Christmas in.....NEW JERSEY!?!?!

In a moment of holiday spontaneity I decided to change my plans for vacation because I could only think of one thing I really wanted to do during Christmas: be with my family. So this past Tuesday I bought a round trip ticket home. After spending about 30 hours traveling (between airports, airplanes, and hotels) I arrived on Dec 22nd and completely surprised my family. They still can't believe I'm here. My dad said it was the best Christmas present ever.

This will be my only visit home all year so I'll be spending this week eating yummy food, giving lots of hugs, and soaking up time with my favorite people in the world! I head back to Korea on December 31. I will definitely be ready to go back to my life in Korea when the time comes but it's definitely true what they say...There is NO place like HOME for the holidays!

Merry Christmas!

New President

South Korea elected a new president yesterday, to be inaugurated February 25th:
click here to read the story

Soup!

My friend Dan and I went out for some soup tonight. He convinced me to try something new, called Budae Jjigae.. Not only does it taste yummy and have a double "J" in it (so cool) it also has a story behind it. After the Korean war, when meat was scarce in Seoul, some people made use of surplus foods from US army bases around, such as hot dogs and canned ham. They incorporated it into a traditional, spicy gochujang soup and its called Budae Jjigae (aka Army Base Stew). It's a very popular dish served at restaurants or made at home. The version I ate tonight had at least 2 types of ham, noodles, beans, green onions, tofu, mushroom, and some other things I couldn't identify. The broth is red and spicy since its made from the Korean staple, gochujang (red pepper paste). It was very good. In fact, my favorite foods here so far have been soups.

Here are some of my favorite Korean soups:
-Shabu Shabu (technically a Japanese dish but its served a lot here)
-Sujebi
-Galbit'ang
-Doenjang Jjigae (soybean paste soup)
-and now, Budae Jjigae (pictured below)

Kalbit'ang

This is a dish I have been eating very regularly and it's pronounced like Call-bee-tong, not Gal-bee-tang. I've been going to a restaurant near school pretty regularly. I go by myself and sit (on the floor of course) with my back against the wall, comfortably reading a book after ordering, "kalbit'ang hana juseyo". About 15 minutes later a huge tray of food comes out and it's all for me! My kalbit'ang is beef rib soup in a delicious clear, seasoned broth.
It has egg, short beef ribs, green onions, and super-thin rice noodles (a.k.a. cellophane noodles). It is SO good. It comes out boiling hot in this black, cauldron-like pot. And of course, since it's a Korean restaurant I get a variety of banchan (Korean side dishes). I usually get 6 side dishes every time I eat there - and that's when I go alone! Here are some of the ones I have eaten so far:

~cabbage kimchi
~radish kimchi
~fried zucchini (hobak gui)
~salted quail eggs (talgyal changjorim)
~cold bean sprouts with sesame oil (kongnamul)
~thin pancakes with green onion (pajeon)
~white radish strips in a vinegar sauce (Mu-saengchae)
~seasoned spinach (Shi-Geum-Chi)
~seasoned lotus roots (Yeun-Keun Jo-Rim) <-- these are incredible! I love them!
~whole grilled Corvina fish (Saeng-Sun Gui) <--another favorite. sooo delicious!

...and many more. I've eaten a lot of things here where I didn't (and still don't) know what I was eating - all part of the Korean adventure. :)

All Work and No Play

One of the most interesting cultural aspects I've been exposed to since moving to Korea is the work ethic here, particularly in regards to education. I read an article here that said the high value on education in Korea is in part due to the traditional values established by Confucianism which place so much importance on the family's role in society. Then, after the Korean War, education was emphasized as a way to strengthen the country's potential for economic growth.

As a nation, Koreans work more than any other country in the world. According to the The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Korean work week is by far the longest in the world. A 2004 OECD study indicated that the average South Korean worked 2,390 hours a year which was 400 hours longer than the next longest-working country (Poland) and 34% more hours than the average person in the US.

