Now i Know My "ABCs"...

So, i've been studying the alphabet with the little free time i have here. The Korean alphabet is made up of twenty-four characters. It's relatively easy compared to Chinese, which has about forty thousand. Hangul was created under King Sejong during the Choson Dynasty [1393-1910]. in It's a simplified system, since he knew many Koreans could not write [because they used Chinese characters] and it prevented them for communicating. Only the educated, elite learned to use the Chinese characters. King Sejong was aware of this and knew that the Chinese system did not capture nuances and phrases unique to the Korean culture. Hangul also gave Koreans more of their own cultural identity and independence from Chinese thought.

There are fourteen basic consonants and five compound consonants in Hangul. There are ten basic vowels and eleven compound. Most people can learn to read and write. They just have no idea what the meaning of the syllables are. There can be three characters per column. Each column of words makes up one part [syllable] of the word.

It's been difficult seeing these characters as actual representational letters instead of being abstract, forms. i now have even more respect for my students that know both Hangul and English!

i think Hagul is elegant and definitely distinct. There is beauty in simplicity. For those who have difficulty distinguishing between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean characters...Korean is the least ornamented or complex-looking.

Here is a chart of the alphabet broken down. It does not include the compound consonants and vowels. They'll be a test in a week ;)

Good eats

So, i have been doing a good share of eating out while i've been here. Good, fresh, and mostly healthy food is readily available here for a good price. It's much easier to avoid the temptation of bad food here. Not that there isn't McDonald's or Pizza Hut here. There is. But why would you want to fill your gut with that stuff when you've access to authentic food?

My favorites dishes have been the soups. Mostly, because i've been sick on an off since i've been here. Kal-gu-su is a clear-broth-based soup with green chilies, rice noodles, leeks, eggs and clams. Sun [soon] du bu is a spicy, red pepper-based [also contains kimchi, which is the Korean signature, fermented cabbage dish] soup with green chilies, shrimp, and mussels.

i also love that vegetables are just part of cuisine, rather than add-ons or after thoughts. Koreans eat little dishes with their rice, soups, and bits of meat called panchan [the a is pronounced like ah, as in father]. They are relishes and little flavour bursts that really enhance the meal. i always feel like royalty because the table is covered with about a dozen of small dishes.

We got all of this food [pictured below] for five dollars. This bi [bee] bim bap was served with meat [my friends got pork, i got squid] marinated in chili-pepper paste. Rice is mixed in with Korean-style greens, carrots, bean sprouts radishes, etc. It was delicious.

Seoul-City

i have made two trips recently to Seoul. Once, by subway and once by bus. Even though the bus takes less time, i prefer the subway. i never experienced much motion sickness before coming to Korea. However, the drivers here are on and off the gas like nobody's business. It's ridiculous. i think even the strongest sailor's stomach would be tested.

Seoul is the ultimate modern city. The subways are over-flowing with people, much like New York City. You'd better have a cell phone or a meeting point because it is so easy to get lost in the shuffle. We had to fight our way up people- clogged stair cases throughout the duration of the trip.

There are a good mix of Western and Korean stores. We visited Kangnam. It is a trendy, wealthy area of the city. There is a huge bookstore called Kyobo, where they offer a nice selection of English texts. i bought a Korean language book [i'm sure the first of many] and a dictionary.

The first trip to Seoul ended concluded with non-traditional Korean fare. We ended up eating at this place that offered burritos. Suffice to say, my potato and egg burrito was pretty tasty...although i couldn't get over the fact that i had left my mostly-Latino neighborhood in Chicago, and was now half way around the world eating the aforementioned inspired cuisine. The appropriated, Korean version if you will....We even got horchata which did pale in comparison to the authentic stuff i've had in Pilsen...but i was thankful for globalization of the gastronomic persuasion at that moment. [ You can see my burrito and my friend Susan enjoying her horchata in the image below].

Like many major cities, i found Seoul to be brimming over with street vendors. Food, clothing, jewelry...pretty much anything you could desire can all be found within the nooks of crannies of the city. My favorites included these fleece-like pants that seemed to be a real hit with the locals [see below].

i know i have just scratched the surface of Seoul. i don't know if i'll ever be able to see it all [please refer to an older post of a diagram of the city's subway system...it's the Bermuda Triangle of mass transit, even compared to Paris!] i look forward to finding new places and discovering more about the city where i was born.

What's In a Name?

