"Them are ma secrets."

Dear old lady at the fruit stand behind my apartment,
Thank you for being so amazing and saying goodnight to me every night that I walk by you. And thank you for the free fruit you gave me last week, you pretty much make me love Korea more and more each day.

This is going to be a short one folks..mostly because my week wasn't extremely eventful due to being so sick and taking the bus to work everyday instead of experiencing daily adventures of "the streets" on my walk. Here goes nothin:

So, I woke up Monday morning to weather that dropped at least 20 degrees overnight and sinuses that were so plugged I felt like I was drowning when I was in the shower. So this sickness still continues on as I am writing this, however on our way home from church we stopped at this pharmacy and this Korean got me some powder that I have to put on my tongue like 5 to 6 times a day and supposedly it will help me with this wicked cough...some Korean remedy or something...im hoping this will clear it up, if not, then I will be experiencing my first trip to the doctor's office..and im guessing it will be a blogworthy experience.

Nonetheless, this week still had it's interesting moments. Such as on Tuesday, I was walking to work, in my usual state with my headphones in, gettin' pumped to teach English when I was stopped by three Korean women. This is how our conversation went:
them: "hello, you speakee Korean?"
me: "No, sorry."
them: "ooooooo...you christian?"
me: "yes."
them: "you believe heaven immortal?"
me: "Im not sure I understand, but I AM going to heaven."
them: "Mother God, tea time"
me: "Mother god tea time? What?"
*then I was saved by the little green walking man on the sign..
me: "Sorry, I have to go to work, have a good day."
Yet another interesting situation I would only experience by walking to work on a daily basis.

Something else, one of the nights last week, I was eating my dinner after work and watching a Korean basketball game on TV. I noticed both teams had one tall black guy, I'm pretty sure there are rules of only having one foreigner allowed to play at a time. Anyways, at the end of the game they were interviewing the black guy via an interpreter..he spoke English and definitely sounded like he was from Gary, Indiana or something..the situation just spewed awkwardness and then the interviewer asks what the player will do when he matches up against players that are taller than him and this is how the black guy responds, "Them are ma secrets, I ain't gunna tell no body." That was followed by a really confused look on the interpreters face and nervous laughter from everyone else..it was pretty hilarious..lily and I had a few good laughs.

So, midweek I asked my Korean adult students what I should do about my cough and they said to do my laundry, turn on my heat, and lay all the wet clothes all over my floor so the heat from the floor will cause some kind of dehumidifier effect. So, I finally did laundry for the first time...now you may be thinking to yourself, "Hasn't she been there a month, how on earth did she have enough 'unmentionables' to survive her." The answer is NOT that i turned them inside out to conserve water and keep my water bill down, it is simply that I packed a whole heap of delicates..anyways, I did just that and I slept like an elementary school student after their first lock in..it was wonderful...i would have taken a picture but i think you know why i didn't.

I got a cell phone this week..finally, that was a hassle, like i said in the beginning got some free fruit, and lastly, Lily and I had a little incident. While I was skyping with my friend Aaron, I was attempting to take her out so she could say hello to him too, when I suddenly remembered I hadn't really fed her that morning..The "suddenly remembered" happened when Lily had sunk her little teeth into my hand..yep, she bit me. But by the end of our skyping conversation, I fed her, put on a glove and manhandled her right out of her cage. We aren't fighting anymore and I think I've partially gained her trust back by giving her many sunflower seeds. And I cleaned her cage yesterday for her, so she is one happy little dwarf hamster.

And to close out the week, a group of teachers and several guys from the airforce base went to this place called Naejangsan National Park...the leaves were turning colors and the mountains were so beautiful! We played some frisbee, hiked a little, ate, and just enjoyed Korea's great outdoors..Here are some pics from the day..they were taken by Jon Casebolt and if you wish to purchase one, please send us BOTH your credit card information and bank account password ;)I'll post more pictures from this day on facebook later this week. Goodnight everyone and don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Honeymoon's over

Dear stray dogs,

Please stop running across the road and getting hit by cars, I can't bear to watch anymore.

Hello everyone, be prepared for a random blog post. I really have no focus right now.

Reality check: You are living and working in South Korea. The excitement has died down, coming home to an empty apartment is getting slightly lonely and you still cant read or understand the language...the honeymoon is officially over.