When it comes to education, Korean students are some of the hardest working, highest scoring students in the world. The three-yearly Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that only two countries out of 57 rank in the top five for both reading and math this year. They are South Korea and Finland. Also, 97% of South Korea's young adults complete high school which is the highest percentage recorded in any country. I find this amazing, considering that 40 years ago South Korea's economy was comparable to that of Afghanistan's today.

One Korean friend of mine had an interesting perspective on the work ethic here. He said that his parents' generation (the generation that lived through the Korean War) is determined to secure a better life for their children than the one they experienced during the war. They have certainly done an amazing job of this. Forty years ago this nation was being torn apart by communism. Now South Korea has the 3rd largest economy in Asia and the 12th largest economy in the world!

While a good work ethic is important on an individual and cultural level, it can definitely be taken too far. Many would say Koreans are not simply hard-working but that they are overly-obsessed with competition and success. Education is a common example. When I went to kindergarten as a child I don't remember a lot of actual studying. I remember playing with my friends, napping, eating snacks, singing songs, puppet shows, make-believe, and basic concepts like ABC's, shapes and colors. The Korean kindergarten I taught was learning ABC's, shapes, and colors as well - that is, in a second language. These kids are 5, 6, and 7 years old and they are attending 4 hours of daily kindergarten in another language! I could not believe how much actual school work was done during kindergarten. Kindergarten is about 4 hours a day at my school and the students spend 2.5 of those hours at their desks doing actual book work in English studies. Compared to what I did in kindergarten (which was in my native language!) that seems like a lot to me. And that's just the beginning for the Korean student.

A large number of privately-owned institutions (like the one at which I teach) exist in order to provide after-school instruction in various subjects to elementary and high school students. Many of my students go to school from 9-3 and then go to several different "academies" to study specific subjects more in depth such as English, math, science, Chinese, etc. Many of my students attend 3 or 4 of these academies. Most attend these classes on Saturdays as well. This past Friday I asked a class of 10 students what they were doing on Saturday. Every single one of them answered that they had class.

In South Korea, the college a student attends is said to determine his future for the rest of his life. Because of this, students are under intense pressure to study long hours so they can get into one of the best schools in the country. The high school years in particular are a time when students do little except study. There is a Korean saying that goes "Sleep five hours and fail, sleep four hours and pass". It is definitely taken seriously. During high school students typically begin school around 7 a.m. and finish around midnight when you include private tutors and various after-school academies. I was reading an article about a high school boy described as a "model" Korean student. He wakes up at 6am each day and starts school at 7:20. He does not return home until 1:30 a.m. the next morning, after an evening spent in after-school classes and tutorial sessions. This leaves him with 4 hours of sleep. He told the person conducting the interview that he finds nothing unusual about this schedule - most of his friends, and most of the nation's high school students, are doing the same thing.

I'm interested to know what you all think about this. Do you think the Korean approach to education robs kids of a "childhood". Do you think it's over the top? Or do you think that making kids work so hard from such a young age creates more responsible adults who will contribute to society in more positive ways? Do you think attitudes toward education in the US are better or worse than those here in South Korea? Please comment!

Christmas and Kongki

I'm already in my third month of teaching in Korea! It's pretty cold here and Christmas is everywhere. Across from school there is a cultural arts center and a row of big trees that are all decked out in gorgeous white lights (I'll take some pictures soon!). My school is all decorated for Christmas as well. Since money is tight and traveling is expensive, I am going to do some fun things around here during winter vacation. I'm planning on spending 2 nights at a fancy hotel in Seoul. I made some extra money doing kindergarten and I'm going to treat myself to a quiet get-away complete with a Korean style massage at a fancy spa. I'm really looking forward to it! I'm going to do some historic site-seeing in Seoul and I also have plans to go to Lotte World with some friends during my time off. Lotte World is the biggest indoor theme park in the world!

Fancy Hotel I'm staying at...

Hotel Pool...
Lotte World...

