Under the Umbrella Tree

Summer time in Korea is always the most entertaining season for foreigners living and working in this wondrous country. Mostly though, it is a season which enables us to enjoy all Korea has to offer - touring its beautiful islands, beaches and cities. Two weeks ago, about 300 foreigners from around the country got together and pulled off an all day/night beach party on Wando, about 2 hours south of Gwangju. We camped out on the beach and drank until the sun came up... or until we were passed out on the sand waking up with red skin and a horrible headache. The rising sun definitely didn't stop us.

We were lucky to get such gorgeous weather since apparently typhoons have been said to transpire during Korea's rainy season. What I've come to notice however, after living in this country for almost a year and a half now is that Koreans tend to over exaggerate certain aspects of their lifestyle. For example, there are no such things as 'clinics' or a 'doctor's office'. Rather, if one is feeling under the weather, or is just in need of a checkup they must go directly to the hospital. From my Western perspective, going to the hospital sounds so much more hostile than going to visit your local doctor. My Korean friend recently told me he spent 5 days in the hostpital. Naturally, I was shocked and worried by this, thinking something pretty devastating must have happened to him. I later found out he checked himself in because he was stressed.

Moving on...

So you would think because of Korea's annual 'rainy season' they would be used to the wet weather and thus be able to easily distinguish between heavy rainfall and a monsoon. Well that is not exactly the case. This past weekend a monsoon was apparently brewing and all that really emerged were dark clouds and... wait for it... RAIN! It was nothing out of the ordinary. Korean's though, were more than prepared for the rainfall which could be seen through their overt use of umbrellas. I seriously believe that Korea is the one country in the world that utilizes umbrellas for every single season. Come rain or shine, wind or hail, Korean people will have an umbrella in hand. I find it quite amusing, to witness the vast transformation of people walking casually in the streets one second, to the sidewalks covered in umbrellas the next, when a drop of rain falls from the sky. Umbrellas are decent sized objects... where do they hide them?? It's almost as though they have a secret compartment where they keep their umbrellas and us foreigners didn't get the memo. Being the tall Westerner that I am, I have learned to be extra diligent when using an umbrella in the crowded streets. Apparently there are unwritten umbrella rules one must follow to successfully arrive at their destination, dry and unharmed. I will attempt to write them out for you:

1. When you feel a slight drop of water hit your skin, IMMEDIATELY release your umbrella holding it above your head.

2. When walking down a busy street, you must relentlessly alternate the umbrella between your right and left hands depending on which side pedestrians pass you by.

3. You must also frequently raise and lower your umbrella in order not to collide with a strangers umbrella. *This is probably the most important rule.

4. Keep your eyes peeled for 'couple' umbrella holders. These umbrellas tend to be much larger, rounder and more hazardous to the general public.

5. Lastly, when you enter a store or restaurant with your umbrella, you must deposit it in the suitable umbrella bin, and on your way out, be careful not to 'mistakenly' pick up a nicer, prettier, more efficient umbrella because... that's just rude.

It's never really fun to travel during rainy season but there is so much to see and do, a little bit of rain never hurt anybody! Last weekend some friends and I bussed to Seoul to send off our good friend Aaron who was leaving Korea after two and a half years. As you would expect, we got him pretty drunk and had a ridiculously fun night out on the town. Seoul is literally a city that never sleeps. Bars and clubs are opened until wee hours into the morning and last call simply doesn't exist. With that being said, the next morning was a complete write off for all of us and bussing back three and a half hours to Gwangju seemed less and less appealing. The idea of getting a flight back was brought to our attention (as a joke) but after some inquiring, four of us decided to go ahead and book seats. It was so worth it! After 27 minutes in the air and a free glass of orange juice later, we arrived back to our home away from home.