As i've mentioned before, students and both teachers alike at the school i teach at have chosen "English names" for themselves as a way for them to be more easily identifiable by the foreign teachers [like myself] and so they can form some kind of identity and or bond within themselves as well as the language itself.

i find both of the reasons to be rather absurd, given the fact i have heard a very sad story of a Chinese friend moving to St. Louis as a fifth grader and being told to pick an English name so he could better "fit in" with his classmates. He went as the plain, vanilla "Eric" until he graduated from high school. It was only when he entered college, that he re- assumed his given Chinese name and probably a genuine sense of pride of being able to be his true self.

At any rate, i'm not quite sure how some of my students have gone about choosing their English name. i feel like it's my civic duty as a Korean-American to let them know what's up. So far, my favourites are: Axel, Ace, Mickey, (Mouse) Harry, (Potter...there have been girls named Harry as well, apparently gender does not pertain to literary heroes) Mario, (Brothers) Donny (dare i think...Osmand?) and Betty (Boop?). Hilarious. It's humorous to think that these names are down right ridiculous to my American ear without accounting for the pop culture reference. If there was a boy named Mickey in the States, i tend to think lots of black eyes awaited him in his ill-future. We also have a male administator at the office that dubbed himself, Pulitzer. Somehow, i think things like egos don't need any translating.

A name can be a defining personification of who someone ends up being in their adult life. It's quite amazing how this way of branding or labeling can affect and shape a person's character. Some are so fitting that there is no question whether or not they were meant to be an "Eve" or a "Dottie" [although, i'm sure someone would beg to differ].

Sometimes, i don't think parents give enough thought into how much trauma they've instantly bestowed or how they've sent their child up for life-long ridicule just by choosing the wrong moniker. What may seem "unique" or "trendy" to the name-giver, may not be seen in the same light by the receiver's peers. And trust me, traveling down the already- laborious and, at times treacherous road of life, is already a task for any child. You're just throwing another giant obstacle in their path; a constant reminder of an unfortunate, misguided, [although well-intentioned] permanent and primary parenting misstep.

i, myself, have struggled with my own name my adoptive parents gave me. My Dad always takes pride in naming me with a classic Irish epithet. Many people have noted that they think it suits me quite nicely and appropriately. It's not that i dislike it, there could be FAR worse things to be called in life. That being said, because of who i am on the physical, outside does not quite match the nice Euro-American tag. Because of my yellow outside and my "cream filling," [in the words of CJ] i have learned that i have the ablility to confuse people [white, Asian, and others] alike.

Lately, i have felt like i do identify with my given Korean name more than my American one. i can't give a solid reason why i feel that way. It's not just because of other's expectations. There are plenty of people of different ethnicities rockin displaced-sort-of names. It's another example of globalization. Nor is it that i feel more Korean than American. i really and truly, more than ever feel like i AM and CAN be both, equally.

Korea At First Glance...

Here is a short, abbreviated list of findings/cultural observations i have made during the past week in Suwon. i will probably expound upon some of them later.


1. Don't drink the water- So, i came to Korea not knowing that one shouldn't drink the tap water. i was thinking that South Korea is a fairly modern and developed country. Seoul is a massive, contemporary city, with a staggeringly huge population of 10 million. At any rate, Samsung may symbolize the efficiency and velocity in which technology is exploding inside Korea, however the demand for a clean and systematic water system has been put on the back burner. It seems as though everything i have been striving towards [in regards to drastically reducing the number of plastic products i buy] in the States has been negated within my first week and a half in Suwon. i have taken to buying bottles of water as well as boiling it. Hopefully the energy and knowledge Koreans have put into modernizing their society will trickle down [literally] to more important and pressing issues.

2. Recycle, separate, recycle- i know i just ragged on the fact that they rely heavily on bottled water here. The Koreans DO have a really extensive recycling program called appropriately, Happy Suwon. One has to divide their garbage into different categories. There are special waste bags sold at stores, each color coded for the proper item. The one main difference of recycling here is that they separate all of their food waste from everything else. There are certainly no garbage disposals here. The food waste is collected and some of it is supposedly used for animal feed, which seems logical and a way for food to see another mouth before it is returned to the Earth and not be completely wasted.

3. Whiter is nicer- Like many societies, light skin is still coveted and valued in Korea. It is a symbol of affluence and beauty. One of the Korean teachers in my school has undergone a "cosmetic procedure," in which her skin was bleached. God only knows what this process really entailed and what harsh chemicals have been released into her system. But i'm sure the dudes really go for it! She looks almost ghost-like and her facial features all reflect a slight blue tint under the harsh illumination of the florescent lights in the office. In addition to bleaching, there are skin whitening creams sold here, all promising the same result: whiter skin for a more beautiful you. How sad that within many ethnic societies where the colour of your skin separates you within your own race, and also how the standard of Western beauty has wreaked havoc on girls all over the world. Perhaps, beauty is not only skin deep.

