A few random updates

The past few weeks have been rather busy at work getting ready for the kid's graduation presentation next Tuesday. Three of our classes are graduating (Apple, Orange, and Lemon), and moving on to elementary school. Some of these kids, though not as many as my boss had hoped, will be coming to EWAS in the afternoons now for 3-5 days a week. As much as I enjoy singing and dancing with my kids, the pressure put on both the teachers and the students in the past month has been rather unpleasant. The teachers are expected to determine which songs and stories the kids should memorize, and then choreograph the dances and practice with the students, while concurrently attempting to continue teaching the books the students have yet to complete. While I don't mind deciding which chapter from the book to memorize, or even assigning parts, I am not, nor have I ever been, a choreographer. Granted, I took ballet for quite a few years as a child, but extemporaneous dancing in my living room twenty years ago in a leotard while doing the laundry does not compare to full body movements and blocking for a group of eight 5-year olds and a group of nine 7-year olds, most of whom are still working on hand-eye coordination. You'd be surprised how hard it is to think of movements for a song like "I Just Called to Say I Love You". Thankfully my partner teacher did the motions for that one.

So we have just two more days with the older kids before they leave. This means that Wednesday through Friday of next week will be easier, as I'll have half as many classes in the morning. We're supposed to spend this time cleaning out the classrooms to get ready for the next year. The nice thing about starting a new year is that the schedules change. I'll be teaching Orange in March instead of Lemon, though I'm not sure which other class I'll have, since there won't be a Cherry next year (not enough baby kids signed up). I'll also be losing one class in the afternoons, so I'll only have one on Tuesday and Thursday (instead of two), and 4 MWF (instead of 5). It'll be really nice not to have to teach straight from 2:30-6:15 with no break anymore.

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This past weekend I visited with Dayna and her boyfriend, since she moved into Seoul and I haven't seen much of her lately. I went to Itaewon first to pick up a book I had ordered (Coraline - definitely looking forward to seeing the movie now) and to show my friend Chris where the store was. Chris and I then met Dayna and Hong in Itaewon for lunch at a Thai restaurant. During lunch Hong suggested that we go see a movie - specifically a Korean documentary with English subtitles about an 80-year old man and his ox. So we did. It was... interesting... though a bit repetitive. Afterwards Chris went to meet up with some of his friends in Gangnam for drinks, and I went with Dayna and Hong to do a bit of exploring around Meyongdong. We went to the large Catholic cathedral, which is beautiful at night, at which point I realized that I hadn't brought my camera with me.

After the cathedral we wandered around Meyongdong (which is in Seoul) looking for things to do. We ran across a street fortune teller, and Hong suggested I get my fortune read since he could translate what the person was saying for me. After asking me for my birthday, and examining my face and hands, he proceeded to tell me a lot of things I knew and a few things I didn't. He said I listen to, and believe, most of what I hear, which makes me susceptible to betrayal. Though I'm not nearly as gullible as I used to be, I still fall for things a bit more often than I would like. He also said that I shouldn't wear yellow or white, as it messes with my chi (or the Korean version of the chi). He said I should wear dark colors, like brown and deep purple. I like purple. At least, I've started liking it in the past 8 months. He also said that something changed me when I was about 20 years old, and I'm a different person now than I used to be. Now I'm a leader, and I used to be a follower. I can sort of see this (I started a group on Facebook for the ex-pats that live in Uijeongbu to make sure everyone knew where we were meeting each week for our dinners. Because of this, I've become the unofficial "leader" of the group, and certain non-vital decisions have begun to fall to me), though I still consider myself more of a follower. He also said that I shouldn't wear metal, as this messes with my chi, and checked my watch to see if there was metal on it (it passed inspection - I go for those cheap $7 Walmart plastic ones). He said I should take out my metal earrings as well. I thought about it, and later that night removed four of the five metal earrings I had in. My parents were highly pleased with this, and are probably wondering why they didn't send me to a fortune teller years ago and pay him to tell me that tattoos and piercings would mess with my chi and to stay far away from them. Nothing else was that noteworthy, other than the fact that when I'm 30, I won't envy anyone, and when I'm 50, even though I'll have plenty of money, I shouldn't lend it to anyone else. Oh yeah, and he said if I was approached by the media for a job I should take it because I'm creative and my personality would suit an on-camera personality.

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The forecast for today was a small chance of snow, and this afternoon we saw a few flakes before we left work. By the time I'd left my private lesson at 8:30, there was a thin covering of snow in some places, and in others it was melting. Snow still hasn't lost it's appeal to me - I still think it makes everything better. Kind of like a giant band-aid, or a hug from your mom. It also made me wonder about the chemistry of the streets and roads. Some parts of the sidewalk had a decent covering of snow, and some parts were completely melted. During the day n and the shade is.s sense because of where the sun and the shade is. But this was well after dark, and I couldn't see anything that would indicate a difference in the materials that would cause parts to melt and others not too. I suppose that's one of the many mysteries of Korea that I'll never know...