Teaching continues to go well. I've been learning lots of fun Korean games. My students really like "Rock Paper Scissors" and they have taught me at least 3 variations on it. They've also taught me some table games such as the Korean version of jacks (Kongki Noli). My junior high girls play Kongki during breaks before and after class. It's played with 5 plastic pieces that look like this:
They are weighted with little metal balls inside. You play one-handed with 5 pieces at a time. You throw them down on the table and then pick one up and throw it in the air. While that ones in the air you pick a second one up and then catch the one you threw. Then with the two in your hand you throw one up and pick up a third while that ones in the air and then catch the one you threw (Confused yet???). You do this until they are all in your hand. That's the first round. The second round you pick up two pieces every time you throw one up. The third round you pick up three. The fourth round you pick up four and the fifth time you pick them all up. The last step is you toss all the pieces in the air at once and catch them on the back of your hand. Then you throw them up again and catch them all in your palm. It's difficult (for me...my students are awesome at it!) but really fun. I'm planning to send some kongki sets to my nieces for Christmas.

MIA??

I know I haven't blogged for a while. I also know this has not gone unnoticed due to the fact that I have received numerous complaints from my readers regarding my recent silence :) Everything is great, I have just been in my routine and very busy and I haven't felt like I have a lot of blogging fodder. I will post this evening - and I promise it will be a good one! :)

Classroom News

I am continuing to enjoy teaching here. For the most part my classes are good, with a few rough ones. It is definitely easier than when I first got here. It's not really easy work, for me. It's fairly demanding but I think it's really rewarding. I think it's a challenge to try to give each class 100% of your effort and attention all the time. Sometimes it's hard not to try less in a class where the kids just goof off and don't pay attention or never seem to understand anything no matter how many times you say it.

It gives me a whole new appreciation for teachers and, for that matter, parents. Having to repeat yourself over and over to children who are not listening to you is quite frustrating. Like explaining an assignment in detail and getting done and having one student who was doodling in their book instead of listening look up at you and say, "Teacher, what?" And it doesn't work to say, "I already explained it once and you weren't listening so I'm not explaining it again" because they see that as permission to go back to drawing.

Thankfully most of my kids try really hard and want to learn.
They also bring me gifts which is fun.

Here are some of the gifts I've received from students:
rice cakes
oranges (some whole, some half-eaten)
chocolate (it's usually unsweetened here)
sticks of gum (pumpkin flavored, rose flavored, ginseng flavored...),
pepero (a cookie stick, dipped in chocolate syrup),
Bungeo-ppang (a baked pancake-ish shell shaped like a fish which is filled with red-bean paste or kimchi)
various hard candies
cookies
drawings
pencils
erasers
tiny clay figurines
a winter hat

PS Rice cakes in Korea come in ALL shapes, sizes, and colors. They are generally bland, chewy and look like this:

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving

Well due to all kinds of factors, particularly financial, I won't be going to Thailand for Christmas. I might go to Tokyo for a couple of days but Christmas is such an expensive time to travel around here that its hard to justify spending so much money. It looks like I'll just be staying here and spending time with friends. But who knows, some exciting plans might come up. A huge part of me really wants to come home but the tickets are crazy expensive now that it's less than a month until Christmas.

Work is going well. It's test/report card time right now. It's hard to believe I've been here for two months already. I am definitely going through a lot of homesickness which seems to be getting more intense instead of better. That's mainly why I haven't been blogging much lately. Thanksgiving was more difficult for me than I anticipated. It was fun because I had friends over and my attempt to recreate dinner on limited resources turned out really well. And it has been nice to get my apartment all decorated and fixed up. But it was so hard knowing my entire family was together celebrating the holiday without me. Still, despite my loneliness, I can't help but think of how many things there are to be thankful for.

I though of just making a list of things I am thankful for but I thought it would be more fun to show you in pictures ten things I am particularly thankful for these days!