Seoul is always an adventure for us 'country folk' but it is definitely nice to return back to our quaint life here in Gwangju. I suppose there are obvious differences living in Gwangju opposed to Seoul - an overpopulated metropolitan city. I tend to treat my visits to Seoul as a trip back into Western society. I go there with a big appetite, low expectations and fewer morals. When the city wakes up, us foreigners have left our mark and nothing is forgotten...hazy, but not forgotten. I did however, forget where I left my umbrella. Oh well.

Wando Beach

Suzy and I at the Green Tea Plantation in Boson

Aaron's goodbye dinner in Seoul which quickly turned sleazy

We began requesting music and had a dance party in the restaurant

Aaron and I sexy dancing

Preparing to board our flight back to Gwangju

"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans" John Lennon

Write more soon!

Signing off,

Gillian Teacha



Couple Set, Love Trends

It's funny living in a foreign country for so long, your once narrow minded definition of "normal" starts to unravel and you kind of lose a sense of normality. Of course, each culture has its own set of rules and standards and it's only natural to compare ones foreign culture with your own. However after time you start to forget what you used to think was "acceptable" or "unacceptable", "reasonable" or "unreasonable" and find yourself questioning the random and mundane obstacles you face every day. It's really the little things that make me stop and think, "is this normal?" "Do they do this at home?" How soon we forget.

Just the other day I learned that if you press the wrong floor in an elevator all you need to do is simply press it once more and, vola! The light behind the number fades and you've saved yourself a good 4.2 seconds. Necessary? Probably not. Efficient? Most definitely.

Efficiency seems to be the common trend in Korean life. Even their architecture is designed in such a way to accommodate Korea's abundant population while not taking up too much space in their small country. Almost every office building, school, hair salon, grocery store, bar and restaurant is shared and divided floor by floor. Grocery stores here are stories high and shopping carts are engineered to fit perfectly in the ridges of the flat escalator to ensure your eggs arrive safely to the next level.

My school and workplace is on the forth level of a four story building and walking up the stairs, I pass a restaurant, a hair salon and a bank. If I felt like it, I could technically teach a day's work, change my hairstyle and then pay off any outstanding bills without even stepping outside once. I suppose you can say Korea really gives the saying, 'killing two birds with one stone' a whole new meaning.

It's hard to remember my first impressions of this unique country but one of the first memories I can recall was stepping off the plane merely 2 years ago and seeing a couple dressed the same head to toe. I tried to come up with an explanation for this bizarre sight, maybe they were part of a tour group or part of the same family and didn't want to get lost. But after only a few months I figured out this absurdity was really as absurd as I thought. Couples actually enjoy and are somewhat praised for dressing the exact same in public. Their uniform proves to others that they are 'going steady' and are taking their relationship to a whole new level. Now I'm sure this has come up in previous blogs but I just want reiterate how truly hilarious this notion of 'couple sets' really is. Since most Korean people live with their families until they tie the knot, couples are typically living apart. This means couple set couples actually have to PLAN AHEAD! I can only imagine how that conversation would go: (of course it is translated for your convenience)

[Phone rings]
Male Couple Set: Hello?
Female CS: Hi sweetheart. I miss you.
Male CS: I miss you too. Can I see you this afternoon?
Female CS: Yes. I can meet you downtown after I visit my Grandparents.
Male CS: Great! What are you feeling today? Stripes? Polka dots? A pastel, perhaps?
Female CS: Hmmmmmm. You look best in pastel but I think vertical stripes really elongate my mid section.
Male CS: Alright then. How about we wear our skinny blue jeans with the purple and white striped Tee?
Female CS: That's perfect! But what about our shoes?
Male CS: Let's kick the black Nike high tops!
Female CS: Can't wait! People will totally envy us!

So there you have it. What I would assume to be a typical phone conversation had between two willing participants in Korea's strange yet endearing love trend. But I am still left pondering... whose idea was this in the first place? Did one couple randomly decide to dress identical and others followed? Was there a magazine layout featuring couples dressed the same which then assimilated into reality?

