Little Things...

I love some of the little things about Korea so much. Like how I wanted to have some eggs for dinner but I didn't want to buy a dozen which you almost always have to do in the States. But here, at the convenience store, you can buy just as many eggs as you want. So I bought 3 and it was about $0.85.

I love how at McDonald's when you order something to-go they have these little plastic bags for your drink cups that have a separator in the middle and a shape so the cup stands up and you can carry it. It's much better than the top heavy carriers they usually give you back home.

I love how you always have to pay an extra $0.10 a bag when you go to the grocery store here - its a great incentive to remember to bring your own and to think more about recycling and the environment.

I love how geeky some of my students are. Today I walked into class and said to one of my classes, "Ok, we are going to have a spelling test today" and there was a resounding, "YEAAAHHH!!!" with more than one fist punching victoriously into the air. This little boy, Min-Jae said, "Teacher I LOVE spelling tests!" Shocking. But I suppose they love the challenge. The first thing they wanted to know was how many stamps they would get for a perfect store.

I love the strange little treats my kids give me. Like today, for instance, when once student gave me a squished quarter of a seafood salad sandwich on white bread which she had made herself and wrapped in plastic wrap. Huh...

I love the language barrier. Today I was coughing in class so this little boy (Kyung-Sub) came up and handed me a Korean brand throat lozenger. He said, "Teacher. You!" and pointed to the cough drop. I took it and he explained to me, "Neck candy!" as he pointed to his neck. "Because teacher doing this" and he coughed dramatically. Neck candy? Aahhh I see. Your 8-year old English vocabulary does expand to include the word "throat" but "neck" is the obvious next best body part. And of course you dont know the word "lozenger" and it is kind of like candy if you think about it. So I think I will forever call my Hall's "neck candy" now thanks to Kyung-Sub.

I collected English diaries today (every Monday). In one, after her required 10-sentence diary entry my student wrote this. I have left in the spelling errors for fun.

Subjet: Letter

Dear Teacher: Hello, Teacher! I am Chae-Won. How are you, Teacher? I'm fine, thank you. I love you, teacher! Teacher, do you have the boyfreind? I'm curous. I'm sorry, teacher, my before diary was not good. Next time diary is good. Yes, I think so. Teacher, you like food? Please answer my letter. I love you teacher!

Love,
Chae-Won

I love my job!

This week's news

Another Monday of teaching finished. I love my job! I got an adorable journal entry today where my student said he "swam in the fool" but I think he meant "pool" and then at the end he said, "This day was very cool. Yes, this was my happy day!" So cute...

The weekend was GORGEOUS. 78 and sunny for the baseball game which my team WON 12 - 4. My favorite player, the only Western guy on the team is named Cliff Brumbaugh. He hit a 3-run homer AND a solo homer. It was great. We sat in foul ball territory and I almost caught a ball hit by the opposing team. The guy next to me caught it instead and he thought about giving it to me but the crowd was chanting to give it to a Lotte Giants fan, not an Woori fan (I was sitting in enemy fan territory) so he gave it to a kid Lotte fan. Turns out, the whole thing was on tape so everyone watching the game saw me! So when I went to work today a bunch of other teachers told me they saw me on TV! I have to admit I'm pretty excited to have been on Korean television at a ball game. :)

So I'm sitting here watching That 70's Show (I dont even notice the Korean subtitles on things anymore) and eating some spicy noodles. Spring is here full-force now. Tomorrow I'll take some pictures of the flowers they've planted all over my neighborhood. They're beautiful and they smell amazing. This Saturday my friends and I have a trip booked to the DMZ. That's the demilitarization zone between North and South Korea, in case you weren't sure. Read all about it here if you want. I will definitely have some pictures to post after that trip! Should be really interesting...

Take me out to the ball game!

Spring in Korea means many things, such as polluted air courtesy of China, more people crowding onto the subway, and of course, something one always needs, more vendors selling larva worms as a snack on the street. But there is one thing that spring brings in Korea that is reminiscent of home and that is BASEBALL!

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) is made up of nine MLB-comparable teams. Here they are (in their current standings, just for fun)
Lotte Giants
SK Wyverns
Samsung Lions
Woori Heroes (whooooo! hooo!!!)
Doosan Bears
LG Twins
Hanwha Eagles
Kia Tigers

I am officially an Woori Heroes fan. LG is the most popular team. They have a huge fan base. Kind of like the Red Sox maybe? The Samsung Lions are like the Yankees - they win a lot but they also have all the money. The Woori Heroes are like the Angels or the Astros. They were only recently moved to Mokdong (near me) and bought by Woori (a tobacco company). They were formerly the Hyundai Unicorns. I'm glad that's no longer the case. Unicorns is just about the least baseball-y name I can think of. Although come to think of it "Angels" isn't that great either.

So this weekend I went to not one but TWO baseball games at the Woori Heroes "new" stadium. The stadium wasn't too impressive in that it's kind of dated but it was a decent size and the field was beautiful. A few of the stadiums have real grass but Woori's doesnt. The baseball atmosphere here was the same, if not better, than it is back home. Fans get "thunder sticks", these inflatable cheering devices that gain their name from the loud noise they make when you beat them together. They're a great addition to baseball games in my opinion. Just like at home fans make signs and posters. Unlike the stingy stadiums at home, you can bring any food or drink you want into the stadiums here. Or, if you want to buy food at the game you will find all the snacks the same exact price as anywhere else. Now its not America so they are serving gimbap and ramyeon in lieu of hot dogs and nachos but everything is dirt cheap. No $7.00 small fry here!

