random thought...
15 years ago
7/17/08
Pre-Songnisan
Just a quick note to say I will be away this weekend. They're taking us to this national park which is supposed to have some of the best views in Korea. I'll hopefully be able to get some great pix while I'm there and post them here. I'll also try to update my blog when I get back (since pretty much all we can do is go hiking while we're there, I think I'll have time to collect my thoughts and write some better blog entries). I actually had to buy new shoes just to go hiking and lord knows I don't hike but I think it will be worth it. Anyway, I'll definitely be updating soon!!!! Hope you all have a good weekend!!!
7/12/08
First Week
**this was written at the beginning of Orientation and I somehow never got around to posting it**
Disclaimer: Go straight to the bottom of the post for the more interesting parts.
Ok, so I've been pretty busy and it's been hard for me to find the time or energy to update this blog but I promise I'll try to update it at least once a week. Anyway, it's been the first week and I can't believe it's only been a week. I think I've been adjusting better than I thought I would, although we are in a sort of bubble here on campus and daily life is mostly taken care of for us (meals, activities, etc.). We had a lot of boring paperwork and boring details to go over the first few days. I kinda wish we had done the usual icebreaker activities that usually happens at these types of things, but we didn't do any. I know it's hard with so many people (about 70) but I think it would have made it a lot easier for us to meet each other faster.
Anyway, I've been having a lot of awkward meals and conversations with people (more b/c I'm an extremely awkward person) and though I've been trying to be more outgoing, it's really hard for me to be in this type of situation with so many new people just everywhere. I'm really glad I at least get along with my roomate and have started making better friends with certain people. It's weird but I still haven't met everyone here but I suppose I will by the time we leave here.
We started Korean classes this week and I was extremely happy that I got into Intermediate class and hopefully my Korean will be a lot better in a few weeks. It's been hard though, especially with grammar because my parents let me speak this terrible pidgin Korean and let me make horrible grammatical mistakes, etc. when I was speaking Korean to them so it's harder now to learn the proper forms than if I was starting with a clean slate. It hasn't been too bad so far though, and I've been surprised at how much I can understand.
As for what I do outside of class (we have Korean class in the morning for 4 hours and then workshops about teaching and Korean culture, etc. in the afternoon) I joined this on-campus club which brings together the local university students with us Americans (one of the few extra-curricular activities that's free). It's funny because I thought it would be pretty casual, like a lot of the clubs at my college, but the Korean students take it pretty seriously. They meet almost every day (even Sat.) and at every meeting one of them gives a speech in English. And not just some speech about their name or something but like a speech on juvenile delinquicy or the oil crisis. Seriously. It's kind of amazing how good their English is. But, as serious as they are about studying and learning English, these kids know how to party! Last night they were celebrating finishing up summer clases so after the meeting we all went out to a sort of bar/resturant and played some fun drinking games. It was far more entertaining than any of the American bars I've been to. I drank more than I intended to because I kept losing at the games but I wasn't too bad. We convinced the Korean students to take us to a nearby dance club (which they usually don't do), and had a great time there. Except the whole time I was just drenched in sweat, from the bar to the club b/c there was so many people and the air conditioning in Korea is often not as strong as in American and also tends to be concentrated in certain spots in a room.
The club was great though b/c the DJ played mostly American rap music and mostly everyone was dancing, although the Korean students were pretty shy about dancing until we sorta forced them to. Haha. I think they had a good time watching us go crazy though. So we were there for so long, until 2:30 and by then I was just ready to drop into bed. I thought the Korean students were ready to go home too but they asked us if we wanted to go to "nuraebang" or go karoke-ing with them. I couldn't believe they still wanted to go out but like I said, they know how to party.
Ok let's get to the miscellaneous stuff I've learned about Korea so far:
1) Apparently, the plumbing is bad in Korea so you're actually not supposed to flush toilet paper. Let me just say it takes awhile getting used to this.
2) I'm not sure if this is common or not, but in our dorm, the toilets are separated from the showers (i.e. they're in two different rooms).
3) Everything is smaller in Korea. The drinks (soda and iced coffee, etc. are smaller. The people are smaller. The meals are smaller. I've also noticed that Koreans seem much more serious and committed to having the least amount of waste possible. For example, when we clear our trays at the caferteria you dump it all into a big bowel and you feel incredibly bad dumping a lot, especially when you see the Korean students dumping practically nothing. I've actually become a lot more conscious of taking less food and thus wasting much less as well. Also, when we (briefly) went to a local supermarket I asked for a plastic bag for my purchase and was told it would cost 1000 won (or about $1). Which was good, because that's something that probably should be done everywhere, especially in the States.
4) Certain things are incredibly cheap here. I paid about $5 last night for dinner, which was delicious and way more food than you'd think you could get for that much. I also bought 2 cutesy notebooks and a planner that Asian girls are known for carrying around (it's not usually my style, but I figured why not--when in Rome, right?), also for about $5. The drinking last night was also pretty cheap as well.
5) If you can party without noticing your shoe is broken, then you know you're partying with a bunch of Koreans. True story: one of my favorite sandals broke somehow when I was walking last night but I soldiered on and danced up a storm anyway. I wouldn't recommend it but somehow I was ok with pretty much just one proper shoe. I'm not too sad because apparently shoe repair here is also very cheap.
6) Koreans are skinny. Like there are some girls and boys here who are incredibly (dangerously?) skinny. I was surprised when one of the Korean girls told me I was skinny because I'm practically overweight compared to some of them (and yes, some of them might be naturally skinny, but I suspect for many of them it's over-dieting and over-exercising).
7) This is something I'm sure will keep happening throughout the year I'm here, but I'm starting to understand already so much more why my parents would scold me about things I thought were completely harmless or why they wouldn't let me do certain things or why they felt so strongly about other things. It's really been eye-opening. More on that in a later post.
I'm guessing the first week is the hardest, and now that my jet lag is finally letting up a bit I think (and hope) next week will be much, much better.
Disclaimer: Go straight to the bottom of the post for the more interesting parts.
Ok, so I've been pretty busy and it's been hard for me to find the time or energy to update this blog but I promise I'll try to update it at least once a week. Anyway, it's been the first week and I can't believe it's only been a week. I think I've been adjusting better than I thought I would, although we are in a sort of bubble here on campus and daily life is mostly taken care of for us (meals, activities, etc.). We had a lot of boring paperwork and boring details to go over the first few days. I kinda wish we had done the usual icebreaker activities that usually happens at these types of things, but we didn't do any. I know it's hard with so many people (about 70) but I think it would have made it a lot easier for us to meet each other faster.
Anyway, I've been having a lot of awkward meals and conversations with people (more b/c I'm an extremely awkward person) and though I've been trying to be more outgoing, it's really hard for me to be in this type of situation with so many new people just everywhere. I'm really glad I at least get along with my roomate and have started making better friends with certain people. It's weird but I still haven't met everyone here but I suppose I will by the time we leave here.
We started Korean classes this week and I was extremely happy that I got into Intermediate class and hopefully my Korean will be a lot better in a few weeks. It's been hard though, especially with grammar because my parents let me speak this terrible pidgin Korean and let me make horrible grammatical mistakes, etc. when I was speaking Korean to them so it's harder now to learn the proper forms than if I was starting with a clean slate. It hasn't been too bad so far though, and I've been surprised at how much I can understand.