Trends in Korea are pretty aggressive considering this is such a homogeneous society. Walking into my staff room the other day I was greeted by 5 of my co workers who apparently all had appointments with their optometrists that morning. I've worked here for 3 months now and not one staff member has whipped out a pair of glasses. But this day, each one of them was sporting a pair of thick black frames minus the lenses. I apparently didn't get the memo!

Whatever the case may be, Korea's efficient trend setters, engineers, designers, and general consumers all help mold this country into a perfect target for foreigners to lovingly mock yet try to understand. But maybe trying to understand them is a waste of time. Perhaps our curiosity is what's deterring our willingness to just accept or conform. Or maybe, the jokes on us.........??

Some Korean guys sporting the black framed trend

Nah! I don't think so!


Write more soon!

"In order to keep anything cultural, logical, or ideological, you have to reinvent the reality of it"
- Ani Difranco

With love,

Signing off,

Gillian Teacher xx

Sugar coating it

Dear Gillian Teacher,

Hello. My name is Wendy. Do you know my? I like to studying English with you. Your hair is curly. You are a nice and pretty teacher. Teacher, do you know my sister? I don't know English name. Maybe you know her? She is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ugly! Now do you know? She likes to study but I don't like. So then she is ugly and crazy. But mostly ugly. She is short hair and big face. Do you remember?
Teacher, am I pretty? Thank you teacher. Goodbye.

Kids can be harsh. Korean kids are just brutally honest. I remember from last year having my students point out the littlest flaws I tend to ignore about myself and as I stood in front of the class, having them judge me on my outfit of choice or my hairstyle that particular day. It got to a point where I found amusement out of it and just let them dashingly pick me to pieces. I suppose living and breathing homogeneity could account for their lack of acceptance or approval of the diverse. It's sometimes hard not to fall right in to their norms and visualizations. It's when I receive a diary like the one above or see my students covering up their pimples with little flesh colored bandages (which actually makes them look more obscene) I just thank god I'm an outsider - one of the few times you could probably say that in your life.

Being an outsider or a native English speaker, particularly in South Korea also means you are working even on your days off. For example, this past Saturday I was part of a foreigner group who got driven out to the beautiful countryside by Adam's Taekwondo Master. There were 5 of us, English teachers altogether so Mr. Taekwondo decided to capitalize and bring 2 of his Korean students along. Smart move muscle man!

Moreover, last week was quite an eventful week here in K-town. We celebrated Children's Day, Teacher's Day and my Birthday! I still find it humorous how Children's day even exists. I remember when I was young, I found it unfair that there was Mothers and Father's day, but noooo Children's day! Then my mom would so kindly remind me that, of course, everyday is Children's day. That never really held true for me until now. Children in Korea need a holiday from their everyday life. They are almost in a way, robbed of their childhood or at least by our Western standards. Going to school from 8am-4pm, then attending 3-4 hagwons (private schools) in the evening allows for very little spare time and the free time they do have is intended for homework, I'm sure. It differs greatly from our Western mentality and priorities. I recently had a conversation with my boss about how hard students in Korea work. When I told him that I used to finish school at 3:30pm for the day, he justified it by saying, "Well Canadians have naturally smart brains. Korean's need to study very, very hard to be smart like you". He actually believes this. Mind-blowing.

My birthday fell on a Friday this year so I had a delicious dinner after work with some friends and then rented out a karaoke room, here known as a noraebong. The room was double the size of my entire apartment and came fully equipped with a flat screen TV, microphone, tables, couches, food, soju and beer. It was a great night had by all... from what I can remember :s

It's hard to believe it's almost been 3 months since I've been out here. Time is flying by and I'm enjoying every moment of it. Unfortunately I have been a little ill for the past couple of weeks but I'm sure bar hopping on the weekends isn't exactly helping. Anyways I finally decided to make myself a doctors appointment so I cabbed down to the hospital early before work. I was already preparing myself for a challenging language barrier, but sometimes that makes the journey more rewarding. Let me compare and contrast my visualization of what I imagined would take place and what actually did occur over the course of my visit.