Although this week was a bit of a challenge, I'm glad to be facing some problems; it makes life seem a bit more real. I can't even believe I've been here for one month after Monday. Anyhow, it all started this Monday....

I woke up with a really really sore throat. Skyped with my mom for a bit when she told me she had to put our faithful feline of 15 years to sleep on Friday. I said my goodbyes before hand and this was definitely expected, but it was still a little hard nonetheless. Then before I signed off I had my mom bring the computer over to our severely overweight but very loyal dog, Cami. She was so cute and I think she recognized my voice but my mom was the one who suffered the consequence of hair on every inch of clothing..niiiiiice. Thus my first pang of homesickness. Anyhow, the day continued with a walk to work where everyone was STILL STARING, the kids were really bad and said some uncalled for things in Korean, and coming home to an empty apartment is just a recipe to wallow in the day's low points.

Tuesday was a new day, Thank the Lord. Still had it's share of challenges, but I decided to be one of those people who I really don't care for. I've become the person who walks to work with headphones in and enters their own world. I've always thought those people to be rude, and I still think a majority of those people are a bit rude..I mean who doesn't love those daily walkers who give a friendly nod to passerbyers (at least in their neighborhood) ? But anyhow, I think I have a solid excuse for my morning and afternoon actions..I just need that time to listen to English and to get in the "I will teach these little buggers English whether they like it or not" zone.

Wednesday was a bit better, and Thursday the week completely turned around... my sore throat went away, I had a great lunch break with a wonderful family I met here and I even got myself a roommate. Her name is Lily. She is a bit of a "night owl." Her favorite food is sunflower seeds. She loves to roll around on the floor. And she is the cutest dwarf hamster you've ever seen :) Here's a couple pics:

It's been nice having her around. The other morning I rolled out of bed to see her standing on her two feet looking right back at me. It's nice to have another living creature living in the apartment with me..well, besides whatever is growing inside my garbage..jk..sort of.

And the weekend has been a fun and relaxing weekend so there's been much improvement since Monday, so don't worry mom :)

Ok now it's time for Double Take Time...things that made me do a double take this week:
*An old man in a motorized wheelchair cruisin' down the highway..fast enough that I didn't have time to get my camera and snap a picture
*speaking of wheelchairs..Another old man pushing his wife in a wheelchair on the busy highway going with traffic...apparently the sidewalk is not risky enough for these people.
*Numerous bikers that decide to bike in the road and AGAINST traffic
*of course I experience weekly amazement when I see an 80 year old azooma (respectful way to say old lady) doing the asian squat when waiting for the bus
*and lastly, a little boy in my class was acting up and being really loud and I think I saw one of the little girls give him the middle finger..i didn't say anything to her because 1) I don't think she understands, she's 10 and is that a universal sign? and 2) I was thinking, "my thoughts exactly."

Although the honeymoon stage has seemed to pass, I'm still looking forward to this next week. I think facing reality will help in my journey of figuring out if teaching is for me. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the Fall season..especially the Midwest. Go Packers!

Give a Little Take a Little

Dear United States and South Korea,
You both are similar in many ways, but you could learn alot from each other.

On my walk to work everyday, I seem to always see a building that makes me say, "Did they build that overnight?" It's about a 2 mile walk, so there is much to see and since I'm beginning to settle in, I'm able to start enjoying my surroundings. However, some things I don't think will ever change. I mean, come on group of trash picker uppers, I walk pass you EVERY morning but you still stare and don't smile. We'll work on that. Anyhow, all this to say, on my walks, as I observe people and places and reflect on Korea as a country and a people, I see so much that South Korea could teach the United States and vice versa. Thus the following:

United States you could learn:

*respect for older citizens (but don't get too high and mighty on us)
-I saw a young boy bump into an older lady and he immediately apologized and bowed to her.
But she didn't even acknowledge him. A little "hey, you cute little boy, that's ok, thanks for
bowing though" would have been nice. Overall, though, I love the way Koreans treat their
elders.
-Also, although I love the respect, sometimes I think I'm risking my life to respect the older ladies on my walk. For example, today as I was walking, three older ladies were walking towards me. They were taking up the whole sidewalk and no one did the "get behind the person your walking with" move to let me walk past them. Instead, I seriously risked my life stepping off the sidewalk to avoid a human pileup. (I'm over exaggerating mom, there really were no cars coming).

