A Few October Photos

Quick Update to the Last Post

1. I have a sinus infection, but the doctor gave me medicine, so I'm hoping it will clear up soon. Hasn't been a fun few days, but I'm starting to feel a little bit better.


2. Will is, at this moment, on a plane from New York to Seoul and should arrive in 8 hours. He will then take a 3 hour bus to Jecheon.


Prayers for recovery and safe travel would be appreciated.

The Real Wait is Finally Ending

Dear Readers,


I apologize for not writing for the last couple of weeks. This is because blowing my nose, drinking dozens of cups of tea, and boiling water over and over again to inhale the steam are not very exciting things to write about. In fact, you're probably already bored. I am about midway through my SECOND bad cold (that came before the first one was all the way out the door) and have decided that I should probably go to work wearing a face mask and latex gloves and insist that all my kids bathe in Lysol before they come. That may be an exaggeration, but I assure you, it is only a slight one. 


There are pros and cons to being sick in Korea vs. in America. Pro: There's a walk-in pharmacy on every block and if you tell them your symptoms they'll give you the medicine. Con: Few of the pharmacists speak English. Pro: Medicine is cheaper. Con: The labels are in Korean so I can't find what I need. Pro: The grocery store, where you can buy tea and tissue, is close by. Con: I have to walk there in the cold. Anyway, I'm going to try to be healthy after this cold and keep my immune system armed and ready. The school has been understanding about my illness and I've missed a few classes without a lecture, but I'm ready to be well now so I can be a better teacher.


Speaking of teaching, I should probably mention how that's going. It's both very rewarding and very frustrating at the moment. I have a lot of fun sometimes, and the classes where I expend the most energy dancing, singing, and looking like an idiot are my favorite. The classes where my kids make me feel like an idiot are my least favorite. I think most of my kids respect and like me, but a few bad apples can spoil the whole barrel (a principle that has never been scientifically explained to me, but I'll accept it on faith), and a few kids have made a couple of my classes a daily, 40-minute, miniature hell. I'm having trouble with one class where about 4 out of 7 kids seem to have no respect for me whatsoever, possibly because I don't speak Korean, or possibly because 2 of them don't seem to respect anyone. I'm having difficulty dealing with that, but my solution today was to get my kindergarteners to teach me how to say "be quiet" in Korean, so I could yell it at my other class when they started acting up. Their reaction was priceless, but then they kept demanding that I say it over and over again, so I'm not sure it was a complete success. My kindergarteners are lovely, smart children, and I'm very fond of them. One of my afternoon classes is reading a storybook with parts they can act out, and I've enjoyed helping them turn it into a play in class twice a week. I jump around, and dance, and sing, and speak dramatically, and act like a fool, and we all love it and have tons of fun. 


It's really hard to believe that I've been here almost a month. I still don't always know what's going on. Today we ordered books for December, and I was very confused while trying to act like I knew what I was doing. We'll find out in December how that worked out! I still forget my CD player almost every time I head to class. I'm glad Will is coming soon so HE can be the clueless new teacher. 


Speaking of Will, he IS coming! I promise! Actually, he should be arriving in Jecheon on Friday night. There have been delays from the FBI, from the Office of Authentications at the State Department in D.C., from FedEx, and there was almost a delay from the Immigration Office here in Korea, but I just emailed him his Visa number, and he should be able to fly out of the U.S. on Thursday morning. Fingers crossed, toes crossed, praying fervently, etc. etc. etc. He will arrive on November 18th, which is exactly one whole month since I arrived in Jecheon. I never thought it would be that long until he arrived, or that the whole waiting process would be so incredibly frustrating. It's hard to believe that when he steps off that bus and I look him in the eye, the waiting will be over. This waiting has been going on since March in various forms, whether it was waiting for information about the program, waiting for my documents, or waiting for his documents. Waiting is exhausting, and I'm ready for it to be over, so our real adventure can begin. 


I've enjoyed my little pre-adventure adventure, but I'm more courageous, more fun, and more myself when Will is around. And in 3 days, it will begin, so watch out, Korea, here we come!


Observations for the Week(s)
1. It's very hard to discern laundry detergent from fabric softener in the grocery store when all the labels are in Korean, and a very helpful lady may chatter at you in Korean and then hand you a huge jug on sale that you know you could never carry all the way home. If you are shy and sensitive to people's feelings, like me, you may carry that jug around the store for 5 minutes, until you can sneak back, look around carefully, and then replace it on the shelf. You will then buy a jug that resembles laundry detergent as quickly as possible and try to exit the store without being seen. 


2. The easiest typical "American" foods to find in Jecheon are: fried chicken, pizza, hamburgers (though you'll find shrimp burgers and fried squid patties, too), and things resembling waffles (both real Belgian waffles, and AMAZING waffle cookies that you can buy in any convenience store). 


3. It's very humbling to be in a country and not know their language. It's harder to think judgmental thoughts about the people I deal with. "Oh, he's so stupid, why doesn't he understand what I'm trying to tell him?" Nope. I'm the one who doesn't understand. It's highly uncomfortable and probably very good for me. However, I am trying to learn the language, and I always say "thank you" in Korean.


4. I don't realize how long I've been here until I look around me when I walk down the street. The trees that were such beautiful colors when I arrived are now either covered in dead leaves, or completely bare. The weather changed from too-warm-for-a-jacket to would-really-like-my-coat-and-scarf in the last couple of weeks. Perhaps soon there will be snow on the mountains - so exciting!!!


5. If you leave the house feeling pretty and then go to a kids' school, be ready to have your vanity stomped on multiple times. I left the house one day feeling that I had just found the perfect flirty red lipstick, only to be told that a. I look like a monster b. I look scary and c. it's the perfect Halloween costume. Better to play it safe and dress in drab colors and just feel ugly when you leave.