1. Fall. I am so glad they have fall in Korea and that I've been able to enjoy the crisp, cool weather and the vibrant colors of the leaves!
2. My laptop/the Internet - I am so thankful for the fact that it is so easy to stay in touch with everyone via e-mail and this blog!
3. Care packages! I have already received two and I hear that more are on the way! :)

4. I'm thankful for Itaewon and import stores and the fact that I can buy overpriced Western products when I can't take any more Korean food! I am also thankful that when I come home I will have the incredible ability to go to any supermarket and buy all the familiar food I want instead of taking the subway for an hour to get to a tiny, closet-like store where I pay 3x the price for a box of Hamburger Helper :)
5. Christmas in Korea - I am excited that I am in a country where Christmas is widely celebrated. I was able to buy a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations which makes me feel more at home this time of year.
6. Skype! The incredible little program that lets me call and be called by family and friends anywhere in the world for free! And even see them on a webcam!
7. I am thankful for chicken. It's healthy, It's versatile, I love it, and it's cheap here!
8. I am thankful to be doing something I enjoy. I am so happy to be working with kids who are, in general, really fun to teach.
9. I am thankful for my friends who are always there for me and who keep in touch with me:
10. I AM THANKFUL FOR MY WONDERFUL FAMILY

Happy Thanksgiving!

Q. Can you make chocolate chip cookies in a toaster oven?

Baking at 190 degrees Celsius...

For 8 - 10 minutes....

VOILA!

A. Yes, you can make chocolate chip cookies in a toaster oven!

Home Sweet Home

After nearly two months of living here, I finally got around to "home-ifying" my apartment. Take a look.

Note the lamp and the candle, both of which add a homey feel ...

My pink butterfly bathroom

My decoratively displayed mugs

My wall photo-collage

My Christmas Tree!!!!!!

Contemporary artwork to further enhance the ambiance

What do you think?

Cracking Down

For those of you who were around when I made my decision to come to Korea, you might remember how easy the whole process was. I made the decision and had my flight booked and paid for by the school all within one month's time. I had one phone interview with the teacher's coordinator and sent my paperwork over. The most difficult part of the whole process was that once I was issued my visa number electronically, I had to travel back and forth to NYC two days in a row to drop off my paperwork and then pick up my visa the next day. But all in all, it was really easy for me to get this job. So basically anyone with a college degree can get hired to teach here. I didn't have any experience with teaching at all before I came to Korea and that wasn't a problem at all. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, since the screening process is so lenient, sometimes foreign teachers sign a contract with a school to get their ticket here paid for and then don't show up or they bail after a short time to find something better. I have heard about so many teachers who bail on their contracts. Of course, it goes both ways, sometimes schools don't hold up their ends of the contract either. Thankfully I haven't had any problems whatsoever so far and my school has done a great job of taking care of me.

So I was reading the news today and they were talking about how Korea is going to make the process of getting hired as a foreign English teacher more difficult. The article said that teaching applicants may be required to submit criminal and medical records as well as the results of drug tests. Apparently Seoul has had enough of inadequate foreign English teachers and it is getting tough on issuing educational work visas. According to one article, there are around 16,000 foreigners who work as English teachers in Korea. Sadly, over the past five years over 800 foreign English teachers have been caught with fake degrees or improper visas. Some have even been found to be teaching under the influence of drugs. I think it's understandable that parents are welcoming the government's tougher measures which are set to go into effect in mid-December. I definitely think its a good idea to make the requirements more difficult to meet though. It was a bit disconcerting how easy it was to come here. The recruiter asked me over the phone if I had a criminal or child abuse record. It would be so easy for someone to lie and the next thing you know they are in Korea teaching children. I didn't even have to provide references - just a diploma and a passport! PS sorry this post is so poorly formatted, I couldn't figure out how to fix it....

Wednesday!

Tonight after work I went out with one of the Korean teachers. We went to a really nice coffee house called Sleepless in Seattle. We had a really great time and found out we had an uncanny amount of things in common (we even have the same birthday!). After coffee she came back to my apartment and we talked for another two hours! It was so nice to find someone I had a lot in common with and we really hit it off. Yay for another good friend in Korea!

Today I woke up and I didn't want to get out of bed. I was feeling very homesick and depressed. That was how my day started. But it ended with me making a new friend who could identify with a lot of the troubles I've been having in Korea since she lived in a foreign country for a year as well. God is truly watching over me and His timing is perfect...

