hello teachuh!

Hello dear friends. I can say without any hesitation that I have been thinking of you frequently -- each and every one of you. I so appreciate that you are out there, reading, and tuning-in periodically to my [mis]adventures. I must also admit, rather sheepishly, that I have completely neglected Felix (my Canon T2i, if you didn't already know his name) so here I am without any pictures of my own to share with you. This is in part due to the "unseasonable" rain Seoul has been having over the past several days, and more-so due to my own hectic shenanigans. I am only just NOW getting settled into my apartment after numerous trips to E-Mart and keeping up with the school's schedule on top of it. No wonder I've come down with my first Korean cold!

I am living in Gwangjin-Gu (pictured), a very non-touristy and lovely district of Seoul. I am, without question, the whitest person by any calculation, and I must admit it's sort of nice and definitely very interesting living as a minority for once. I can't go anywhere without catching someone's eye, and many a small child has genuinely stopped in their tracks at the grocery store just to gawk at me. Their poor embarrassed mothers just shake them and whisper things in Korean as I try to disarm myself as a spectacle by smiling, "Annyeong!" The mothers seems relieved that I'm offering Korean in return, and begin prodding the mystified toddlers to form words out of their gaping little mouths. I usually just shrug at mom and wander away, feeling the toddler gaze-burning a hole into the back of my blond head. It's sort of fun in a weird voyeuristic kind of way -- and strangely refreshing to look as different on the outside as I've always felt I am generally.

My school is called Dongguk Girls' High School, and it's metaphysically attached to Dongguk University, which is in another part of the city. I am working with what we would call 10th and 11th graders (here, referred to as 1st and 2nd grade high-schoolers), though I've yet to have them in class. Thus far, they just gather in the teachers' office and giggle in my direction, occasionally blurting out a "hello teachuh!" from behind their clasped hands. Imagine their delight when I respond, "hi, how are you?" -- I wonder how they manage to breathe amidst all their hyperventilating excitement. My first day of teaching is this Wednesday, the 1st, and before then I am furiously churning out a month's worth of lesson plans to prove myself to the Vice-Principal. Thank goodness grad school made me a lesson-planning machine or I think I would have passed out from the stress.

But it's all to impress the co-teachers! They are a lovely bunch of people, most definitely, though there is a considerable language barrier that provides constant hurdles in our communication. I am doing what I can to stay positive about these tricky relationships, as you all know that the quality of my relationships is something that I cherish above all else. I'm hoping to make Korean friends whenever possible, but I also miss being able to speak so freely and openly with others. Instead, I spent 5 minutes trying to help the head of our English department understand the difference between "arouse" and "awaken" on Thursday. What a first day!

More to come soon, my dears. I need my Alien Registration Card in order to sign up for internet, and I can't pick that up until the 10th, ssoooooooo my entries might be pretty sparse until then. But I thank you for keeping up where you can and I look forward to sharing some pictures of my neighborhood with you! Keep reading and don't give up on me. Love to you...

becoming oriented

In the middle of orientation, approximately 4 days into my Korean life, I feel ready to dive into my own apartment. I want to nest; I long to settle. I don't like summer camps, and the more I think about it, the more realize that the reason I never cared for them is that I like to sleep where home is. Unless I'm traveling through a place, and in the mindset of a "traveler," I don't like to settle in temporary homes. Home doesn't have to be a certain person or a certain place, just me is fine. Me with myself in a place that I have nested into a home -- full of routines and color and comfort and worked into the grooves of my rhythm, much like the way I've now seen chopsticks just slide into the crease of a ring finger.

Korea is going to be home, and that's really hitting me. During my limited opportunities to wander beyond the walls of Kyung He, I have seen glimpses of a place that will embrace me as soon as I'm able to move in. Today, on our group field trip to a Korean folk village, one storekeeper was so tickled by my Korean "excuse me" and "thank you" that she gifted me a set of handmade clay spoons to accompany my newly purchased onggi bowl. I look forward to cooking some delicious curry on my own, using local ingredients, and filling that bowl with the color and comfort I've mentioned. That bowl will slide into the cup of my hands as I sit in my new apartment, reflecting on the day's lesson and attempting to make sense of this new life.

the girls' dorm (left) Kyung He University

This week has been exhausting, revealing frustrations and considerations for the year to come. But more importantly, full of charming gifts much like the one in the village store. Korean lessons are fantastic, and I'm really feeling energized to learn this language. I'm already reading hangul on my own (I mean, not perfectly of course, but even so!), and I can't wait to get to a level of more intuitive writing. The more I learn it, the more I understand what a beautifully crafted language it is. Earlier in the week, we were welcomed onto the EPIK team with a presentation by a local children's Taekwondo team.

And as I mentioned, the visit to the folk village was extremely interesting, even if was the hottest I think I've ever been in my life. It was fantastic to see this old culture, so connected to its roots and thriving in its solidarity. We were able to witness some incredible performances by folk chanters (below first) and performance artists (below second, if you can spot him). Even if we did have to wear matching t-shirts the whole day (the worst days at summer camp didn't even involve that), and even though I sweated completely through it, it was well worth the heat exhaustion to experience this pocket of traditional village life.



So what's next? Many of you have asked for the details of my future, and I wish I could give them. All I know is that I will definitely be teaching in a high school (location and stats TBA) and that I get to move into my new apartment on Wednesday. That will be a huge day because not only will I meet my head co-teacher (super duper important relationship to maintain this year), but I'll see my apartment and learn the details of my school placement (schedule, students, neighborhood, etc). Wednesday and I cannot meet soon enough. Wednesday is on my mind. Wednesday is coming...

a note from the crossroads

Dear Self,
Here we are, on the corner of life and life. Your existence fits snugly into 2 large suitcases, and your current city is Seoul, South Korea. You're trying to find beauty here, and you're getting glimpses of people who might be significant in your continual growth. But not yet; it's early, and you must remember that and remind yourself of it often. This is an adjustment. It's actually hitting me that we're here, and I can't fathom the image of all my friends and family members dreaming in their comfy homespaces while we wander aimlessly around Kyung He University, sweating through dresses and grumbling over the whiteness of rice at the cafeteria. Don't be that person - don't let yourself. Grandpa said you must stretch out your neck to get somewhere, and so we have done. What he didn't say is that you must continue to stretch it out in order to breathe. To breathe, you must push through and trust that what now feels foreign and lonely will soon be warm and comfortable. As a nester, you and I long for that comfort -- the comfort that knows how to get there and what it will look like. Without images stored, I feel blank and confused... looking around for the faces I rely upon seeing, and the places I rely upon to catch me when I fall. Soon, this place will be that place. For now, it's just South Korea, and we've yet to understand what that means.
with love,
E

Today's weather is pickled isn't it?

You must take a few minutes to watch this hilarious video, sent to me by a friend in my Master's program. It thoughtfully examines how to teach Korean students English swear words (warning though: it is not for the easily offended by foul language). It is truly awesome. (Also, you might want to watch in full screen to get the full effect, plus the subtitles are easier to read that way...)