My visualization:
Gillian pays the taxi driver and walks happily into the hospital just in time for her 10am appointment.

Reality:
Cab driver misunderstood my request and took me to the hospital 4 blocks away making me then walk 20 minutes to my desired destination, tired, sweaty and 30 minutes late.

My visualization:
I walk up to the reception and let them know I have an appointment with Dr. Chin at 10am.

Reality:
I get budded by 3 different Koreans and finally get to the front desk where the woman looks at me and immediately runs to get another secretary either because a. she speaks no English or b. she's scared of my curly hair. But probably because she speaks no English.

My visualization:
I am told exactly where to wait and am then shortly after, am greeted by a friendly English speaking Doctor.

Reality:
A woman with the same level of English as my grade 3 students, attempts to take me on, gets my information and tells me "wait 20 hours" (clearly she meant to say 20 minutes...or at least I hoped).

My visualization:
The Doctor walks into the room and completes a basic physical, asking me questions about my medical history and checks my blood pressure, breathing, etc.

Reality:
The Doctor walks into the room, sits down and smiles. I begin to talk (since he doesn't) and inform him about my symptoms and medical history.
No response.
I slow down my speech (thinking maybe I was talking to fast, he couldn't understand me) and summarize what I had already said.
No response.

My visualization:
The doctor prescribes me some medication to help my cough and stuffy nose, then I praise him with a low bow and walk out the door feeling a bit more relieved.

Reality:
He finally opens his mouth and says, "drink warm water with sugar".
When he stopped talking after that, I realized that was the end of his sentence.
I was taken aback, but thought maybe after he checked my breathing he would see I am ill and need some medication.
I then ASKED HIM to check my breathing.
He smirked as if I had asked him something completely ridiculous and then responded with, "Oh no, no you must go to a different hospital to get breathing check".

Reality:
I travelled 15 minutes by cab and 20 minutes by foot to find out hospitals in Korea SUCK and I need to buy some sugar.

Hope your day was better than mine!

Some pics of the past week:

The beautiful countryside just an hour south of Gwangju

Exploring

A korean man took all of us on the back of this pick up to the top of the mountain

My birthday- with Adam and Katie

Doin some Kareokying

The room we rented for 2 hours and left a disaster. OOPS!

"The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway". ~Henry Boye

Signing off,

Gillian Teacha

Big Brother is Watching

My new and improved bedroom!

My living room and private back balcony

My much more spacious kitchen

My friend Ally took all of us out for a delicious authentic lunch in the middle of a beautiful forest

"Bondeggi" or better known as Silk Worms which each of them had a taste of

It's hard to believe my brother has already come and gone. The 4 days they spent in Gwangju were filled with traditional Korean meals, touring in and around the city, drinking Korean soju and mekju (beer) as well as a short visit to my workplace. It's almost ironic how my brother and his friends were tourists in such an unfamiliar place, yet they were able to live and act like locals. Whether it be through taking the busy subway in Seoul, driving around the city with my Korean friends, or trying a Korean delicacy known as silk worms all 3 of them had quite the unique experience.

I think they figured out quickly how different Korean mentality is than our Western outlook... on virtually everything! For example, the boys short visit to my school involved having students either stare obtrusively at them or say "hello" with a wave and immediately run in the opposite direction (fade out laugh). It was a great day for the boys to show up at work because instead of teaching classes, we had our monthly contest where each class performed their favorite American pop song. It was enough for my brother and his friends to fall in love with the little ones. Their brief encounter with my boss was started and concluded with how handsome each of them are. I believe they left my school with a higher ego and a new appreciation for Justin Bieber.

