I'm in an internet cafe doing some email catch up and studying some Korean-- for whatever reason I decided to search for Korean bathrooms on YouTube to see if mine is totally bizarre or if this is just the standard. I literally started crying in the internet cafe because this video is so funny-- it is soooo spot on. I don't know if it will be that funny to others because you aren't experiencing the same thing, but please do watch this and you'll get an idea of what I'm dealing with! LOL Have to admit though mine is nicer than this guys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djlzFNMACvk
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Kids Say the Darndest Things
My classes are absolutely adorable. Maybe I'm a bit partial, but I honestly believe that I've got the best classes on campus! They are just sooooooooo precious!! The other teachers make jokes that they're sure I'm going to try to smuggle out one of my kids or adopt a Korean child while I'm here. I really do adore them :) I've had so many funny comments and stories from them thus far and I'm sure there are more to come. Here are a couple that made me laugh:
On the first day of my MWF class we are sitting in a circle at the end of the day getting to know another. One of my students asks if I have a pet- I tell them about Lily and say that she weighs 1kg. They are all like "awwww" then my favorite student raises his hand and says "teacher, I have question? Is this dog delicious?" I about died... my TA reprimanded him and told him how rude it was and then she asked me if I knew they eat dog here. Of course I knew that, but was floored that he'd ask me that!! About 15 mins later I showed them a photo of Lily and he goes "oooohhh!!!! Dog!!! I thought 'quack quack' DUCK!!" Made more sense as to why he asked me if my pet was delicious, LOL. He's still my favorite in the MWF class :)
While describing a Korean theme park to me one of my students told me that when he was on a ride he was telling himself "please god save me!!" I am constantly shocked at their knowledge of english phrases!
"Teacher, teacher. What is your name?""Danielle"(laughter) "Isn't that a boys name?! This is my brother's English name!!"Seriously went through the same thing in all four of my classes. I'm hoping they're finally grasping the whole Danielle vs Daniel vs Danny thing :)
Me: What is a synonym for specific
Student: ...you mean like Pacific Ocean?
Me: I need to pick a Korean name, do you have any suggestions?
Student: Hmmm... what is your last name??
Thought it was so cute that he wanted to take my last name into consideration when choosing my Korean name :) Apparently it doesn't matter here, but he wanted to make sure it sounded nice together.
Me: I looooooove chocolate
Students: (puzzled faces) Then why is your teeth so good?
Yes, why is your teeth so pretty and white if you eat chocolate?
Student: Teacher, do you have boyfriend?
Me: No
Student: Yes, I think you have!
Me: Nope
Student: Oh!! it is a husband then!!
Me: No, not that either
Student: Yes, I think you have!!!
Me: Why do you think I have one?
Student: You have such pretty hair and are so nice and beautiful
LOLLLLLLLLL apparently having good hair is a big deal
"Can you see me?!?! Can you see me?!?!"
One of my most personable and precious kids (total crush on this one!) says this while waving his hands in front of his face and faking a really believable American accent. Apparently wrestling is aired alot over here and he saw it on there, LOL.
On the first day of my MWF class we are sitting in a circle at the end of the day getting to know another. One of my students asks if I have a pet- I tell them about Lily and say that she weighs 1kg. They are all like "awwww" then my favorite student raises his hand and says "teacher, I have question? Is this dog delicious?" I about died... my TA reprimanded him and told him how rude it was and then she asked me if I knew they eat dog here. Of course I knew that, but was floored that he'd ask me that!! About 15 mins later I showed them a photo of Lily and he goes "oooohhh!!!! Dog!!! I thought 'quack quack' DUCK!!" Made more sense as to why he asked me if my pet was delicious, LOL. He's still my favorite in the MWF class :)
While describing a Korean theme park to me one of my students told me that when he was on a ride he was telling himself "please god save me!!" I am constantly shocked at their knowledge of english phrases!
"Teacher, teacher. What is your name?""Danielle"(laughter) "Isn't that a boys name?! This is my brother's English name!!"Seriously went through the same thing in all four of my classes. I'm hoping they're finally grasping the whole Danielle vs Daniel vs Danny thing :)
Me: What is a synonym for specific
Student: ...you mean like Pacific Ocean?
