More Firsts

...my thoughts go out to "2 fiances" and "brother tom"...

I'm thinking that, now, a weekly meeting will probably be more realistic. This last weekend was another good one (more shopping and exploring)...a group of performers in Insadong--performing a Fr. John Drummy favorite: "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
view from the top of Choo-Yun's Office-Tel (apartment/shopping center)
...I've come to the conclusion that if I were to express all of my thoughts, unworthy of sharing as some of them are, via weblog, I would have less time to actually experience them as opposed to writing about them.

Like the phrase goes, "if you spend all your time cleaning before company comes, you'll have nothing to talk about with the company." I'll just have to settle for the highlights. This may be a cop-out for inefficiency.

Maybe when I finally start getting up a bit earlier, which I might be doing to start lap swimming with some co-workers and/or take language lessons, I'll be better at updating...

FIRST #1:
Last week, I had my first Korean-exclusive lunch at work. Though there is no specified time to break for lunch at my current place of employment, I managed to during the same time as some of the natives. I enjoy a good reminder of western culture and thought, don't get me wrong, but it was actually kind of a relief to experience Korea without having the constant reminder of my "yellow outsides and cream filling." Nor was I having to view my homeland within relative scope of my family--I must say again, my family here has more than gone out of its way to make sure I'm comfortable here, but--it was nice to be a free bird in the wild, at least for a spell.

FIRST #2:
The train of premiers kept rolling last Friday as I was able to do a 'lil socializing, post office hours, with "my people." I was fully indoctrinated in the art of soju, while simultaneously experiencing Japanese seafood pizza and the functions of my new phone. Good times indeed. And as I sat battling, archaically, to converse with some of the lesser-versed-in-English, I was overcome with the desire to REALLY learn Korean. Guilt, whom I often blame for many of my decisions or perceptions, has ironically been a back seat driver thus far in Korea. If I'm going to mingle with the Koreans, the least I could do is speak their language. The ease by which I've led my life so far in Korea has blinded me from truly pursuing the language that's eluded me for so many years. Being the spoiled baby isn't as glamorous as it always seems...

FIRST #3: ...taking that first step in testing my amateur Korean in the real world came with a price tag...a price tag named embarrassment. After FIRST # 2.5 (meeting another westerner besides my co-workers in suburban Byeongjeom), I went to a health club a few blocks from my studio, in the hopes of gaining a point of comparison with other places; a girl from work wanted me to buy her old membership from another gym near my school in Dongtan. And, though that place had some pretty neat distractions (in the form of video golf and numerous TVs), the thought of having to get all suit-and-tied at a gym wasn't very appealing.

After struggling through an Korean/English tour of the gym's offerings, I was satisfied and ready to sign a 6 month contract. I was a little too confident in my understanding of Korean, and unfortunately, thought that I caught the gist of the man pointing upstairs and muttering something in hangul. Assuming that I was to look at the locker rooms, I casually began to saunter my way up the 12-foot wide stair well. For a moment, I heard voices yelling, but thought nothing of it until it dawned on me that I was 2.2 from entering a world of nakee. Whoops! Talk about an introduction to Korean women!

...Consequently, though I had planned on cooling off my Korean in hopes of preventing potential scandalousness, I somehow managed to gather enough courage to "help" Molly pick up a few essentials later this last weekend. And, though my skills didn't serve the intended purpose, we shared some laughs; embarrassment doesn't sting nearly as bad when you're not going it alone.

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While the economy worsens almost daily here, and the money I'm earning may not cover my debts in the US, there are a few upsides:
I hear dental work is extremely cheap! Matthew teacher has already taken advantage of this phenomena. He was just finishing treatments on his fifth root canal this weekend, which he paid a fraction of what the American procedure would've cost.
Also, glasses aren't too expensive either...I may have to get another pair of Asian glasses before I leave!
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Slightly random: With the right marketing, I think this candy bar has American-Bar-Crowd-Success written all over it. What better way to wash down that late night Perkins, Silver Mine, or Micky D's with...

a dagger to the heart...

beware the fickle heart, the one who haunts at night
it's vessels spread throughout the soul, an ancient naval sight
beware the fickle heart, a cactus tree indeed
for those who oft share their blood, end up left to bleed.