Two funny things about Korean baseball games:
1. Because you are allowed to bring food in, tons of fans stop at fast food joints along the way to pick up a snack. We saw people with KFC, McD's, Burger King, and even entire pies from Pizza Hut. So there might not be hot dogs at the game but you can bring your own greasy food to simulate the American baseball experience.
2. There are cheerleaders at baseball games here! Not pyramid-making backflip-doing cheerleaders, just four girls who danced around on the dug out and led the crowd through chants and fight songs. And of course danced with the mascot (haven't figured out what he is yet). They even had a "kiss cam" during the - well here's another strange thing. There is no 7th inning stretch. It's at the end of the 6th inning instead. Kind of makes sense, it's closer to the middle of the game.

Well, that's about it on Korean baseball. I plan to go to lots more games and cheer on my team. They are playing at home this weekend so the plan is to hit the game on Saturday. That's all for now!














A round at the battin cages after the game: $0.50
A coke at the stadium: $1
Ice cream cone at the game: $1.50
Front row seats on first base line: $6
Seats right behind home plate: $8
Box seats with your own table, snacks, and bathroom: $14
Watching a game that transcends age, gender, language, culture, and geography: priceless

Monday, April 7th

The weather has finally changed and it actually feels like Spring. Apparently Spring usually comes early and the weather turns mild in March but this year it was pretty cold right up until Friday. All weekend it was high 60's. Friday night I got together with some local friends for a wine and cheese girls night in. Saturday was lots of fun, I went with a group of friends to the Seoul horse races. It was a gorgeous day and we sat outside, soaking up the sun as we watched a few races. It was some kind of family day so there were lots of kids and activities and admission was free. Saturday evening I went mini golfing with my friend on the roof of this huge building. It was really fun. Sunday was another beautiful day and I headed to church in the afternoon. My church is doing an orphanage reach-out program that I really want to join. They train volunteers for a few weeks on how to minister to children in orphanages here and then you go to one orphanage every Saturday for 2 months and work with the kids there. You have to have the training first and they didn't know when they were starting again but hopefully it will be soon because I'd really like to do that!

Last week I was sick (just a cold) AGAIN. I have been sick at least once every month since I got here. Everything from tummy trouble to common colds to the time I ended up in the hospital with a fever of 104. I guess my body has just had a hard time adjusting to Asia. And while some things in Korea (like the subway) are really clean, some things (like the air) are really dirty.

The thing about having a cold in Korea is that there are vitamins (especially C) galore. At any convenience store, next to the Coke, and various sodas and drinks, are rows of different vitamin drinks. They usually come in small glass bottles and you can buy a case of 12 for around 5USD. Vitamin C is especially popular, there are many vitamin C drinks (my favorite is one called Lemon-C which kind of tastes like carbonated lemonade) but it also comes in different forms like candy and a powder you pour directly onto your tongue. It's also extremely common to give Vitamin C-items as gifts here. So often a teacher at my school will bring in a big box of Vitamin-C drinks and give one to all the teachers. Or my students often give me a Vitamin drink or, more commonly, Vitamin-C candy. Perhaps the modern version of giving your teacher an apple...

Speaking of my students, here are some recent pictures from my classes:

Scary stuff in the news...

NKorea lashes out at SKorea's leader 'Lee'

SEOUL (AFP) — North Korea Tuesday launched its first verbal attack on new South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, saying his tougher policy towards the nation could have "catastrophic consequences."

The lengthy and vitriolic attack, describing the conservative leader as a US sycophant and a traitor, comes as tensions are rising between the two nations.

On Sunday the North's official media claimed that Seoul was planning a preemptive military strike and threatened to turn South Korea into "ashes" if it went ahead.

In recent days the North has also expelled South Korean officials from a joint industrial complex, test-fired missiles, accused Seoul of breaching a disputed sea border and threatened to suspend all dialogue.

Media reports say sorties by the North's jet fighters have also increased near the heavily fortified border.

[South Korean] President Lee, who took office five weeks ago after winning elections in December, has pledged a tougher line against North Korea, including linking economic aid to the impoverished nation to its nuclear disarmament. (Lee has said that South Korea will stop all economic aid to the North unless the North gets rid of all its nukes and changes its human rights standards)

Tuesday's commentary in Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper of the ruling communist party, described Lee's policy as a "declaration of war", and also blasted his intention to press the North on its human rights record.

"Lee Myung-Bak should not misjudge the patience and silence so far kept by the DPRK (North Korea)," it declared.

"The Lee regime will be held fully accountable for the irrevocable catastrophic consequences to be entailed by the freezing of inter-Korean relations and the disturbance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula due to its sycophancy towards the US and its moves for confrontation with the North."

[The South Korean] Grand National Party (GNP), responding late Monday to the "ashes" threat, called on the North to stop "blackmailing" the South.

"We should face North Korea's military threat dauntlessly and resolutely," the party said in a statement.

Analysts say the North may be trying to sway the South's April 9 [parliamentary] election. The GNP wants to win a parliamentary majority over liberal rivals who practised a decade-long "sunshine" engagement policy towards Pyongyang.

They say the North may also want to undermine Lee before his first summit with US President George W. Bush this month.

read the rest here