Me: I need to pick a Korean name, do you have any suggestions?
Student: Hmmm... what is your last name??
Thought it was so cute that he wanted to take my last name into consideration when choosing my Korean name :) Apparently it doesn't matter here, but he wanted to make sure it sounded nice together.
Me: I looooooove chocolate
Students: (puzzled faces) Then why is your teeth so good?
Yes, why is your teeth so pretty and white if you eat chocolate?
Student: Teacher, do you have boyfriend?
Me: No
Student: Yes, I think you have!
Me: Nope
Student: Oh!! it is a husband then!!
Me: No, not that either
Student: Yes, I think you have!!!
Me: Why do you think I have one?
Student: You have such pretty hair and are so nice and beautiful
LOLLLLLLLLL apparently having good hair is a big deal
"Can you see me?!?! Can you see me?!?!"
One of my most personable and precious kids (total crush on this one!) says this while waving his hands in front of his face and faking a really believable American accent. Apparently wrestling is aired alot over here and he saw it on there, LOL.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Ridin Seoul-o
I came into Seoul with a guy from the program this morning and around 3 he was ready to head back. I, of course, wanted to stay and explore-- why head back so early when I'd only end up bored?! Confident that I knew the area well enough to get around (uncanny sense of direction and all, haha) I told him to head back without me. Equipped with my bus number and a general idea of where I got off the bus I figured how difficult could it be to find my way back to the apartment? The afternoon went brilliantly I walked alllll around at my own pace doing my own thing. Then came time to catch the bus. As I'm looking puzzled for the stop-- it wasn't across from where we got off originally (standard London procedure)-- a man approaches me and asks if I need help. He tells me he used to live in DC and that he will help me find the bus stop since apparently there are no bus maps. Brilliant, I've got a Korean speaking dude who's going to help me to the bus. Of course it couldn't have been that simple. He insists on stopping in a store to buy ice cream-- he buys me one that is in the shape of a shark. Why? I'm not sure. I didn't want icecream. Mistakenly I had already told him what bus stop I needed to go to... Anyway takes us ages to find the stop and the entire time he is being WAY too complimentary. I tell him to please just leave and let me do it alone. Anyway my bus took like 20 mins to arrive-- I couldn't leave as I wanted to get on the bus ASAP. Eventually the bus came and the guy went on his way. He didn't mean to be a creep, just a cultural difference I guess. The older men here are overly excited it seems, but the younger men are very very polite. As well, when I see American men they honestly look like starved beasts who would just inhale me right there on the spot. Very very creepy feeling.
I had a great day wandering around the city though, and even had some delicious street meat :) Got some money exchanged, tried a delicious yogurt drink, and started figuring out some funny things that they do here. For example they will give you gifts to try to get you to enter a store. yesterday I got three packets of cotton, a face mask, and a soda all for free. Very random, but it's cute. At first I was so confused, but the Koreans really are such sweet sweet people.
I had a great day wandering around the city though, and even had some delicious street meat :) Got some money exchanged, tried a delicious yogurt drink, and started figuring out some funny things that they do here. For example they will give you gifts to try to get you to enter a store. yesterday I got three packets of cotton, a face mask, and a soda all for free. Very random, but it's cute. At first I was so confused, but the Koreans really are such sweet sweet people.
Soju, Saki, & a Little Late Night Spa Action -- One of the Oddest Nights of My Life
I'm not even sure where to begin this... but here it goes.
After our orientation the boys decided to go to dinner and the girls decided to join for drinks. While we were out Brendan decided to order bai giu which is a traditional Chinese drink-- definitely burns going down. Plus we were chasing the bai gui with soju which wasn't exactly a brilliant plan. The girls all decided to go home (they weren't drinking) and I thought it would be most interesting to tag along with the boys :) At some point I meantion a jjimjilbang (Korean bath house) in the area and one of the guys (Brendan) was super ansy to get to one. I should add at this point that he had already been to a bath house, and I had not. Somehow we decide that we should leave the restaurant and hit up the spa as it's open 24 hours. A couple of other guys were game and so some soju, bai gui, and Cass later we leave. Downstairs all of the boys except Brenden decide that they don't want to go to the bath house right then (probably a smart move) and that they're going to head to another bar. Me and Brenden jump in a cab and here is where the madness begins. I was prepared to get my kit off, but I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into...
