Happy Chinese New Year...from Korea!

Greetings and Salutations!

I hope everyone is in good spirits and recovered from inauguration-related fiestas that I only had the pleasure of reading about from afar :) Due to Facebook updates and e-mails from friends in the District, the Latino Gala held in Union Station looked entirely delightful. Heck, J. Lo, Marc Anthony and an array of other spectacular Latinos under one roof sounded like heaven to me, this adopted Latina, shivering in the relentless Korean wind.

Anyway, everything is going very well on my side of the pond. An entire four-day weekend awaits me as the Lunar (or Chinese) New Year is a significant holiday in Eastern cultures. I hope to finish a book I am reading, which is entitled The Geography of Thought, by Richard E. Nisbett. My friend, Won, gave it to me for Christmas, most likely because I ask him why Koreans do what they do. The main idea of the book is that Easterners have a more cyclical method of thought and believe that everything is interconnected. Westerners are seen as making the assumption that we are ultimately in charge of our own destiny and oftentimes do not tie occurances to pre-cursors, for we categorize single events. This book has given me much more insight of Korean culture and helps me understand specific differences between our ways of thinking and perception.

At work (or school), all of the kindergarten students dressed up in their Hanbok, which is traditional Korean clothing. My little Korean babies were so cute in their traditional garb! I seriously need to get a life because even when I am not at work and hanging out with my friends (fellow teachers....which may be part of the problem), we only talk about our students. We discuss what their future professions will be, how they treat other students, who the popular ones are, who has crushes on who and we even pinpoint random Koreans on the metro as future "Mickeys," "Kevins," or "Jinas." Even as I sit at my desk right now, I am able to count five stickers on my clothes from the day's events. In not too long, I am to go out and meet a friend for a glass of wine and thank goodness I caught my animae character, pink cupcake, fuzzy penguin, "Coffee Break," blue fish stickers on my cardigan sweater and a rice particle in my hair. If my neighborhood crowd (I live in a trendy, university area) caught me traipsing out in such a state, I would certainly be shunned and sent back to the local chapter for Soccer Moms.

The weather eased up a bit during this week, but temperatures plummeted yet again today. Yesterday felt so close to spring and then as it always does, reality socked me in the face and caught me on the day I did not wear my gloves to warm my little dedos (fingers). The fellow inhabitants of my apartment building (three other teachers) all had sky high gas bills this month for the increased usage of heat. Oddly enough, my bill has remained at a zero balance ever since I have lived in Korea. I must say that I do shower, heat my apartment and whip up the occassional quesadilla and so I zip my lips avoid all eye contact when the subject arises.

Our building manager is probably my favorite character in all of Korea. He and I have an amiable relationship and if it is that which has been affected my gas bill, so be it, it is survival of the fittest my friends. Mr. Chu is such a bubbly man and he speaks English, so by default, we hit if off. By friends, he is referred to merely as "Chu," and by fellow teachers and myself, "Dragon Breath." After Chu was fixing Greg from Toronto's sink, Greg bestowed upon Chu a bottle of soju (Korean liquor) in grattitude. Immediately after seventy-year-old Chu received the gift, he opened it and took a five-second swig. Ever since this instance, when I run into Chu, he wreaks of soju. That being said, our dear building manager has been coined "Dragon Breath."

I would like to end this entry on a positive note, so I have added a piece of work by my little songbirds, their latest version of Nobody by the Wonder Girls. (The actual video may be found at http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=YpcxPS-JWv0). We are still tweaking our altos and sopranos, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of what we do at lunch time.

I hope everyone has a tremendous weekend!

Warmest Wishes for 2009 from Seoul

I would like to wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2009! In contrast to my previous two New Years spent in Monterrey, Mexico, this one was a bit different to say the least. This is the first year in three years that my dear friend Jonathan Guerrero Zavala was not in the mix. Replacing our tradition of vodka concoctions, Jonathan's Mexican dancing antics, breaking Rose de Reyes bread and Tacos(!) was soju, crazy Koreans in "2009" glasses and a early morning feast of sweet potato French fries and hot dogs. I certainly prefer the former.