On a sillier note, I think I've mentioned that one of my biggest problems with my students is that they are constantly trying to speak Korean in class when they are only supposed to speak English. I get on their case about this all the time and so they end up ratting each other out to me when one of them slips up. I've lightened up about it a bit, especially with the younger ones because they truly just forget sometimes. Here is a short video I took the other day. When they tell on each other they always say, "Teacher! *so-and-so* is Korean talking!" There's a lot of adamant blame shifting involved. You'll see....

Publish Post

Women-Only Subway Cars

In the news on 11/7:

The two corporations which operate Seoul's subway system have proposed the controversial implementation of women-only subway cars. A Seoul Metro official said, "There may be some drawbacks but there are expected to be many advantages, which is why the eight lines will operate women-only sections beginning next year, after the flaws are fixed."

It is easy for crimes to occur on the subway, since the cars are often extremely crowded and people are packed in like sardines. The Seoul subway system moves 6.1 million people every day! Sometimes men in crowded subways take advantage of women, as physical contact is inevitable during these hours and can easily go unnoticed. Under these circumstances, the best women can do is try to avoid contact.

There are some major subway lines in Tokyo that successfully run women-only cars during rush-hours. Seoul tried implementing women-only subway cars in 1992 but the attempt was unsuccessful. I will probably be gone by the time this plan goes into effect, but it will be interesting to see how it is received and what its effects are on subway crimes against women.

read more about it here

Thanksgiving!

It's my first Thanksgiving away from my family. While there is no way I can buy or bake a turkey (there are super expensive turkeys available at some import shops but they are so expensive and I don't have an oven) I am still going to have Thanksgiving. I went import food shopping this weekend and bought a packet of instant turkey gravy which will make the chicken I'm going to make taste more like turkey. I splurged on some cream of mushroom soup, a can of green beans, and some instant mashed potatoes (I know my Mom is cringing about the instant potatoes - her Thanksgiving cooking is mouth-watering and indescribable). The best part is I bought - no, INVESTED in - a $7 box of Stove Top Stuffing!!!!!!

So on Thanksgiving Day I will go to work from 1 - 9pm and then come home and make chicken, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, Stove Top stuffing, and I will attempt to make green bean casserole with no oven and no french fried onion rings. The only thing I'm missing is cranberry sauce. And all this with only one working burner on my stove. Should be interesting. I can't wait!

Culture Shock and White Wine Chicken

I know I have been a bit inconsistent lately in my blogging. I could chalk it up to the hectic schedule but to be honest the source of my neglect has been some relationship issues. You see, for about a week or two, Korea and I have not been getting along. At first, Korea and I were pretty much crazy about each other. There was the anticipation, the planning, the "honeymoon stage", if you will. Korea could do no wrong, she was a beautiful country with so much to see and explore. I wanted to go everywhere, see everything, meet new people, try new foods. Then, about a week ago, it hit me like a cold, hard, slap in the face when one morning I woke up and realized - this isn't just some fun, spontaneous, traveling game - I actually live and work in South Korea, 8,000 miles away from everyone I love and cherish the most in this world. And I have a solid 11 months more of this.

I guess this is normal - reality usually can't truly sink in until after the infatuation starts to wear off. All of a sudden, I am overwhelmed with the flaws I find around me, the glaring differences, the cultural inconsistencies. Whereas before, I could have sworn everyone I met on the street was smiling at me, now it seems like people bump into me and glare at me. Nothing tastes good to me, meeting new people feels overwhelming, the elevator in my building always smells like fish. Things that didn't seem like a big deal when I first came are starting to bug me and all I can think about is HOME.

I'm not trying to complain, I'm trying to be honest. Being here is great, but the anxieties of acclimating to a foreign country are starting to hit me and I know that's part of this experience and needs to be acknowledged. So I'm acknowledging it:

All is not perfect - it's not all butterflies and roses in South Korea!

So since I was feeling this way, I decided to look into culture shock.

Culture shock is defined by Wikipedia, as a term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating to the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not. Often this is combined with strong disgust about certain aspects of the new or different culture.

