First week down, 51 to go!

So far the two things that have left their biggest impression on me was taking an hour to join the gym, and watching the kindergarten graduation.

With the help of four Korean translators, my fellow teacher, Gordon and I got signed up for the Jamaican gym. After an hour of signing up, I got on their measuring system, and was told that I was fat by Korean standards (I could have told them that one). But still, Americans don’t join gyms to be told that they are fat. Oh well, such is life J. The building itself is amazing, located on the 13th floor, above department stores, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts, it has a crazy view of the city at night. I’ll try and take a picture of the nightlife that’s scene from the windows. The gym’s here are cheap, for one year membership its $21 a month, and for 3 months its $35! Granted square footage is still super expensive so the gym is smaller then an American gym, but what isn’t? (My kitchen is 2 x 3’!) I’ve been to the gym twice now, both in the later evenings and have been the token westerner girl. I’m hoping to see another one soon, but I’m not pressing my luck on it. There was only one western guy there also.. mmm so this is what its like being the minority.

The Korean kindergarten graduation was 10:30-2:30, for less than 60 kids! All of the parents took off work to attend their children’s English class graduation, and it was a show. The kids had been memorizing the songs, poems, and plays for over a month. They played out Beauty and the Best, Lady Chongyoun, The Little Bear.. ect. It was an amazing production that ended with all of the schoolteachers (new and old) on the stage dancing to “Dancing Queen”.

I feel like my Korean has gotten worst since coming, all I’ve been saying is Hello and Thank you.. I’ve definite have to start studying, just so I can understand what is being said to me at a restaurant. Soo.. today I’ll look for a language exchange partner, whom I can help with their English and my Korean.

I start teaching classes on Monday! All of my classes are full, with 12 students each. Most of the classes have had english class before, so it'll be easier to communicate and instruct them. All morning I'll be hanging out with 7 year olds (american age 5), it'll be a fun but a struggle to get them to learn english and to adapt to an american. I've heard that most of the korean kids have never been around westerners so for the first couple of weeks half of them will be afraide to talk with me. So I'll be instruding, "Stella", to them. Stella is a huge hippo puppet with a skirt and bright pink lipstick. :)

The world of Seoul aka my tiny 4 block radius.

I’ve found myself living in on of the largest cities in the world, next to the 5th largest subway station in the city. An you say crowds, neon lights, fish smells, formally dressed workers for businessmen to gym workers. The Koreas have the best customer service I’ve ever seen. With my fellow teachers’ nonexistent Korean, we try to communicate with writing and hand gestures. We pay in big bills, because we don’t know our number’s yet. We struggle with taking off our shoes in each other’s homes, gym lockers, and some restaurants. We wave back to bus loads of giggling, waving school girls. And try not to say hi if we seen other westerner in an elevator. We get stocked in the subway by the retired generations of Koreans (who stand in subway stations, socializing, people watching, and listening to random musicians) they try out their English on us, ask where we are from, and assume we are students. We refuse to wear gym uniforms, believing that we are individuals and out grew uniforms in the 7th grade. Koreans take comfort in dressing the same and being in a communal society. We are told to eat rice w/ large spoons, give and receive money with two hands extended. And get stared at where ever we go, even though we are in the capitol city.

12 hours, 4 Cities, 3 Flights

After spending a week with Zana, Ryan, and Mom in Sacramento I toured the western seaboard airports. First with a flight to Portland were I missed a flight to Denver by 20 minutes because they said they would be an hour because of the Denver flight control. Off to Seattle I went, on the most delightful 40-minute flight! It was a sweet two hours to be in Washington again, I know that most people would be mad about missing a flight and having to take two extra flights to get to their destination, but I’m relishing it for some odd reason. I guess its because it’ll be the last time I’ll be in these airports for a least a year, which I makes me sad to think I wont be in Seattle for that long. Spending time in the airport lets me have the forced quite time, people watching, and all the opportunities of getting lost that I could crave.

I have five days till I leave! I want to see everyone in Denver before then, and take my parents out to eat Korean. My dad has never been, so it’ll be a fun experience.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve done a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do for a while. First, when Yoko came and visited me in the second week of January! It was so fun to have a visitor from the west coast (#1), and to be able to see Denver through new eyes. We went to the stock show, Breckenridge with Hyo-Jung and Kee Bea, and out on the 16th street mall in Denver. So much fun! Thanks Yoko! Then Mark came from Seattle and we went to the Denver Art Museum (#2), where much to his dismay, I started jumping up and down when we got to the Asian room. It was great to see some examples of Asian history, and it made my heart beat faster when I got to think that I was going to get the opportunity to live there. Amazing! Then Adrienne came out and we go to go snowshoeing (#3) (I’ve wanted to go for years!!) in Empire, CO. And went to delicious Italian pizza with the parents, and went to Garden of the Gods (#4) in Colorado Springs and ‘hiked’ around the beautiful red boulders with Hyo-Jung and Kee-Bea.
After a crazy weekend, I got on a plane to Sacramento and the next day was picked up by Aubrey and went sightseeing in Napa/Calstioga. That area is good for the soul, one day I’ll spend more time in the valley, and really absorb the goodness of it (and all the great wine!) We got to go the hot springs (#5) with her boyfriend, Neil. Zana picked me up and we drove to San Francisco, and went to Colt Tower (#6), where the light rain, smell of eucalyptus trees, with their peeling bark, and the Bay, brought me back to my time at MBA. It feels so long ago, but in reality it was only 5 years since I left Monterey Bay. ☹ I drove around San Fran for a bit, which I plan on not doing for a long time! My new plan for when I get back from Korea is to get a masters at a school in the Bay area, its so beautiful around there! I still want to go to Alcatraz Island, but only in the summer time. And now I’ve been to 4 cities in one day, and on 3 airplanes. Not that I’ve wanted todo this, but it’s a fun way to spend the day.