As for what I do outside of class (we have Korean class in the morning for 4 hours and then workshops about teaching and Korean culture, etc. in the afternoon) I joined this on-campus club which brings together the local university students with us Americans (one of the few extra-curricular activities that's free). It's funny because I thought it would be pretty casual, like a lot of the clubs at my college, but the Korean students take it pretty seriously. They meet almost every day (even Sat.) and at every meeting one of them gives a speech in English. And not just some speech about their name or something but like a speech on juvenile delinquicy or the oil crisis. Seriously. It's kind of amazing how good their English is. But, as serious as they are about studying and learning English, these kids know how to party! Last night they were celebrating finishing up summer clases so after the meeting we all went out to a sort of bar/resturant and played some fun drinking games. It was far more entertaining than any of the American bars I've been to. I drank more than I intended to because I kept losing at the games but I wasn't too bad. We convinced the Korean students to take us to a nearby dance club (which they usually don't do), and had a great time there. Except the whole time I was just drenched in sweat, from the bar to the club b/c there was so many people and the air conditioning in Korea is often not as strong as in American and also tends to be concentrated in certain spots in a room.
The club was great though b/c the DJ played mostly American rap music and mostly everyone was dancing, although the Korean students were pretty shy about dancing until we sorta forced them to. Haha. I think they had a good time watching us go crazy though. So we were there for so long, until 2:30 and by then I was just ready to drop into bed. I thought the Korean students were ready to go home too but they asked us if we wanted to go to "nuraebang" or go karoke-ing with them. I couldn't believe they still wanted to go out but like I said, they know how to party.
Ok let's get to the miscellaneous stuff I've learned about Korea so far:
1) Apparently, the plumbing is bad in Korea so you're actually not supposed to flush toilet paper. Let me just say it takes awhile getting used to this.
2) I'm not sure if this is common or not, but in our dorm, the toilets are separated from the showers (i.e. they're in two different rooms).
3) Everything is smaller in Korea. The drinks (soda and iced coffee, etc. are smaller. The people are smaller. The meals are smaller. I've also noticed that Koreans seem much more serious and committed to having the least amount of waste possible. For example, when we clear our trays at the caferteria you dump it all into a big bowel and you feel incredibly bad dumping a lot, especially when you see the Korean students dumping practically nothing. I've actually become a lot more conscious of taking less food and thus wasting much less as well. Also, when we (briefly) went to a local supermarket I asked for a plastic bag for my purchase and was told it would cost 1000 won (or about $1). Which was good, because that's something that probably should be done everywhere, especially in the States.
4) Certain things are incredibly cheap here. I paid about $5 last night for dinner, which was delicious and way more food than you'd think you could get for that much. I also bought 2 cutesy notebooks and a planner that Asian girls are known for carrying around (it's not usually my style, but I figured why not--when in Rome, right?), also for about $5. The drinking last night was also pretty cheap as well.
5) If you can party without noticing your shoe is broken, then you know you're partying with a bunch of Koreans. True story: one of my favorite sandals broke somehow when I was walking last night but I soldiered on and danced up a storm anyway. I wouldn't recommend it but somehow I was ok with pretty much just one proper shoe. I'm not too sad because apparently shoe repair here is also very cheap.
6) Koreans are skinny. Like there are some girls and boys here who are incredibly (dangerously?) skinny. I was surprised when one of the Korean girls told me I was skinny because I'm practically overweight compared to some of them (and yes, some of them might be naturally skinny, but I suspect for many of them it's over-dieting and over-exercising).
7) This is something I'm sure will keep happening throughout the year I'm here, but I'm starting to understand already so much more why my parents would scold me about things I thought were completely harmless or why they wouldn't let me do certain things or why they felt so strongly about other things. It's really been eye-opening. More on that in a later post.
I'm guessing the first week is the hardest, and now that my jet lag is finally letting up a bit I think (and hope) next week will be much, much better.
7/7/08
Flying + First Day
So let's begin with the cross-country flight. I thought that flight was long and it was only 6 hours. I get to the airport and I'm so ready to just plop down and do nothing for awhile. The very last thing in the world I want to do is get on another damn plane for an even longer flight. My last meal in America, fittingly, is a greasy Big Mac and fries. I was so bored at the airport because it was too dim to read, and I couldn't find wireless internet. I kinda just sat there and spaced out for the hour until my flight. When I got to the gate there was a whole crapload of people (young, recent college-grads mostly) sitting in a big circle. I was pretty sure these were all people going to the same place I was but I wasn't in the mood to meet people and make small talk.
Anyway, I get on the plane to Korea and it's much more spacious than the other plane. I end up watching most of "Definitely, Maybe" which was better than I expected, but still not a great one and part of this strange movie called "Penelope" which I'm almost certain was titled "Pig" in the US. Anyway, this movie is about this girl who is cursed with a pig nose and all the outsider problems that creates, blah blah blah. It was a weird movie to say the least, and I could never tell if it was trying to be comedic or dramatic or both.
Ok, sorry if I'm boring you but it'll get more interesting, I promise. So I managed to fall asleep for most of the flight which was nice. We arrive at Seoul around 5 AM and people are practically shoving each other to get off the plane. I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to aiports, let alone a foreign airport, and so just end up following people who look like they know where they're going. I'm pleased to see that I'm one of the most lightly packed people on the trip; most people had about twice as much luggage as me. Not too bad considering I have a tendency to overpack when I travel. I manage to embarass myself myself multiple times while in the airport, a memorable one being the time I tried to walk through the customs inspection without having filled out a form.
The really weird thing about the Seoul airport is that it looked a lot like the way I dreamed about it a couple weeks ago. Anyway, it's chaos as we're all trying to get onto the buses and sort out our massive load of luggage. We finally get on the bus and ride for about 4 hours. I feel incredibly nauseous the whole time and actually still feel nauseous even as I'm typing this. We arrive at the university we'll be staying at for the next 6 weeks and it's not at all like I imagined. I guess I was expecting a typical American campus but it's hard to distinguish the college from its city surroundings. We go to our rooms to unwind for a bit and I'm once again thankful for not having brought a crapload of luggage as I see lots of people struggling with ginormous suitcases. Just so you know the weather is absolutely horrendous right now, super humid and I feel absolutely disgusting--all the time. I'm so very relieved to see working air conditioning in our rooms, the only thing that'll keep me sane in this weather.
My roomie is nice and as it turns out knows one of my good friends from college--crazy how that stuff works. In fact everyone is very nice but I am lacking in the socialization department today. It takes too much energy to make small talk and try to be charming and funny so I don't even really try. I know first impressions count, but I really start to get sick of asking and answering the same 5 questions over and over again: What's your name? Where are you from? What school did you go to? Have you ever been to Korea? What was your major? I'm comforted by the fact that my roomate is also feeling more and more anti-social as the day goes on and on and we can be anti-social together.
I feel like a lot of the Korean guys stare at me (not in a good way), probably because I am a "Korean" girl wearing a tank top that shows my shoulders, apparently a big no-no for women here. I'm thinking, are you kidding me? It's like 120 degrees outside and you want me to wear a cardigan over my sundress or tank top so that my shoulders don't show? I'm trying not to pass judgment but it seems a bit ridiculous in this weather. Somehow though, all the Korean girls here all look dressed up and non-sweaty. They're impeccably made up, wearing earrings, heels and dressy clothing. I don't even want to think about how I look, sweating profusely, baring my shoulders and looking as they say, "a hot mess." Anyway, it's kind of a problem b/c all I really brought with me are tank tops and shorts. But I don't really care if I'm seen as some hoochie-mama here, and besides, I'm not going to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe.
So that was my first day in Korea, seriously the longest day of my life. But it gets better...
Anyway, I get on the plane to Korea and it's much more spacious than the other plane. I end up watching most of "Definitely, Maybe" which was better than I expected, but still not a great one and part of this strange movie called "Penelope" which I'm almost certain was titled "Pig" in the US. Anyway, this movie is about this girl who is cursed with a pig nose and all the outsider problems that creates, blah blah blah. It was a weird movie to say the least, and I could never tell if it was trying to be comedic or dramatic or both.