A report on culture shock at the University of San Diego said this:

"We can describe culture shock as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin. Often, the way that we lived before is not accepted as or considered as normal in the new place. Everything is different, for example, not speaking the language, not knowing how to use banking machines, not knowing how to use the telephone and so forth."http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/CGuanipa/cultshok.htm"

Supposedly, there are three phases of culture shock:

• The "Honeymoon Phase" - During this period the differences between the old and new culture are seen in a romantic light, wonderful and new. For example, in moving to a new country, an individual might love the new foods, the pace of the life, the people's habits, the buildings and so on.
• The "Negotiation" phase - After a few days, a few weeks, or a few months, there may be feelings of discontent, impatience, anger, and sadness. This happens when a person is trying to adapt to a new culture that is very different from their culture of origin. Transition between the old methods and those of the new country is a difficult process and takes time to complete. During the transition, there can be strong feelings of dissatisfaction. One may long for food the way it is prepared "back home," may find the pace of life too fast or slow, may find the people's habits annoying, etc.
• The "Everything is OK" phase - Again, after a few weeks or months, one grows accustomed to the new culture's differences and develops routines. At this point, an individual no longer reacts to the new culture positively or negatively, because it no longer feels like a new culture. An individual becomes concerned with basic living again, as they were in their original culture.

I don't know how accurate these phases are, but I definitely feel like I am in the second one. So there are two things I am going to do:

1. Power through - I'm not going to let the fact that I am feeling depressed and homesick keep me from trying new things, and meeting new people. I am going to continue to "get out there" even when all I want to do is curl up in a ball on my bed and dream of being near the people I love.
2. Accept the fact that I miss home and that it's OK to need to indulge that feeling on a regular, though not obsessive, basis by calling, e-mailing, cooking something familiar, etc.

Which brings me to the white wine chicken I ate last night. Having got my hands on an overpriced bottle of white cooking wine and some overpriced chicken broth and sour cream, I concocted some sort of creamy wine sauce, and sauteed some onions and chicken tenderloins in it. It did NOT taste like Korea and I loved it.

And you know what? I woke up this morning craving Bibimbap. (If you don't know what that is, go back and read some earlier posts). So I think the moral is to maintain a balance, not force myself to assimilate to every aspect of the culture at once, but also to push forward and maintain a good attitude even when things seem frustrating or depressing.

Here is my handle, here is my spout....

Up until today, I've been boiling tea water in a saucepan. But today I bought this tiny little tea kettle. It even has a removable strainer inside so I can brew loose tea. I think its so cute and also a good investment because I drink a lot of tea and hot chocolate. There is something about a nice hot drink in my pink and purple striped mug that makes everything seem better. Korea has very very cold winters but I anticipate many a Sunday afternoon wrapped in a blanket, reading a good book and sipping some delicious tea or hot cocoa! It's truly the little things in life....and in this case it's a little tea kettle!

Home Plus

Home Plus s a major retail chain, similar to Walmart or Target. It's owned by Samsung Tesco. There are 57 locations throughout Korea. Home plus stores usually have several floors and offer a large food store as well as other departments like home products, clothing, electronics, and sporting goods. Ours is a 15 minute, $4 taxi ride away. It's a wonderful place!

James and I shared a cab...I think he thought it was weird that I took pictures of a food store...

Hurray for food shopping!

I took this picture for my Dad. Next time you see or talk to him you should ask him exactly how many Popeye's Chicken Locations there are in Korea. :)

So, in Home Plus you go from floor to floor with your cart on these flat escalators with no steps.

Remember how I talked about how everything here comes with a free gift? Well here is a picture of a bag of snickers and the free gift is a checkered fleece blanket.

I was so excited to find Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate! I wonder how long this will last me!

An aisle...

Another aisle...

I found Snapple! I didn't buy any though because $2 for one small bottle is too expensive...

Fall in Korea

My Mom loves Mums. So here is a picture of some mums for MY mum :)

I love the yellow leaves!

This is a picture of the performing arts center across the street from my apartment building

My apartment building - I'm on the 10th floor

I'm obsessed with fall!

Pictures from Elementary Classes...