*Oldest person always getting the bill for everyone at the table
-thank goodness I'm pretty much younger than everyone I meet AND in South Korea everyone is 1 years old when they are born..so I am 22 but 23 in Korea...but of course I always go with my native age...it pays.

*gift-giving to the max...I am not only talking about when Koreans go to someone else's house, they pretty much always bring a gift, but I'm talking about everyday things.
-Like second day of class one of my students brought me this delicious box of rice cookies, then today one of my adult students brought me a towel...kinda random, but thoughtful
-Also, there is this little girl who EVERY SINGLE day will come into the teacher's lounge and offer us her snacks, so to be polite, all the teachers take one of her snacks and then she makes the rounds again to offer second helpings. Many times we try to refuse but she just stands there as cute as can be. If we haven't taken seconds after about 10 seconds she grabs a snack and shoves it in our mouths...now that's what i call a giving person (Maybe not that extreme, America, but you catch my drift.)

*sharing and caring...
(Side story) When I was younger, I remember my dad telling us once that he wanted to make a huge SIGN to put in our yard that read "The Andersons are a sharing, caring, loving family." WHAT? a sign? yes, a big sign, much like the oversized political signs that reside in our yard every year around this time.
-anyhow, Koreans share everything..and I mean everything as in there is no personal space or privacy anywhere.
-they also share food..at Korean restaurants, no one really has their own plate, just multiple side dishes that everyone shares
-this sharing thing is really good for me, i've never been the best sharer.

Now, South Korea you could also learn something from the United States such as:

*beds that DON'T feel like you're sleeping on a kitchen counter.
*Dryers...you'll be amazed at how nice your clothes feel after coming out of a hot dryer.
*macaroni and cheese
*Manners to strangers..."but, Natalee, I thought you said Koreans were some of the most considerate people?" Yes, I did say that, HOWEVER when it comes to standing, walking, driving a cart in the store, they will run directly into me and just keep on keeping on.

Well, that's just a few observations..I have several funny stories from the week, so here it is:

Some people love trying to speak English to me. So, one day this week, while I was walking to work, this man was in his car at a red light and he rolls down his window and shouts, "HELLO!" I turn and it's no one I know, but I still give a friendly wave. Then he shouts again, "I SPEAKEEE English!" And I actually laughed out loud and gave him a thumbs up and kept walking. I love their vigor for English, even if they don't get the saying exactly right..For example, yesterday my adult students and I went on a hike around a lake and towards the end it was getting pretty hilly. While we were walking I kept hearing them say, "I'm killing." I thought about it and came to the realization that they meant to say, "I'm dying!" But I love when they try to use idioms or phrases. LIKE, a couple days ago, I was saying goodbye to one of the adult students at the school and she says, "Catch you on the flip side." haha..that made me giggle.

Anyhow, I'm enjoying those little situations, but in the next few weeks, I hope to go on some adventures throughout other parts of South Korea. I promise I will put up a tour video of my apartment very very soon.

Alternate Reality

Dear South Korea,

Thank you for making my trip here two weeks ago a simple thing. Really, maybe it was too easy to get into the country? Anyway, I look forward to our adventures together this next year.

SO, here I am sitting in my one room apartment, watching Eagle Eye on TV (apparently Saturdays are English movie day in Korea :) ), and about to attempt to explain how I feel about my first two weeks in Korea.

Well, the best way I can describe what I think could be called "culture shock" is that I feel like I'm watching my life from above. It's weird and it's been extremely overwhelming not knowing the language, not knowing how to read the signs. Initially I struggled because I didn't know how to do the basic things like turn on the light, make a phone call, flush a toilet, turn on my microwave or actually know what I was buying at the grocery store. But as I said that's all improving.

So, let me give you a quick run down on what I have been up to. First, dad and I got here on Monday morning at 5 a.m. and we checked into a hotel and slept all day and tried to sleep all night. The next day we got on a bus and drove about 3 1/2 hours south to Gunsan. This day was packed full of getting all the luggage into the apartment, meeting the teachers at the school, meeting some students, job shadowing, going over the manuel, yatta yatta yatta..but this day was a struggle because of the jet lag and question in my head, "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Anyway, progressively, the days got better, I spent the first week job shadowing, talking to the manager of the school, unpacking, and sleeping as much as possible.
On Saturday, I met up with a girl my dad met at a church service here in Gunsan and myself, her, her roomate and her roomie's b/f had pancakes and then went to Wolmpyong Park about 3 blocks from my apt. I'm sure I'll go again and take some pics.