Regardless of the differences between celebrating the New Year in the West versus the East, it has been a time of reflection and re-evaluation. I thought about how I ended up in Asia via an incredibly random chain of events (I mean Hello, I was supposed to move to D.C. to be close to my friends or to Mexico to live the...er My "Mexican Dream"). Although it is rare when I sit and consider all that I am grateful for and what has been accomplished in my life, I had the chance at the beginning of this year. My family is wonderful and pretty hilarious, but I have been so fortunate with all they have provided for me, particularly their support. Half of the opportunities I've had in my life by the age of 22 were never in the reach of my parents when they were young. I would also be at a loss without my sister, Rachel, and brother, Chris. We have an excellent relationship between all of us...as long as Rachel and I are not sharing a bed room over the summer where our "A" and "B" type personalities collide.

Our family holds a video chat at about 9 p.m. EST each Saturday evening. We chat about everything from hot local issues (generally involving tax levies, pipelines and Wooster FINALLY getting something so basic as Panera Bread) to what delicious morsels they grazed on at the Denbow Family Christmas. Rachel and Chris missed me so much this year that they cropped me into a photo from the soiree including them and Cousin Curt. My grandparents are getting older and now rather than hosting our family Christmas at their home, they have it in the basement of their church. That place is as cold as the dickens, referred to as "The Dungeon" by some, but it's always nice to see our family and discuss how we have grown so fast and yes, we (the kids) can drive cars now.
The Christmas party at school was the epitome of chaos. I swear, after each "party," I thank the Lord on High that it is a one year contract. Toward the end of the day, "Santa" came bearing gifts for the students. The documentation of this event is as follows: At this point, I about had it and was so close to signing my name on the bottom line for a hysterectomy. Rex landed a bloody nose about five minutes before the photo, hence the tissue stuffed in his left nostril. Denis rocked the Yuletide cheer by throwing up a peace sign, although the classroom had reached the absolute threshold of hell because during our "party," Amy threw a toy car at Sarah's eye. Teddy is in love with Sarah so he voiced his disdain for Amy (similar to the NASA love triangle). I'm happy to say that families with nine children are uncommon in middle-class, Western societies, which gives me hope.

The break from teaching Armadillo Class was a godsend. I finally got my hair cut and had to do so because my brother, Chris, repeatedly referred to me as having "Charlie Manson" hair when he saw me on the web cam. Two friends and I spent Christmas Day in watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone and Napoleon Dynamite. It was so nice to catch up on some classic film. Well, as for everyone else, it's not all play. Hopefully, I will feel refreshed as I return to teach more of the alphabet and not wish that I had booked a one-way and fled in the middle of Christmas night. You must understand that Korea is great, however teaching Kindergarten to nine screaming children is not my calling. I am not Mother Theresa.

I send my best wishes to you all and wish you the best in the upcoming year!

Feliz Navidad!

FELIZ NAVIDAD hasta el otro lado del mundo!!!! I hope that everyone had a spectacular Christmas! (In reference to the photo, this is how Korea celebrates Christmas).

A Season Sprinkled with Cheer

I hope I am finding everyone in good spirits amidst this holiday season :) I'm sure the malls and storefronts are decked out to the max. However, I hope that the "Heck, I don't care what I get him/her, I just need something in a box and with a bow!" vision that dances in our heads (yes...like sugar plums) has been postponed, until about the 24th.

Although I did toy with the notion of returning to the states to gather my gifts with haste beneath our fake pine (pre-lit, of course) in little Wooster, reality kicked in. I have only eleven days off of work and do not want to spend $2,000. Nonetheless, I have a hair appointment made on the 26th and think that is the perfect way to my spend Boxing Day (Canada). I plan to lay like a sloth in my bed and watch Yuletide movies while wearing my pajama pants made of a fleece fabric covered in presents. Last night, I snuggled up and watched The Polar Express, it almost made me believe in Santa Clause again...even though I made the naughty list when I fought my sister for the dvd and yanked it from her white-knuckled, kung-fu grip while packing my bags (sorry Rach).