4. Kids will be kids- For some reason I had this Western naiveté about Asian children being better behaved than American children. You know, little black-haired children filing into neat and orderly lines without emitting even a squeak. Yeah, that ideal was shot to shit in the first ten minutes i stepped into a hallway at the school i teach at. These little hellions are just as loud and squirrely as any other kids i've been subjected to. Do i dare admit that in between their raucous behaviour, they still maintain quite a high ahem, adorable factor? [Mom, don't get your hopes up, i have not lifted the ban on even entertaining the thought of pro-creating].

5. Study, study, study- Even though the kids are rather wild at times, i can hardly blame them. These kids come to my school after their regular school. Some of them come straight from one school to ours. These are young (8-12) kids that go to nine hours of school plus extra curriculars [which in Korea, everyone plays the piano...or another instrument]. They have hours of school work to do, even after they leave my school. i would say more than half of them seem exhausted. My own attention span rarely exceeds that of a gnat at times. It's no wonder that the Korean education is among the top in the world. Many young adults go onto study at Harvard or Princeton in the U.S. There was actually an article in the New York Times a while ago about the dedication and the veracity of Korean students, and how many of them are beating out American students in our top universities. i admire their determination but i wonder if these children miss out on simpler and happier times.

6. Notes on style:

a) Korean men can DRESS- You heard it here first. Yes indeed, Korean men have quite an acute fashion sense. It isn't calculated to an off-putting degree either. i don't know where they take their cues from but American men should be taking notes.

b) Who wears short skirts? Yes, so i must first say that the majority of Korean women are also very stylish and well-put-together. i was surprised to see that some of them do not bat an eyelash when wearing almost-second-set-of-cheeks bearing mini skirts. i thought they would be a bit more on the conservative side here. Yet another silly Western perception i had about Asian women. While sky-high skirts might be on the menu, cleavage of any sort is definitely not. i'm not sure how well the Hooters franchise would do here.

7. Vitamin deficiency?- There is seriously something going on with Koreans and their eyesight. Nearly 60-70 percent of my students have glasses. i have never seen so many young kids with glasses. Of course, these aren't just your run-of-the-mill kids with glasses. There are some chic little fashionistas running around. It's crazy. They should find a way to put more beta carotene into kimchi. i wonder if my near-blindness is genetic too?

8. Warm house, warm floor- Oh yes Mom, i know you're jealous. They totally have a control that is separate for the heat in the floor. It's amazing. No more cold feet...ever. I do have to remember not to put anything that could have the potential of melting on it. i've already had one accident with a much prized Dogoba chocolate bar getting quite soggy because my suitcase had fell onto the floor.

9. AA?- Koreans work very hard. Most have at least ten hour days and work six days a week. That being said, they let off steam by getting deeerunk. Falling down drunk. Friends have to carry you home drunk. i've seen public that sort of fall-down public drunkeness by eight o' clock on a Friday night. And this kind of behaviour is not reserved for the young. i've witnessed older men and women stumbling across crosswalks. i had heard that South Koreans had a drinking problem. Now i've seen it first hand. It doesn't help that soju [a Korean vodka-like, clear liquor] is dirt cheap. i just experienced my first "soju bomb" [a shot of soju dropped into really bad Korean beer] last night. That's enough to burn a hole in anyone's liver.

10. Body yogurt does NOT= lotion- When i arrived to my apartment there was a little housewarming gift. It was a body care package with soaps and body yogurt. i was relieved and thankful since i have notably dry skin. Yogurt in my mind equaled moisture and therefore was the Korean version of lotion. It had a bit of a weird texture, kind of like actual yogurt. But, i just ignored it and continued to use it until yesterday. My skin was sooo incredibly dry. i couldn't figure it out, i mean i WAS moisturizing! WTF? Turns out, i was rubbing body wash all over my just-washed body and not rinsing it off. Therefore, resulting in some majorly reptilian skin. I looked like a lizard woman. i finally got some actual lotion today, even though i had to open the bottle multiple times in the store before i was sure it was indeed the right stuff!

11. Picture of health- i had to go to the hospital the other day to get a physical. i was greeted by a guy who was smoking in the entrance that was also hooked up to IV liquids. Awesome. i am also told they sell cigarettes and soju at the hospital. i guess we have different ideals of how to heal your body! They also had these little waste boxes [not covered] where people had disposed of cotton pads after having their blood drawn. They give you no band aid and just send you on your way with you still having to pinch off where you're still bleeding from. Kind of gross. Oh well, it was still better than the hospital i visited in Paris...which was absolutely filthy!

12. Squatty potties- Oh yes, i had thought that these kinds of bathrooms were still reserved for less-developed countries. No no. Last night after drinking gallons of water, soju, and beer my co-worker and friend Susan exposed me to the squotty potty. It's just what it sounds like. There's a little porcelain base in the floor and well, you get the rest. i had quite a lot of trouble with this and couldn't figure out how to maneuver my body and get the job done without any of it getting on me. EEEEk. Luckily, this is not common-practice for bathrooms in South Korea anymore. Otherwise, i'd be opting for skirts or dresses a lot more!

Kindness of Strangers

i have been in correspondence with a fellow Korean adoptee, CJ for awhile. He is a nephew of my uncle's girlfriend. Follow that? Good. He actually decided to do this whole teaching thing around the same time as i did. It was from him that i received Steven's name and was able to finally get to Korea. We have been sending messages to each other for a few months now. Mostly, it is him giving me answers to my grillions of questions.

On Saturday, we decided to meet up in person. He had made contact with his birth family a while ago and has been welcomed with open arms since he has arrived here. His youngest sister [Hae Mi] who happens to live in Suwon, and her husband [Sung Jae], and CJ picked me up near the intersection by the school i will be teaching at.

Usually, i would be a bit fearful of this kind of situation being awkward. Luckily, i felt comfortable immediately. i felt as though we had been old friends catching up. We went to E-Mart to get some groceries and other necessities. Let me try to explain what E-Mart was like. Imagine an open-air market, Ikea and a Super Wal-Mart piled into one store, during the busiest of holidays. i am going to need to take a Xanax every time i need some milk and eggs! People were bashing into each other with carts every which way, children were screaming, and ladies were giving out samples around each turn.

i bought mostly produce, since i have been starved for proper nutrition these last few days. i also wanted to buy a rice cooker, but CJ informed me that they are very expensive here! The cheapest one we could find was like $40. If i am going to pay that much it better do my dishes and laundry too. How ironic! i yearn for my $15 one i bought from Target.

The best part of the trip was our discovery of an outdoor brand called The Redface. Oh yes, it's just a gift wrapped in hilarity. It's obviously ripping off The Northface, but i don't think they get the joke in the translation. Everyone that knows me has experienced my "redface" at one time or another as a result of alcohol consumption. Not all Asians are lucky enough to turn a shade of crimson but many do. Expect some photos of me suited up in some Redface gear...rockin my own "redface" as well...haha.

After what seemed like eons, we proceeded to the checkout. i was exhausted! We piled all of our stuff into the car and headed over to Hae Mi and Sung Jae's place for dinner.

They cooked us a delicious meal of soup and a vegtable dish consisting of mushrooms and peppers. It was so wonderful to have a home cooked meal. The soup had a nice kick to it. They tease CJ because of his inability to eat spicy things. Apparently, it runs in the male side of the family.

Sung Jae had borrowed a Nintendo Wii from a friend of his and hooked it up for us to play. Now, i'm not really a video game person at all. i played old school Nintendo a bit as a child with my brother. CJ claimed he had only played Wii twice, but i beg to differ. He schooled me in bowling and tennis. i have to admit, it was much more fun than i thought. But, i still think i prefer reality to virtual.

We hung out for the rest of the evening watching some Korean variety shows. i was also surprised to see them bust out a tub of ice cream for dessert. i didn't think dairy was big here or that a lot of my fellow Asians could digest it. i was wrong. i guess i can no longer blame my being Korean on my shitty digestive problems.

They drove me back to my house [after me not being able to find it] and helped me unload my things. i can not express my gratitude enough. They made me feel so welcome and at home in a place where i have not felt either since my arrival. How often do perfect strangers go out of their way for you? CJ is indeed very lucky to have them as family. Thanks again!

i passed out shortly after returning home and woke again at four in the morning. Despite taking and Ambien, i still got little rest. i am just going to have to work harder to over come this obstacle in the line of many.

***the above photo is some of my own Korean-inspired handy work.

Lost in Translation [Sofia Coppola, Eat Your Heart Out]

The flight from Seoul to Tokyo is usually two hours or so. I was informed it was going to be three hours from Tokyo to Seoul because of the time of year we were flying. Apparently, during the fall/winter months, the wind off the sea becomes much more of a force to contend [as well as the direction it blows] with and adds on an additional hour.

Again, i was blessed with an aisle seat and only one other person sharing the third seat. We were served breakfast, and i even received my vegetarian request. This day was definitely starting out better than the last. After finishing my meal of sesame and mushroom rice, i took a good glance around and surveyed the area. Two Koreans who were rather close in proximity to me were reading books with rather graphic [we're talking a la crown of thorns] pictures of Jesus on the cover. Hmmm....