Ok, sorry if I'm boring you but it'll get more interesting, I promise. So I managed to fall asleep for most of the flight which was nice. We arrive at Seoul around 5 AM and people are practically shoving each other to get off the plane. I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to aiports, let alone a foreign airport, and so just end up following people who look like they know where they're going. I'm pleased to see that I'm one of the most lightly packed people on the trip; most people had about twice as much luggage as me. Not too bad considering I have a tendency to overpack when I travel. I manage to embarass myself myself multiple times while in the airport, a memorable one being the time I tried to walk through the customs inspection without having filled out a form.
The really weird thing about the Seoul airport is that it looked a lot like the way I dreamed about it a couple weeks ago. Anyway, it's chaos as we're all trying to get onto the buses and sort out our massive load of luggage. We finally get on the bus and ride for about 4 hours. I feel incredibly nauseous the whole time and actually still feel nauseous even as I'm typing this. We arrive at the university we'll be staying at for the next 6 weeks and it's not at all like I imagined. I guess I was expecting a typical American campus but it's hard to distinguish the college from its city surroundings. We go to our rooms to unwind for a bit and I'm once again thankful for not having brought a crapload of luggage as I see lots of people struggling with ginormous suitcases. Just so you know the weather is absolutely horrendous right now, super humid and I feel absolutely disgusting--all the time. I'm so very relieved to see working air conditioning in our rooms, the only thing that'll keep me sane in this weather.
My roomie is nice and as it turns out knows one of my good friends from college--crazy how that stuff works. In fact everyone is very nice but I am lacking in the socialization department today. It takes too much energy to make small talk and try to be charming and funny so I don't even really try. I know first impressions count, but I really start to get sick of asking and answering the same 5 questions over and over again: What's your name? Where are you from? What school did you go to? Have you ever been to Korea? What was your major? I'm comforted by the fact that my roomate is also feeling more and more anti-social as the day goes on and on and we can be anti-social together.
I feel like a lot of the Korean guys stare at me (not in a good way), probably because I am a "Korean" girl wearing a tank top that shows my shoulders, apparently a big no-no for women here. I'm thinking, are you kidding me? It's like 120 degrees outside and you want me to wear a cardigan over my sundress or tank top so that my shoulders don't show? I'm trying not to pass judgment but it seems a bit ridiculous in this weather. Somehow though, all the Korean girls here all look dressed up and non-sweaty. They're impeccably made up, wearing earrings, heels and dressy clothing. I don't even want to think about how I look, sweating profusely, baring my shoulders and looking as they say, "a hot mess." Anyway, it's kind of a problem b/c all I really brought with me are tank tops and shorts. But I don't really care if I'm seen as some hoochie-mama here, and besides, I'm not going to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe.
So that was my first day in Korea, seriously the longest day of my life. But it gets better...
7/3/08
Almost, But Not Quite
I'm almost ready. Or, I suppose, as ready as one can be in this situation. I've been getting less and less sleep each night this week, my stomach tightening with anticipation as Sat. looms ever closer. You see, for one thing, I'm having a hell of a time trying to pack the "essentials" and pack "lightly as possible" and yet still feel comfortable with having enough stuff to last me through a year. Also, I have a ton of clothes already which makes it hard to sort through and figure out which ones to bring. See my overflowing closet and all the clothes I'm leaving behind? Ok, I know it doesn't look that bad but you can't see behind the other door where's there's even more clothes. Also I had to put some in my sis' empty closet too. Actually, I kinda wish I had brought more clothes with me here b/c it's so hot that I'm changing clothes a lot which means more laundry.