That Saturday morning my dad left and so began my first time living alone. The first night was a little hard, but when I'm laying down, I just think of how it's really no different than sleeping in the dorm at school..I am surrounded by other apartments. The only difference is that no one speaks English around me, but I'm confident that if a crisis were to happen I could communicate with my neighbors through hand gestures and pointing, I am 1/4 Italian after all ;)

Sunday I went to church at Haven Baptist, a church that is located right outside the US airforce base in Gunsan. It was nice and they were all so welcoming. And so began my first real week here as an English teacher. Monday was a good first day. My first class is at 10 a.m. I have 3 adult students who are probably in their 40's or 50's. They are a wonderful class and are passionate about learning English. Then I have a 5 hour break where I this week I either ran errands or just came back to the apt. Then at 4 I have a class of 7 wild elementary aged kids (they will really test my patience), at 4:30 I have another (but less wild) group of 4 elementary aged kids, at 5 a group of 4 teens, half hour break at 5:30, class of 2 30 year olds from 6 to 7, and then finish it off with a class of 4 15ish year olds from 7 to 8. Not too bad of hours. I am sure I will go into more detail about these classes in the future posts.

I feel like I could go on and on about the differences I see in culture, the interesting things I've noticed about the people, etc, but I'm going to try to keep this short and will hopefully cover some of those things later on. So, I just want to update you on the interesting food I've eaten and I want to tell you about Tuesday last week...interesting day.

ok..FOOD..well, ironically, the very first meal I ate in Korea was Italian. My dad and I had slept all day at the hotel and I was feeling overwhelmed and I just wanted something familiar. So, I had this DELICIOUS chicken carbonara. As for Korean food, we had this seafood pancake looking thing, something called samgyeopsal which we cooked the meat in front of us and then made sort of an lettuce wrap with your choice of sides, other good dishes I've consumed are things called jjamppong, ja jyang myeon, and other things I simply cannot pronounce. I will keep you updated though. The food is good. I'm not a fan of Kimchi, but apparently that's ok because there is some sort of Kimchi crisis going on here in Korea.

Tuesday was such an interesting day. First of all, on my walk to work, a solid 35 minute walk, I stepped in a heaping pile of gum which got in my sandel and on the bottom of my foot. So, the day started a little rough, but I decided to live on the wild side and walk on the other sidewalk..it was there that I discovered two things that I am sure will brighten my day everyday--puppy world and a hair salon with a cute little dog with pink highlighted ears outside it's doors. So, after seeing the puppies and petting the dog I've named Jacksie jr, I forgot about the mess the gum had caused. After class, my adult class invited me to go to lunch with them and their former teacher, so I did. We apparently went to a very famous Chinese place (Korean style) that served the best jjamppong around, however it's kind of spicy, and after just teaching my adult students different ways to say I like or dislike something, they knew I did not really like spicy food so they ordered me ja jyeon myeong..a Chinese noodle dish with a black bean sauce, which I think was one of my favorite foods so far. After that, they took us on a little drive to the Gunsan countryside where rice fields are plentiful and Cosmos flowers are all along the road. After making a stop to say hi to Mr. Che's son who runs a rice tractor business, we ended up pulling off on the side of the road to take some pictures. The road was a bit busy, but these students were set on taking pictures with their former teacher and the beautiful autumn flowers. Anyhow, we ended our adventure at a coffee shop at Eunpa Park. I had some Green tea ice cream which was just scrumptious.

So, what I thought was only lunch turned into quite an afternoon adventure. To end this eventful day, I was in the middle of teaching my 7 oclock class when all the lights in the building went off..my initial thought was, "North Korea! I knew this was going to happen," after a minute though, the lights were back on and I was relieved that maybe I overreacted ;)

Now, I know you probably did not make it to the end of this post, but in case you did, thanks for reading and I am going to try to post once a week or at times when I just feel like it is blog worthy. I hope everything back in the states is going well and hopefully next time I blog I will feel less like I am experiencing an alternate reality. Pictures of the apt to follow...