We arrive at the bath house and he goes one way and I go the other as it's separated by gender. As I entered the women's area I saw nude Korean women everywhere and not a single foreigner in sight. My worries of sanitation of the 'baths' were quickly relegated to the back of my mind as I realized how different I was going to look naked. Not a single one of these women even trimmed their pubic hair. Being from the land of laser hair removal and bikini waxing I didn't ummmm 'fit in'. As if it weren't enough that I'm blonde, have darker skin than anyone there, and permanently look like I'm wearing a bikini (wretched tanlines!), I was also sans hair. The lady at the desk gave me a rubberized
The first five minutes I had to fight off the giggles because the situation was sooooo awkward. Every single eye in the place was on me, and no I'm not exaggerating. I even had a small boy run up to me and point and giggle! Honestly, I probably would have just left, but I had planned to meet Brenden back out front in one hour. So, I gave myself those five minutes to feel awkward, do my giggling to myself and pull it together. Of course everyone stil stared as I moved from bath to bath, but eventually I got used to it. I should point out for those of you who haven't attended a Korean bath house that it is just one huge room with several baths all of which have different temperatures. There are also steam rooms, etc. So you are never out of the sight of others. Ever.
I was stunned by how comfortable these women were just sitting there nude in the open while vigorously and meticulously scrubbing every part of their bodies. (I didn't bring a scrubber and thus didn't do this, however Koreans are apparently obsessed wtih scrubbing themselves-- I think this helps to get rid of any tanned/dead skin and keep them pale as possible) I noticed quickly that none of them had the stereotypical 'perfect' body by American standards, and furthermore none of them seemed to care. Not a single woman had implants, and in this moment I was never more grateful to not have them myself. Can you even imagine if I had all the aforementioned differences AND implants? I think they'd have ran to their lockers to grab their phones and take pictures of the circus freak!
At some point I became so comfortable in being different and novel that I actually no longer minded the staring. Here these women were baring it all and not thinking twice about their cellulite, excess fat, small breasts, hairy armpits, etc. So, who was I to be the one to ruin this beautiful display of womanly confidence? I simply wouldn't allow myself to do such a thing. As you shower off at the end you do so infront of a mirror-- it seemed very strange for the first 2.5 seconds, but then I recognized the person staring back at me as a friend, confidant, and ally. In that moment I had to question how could I ever even for a moment think of doing anything less than loving myself?
After our orientation the boys decided to go to dinner and the girls decided to join for drinks. While we were out Brendan decided to order bai giu which is a traditional Chinese drink-- definitely burns going down. Plus we were chasing the bai gui with soju which wasn't exactly a brilliant plan. The girls all decided to go home (they weren't drinking) and I thought it would be most interesting to tag along with the boys :) At some point I meantion a jjimjilbang (Korean bath house) in the area and one of the guys (Brendan) was super ansy to get to one. I should add at this point that he had already been to a bath house, and I had not. Somehow we decide that we should leave the restaurant and hit up the spa as it's open 24 hours. A couple of other guys were game and so some soju, bai gui, and Cass later we leave. Downstairs all of the boys except Brenden decide that they don't want to go to the bath house right then (probably a smart move) and that they're going to head to another bar. Me and Brenden jump in a cab and here is where the madness begins. I was prepared to get my kit off, but I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into...
We arrive at the bath house and he goes one way and I go the other as it's separated by gender. As I entered the women's area I saw nude Korean women everywhere and not a single foreigner in sight. My worries of sanitation of the 'baths' were quickly relegated to the back of my mind as I realized how different I was going to look naked. Not a single one of these women even trimmed their pubic hair. Being from the land of laser hair removal and bikini waxing I didn't ummmm 'fit in'. As if it weren't enough that I'm blonde, have darker skin than anyone there, and permanently look like I'm wearing a bikini (wretched tanlines!), I was also sans hair. The lady at the desk gave me a rubberized
The first five minutes I had to fight off the giggles because the situation was sooooo awkward. Every single eye in the place was on me, and no I'm not exaggerating. I even had a small boy run up to me and point and giggle! Honestly, I probably would have just left, but I had planned to meet Brenden back out front in one hour. So, I gave myself those five minutes to feel awkward, do my giggling to myself and pull it together. Of course everyone stil stared as I moved from bath to bath, but eventually I got used to it. I should point out for those of you who haven't attended a Korean bath house that it is just one huge room with several baths all of which have different temperatures. There are also steam rooms, etc. So you are never out of the sight of others. Ever.
