Have you ever read the book "Black Like Me?" It's about a white guy who travels through the South in 1959 with his skin darkened by pills and light, the way they do for dermatology patients with skin splotches, to see what life is like as a black man. (Ward, I still have your copy!) I just keep thinking of the line in the beginning that says, "As I had suspected they would be, my discoveries were naive ones, like those of a child." I told Adrianne about some of the things I've noticed, and she joked that I should write a book called White Like Me. My colleagues and I have both noted that I get a lot of second glances around here, or just curious stares that really say, "What's she doing here?" or "Hmm?" but not necessarily in a rude way. I'm just learning what it's like to be a minority, b/c walking around even the capital city you realize what a homogeneous city it really is. Not the NYC melting pot of Korea I expected. I should again clarify that it's not mean or hate stares I get, but probably similar to us noting a foreigner with our eyes and we don't even realize we do it. I think it's funny when I go to eat with Korean classmates, and they get the menu in their language, and I get handed the english version. Or people say "hellooooo" when I walk in, b/c I just look like I speak English. I was getting on the subway car this weekend and a man, probably in his 60s, about as tall as my elbow (no joke), said, "Look! Your leg!" and I paused and looked down. I was wearing flip flops w/ dress pants just until we got to our destination where I planned to put on my dress shoes. I said, "What?" thinking he was referring to my mixed attire, and he said it again, "Look your leg!" so I figured he was making reference to my height. My co-worker, Shem, who speaks fluent Korean said, "He means watch your step." Ohhhhh. So for those of you who got the pictures I emailed, you can refer to the "Californian Dream" one =)
The long leg thing is somewhat of a problem. The desks at school make me feel like Will Ferrell in Elf. Maybe that's a bit of an extreme example, but I have to pull my chair out in class so I can stretch my legs. And it's common to sit on the floor here for meals while there's a burner type thing in the middle (similar to Melting Pot). Well I was trying to rearrange and get comfortable last night, and I smacked my knee into the scorching hot part in the middle and managed to blister it. Smooth. The lady at the convenient store didn't have any aloe, so she gave me this potato mask thing for FREE! (Like the only word written on the outside of the fridge in my room, I know it well). So far, these people are very hospitable.
I knew coming in that women are more subservient here (Ex:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/16/cambodia.biking.ap/index.html). I always appreciated chivalrous friends/dates/boyfriends I've had, but now I'm learning how rare they really are! People will straight up push you out of their way if they're in a hurry, too. Not in a violent, knock-you-down kind of way, just like you're an obstacle and they're moving you. It's actually kind of funny, until you get moved and then it's almost offensive.
We were riding in the car with one of the directors and noticed a huge crowd of police (think NO Mardi Gras). Turns out that riots are common here. I guess it's their civil disobedience, but this one was by electric workers and I just read yesterday that Asiana, one of the big airlines here, just avoided a pilot strike. They're very calm and organized, too. People aren't wild and crazy, whooping and hollaring expletives with offensive posters.
Friday night we went to Sinchon (for those of you who got pictures, that's what it's of. For those of you who didn't and want them, e-mail me and I'll send you the invite to see them). It's near Yangtze University, so it's a hotspot for a younger crowd. We were going into a small bar when a group of Europeans walked by. We got them to join us and learned that it was their first day in the country. So very cool! We had the best time sharing soju, beer, and stories. They're in undergrad and studying til December, so hopefully we'll cross paths again. If for nothing else, 2 of the guys were absolute eye candy! It's funny though, I knew this from my summer in France, but I'm being reminded how terrible Americans are at learning second and more languages. These Euros knew no less than 3, and some were up to 7. That's amazing! I got to practice some of my french with one of them when I was teaching him Korean numbers (that I just learned, too). Also, one of my trainers told me that a southern accent is actually condusive to younger children learning pronunciation and understanding. The drawl allows them to hear the syllables better, and everyone here picks on me for having an accent! (Some say "ahn" instead of "on" --what is that!!)
Saturday, the director of my hagwon (school) invited the 3 of us to the Open House for parents. Was sorta pointless, since the presentation was 98% in Korean, and we ended up having to walk out to make more room for parents coming in. So we sat around for a while and hung out with our director/owner and the assistant director. They're both reeeally cool. Our director is 37 and got his MBA at George Washington in DC. He's very willing to help (I mentioned taking the CIA and he told me he'd check to see if I could get it in English here!!) and after he took us to dinner, mentioned having us go with his son to a theme park. Though it's probably just so his munchkin can practice the language, that's fine by us! Oh, and about dinner... It's considered rude here to refuse an offer of food or alcohol from an elder. And when you do either with them, they have to go first. You are supposed to turn your head away when drinking in their presence, too. So our director had already ordered two different meals for us, asked if we wanted beer/coke/sprite, and then suggested a third meal. He looked at me and I just said, "I'll eat it if you want to order it, but I'm not hungry for more" and he didn't take it as an insult! (Another advantage to being American is that they just write stuff off that they think is odd as part of my background, so at least I get cut some slack).
So this is getting long, I'll wrap up. Training ends this week, class begins Monday. Hopefully I get my diploma Friday that my dad so graciously rush shipped to me b/c immigration said that LSU's letter saying I "completed all my requirements" wasn't enough to confirm graduation (what the heck else could completed all requirements mean is beyond me) so I have <10 days to prove it and get my visa. If not, I dunno, I have to restart something or leave briefly or... I couldn't really understand what they tried to tell me. And so... If all goes according to plan, I should get an apartment by the weekend, move in and start teaching in 6 days! Somewhere between moving and teaching I plan to check out Wal-Mart here so that I have a few more comforts of home in my place here.
Nitey nite!
Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed
