What I'm listening to

Friday, August 31, 2012

Escalators for your shopping carts and other Korean novelties

Every so often it seems to hit me that I really am living in Korea - not just visiting, but making this my "home" for a while.  Certain differences seem to make that more evident...

Shopping: 
One of my favorite things about shopping is the multi-layered department stores - one for groceries, one for clothing and home goods, one for furniture, one for the food court.  You can check out on each level, or you can make your way between the levels using the handy-dandy flat escalators.  You walk on, your cart stays put, and it takes you up to the next floor.  The first time I felt that I had to hold back the cart from slipping - but they are made with these wheels that somehow lock in and won't move with gravity.  Kind of neat!

One of my least favorite things about shopping is that there is almost always some English on the package, somewhere.  The trouble is, it is never in the spot that would be helpful in figuring out something about the product.  For example, you might find something that looks like a box of crackers.  But instead of the few English words saying, "wheat crackers" it says "tastes great!" Or with shampoo (trying to figure out which ones' shampoo and which is conditioner) they both say, "damage care" or "sleek and shine."... and the rest is in Korean.  I'm fine with the packaging being in Korean - it was kind of an expectation I had. :)  But really, if you're going to put English words on there, let's put on the ones that matter. Please? 

The Wall Lady:
At some point every week, the speakers in my wall come alive, bringing elevator music, words of wisdom from a very loud, disembodied voice, and some sort of instruction to the dwellers of my apartment complex.  The first time it happened, I was confused and slightly scared and immediately called Cindy, who is Korean-American and lives in my building.  She laughed at me and told me the hot water was going to be off for a two hour period the next day.  I found it a little intrusive that my apartment can receive announcements at will, because it is very loud; but other than that, no problem. Since then, I have largely chosen to believe that whatever the Wall Lady says is about apartment issues that I will either just find out as I go or deal with when the water is cold some random morning.  On the day of the typhoon (Tuesday, August 28), when I was home all day listening to the wind and working, she invited herself in at least 5 times - I just assumed she was wishing us all well and not saying anything about taping windows or turning off appliances. :) 

Kids not knowing how old they are in Western terms:
Koreans measure age differently than we do - you are one the year you are born, and somehow their ages end up being considered as one-two years older than they are to Westerners.  I made the mistake the second week of school of asking my 10th graders how old they were.  They responded with "Western age?"  and then most of them didn't know it.  So we had to figure it out based on their birthdays.  The things you don't think about!

Age ends up being very important to Koreans - they give respect or expect it completely based upon age.  In the school, that means we really have to watch for bullying or use of younger students to do homework or favors for older ones.  Sometimes parents don't understand when we tell them why certain things are not OK - in their culture, this is how you are treated by elders (even just a year older) now, and this is what you will get to enjoy when you are the elder one. 

Gender differences:
Growing up in Wyoming taught me several things about the differences between men and women.  First, that girls can try everything guys try if they want to try it.  Second, that you are expected to give your best effort in PE, sports, and sharing the work load, regardless of your gender. Third, that guys respect girls who are athletic, not whining, willing to pitch in and help, and not overly concerned about appearance.  While chivalry is valued and appreciated, and obviously physical differences make guys better at most things related to athletics and physical work, women who did their best in those arenas were respected and appreciated as well.   Those things may be less true in other parts of the country.  In Oregon, I would say that I found that mostly to be true (but I also worked with a population of athletic men and women almost exclusively.)

However, in Korea things are VERY different.  First of all, men take affront when women try to help out with physical work.  Specifically when women work harder than they do, or carry more of a load, etc.  Last week we had a parent-teacher back to school night, and there was a lot of tear-down to do afterward.  Since it was in the gym, right above my office, I went back up to help (a lot of the principals were doing the work - along with the athletic center staff and some secretaries, and it had been just as long a day for them as it had been for us).  I started breaking down tables and carrying them over (the tables were pretty light and came with handles, so carrying two was really not that heavy).  But one male staff apparently was upset (he had only been carrying one table at a time) because he didn't like being shown up.  Then the two female secretaries each carried two tables  - making it that much worse!  They told me I was strong - I told them they were too. :)  Eventually the guy told me to leave - one because teachers didn't need to help and two because I was making him uncomfortable (he didn't say that part).  One of the principals told me with a smile on his face that me carrying two tables was shocking the guys and making them think they needed to work harder (he was smiling because in all reality they do need to work harder).  I realized later that it was a silly move - I just didn't understand how me helping looked to the guys - like they weren't doing their jobs well enough, like they weren't strong enough - plus why on earth would a women lift tables and chairs?  This was probably the biggest "culture shock" moment I've had, and definitely the biggest cultural snafu I've made.

Second, it is cultural that most women don't work out, exercise, or do sports.  Here's an example: when I asked the question, "Why do you think men's heart rates are naturally lower than women's heart rates?" to my 10th grade classes, I received the same answer.  "Because guys work out and do sports!"  No, no, no, my young female students!  You can too!  But that is not normal, culturally.  Men do the physical work, men play sports, men are athletes.  While there are a lot of female athletes at the school who break that mold, this is an international school - many of these kids have lived in the US or other countries where its more acceptable.


That's enough for now.  There are more, many more..... :)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Three weeks in....

I'm sorry its been so long since I have written - I have sat down many times to try and encapsulate all that is going on and all that we have done, but I never quite find the energy for it.  I still can't quite describe what the last three and a half weeks have been like, except to say crazy, busy, and intense.  However, I do want to let you know the few "fun" things that I have been able to do thus far.

The first weekend we were here, the school staff took the newbies to a brunch in the Hyatt hotel here in Suwon.  It was a lot of fun - lavish compared to everything else we've been to, and a fun way to try a lot of different Korean foods.  In addition to all the "normal" breakfast foods, there were several types of kimchi, various fish and meat dishes in traditional sauces, lots of fruit (I ate some lychee for Ryan), dimsum with a Korean twist (some of it was very sweet), sweet breads with sweeter paste inside, omelets cooked to order but not all the way through (eggs are always underdone in Korea, I've found), and some of the only whole grain bread I've found here.  Then we went out on the roof, which had two huge inflatable play areas for the kids, to take a new staff picture with Dwight.  It was a good way to end our orientation (as the returning staff came back the next night).
new staff photo - my head is hidden behind Brendan Porter, 
and Amy is next to him with their baby;
the tall man next to me is Dwight

Later that day, after most of us attended a church on campus called "The Nations," we had a pot-luck at Brendan and Amy Porter's home (young Kiwi couple with 3 adorable kiddos, and whom I admire and enjoy a lot), and just hung out together for a good while and enjoyed the last bit of time before everything started to get a bit overwhelming.   The next day we began to meet the returners as they came in, and had a hamburger night with them - but it was still very intimidating for both groups I think - about 60 of them and about 25 of us.   The next few days were filled with meetings, and I did gradually start to meet and get to know a few of the returners.

The first week before school became very busy (more about all of that later), but we still had time to hang out a little.  One of the nights, one of the returning staff who has been generous with helping us out took myself, Esther, and Alyssa (two of the other new single women who are quickly becoming good friends of mine - Esther is from Venezuela, and Alyssa from Minnesota but has taught in Honduras the past 3 years) out to a Korean kalbi restaurant.  It was excellent - a hot charcoal block is palced down the center of the table, a grill screen goes on top, and then raw meat is delivered to the table and placed on the grill.  You get a bunch of sides - some bowls of greens that I didn't recognize, soup, an egg dish (undercooked again - so we didn't really eat any), and something spicy I coudn't describe.  Then you get mushrooms to grill as well, lettuce and other leaves to wrap it in, and a couple of sauces and rice.  You make yourself little lettuce wraps and it tastes SO good.

That weekend I worked a lot, went to The Nations again, and went to the grocery store with Esther, Alyssa, and Aurora (sweet and wise woman from Nairobi, but has lived all over the states and has taught in Turkey).  I also went to a coffee shop to work and visit with Leisha Pitkin (who with her husband Ryan are some of my favorite people here - they are from Nebraska but she grew up in Colorado).  

Leisha
Once school began, things got even busier.  We had our first volleyball tryouts a week ago this past Thursday.  Saturday Esther and I got up early, worked out at the gym at the school and then swam for a while, just relaxing and talking.  Having the pool on campus is so nice!  Saturday night I went out with a bunch of the young married and single ladies - to another Korean place that served tak galbi, a spicier chicken version of what we had before, but without lettuce wraps and eaten with chop sticks.  By the way, chop sticks take some getting used to here - they are metal, with flattened sides which make them very slippery to pick anything up with.  I'm guessing if you can master them here, you are good to go world-wide. :)  We had a fun time hanging out together and seeing some places I had not been to yet in Suwon.
Tak-galbi
 a street in Yeongtong

 [Technically, although I am living in Suwon, the downtown area is pretty far away and I've never been there.  We live in Yeongtong, which would be considered an area of Suwon (kind of like the different districts or NE/SW designations of Portland).]

Tonight, after another busy week of working and teaching, I got to have some fun with the "Down Under" crowd at the school.  They are an awesome bunch - I absolutely love them.  I was invited to come watch a rugby match between the Wallabies and the All-Blacks (the Australian and the New Zealand teams).  Amy Porter (one of the Kiwis, and a new comer like me) had invited me over to hang out, and I had a great afternoon of talking with her and her husband Brendan and finally getting their 4 year old daughter to talk to me (she's never smiled at me or interacted with me yet, so I was getting quite jealous of the few people she does like).  Then they were headed to the Schumacher's apartment (Darren is the elementary school principal, his wife Kylie a first grade teacher, and they are the only Aussies currently here).  Three other couples complete the Kiwi crowd (Amy's parents Robyn and Mike Pettigrew, Clare and Mark Hubbard, and Mike and Isabel Stanley).  One teacher from Canada and one more American completed the crowd, so I felt very privileged to be among them and learning to enjoy their favorite sport. Lots of laughter, lots of good-natured rubbing, and some much needed relaxation ensued.

I have not been to Seoul yet, although I have had a couple of opportunities and decided to turn them down.  There is just, at the moment, a lot to do with school and understanding all the ins and outs of what the IB requires - and heading into the city seems a little daunting when we have so much work that needs to be done here.  Eventually I'll get there - and get to explore Suwon and the beaches to the south as well, hopefully. :)

We are headed on a fun outing next weekend - a bunch of the staff are going white-water rafting together somewhere up by the border.  I'm not sure where, but the pictures I've seen look awesome and I'm SO excited to get out and do something adventurous with these new friends!