A couple of situations this past week were blatant reminders of how endearing it can be to live and work in Korea. First I should start with my adorable yet boisterous students. This year I'm teaching grades 2 to grade 10 which is a huge gap but helps to break up the mundane effect schooling can have. Since I've never taught in Canada or North America for that matter, I have nothing to compare my experiences as a teacher in South Korea with. However I am quite certain that back home in Toronto, students wouldn't be attending class in fully equipped taekwondo uniforms, holding metal swords or walking into class with t-shirts that read, "Sexy bunny", "Playboy" or "Bitches" on them. Last week was Easter and I was teaching a class about various religious holidays. That eventually lead to a brief conversation about religion and I tried my best to explain that I was Jewish and what exactly Judaism entails. My students asked me a couple of questions and I thought I was really making an impact... that was until later that day when I was marking the same student's diaries and read, "Jew teacher, Happy Easter!" Oh well, I tried.

The other day I asked a student of mine to make a photo copy of his workbook for another classmate who had forgotten his book at home. The student I asked seemed concerned by my request so I repeated myself hoping he would suddenly have a revelation and intrinsically follow my command. "C-O-P-Y", I said again and the student smiled and left the room. About 12 minutes later this poor little boy walked back into the classroom holding the same workbook in one hand and a coffee he happily offered to me in the other. "Copy"..."Coffee"... close enough.

Being an English teacher also means delving into ancient grammatical rules that I have grown to completely ignore and solely depend on Microsoft Word to correct. In the classroom, however, I am the one teaching these impressionable students right from wrong, verb from adverb and adjective from noun. Today in class I was attempting to teach a lesson on adjectives and thought it would be a creative and fun idea to have the students pull 3 objects out of their bags and describe them to the class. My North American mind assumed the standard objects carried around by 11 year olds would consist of pencil cases, erasers, crayons and maybe even scissors or a glue stick. I was horribly mistaken. I had students pull out a hamster (locked in a small plastic cube with only a hole at the top for air), a fish in a plastic bag (like what you would win at a fair) and some sort of 8 legged creature locked in a tube. It was probably the most bizarre class I have taught yet and will ever teach. Just another reminder that I am NOT in Canada anymore. Very far from it!

Last on the list is my apartment and living conditions. My new place is great - much bigger than my last apartment I so lovingly referred to as the "shoebox". I have not only a spare bedroom which allows me to be extra accommodating, but I also have a real shower and bathtub. If you can recall pictures I posted of my last makeshift bathroom, you might remember me complaining about the limited space I would tolerate, showering in between my toilet and my sink. It was far from ideal but I made it work.

This time around I also have a private balcony in the back of my apartment, a kitchen table and a 32 inch flat screen television. Things are looking up. However, this wonderful space doesn't come without its charms. And by 'charms' I mean a painfully loud Korean voice bellowing through my kitchen speakers at 8am almost every morning!!! Unfortunately I was not warned about this intercom so when I first woke up to a Korean man's voice yelling into my apartment on my second morning here, I thought I had personally done something wrong and was being lectured over a loud speaker! Thoughts of uncertainty ran through my head, "could this man see me?? Is he watching me RIGHT NOW?? Who is this man?? and most importantly, "What in the world is he saying???"

I thought your apartment was supposed to be your safe haven, a place where you can get away from the harsh realities of life. When living in a foreign country, it's sometimes nice to go home and not have to worry about the obvious language barrier you deal with at work everyday trying to teach Korean students English who can't even tell you what day of the week it is. Well, I still have no idea what "the voice" is saying to me over the speaker in my apartment, but all I can hope is that it's not very important because god forbid he orders everyone to vacate the premises, I will still be lying in bed with a pillow over my face and ipod speakers in my ear trying desperately to ignore the conspicuous voice in my kitchen.

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” 

Signing off,

Gillian Teacha

It's been a while...

View from my new apartment. Up on the 11th floor.