Just about a week ago, my friend, Darcie and I spent a Sunday afternoon in making Christmas cards for fellow teachers and family at home. Through the duration of Love Actually and Elf and a corn and cheese pizza (odd and Korean, yet delicious), we knocked out our Christmas correspondence!

The new teacher from Toronto, Greg, and I took an adventure to the ritzy area of Seoul last weekend, Apgujeong. In this blog entry are several photos of stores and interesting sightings in the area. Due to my bulging salary and the exchange rate that gets worse by the day, I was able to pace myself in my purchases.

I have had a few holiday surprises already this season. First of which, one of my new students is a frequent pee-er. As I helped dear Sally change out of her urine-soaked knickers, I reconsidered all of the twists and turns in my life and wondered 'Why me?' A second surprise was that my newly ordered light pink, fitted sheet for my new bed blew off of my roof top clothes line as it was drying. The floor of our roof is scum, hence my new sheet was stained for life and so I had to toss it. The third holiday surprise must be my favorite, just wait. As I was laying like an infant and asleep by at about 9 p.m., my obnoxious Korean cell phone awoke me at 11:30 p.m. If only I had my retainer in that night, I would not have answered. Jehan, who I dated over the summer, had called me from Karachi, Pakistan. He is from Pakistan and is spending Eid with his mother and working on business accounts for a couple of weeks. He called to tell me that his mother had taken him to meet a potential bride and he thinks he's going to be engaged in a couple of days, and married in a couple of months, obviously. He requested my best wishes, as I was groggy and still half-asleep. I wished Jehanzeb the best, thought a little more about if my parents ever were to pick out my mate for life, craved some 'nog, and then passed out again (in my present pants).

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season (packed with joyous surprises like mine!)

Banana Bucks are For the Weak

Season's Greetings! Since it is now December and I have not blogged in about two weeks, it is now Yuletide! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, particularly my family who hopped south to Florida this year. Heck, I now have high hopes for a beach vacation next year. Veracruz, Mexico perhaps?

The fellow teachers and I spent Thanksgiving together and indeed did get our hands on a turkey and stuffing, provided by U.S. military personnel. It was a great time to see all of the teachers. My mother sent an excessive amount of cheese a little over a month ago and it was certainly polished off at this gathering.

I have now spent five full days with Armadillo class. I have nine students and each of them are ridiculous in their individual ways. My Armadillo running crew consists of Rex, Sunny, Denis (the Koreans omitted the second n...I think I'll use his name on Rhyming Day), Teddy, Amy, Jina, Sally, Sarah and Eugene. Rex is a hellion and is deterred from heinous actions via bribery. Our kindergarten utilizes the falsified currency of Banana Bucks. The students save their banana bucks to purchase items such as Hello Kitty pencils and erasers at the end of each month. I remember this method from when I was young...of course I never cared whether I was showered in the currency of a given school, for it was not recognized by the United States government and I already had all of the Lisa Frank school paraphernalia I could weasel my mother into buying for me each school year. Alas, I have found Rex's weakness.

Denis is the tiniest little child I have ever seen in my life. These students are six years old in Korean age, but that means they are about five years old, western age (don't ask, but Korean age is about a year older then the age system most of you are familiar with). Denis looks like a new born. No joke. On his first day of school, he did not have an English name. By default, the power was bestowed upon myself to name him and I picked Simon, naming him after the movie Simon Birch. Apparently the name "Simon" did not tickle his fancy as much as my own and he came to school the next day as "Denis." Yes, Molly Rutledge, I said D-enis. Like I said, I eagerly await Rhyming Day. He speaks neither English or Korean and makes awkward cartoon sounds.

Teddy is my favorite little boy and his photo is at the top of this entry(aside from Huey from Hippo class-- please see video). He is so caring and plays with all of the students at play time, regardless of their popularity standing in the class. Ah Teddy is precious. He also speaks the most English out of the pack of Armadillos, so maybe that's why we seem to have hit it off.