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I'm coming up on the end of my 9th month here in Korea. It really doesn't seem like I've been here that long, but I'm scheduled to come back home in just three short months. After all this mess with the graduations are over, I'm going to ask if I can stay an extra month and come home at the beginning of July instead of the beginning of June. Not that I wouldn't love to spend two whole months living in my parent's spare bedroom, but I'll still have bills to pay, and I won't be able to come back to Korea until August 1st. I'm just now starting to get a bit homesick. Not a lot, and mostly it's just because I haven't been able to see any of my family or friends back home. Skype has helped a bit, but I never realized how often I would travel home to see my parents or family. I've made some amazing life-long friends here, but nothing will ever replace the family I have back home. I'm one of the lucky few people I've ever known to have grown up in a loving, stable, healthy environment with parents who were able to prioritize and allow me to grow into my own person without letting me have the run-of-the-house. It wasn't idyllic, but I couldn't ask for anything better for my own future family.

I'm really looking forward to our family reunion cruise for a few reasons. One is it will make it a lot easier on me to see as many of my family members as possible before I come back to Korea. I'll have many of my relatives, some from out-of-state whom I rarely get to see as it is, all in one place. This way I won't have to try to travel to see any of them - we'll all be on the same boat (literally). I've also never been on a cruise before, and I've never been to the Bahamas. My passport expires in 2010, and I'll have to get a new one before I come back to Korea, so I'd like to get at least one more stamp in there before I retire it.

Culture Shock, or the lack thereof

I had been warned by a few people that I would experience culture shock. According to wikipedia (not the source of all information, but still it's faster than most sites), culture shock consists of three phases:

shock (moving to a foreign country) often consists of distinct phases, though not everyone passes through these phases and not everyone is in the new culture long enough to pass through all three[3]:

The "Honeymoon Phase" - During this period the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new foods, the pace of the life, the people's habits, the buildings and so on.

The "Negotiation Phase" - After a few days, weeks, or months, minor differences between the old and new culture are resolved. One may long for food the way it is prepared in one's native country, may find the pace of life too fast or slow, may find the people's habits annoying, etc.

The "Everything is OK" phase - Again, after a few days, weeks, or months, one grows accustomed to the new culture's differences and develops routines. By this point, one no longer reacts to the new culture positively or negatively, because it no longer feels like a new culture. One becomes concerned with basic living again, as one was in their original culture.

Reverse Culture Shock - Returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same effects as described above.

Last night I had a dream, where I was homesick. I couldn't get over the fact that I couldn't get frozen waffles, or read a menu in a restaurant. I missed being able to see my family, and trying on shoes my size, instead of 3 sizes too small. I missed the unconscious act of reading every single sign I passed by, instead of seeing symbols that I can barely pronounce, let alone read. I missed knowing that at a moments notice, I could hop in my car and drive to see my parents, or sisters, or friends for a special occasion, including the arrival of a new member into the family. I was crying hysterically, and flew back home immediately, just to hug my family. And then I woke up. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn't actually homesick. Yes, I feel frustrated at times that I can't read anything, and I can't shop for shoes within the country. Yes of course I miss my family and friends. I miss the independence of having a car.

But I don't miss the insurance bills, or the gas money. I've discovered the new independence of the public transportation system. I may not be able to tell where all the buses are going, but I know which ones to take to get me to the places I want to go. And at this point, that's all I need. And soon I will take the first bus that comes along and ride it as far as possible, just to see where it goes. The same with the metro. I don't miss feeling like I'm dragging myself out of bed in the morning to go to work, now I feel like I get to sleep in every day. The language is logical, and the grammar is simple. I'm excited to be learning a new and exotic language again, even though my mind constantly slips back into French when I try to speak it, mostly because it's the only foreign language I've ever known. I feel like I'm a student again, something I've missed for the past three years. I'm learning about a new culture, through total immersion. Yes, I am a foreigner here (they call it mee-gook). I'm reminded of it every day with the stares I get from people, and the lack of complete comfort in my surroundings.

But for some reason, I know that everything will be just fine. When I first arrived in Uijeongbu, I got off at the wrong bus stop. I didn't know a single word of Korean, despite my studying, and no one really spoke English. I didn't have any way to contact anyone here, aside from the fact that I'd never met anyone whose name I knew. I hadn't even written down the phone numbers of my contacts. But I still managed to get home and get settled. Without crying.

I think that first experience helped me to realize, once and for all, that no matter where I am, or what I'm doing, I can take care of myself. I can get to where I need or want to go, and I don't need anyone to help me do it.  Even in a foreign country. And now I want to continue to test my limits. See what I'm really capable of. I've become settled here within a month. I know I went through the 'honeymoon phase', because everything still fascinates me. Just because I can live my life on my own doesn't mean that I'm lonely, or want to spend the rest of it living by myself. But for now, I'm content with being independent, and exploring the new world that's been shown to me.