Me and 2 of my grade 5 students

Lauren, myself and Ryan at the first Kia Tigers baseball game of the season

Cherry blosson pictures taken just outside of my apartment

Well as most of you now know, I'm back in Gwangju, South Korea for another year of dance parties, Island hopping, drag nights, baseball games and fake weddings. Oh, and I suppose that other minor pursuit of most foriegners here... teaching. Saying goodbye 5 months ago was merely a see you later since I knew Gwangju would have me (along with a few other Jews) back for round 2! So here I am, in a brand new apartment, working in a new school in a whole different dong (neighborhood). It's been just over a month since I arrived now and it's already been an eventful number of weeks.

Things are a bit different this year. I guess to start, my students dont have any crazy names like Lady Gaga or Micheal Jackson. There is no Obama and certainly not a Pikachu. Sooo... to make up for it (or to just blatenly entertain myself) I have a Jack Daniels and a Tom and Jerry. Hey, anything to get through the day, right?!

Another big change this year is the absence of basically any other foriegn person(s) at my workplace. I am the only foriegn teacher at my Hogwon this time around and it is taking some getting used to. Growing up in a white suberban Jewish community where you would easily blend in at your nearest Sobeys while ordering a Kosher cut of meat poses a discreet challenge to my ease and vulnerability. Thankfully, this is isn't my first experience as a minority in an Asian country although this year it seems to be somewhat more prudent.

However, being a clear minority does come with it's advantages. I am the "expert" on any foreign/English related questions at work and am able to get away with a lot more than I could last year. For example, if the lesson I've planned for a class ends with 15 minutes to spare, a short episode of Mr. Bean or The Simpsons is always in high demand. If asked by my boss how this relates to the task at hand, I, being the only foriegn teacher and thus looked upon as an all-encompassing English intellect, explains the benefits of basic English conversation attained through humerous television entertainment and vola... I am back to my esteemed position as a foriegner with English as a first language who in turn, must know what's best! :)

Now I assumed comming back to Korea as an English teacher, I would undoubtedly, be teaching English. However that is not the extent of it this year. I am also an (unqualified) Math AND Science teacher! Luckily I have the big answer book, but there have been days where I left the prized hardcover in my office and...well... it's been a long time since I had to tackle grade 6 multiplication and division questions! Plus if most of you know me at all, you know my brain just isn't mathematically attuned, I guess you could say (I usually just turn my back to the class when using my fingers to count). Well thankfully I am teaching in an Asian country. Not to sound stereotypical, it's just that these kids are brilliant when it comes to answering mathematical equations so any answer they say aloud, I assume is correct and respond with a smile.

It was reassuring comming back this year having already an idea of what to expect. I knew right away not to give the aggressive taxi drivers at the airport even a minor glance that they could potentially mistake for a reason to harass me for money trying to justify paying a cab to drive four hours from Seoul to Gwangju opposed to utilizing the brlliantly run bus system. I was wary of those Korean's who catch you waiting in line to buy a bus ticket (or whatever it may be) holding you ficticiously hostage while reading passages from the new testament hoping and literally praying I will have an instant revelation in the middle of the bus terminal. And I was hardly expecting an ajuma (old lady) to push her way directly infront of me in line just as I was next to be served. I think having gone through these past experiences, they don't seem as intolerable anymore. Don't get me wrong, they are, for the most part still ridiculously rude and inexcusable, but in a way have become somewhat endearing and a funny staple of Korean culture.

Even though this is year two for me, I will still be going through new experiences and learning new customs and traditions I didn't get a chance to familiarize myself with previously. It has now been just over 1 month since I arrived back in Korea and time is already passing me by. I hope to keep this blog updated as often I can and end with some quotes and Korean proverbs that remind me why I'm here. It is almost the end of cherry blossom season which means summer is just around the corner! Only 10.5 months left to go... but who's counting!?

Much love to you all!

"A turtle can only travel by sticking its neck out"

Signing off,

Gillian Teacha