The girls in the class are still identifying their personalities, but when they surface, I will certainly update everyone! Thus far, we have covered Aa, Bb, and Cc. I dream of apple, book, cat. I must say that I am desperate for conversation at an adult level and cannot do this for more than a year! If you are familiar with the movie Billy Madison, well, if given enough time, I will turn into Ms. Lippy, just wait.

Enough of my job. Seriously, I really miss the adult world. Mer1 left for Wooster, Ohio yesterday and I already miss her so much! We went out for a final hoorah on Saturday evening and it was joyous. Her replacement, Greg, came out with us as well. The nice lad from Toronto has altered the female dominated workplace a bit, but it will definitely be for the best. It is Wednesday night and I am over the "hump" of the week, thank goodness. I hope everyone is doing well this holiday season and I send my love from Korea!

Armadillo Class and Kim Jong Il's Countryside

Much has happened in the past week and highlights included my finding out that I will be switched to a full-time kindergarten teacher as of December, I came down with the second round of the deathly cold and have been left without a voice, and the DMZ tour I took with several friends (and contrary to what I so excitedly anticipated, Kim Jong Il did not greet me with open arms at the border).

First of all, I did not plan to be hailed as the Queen of Sheeba upon signing my first contract after completing a Bachelor's of Arts from the "Jesuit University in Cleveland," but this sudden job switch has left me a bit dissatisfied with my employer. After I decided that I needed a little stint abroad after graduation, I became co-teacher with some high school friends over here in Seoul. I came into the job with an open mind and with the view that it will be temporary until I return to the states to pursue a career more closely related to my areas of academic concentration. I have become settled in my ways (in terms of living, teaching, etc.) and on Monday, I was notified that I am going to be working as a full-time kindergarten teacher in Armadillo class as of December (when Mer1 leaves for home).

Since I began teaching, I have been working predominantly with older students who range from ages seven to about twelve, specifically from the hours of 11:30 am to 7:20 pm on a daily basis. In December, I will work longer days and with students who have never spoken English in their lives. It is not a surprise to me that this happens [not to me though! ha ha], but I thought I would at least have been asked of my comfort level with the change. I studied Political Science with a concentration on Latin America and it is quite obvious that I am a much more qualified candidate than those who have studied teaching, to teach "fresh out of the womb" Korean children how to speak English. As you scoff at my realization of how the real world functions, I will be over here adapting to the new change and learning to teach my little army of Korean kindergartners with their Hello Kitty pencil cases and lunch boxes :)

After the surprise at work, came the surprise victory lap of horrid cold. I was very sick about three weeks ago and this heinous bug has resurfaced. The trip that Carly, Darcie, Imee, Mer1 and I took to the DMZ yesterday probably did not help. Saturday was a very cold and rainy day in Korea. The five of us met at the United Service Organization (USO) at 7:15 am to catch our bus to the DMZ. I do not think I have been up that early on a Saturday since my sister, Rachel, and I woke up early to hurl damn newspapers on our neighborhood paper route when we were kids. The bus ride took a little over an hour and we stopped at Camp Bonifas, (located 2400 meters from North Korea) where we all exited our bus and boarded buses belonging to the military. Once we were on their buses, we were driven to the UN Security Building at Panmunjeom. We walked by this building and it hosts communication amongst the UN, North and South Korea. There were about five buildings. Three were blue buildings constructed as temporary buildings for talks between the north and the south in the 1950's. The buildings have remained in tact and are still used today.

The soldiers in the photos are all South Korean soldiers. Each male in South Korean is committed to two years of military service before the age of 30. Because of this, it is usual for men not to finish university at the age of 27 or 28.










Some Koreans I have spoken with have alluded to the potential unification of North and South Korea in the next ten years. After our tour on Saturday, it is very hard for me to see that happening anytime soon. North Korea has recently shown increased military power, making the south much more apprehensive to take any promises made by the North Korean government as sincere. The unification between North and South Korea would pose a significant threat to the free market economy of South Korea. South Korea's population is more than 48 million and North Korea has a population of more than 24 million people living under a communist dictatorship. South Korea is accepting of expatriates of North Korea and provide them with a haven once they safely arrive, however the North Korean government does all in its power to keep North Koreans in the country. Many families have been separated by the divide more than fifty years ago and if North Koreans attempt to escape to South Korea and are caught, family as far as three generations back are sentenced to death. South Korea even constructed a beautiful building for families to be reunited and that building has not been used for it's intended purpose due to the lack of cooperation from the north.