(the preceding was NOT a poem about the packers radio network)

THE RED FACE

It was another good weekend in the South of Seoul. That is, minus an America's Funniest Home Videos-moment that involved a clock-obsessed brother, a wall, and a dust pan; it is a moment some of you may have been able to view in real-time via the wonders of the webcam. Plus, the Badgers won!

I've just finished reading my Korean-American cohort's blog. Mugs' sister's boyfriend's sibling's child (or the niece of Debbie's BF, for short) just arrived in Korea late last week after a journey that led her further down the path of jet-lagged-ness. After intermittent messaging over the past few months, we were finally able to meet face-to-face. For a much better account of Saturday's events, check out Molly's public prose at:

http://seiyoung1.blogspot.com/

--I truly share all of the sentiments in this, her latest entry (save for the anxious market experience, which my family's support has saved me from). It's a must read for any patron of P or P and much more interesting and detailed than what I would've written--big thanks to Molly! I apologize for my plagurism, but here is an excerpt which I must share..

"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."

For some reason, she didn't feel comfortable subjecting herself to an affiliation with the brand just yet, so I did for the sake of all of your enjoyment.
<--- I've been learning a lot in the last few days. While my CC's (as i will, hereafter, refer to my Canadian colleagues) were busy exploring one of Seoul's many gu, or regional areas, I was catching up on a life that I was had been absent for. Saturday night, I was introduced to some new beer accompaniments while I learned some more about the history of the Suh's. The most shocking discovery was that the Korean name I had assumed for twenty-two years was mine, turned out to be the work of the orphanage I called home for a few months before I left for a life of more opportunity. My older sisters originally named me--sounds vaguely familiar don't it?--Sung Jie. Talk about not really knowing yourself.

If turning my world upside down (a bit of a dramatization) wasn't enough, more realizations followed. The social status that I found my family in when I first met them did nothing to unsettle my suspicions that they might have been capable of raising me. But, after learning of their struggles after I was gone, that feeling was more or less laid to rest.

Work ethic must not translate very directly between the western world and Korea. And I'm not speaking only for the slower-paced midwest US; the CC's and my "Carolinan...carolinanite" can back me up when I say that the definition is fairly different between two places for a majority of the population (I, by no means, intend to discredit the blood, sweat, and tears exhausted by many people close to me in the US--actually, the following sounds a lot like my family back home). Hae mi, for example, started saving money for her education at a young age. And when I say education, I'm not talking about the 500-seat lecture-halled institutions of higher learning...I'm talking about middle school!

(Most Korean elementary school students are at school ALL fricking day long, forgoing the hours of cartoon watching for a strict diet of school, school, and school. School can come in the form of an English academy [i.e. a hagwon like mine], a martial arts school, daily [as opposed to weekly] music lessons, Math School, Science School...you get the picture)

I have been asking many of my Korean co-workers what kind of after school-school they attended, and when posed with the same question, my sister sat quietly ashamed. Her thirst for knowledge is evidenced when I look at her book shelf filled with English books, a language she had never been able to afford classes for.

And, When I told her that I had been working since age 14 to fund my obsession with music and eventually offset a portion of the costs incurred from a college education, she told me the stories of La Go and Hye-Il. The 2nd and 4th oldest sons of my parents (for whom I don't have names for yet) didn't finish high school in hopes of maybe working, in a different approach, to eventually achieve a life of comfort or affluence. I would guess that their motivation was this: to leave a home where the man of the house--a man that was no more than a few years their senior--could not afford to provide rooms for everyone. La Go (whose name I learned literally means, "stand up", a distinction that they all seem to seem proud of), left before high school even began to begin making money. He was using his "weekend time" when he came to see me Sunday night after working 6 hours on Sunday. Hae-il, whose recent success as a music/movie producer came after years of jumping jobs, didn't even BEGIN middle school. My 12 different jobs seemed like child's play in contrast to the dozens of positions these two men have held.
Morever, this knowledge came while I already knew of Sunjin's absolutely insane work hours (8 am to 1 am, 6 days/week), and Sunjae's (8 am to 10pm, 6 days/week). It seems that the recent teetering economy Korea has seen can't be blamed on a lack of effort...I could go on, but I've belabored the point enough.