I have limited myself to a backpack and laptop case for my carry-ons, and a medium-sized suitcase and a really tiny one as my 2 pieces of luggage (see below)*. And in between trying to fit a towel (Korea, for some strange reason, is lacking in the big, human-sized towel department and most of the towels there are tiny) and a pillow (Koreans like to sleep on hard bean pillows which I already know from having slept on one when I was little that I cannot and will not sleep on those things) I can barely fit in the toiletries, shoes (shoes are evilly bulky), and clothes that I need. It doesn't help that I'm planning on bringing my big, bulky winter coat or a year's supply of deodorant (it's hard to find in Korea and pricey).
.
I'm also haunted by the fact that I know I'm forgetting to bring something, probably very important but I just can't figure out what it is. And I know I'm not going to figure it out until I'm safely in Korea. Dammit.
Finally, there's this little fear of heights I have. And fear of flying on airplanes. In fact, the flight to Korea will be the longest and 3rd flight I've ever been on in my life. And I'm terrified but trying not to think about it. I'm hoping I'll be knocked out for most of the plane ride actually. I'm a total worrywort and keep imagining the worst, like losing my luggage, missing my flight, getting lost, among other, more terrible things. I've also never been abroad before (a weekend in Canada hardly counts) and my Korean language skills, to say the least, are subpar. What if I don't make any friends? What if my homestay family are lunatics? What if my students hate me? Oy vey.
There are about a million other little things (it's always the little things, isn't it?) that are also driving me crazy right now but I won't bore you with minute details (anymore at least). As much as I'm dreading Sat., I'm also looking forward to just leaving already and being on my way.
Anyway, I'll leave you with excerpts of a farewell note given to me by a friend, a very, very special note:
Dear YJ,
I'll miss you....I'll miss your openness...I'll miss you every way known to man. Live, YJ. I want you to be free.
With love and nudity,
[name redacted]
And actually, I left out the worst parts. I have very, very special friends.
*yeah i have a unicorn poster in my room. wanna make something of it?
I have limited myself to a backpack and laptop case for my carry-ons, and a medium-sized suitcase and a really tiny one as my 2 pieces of luggage (see below)*. And in between trying to fit a towel (Korea, for some strange reason, is lacking in the big, human-sized towel department and most of the towels there are tiny) and a pillow (Koreans like to sleep on hard bean pillows which I already know from having slept on one when I was little that I cannot and will not sleep on those things) I can barely fit in the toiletries, shoes (shoes are evilly bulky), and clothes that I need. It doesn't help that I'm planning on bringing my big, bulky winter coat or a year's supply of deodorant (it's hard to find in Korea and pricey).
.
I'm also haunted by the fact that I know I'm forgetting to bring something, probably very important but I just can't figure out what it is. And I know I'm not going to figure it out until I'm safely in Korea. Dammit.
Finally, there's this little fear of heights I have. And fear of flying on airplanes. In fact, the flight to Korea will be the longest and 3rd flight I've ever been on in my life. And I'm terrified but trying not to think about it. I'm hoping I'll be knocked out for most of the plane ride actually. I'm a total worrywort and keep imagining the worst, like losing my luggage, missing my flight, getting lost, among other, more terrible things. I've also never been abroad before (a weekend in Canada hardly counts) and my Korean language skills, to say the least, are subpar. What if I don't make any friends? What if my homestay family are lunatics? What if my students hate me? Oy vey.
There are about a million other little things (it's always the little things, isn't it?) that are also driving me crazy right now but I won't bore you with minute details (anymore at least). As much as I'm dreading Sat., I'm also looking forward to just leaving already and being on my way.
Anyway, I'll leave you with excerpts of a farewell note given to me by a friend, a very, very special note:
Dear YJ,
I'll miss you....I'll miss your openness...I'll miss you every way known to man. Live, YJ. I want you to be free.
With love and nudity,
[name redacted]
And actually, I left out the worst parts. I have very, very special friends.
*yeah i have a unicorn poster in my room. wanna make something of it?
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