The building directly across the border had one North Korean guard visible to us on Saturday. On the tour, we were told not to point or make inappropriate gestures towards the north. There is one building to the far right of the three blue buildings that has curtains and is called the "Monkey House" because North Koreans would meet inside the building, close the curtains and make gestures such the slitting of the throat toward American and South Korean governments.
Darcie, myself, Mer1 and Imee stood beside a South Korean guard in one of the UN Security buildings. The flags of all countries who have been involved in talks were present in the room and had to be encased as of 2001 when immediately after 9/11 happened, North Korean soldiers went in the building and used the American flag to polish their boots.

North Korean building on the border. This building was originally only two stories high and when South Korea constructed a building directly across from it that was a bit taller, North Korea added the third story so their building was even taller. It is difficult to see, but on the first story out front, on the left, is a North Korean soldier standing his post. Many watch towers are spread throughout the DMZ and can overlook the military mobilization of the opposite country, in so far as about 24 km. The DMZ was an excellent area to see and I learned much more about the tension between North and South Korea. I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone who visits Korea. I hope that everyone has an excellent upcoming week and stay warm!

America!

First and foremost, I want to thank my family for sending me necessities which included: five pounds of swiss cheese (in wheel form), two pounds of smoked cheddar, two packs of corn tortillas, yellow rice, yogurt covered pretzels, chocolate, mints and Pringles potato chips. If you thought that I would get skinny while I'm over here living the Asian dream on rice, octopus and kimchi, don't hold your breath. I do not plan to ditch my American-ness so readily. As of now, I am listening to Fergalicious which always reminds me of how my brother loved to shake his rump when that jam came on. Unfortunately, baby Chris grew up a little bit and now seethes of inappropriate humor and sarcasm. Yes, Fergie, cheese and sarcasm are bits of American culture that I have found myself missing lately (well Fergie, not so much, but it's kind of a blast from the past).

Also in regards to American culture, I should probably touch base on the election which happened last week. I will be upfront and state that I have been registered as a Republican voter ever since I have been old enough to vote. More than anything else, my conservative approach stems from my preference for conservative economic policy. That being said, I want as little government intervention in personal finances, financial institutions, etc. I appreciate a free market and oppose increased taxes (as do many Americans). The American tendency is and has been to acquire as many material belongings, regardless of how much money exists in the bank account. Loans, credit, and leases are some "options" which have only perpetuated this American attitude. This attitude alone has obviously attributed significantly to the economic meltdown in the U.S. The irony of the bailout of the banks is that of course these institutions were not given specific caps of the amount they could rake in each year by the government, however when they teetered bankruptcy, it all of a sudden became the burden of taxpayers.

A Korean friend of mine who has just relocated back to Seoul after living for nine years in the U.S. and worked as an accountant said that loans for homes are rather uncommon and certainly not of the magnitude as in the U.S. Credit is becoming increasingly popular in Korea and to attract the right mates, the women over here must have their $2,000 hand bags (purchased via credit cards). American tendencies circumnavigate the globe and some of those tendencies may be detrimental to societies and economies. I could go on and on, but I have learned a lot over the past couple of years from my parents and their emphasis of living within your means and because of the loans I have taken out to go to a private university that was not as exciting or demanding as I thought when I was 18 and "ready to take on the world."

That being said, I voted absentee and I voted for John McCain. This was a ground breaking election and although the candidate that I did not vote for won, I am prepared to see how America will move forward as of January 20th, 2009. I want to see Mr. Obama steer America in the right direction, a path opposite from the current administration. The American people have been dissatisfied with the status quo and wanted a blantant change. I am eager to see what change transpires, how we are percieved by the rest of the world and to hold Mr. Obama to his inspiring words.

Godspeed America, and I hope all that jazz is turned around by the time I return :)