The few hours passed quickly and we began our decent to the Seoul airport. Surprisingly, i became a bit emotional, tears slipped over my irises and down my cheeks. i quickly wiped them and hoped nobody took notice. It was all a bit overwhelming coming back to the place where i was born for the first time in over twenty-three years. A light dusting of snow greeted the tires of the plane, as we touched down on Korean land.

After going through customs, i made my way down to baggage claim. i grabbed a cart and waited anxiously for my luggage, silently praying all of it made it through the long journey with me. i immediately saw one my huge suitcases, and an American guy was nice enough to help me drag it off the luggage belt. A few minutes later, i spotted the other suitcase. After playing a quick game of Tetris with my luggage, i fit it onto my cart. i waited a good ten minutes for my guitar, but did not see it make its way onto the already-rotating line up of suitcases. My heart began to sink at the prospect of losing my prized possession.

i spotted a woman helping some other Americans find their missing luggage and asked if she would mind helping me as well. She got an a walkie-talkie and motioned me to follow her. She was gaining speed, weaving in and out of the crowds of people. i tried my best to keep up with her but i already had about 160 lbs of crap weighing me down! Damn my American girl tendencies! Finally, another airport employee came rushing towards us with my beloved guitar in tow. i thanked him [one of the only phrases in Korean i know] profusely and made my way out of the baggage area to begin to look for my Korean contact.

Now, usually i would be able to spot the one or two Asian guys in the immediate area. No such luck here. Black hair and almond shaped eyes are no longer a distinguishing features. i had no idea what this guy looked like or how old he was. After about ten minutes of walking around in circles, i decided to go to the information desk to see if i could place a phone call to him. Just as i was dialing, a man approached me and said, "Molly?"

Steven, as he calls himself, has been my main contact in Korea ever since i started zeroing in on a job. He was helped me find employment and answer questions. His English is good but he speaks with such a heavy Korean accent, i have to strain to understand each word he is saying. Most Koreans working with Americans like to give themselves an English-sounding name. It's kind of humorous, since within the first five seconds of conversing with him, the jig is totally up.

He brought his car around and we loaded my suitcases in. We drove for a good hour or so. Seoul's new airport is actually on a small island. We crossed a bridge and we went over the Yellow Sea. The scenery was beautiful, some of the trees are still turning colour here. There were elevated hills and valleys with apartment buildings sprouting up from spaces in between. We talked about many things, i probably bombarded him with questions. The most interesting thing he told me was that his generation was not very interested in the re-unification between North and South Korea. He told me that they had grown up with the countries being separated and that now they really operated as two different and distinct Koreas. i wonder if this is the wide-held belief or if it changes more amongst individuals?

Our trip was punctuated with some start and stop traffic. Steven says there is usually horrible traffic which makes since since we were right outside of Seoul [population: 10 million]. We finally made it into the city of Suwon. After driving around for a good fifteen minutes, Steven decided to give into the idea that we were a bit lost. The streets were more narrow than i expected and hardly have any side walks. People and cars seem to dart out nowhere. My dreams of biking may have been crushed within the first minutes of being there.

Eric, an employee of the school i am teaching at, met us on the street and directed us to my apartment. Both of the men helped me unload my luggage and brought it up the two flights of stairs. My apartment is quite cozy. Cozy as in small-ish. i have a separate little room for doing laundry and even have a washing machine! The bathroom leaves something to be desired. Being somewhat of self- professed hygiene freak, it is going to take some major getting used to. You see, the toilet is not separated from the shower area. Moreover, the entire bathroom is the shower, with a large drain in the floor. There is a shower head attached to a hose-like apparatus. i am looking into getting a curtain so i can pretend the space is divided and not have to look at my toilet while washing my hair.

Steven said "goodbye" and Eric took me to lunch. Eric is Korean (another with an English name) and does not speak much English. He took me to a small restaurant and i tried to explain that i only ate fish. We ate in almost silence, except for the slurping [it's not rude here] of the udon noodles. It was like being on blind date plus being mute. How awkward! The chattering of Korean that surrounded us began to sound like white noise to me. The best part was that he handed me a fork in the beginning of the meal. Dude, i might not speak Korean but i am still Korean!

After lunch we went to the school and met some teachers and other faculty. i must have looked worn because they advised me to go home and get some rest! i slept from 2-11 until the head English teacher [American] came to drop of some groceries to me! What a kind gesture! Some people can't get any more sweet and darling.

i awoke at about one in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. It's going to take some time to shake this wicked jet lag.