
Finally, the best thing about Korea (no, not really-just one of the amazing things) is how much juice they have. No one has juice like this. For example, a new favorite of mine: aloe juice. Yes, that's right. The stuff that you use in the form of a cream to relieve your itchiness....it just became digestible! And it's amazing! The juices are incredible, and the variety is outstanding, so this might be just the time to seek help for my caffeine addiction, and switch it up to another drug of some kind.
There's lots more to say about food, but I thought I'd start with this. Talk to you soon! And Happy September!
Love, Maria
domenica 31 agosto 2008
Church on Sundays
I'd like to dedicate this blog to Louis Busta because right before I left for Korea, he was talking about how much he'd like to go to a Russian Orthodox Church at some point, and I am now going to one =)
With the help of a map my film professor gave me this summer, I found the only Orthodox Church in Seoul: St. Nicholas, which happens to be only 4 metro stops away from my apartment! I went today, and when I arrived at the stop, looking confused and lost, a nice Korean woman asked me if I was going to church. I didn't quite know what she said (it was, of course, in Korean), and then she said, "Christ?" It was like that West Wing episode "Shibboleth." (Anna and Jordan, you know what I'm talking about). All of a sudden we spoke the same language. She guided me to the cathedral (which I wouldn't have found on my own), and I finally got to use the phrase "Nice weather," which I've been studying thanks to my Pimsleur's Korean tapes. She kind of laughed and agreed...then there was a short, awkward pause in our brief conversation on the way to the church--
which is gorgeous, by the way. The service was beautiful. All in Korean (with the Creed and Lord's Prayer said in both Korean and English). Because Orthodox services are all the same, I could follow along, using the hymns and rhythm (sitting and standing at particular times) as guides. I'm sure the sermon was lovely-I have no idea what the priest said though. I kept the bulletin to translate later, and plan on learning the Lord's Prayer in Korean soon. On a side note, fasting will be interesting here cuz most of the time I'm not even sure what's in my food. But more on that later...
After the service, I was about to leave when the woman who showed me the church grabbed my hand and started introducing me to several people, most of whom spoke English. Through her efforts, I discovered that there's lunch served after liturgies, that services are conducted in Korean, Russian, and English (when possible), and that an Orthodox chaplain in the US army should be stationed in Seoul for the next two years. She also introduced me to a girl from Wisconsin named Katie who is just finishing her one-year teaching contract. She and a Russian chemist named Lenny invited me to have some hot chocolate at a cafe and we chatted for a couple of hours.
She, just finishing her experience, and me at the beginning of mine, there was much to talk about. I found out more info on Korean classes, holidays, and cultural stuff. More than anyone else she reminded of how exciting this year will be, and for the first time I felt like I was once again studying abroad, rather than just working in a foreign country where I don't speak the language.
It was an awesome blessing to find such a welcoming parish close by my apartment. I feel very fortunate. Hopefully there will be lots more of these spontaneous interactions to come and lots more like this to write about. In the meantime, you're all in my thoughts and prayers.
With the help of a map my film professor gave me this summer, I found the only Orthodox Church in Seoul: St. Nicholas, which happens to be only 4 metro stops away from my apartment! I went today, and when I arrived at the stop, looking confused and lost, a nice Korean woman asked me if I was going to church. I didn't quite know what she said (it was, of course, in Korean), and then she said, "Christ?" It was like that West Wing episode "Shibboleth." (Anna and Jordan, you know what I'm talking about). All of a sudden we spoke the same language. She guided me to the cathedral (which I wouldn't have found on my own), and I finally got to use the phrase "Nice weather," which I've been studying thanks to my Pimsleur's Korean tapes. She kind of laughed and agreed...then there was a short, awkward pause in our brief conversation on the way to the church--
which is gorgeous, by the way. The service was beautiful. All in Korean (with the Creed and Lord's Prayer said in both Korean and English). Because Orthodox services are all the same, I could follow along, using the hymns and rhythm (sitting and standing at particular times) as guides. I'm sure the sermon was lovely-I have no idea what the priest said though. I kept the bulletin to translate later, and plan on learning the Lord's Prayer in Korean soon. On a side note, fasting will be interesting here cuz most of the time I'm not even sure what's in my food. But more on that later...
After the service, I was about to leave when the woman who showed me the church grabbed my hand and started introducing me to several people, most of whom spoke English. Through her efforts, I discovered that there's lunch served after liturgies, that services are conducted in Korean, Russian, and English (when possible), and that an Orthodox chaplain in the US army should be stationed in Seoul for the next two years. She also introduced me to a girl from Wisconsin named Katie who is just finishing her one-year teaching contract. She and a Russian chemist named Lenny invited me to have some hot chocolate at a cafe and we chatted for a couple of hours.
She, just finishing her experience, and me at the beginning of mine, there was much to talk about. I found out more info on Korean classes, holidays, and cultural stuff. More than anyone else she reminded of how exciting this year will be, and for the first time I felt like I was once again studying abroad, rather than just working in a foreign country where I don't speak the language.
It was an awesome blessing to find such a welcoming parish close by my apartment. I feel very fortunate. Hopefully there will be lots more of these spontaneous interactions to come and lots more like this to write about. In the meantime, you're all in my thoughts and prayers.
giovedì 28 agosto 2008
the first few days
So. This is my first experience blogging. For the past couple days I've been attending a teacher training program at the Sogang University, and I've had a chance to meet some of the other foreign (and domestic) teachers here in Seoul. One of them told me about how convenient blogging is, especially if you want to write little messages about stuff right away. This probably means that you'll be hearing my thoughts on all sorts of insignificant details about Korea and Koreans that strike me as interesting.
First Impressions:
I'll write more in a bit, but for now thanks for reading. I miss you all tons. Think about you all the time. Good luck with everything! Lots of love till next time,
Maria
First Impressions:
- the food is delicious-but spicy, extremely filling, often involves eggs and always involves kimchi (more on that later)
- Koreans are extremely nice people when you interact with them, but for the most part just stare at us Westerners like we're diseased
- the metro is like a dream come true (sorry, Anna, it is, in fact, way nicer than the NY subway), especially given the fact that you can buy cell phones in the station
- Seoul is lovely: beautiful city with lots of trees and parks, very tall buildings, and a gorgeous river running through it.
- children are children everywhere (again, more on that later, too=)
- sparkles and giant flowers on shoes for women and metallic silver suits for men are definitely "in"
- cars seem to get points for hitting pedestrians
- the language....gonna be a challenge, particularly pronunciation.....
I'll write more in a bit, but for now thanks for reading. I miss you all tons. Think about you all the time. Good luck with everything! Lots of love till next time,
Maria
Beginnings
Hello Everyone!!
I thought I'd create a blog for this trip abroad instead of sending email updates every couple of weeks. That way I don't clog your inboxes as much=)
so.... without further ado, here are some fun anecdotes of my time in South Korea. I hope you enjoy!
I thought I'd create a blog for this trip abroad instead of sending email updates every couple of weeks. That way I don't clog your inboxes as much=)
so.... without further ado, here are some fun anecdotes of my time in South Korea. I hope you enjoy!
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