I was stunned by how comfortable these women were just sitting there nude in the open while vigorously and meticulously scrubbing every part of their bodies. (I didn't bring a scrubber and thus didn't do this, however Koreans are apparently obsessed wtih scrubbing themselves-- I think this helps to get rid of any tanned/dead skin and keep them pale as possible) I noticed quickly that none of them had the stereotypical 'perfect' body by American standards, and furthermore none of them seemed to care. Not a single woman had implants, and in this moment I was never more grateful to not have them myself. Can you even imagine if I had all the aforementioned differences AND implants? I think they'd have ran to their lockers to grab their phones and take pictures of the circus freak!
At some point I became so comfortable in being different and novel that I actually no longer minded the staring. Here these women were baring it all and not thinking twice about their cellulite, excess fat, small breasts, hairy armpits, etc. So, who was I to be the one to ruin this beautiful display of womanly confidence? I simply wouldn't allow myself to do such a thing. As you shower off at the end you do so infront of a mirror-- it seemed very strange for the first 2.5 seconds, but then I recognized the person staring back at me as a friend, confidant, and ally. In that moment I had to question how could I ever even for a moment think of doing anything less than loving myself?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day One
Trip is off to a brilliant start :)
Slept from 9pm to 2am- found myself awake in bed, minus my shirt (was very hot and apparently unknowingly took it off in my sleep) and my door was mysteriously open. I definitely thought I shut it. Lovely. Nothing says 'hello' to your new neighbors like a nude display on the first night! I sat in my room bored to tears and sooooo thirsty from 2-6 and then decided to go outside and walk around. Yes, alone-- I wasn't trying to leave my block, just seriously needed a drink! I think this might be one of the safest places on earth, seriously. Went into a shop and started collecting loads of drinks to buy and all of a sudden I see a familiar face :) Another girl was also unable to sleep and there she was. How funny that we'd both end up there at 6am, right? So I suggest we jog around the area while everyone sleeps since nothing opens until 9 anyway. We were seriously like 1.5 miles away when a torrential downpour occured! Not a cab in sight (apparently everyone in Seoul sleeps in), we wait 20 mins and then I'm like "we're already soaked let's just jog back and enjoy the rain", so we did-- laughing the whole way :) Think I'm going to the spa later to experience the whole 'bath house' thing and going to set up an accupuncture session. Terrified of needles, but hey when in Seoul... xx
Slept from 9pm to 2am- found myself awake in bed, minus my shirt (was very hot and apparently unknowingly took it off in my sleep) and my door was mysteriously open. I definitely thought I shut it. Lovely. Nothing says 'hello' to your new neighbors like a nude display on the first night! I sat in my room bored to tears and sooooo thirsty from 2-6 and then decided to go outside and walk around. Yes, alone-- I wasn't trying to leave my block, just seriously needed a drink! I think this might be one of the safest places on earth, seriously. Went into a shop and started collecting loads of drinks to buy and all of a sudden I see a familiar face :) Another girl was also unable to sleep and there she was. How funny that we'd both end up there at 6am, right? So I suggest we jog around the area while everyone sleeps since nothing opens until 9 anyway. We were seriously like 1.5 miles away when a torrential downpour occured! Not a cab in sight (apparently everyone in Seoul sleeps in), we wait 20 mins and then I'm like "we're already soaked let's just jog back and enjoy the rain", so we did-- laughing the whole way :) Think I'm going to the spa later to experience the whole 'bath house' thing and going to set up an accupuncture session. Terrified of needles, but hey when in Seoul... xx
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hey dolls, thought I'd set up this page so that you can keep up with my Korean experience :) Not sure how frequently I'll have access to the internet, but will try to update as often as possible. Immunizations are done, visa is in hand... now for the 18 hours of flights. Yikes! See you in September :) xx
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)