I'm tired...potential topics to follow:

-koreans' fascination with obama
-my first lunch with the koreans (at work)
-"hey look! a white guy! and, my embarrasing gym experience
-(proposed) teaching
-more sibling similarities
-the story of the clock

More views from the hood...












오늘 좋아해오 (excuse my korean):

i got a new phone today! my two youngest sibs came over this morning and hooked me up with a phone. not gonna lie, it's pretty bombalish. its a: touch screen, video phone, cable tv (yeah, i know...it's pretty ridiculous, right?), internet machine, refrigerator, and 2 ton jack all in one. okay, so the last 2 were a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my drift. it is my new favy gadget. now if i could just figure out how to text in hangul...

also, i was given a couple days off the last week of december...yaay! i'll actually get to see one of my super successful sibs for more than a couple days :) the penultimate parslow is coming to visit in t-minus 1 month!

furthermore, i finally found a gym and dry cleaner. after a few mishaps at the local watering hole--none of which, of course, could be attributed to me--the latter is a bit more pressing. however, a gym is equally important, but its much easier to hide my post-athlete bod behind some cleanly pressed threads.

exciting as well, is the possibility of another american teaching at my hagwon. i guess she's also a fellow korean-american uw alumn...what are the chances?

okay...if you haven't noticed by now, i usually don't stick with what i tell you i'm going to cover, that is, if you're keeping track. you can go ahead and call me a future politician ;)

There there...you're safe and sound on the McFly Farm

I hit the pavement one night last week by myself --the first time since i've been here, save for a few steps to and from bus stops before work. It reminded me, somehow, of the 4 hour jaunt from madison to river falls...and strangely enough, i had the same inexplicable comfort of being at home. Living in pre-land 'o bama, my P.O.S. malibu was my temporary asylum from the hustle 'n bustle of everyday life--i cherished those few hours of simplicity. And though i spent a notable moment pondering the big questions, keeping my eye on the "road ahead" didn't seem as imposing as making choices when facing the forks in the road i would have to make in, the then, future. Now that i'm in the land where the streets, sometimes literally, have no names, flashes of that sense of serenity returned. I was able to get lost in my iPod while i read and understood only a handful of the thousands of signs that paint the sides of buildings in byungjeom...(sigh. i miss my car. well, everything about it except the maintenance and cost)

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REPORT CARD

...a solid night of fun for me on FRIDAY. Sadly, the same could not be said for my still ailing co-workers. Apparently something that we ate or drank caused some erratic stomach behavior on saturday for everyone involved but me (SEE FIG. 1). Poor WA BAR. the "bing bong" noise that beckons the affirmative "ne" will be heard with less frequency after that 'lil incident. It's all good in the hood, though. Excluding the time spent with family, i'm excited to explore Korea outside the 5 block radius of my place of work and slumber.

The pay-off from my mini-course on korea (which included a handful of korean movies), came to fruition when i struck a chord with my boss when relating to Tae Guk Gi, an award winning film that followed the plight of a family torn apart by the Korean War. The overworked and mystical man came closer to earth as he described his father, as a police officer, being forced to join the red team while he watched his son go to the blue and the broken family that resulted.

SATURDAY I got to give my sis and her husband, sung jae (kinda ironic--i'm "sung jie" and my brother is "sung jin"--great names come in 3's), a taste of some americanized pseudo italian cuisine. The best ingredient to my version of spaghetti would probably have to be my new favorite vegetable: the korean baby pumpkin. This little green guy could be a cousin, if not an incestuous one at that, of zucchini. They seemed to enjoy it, or at least put on their best happy face while eating it.

I've pretty much gone back in time about a 20 years...every time I get in the car with my family, it takes about 20 minutes for me to pass out. After being entranced by the GPS's rendition of the Seoul City and succumbing to my inevitable nap, I got out of my sis' hyundae and boarded the sub system for the first time since i've landed in Korea. When I arrived at Sun Jin's in Ilsan, I once again stuffed my face with an enormous amount of korean side dishes, soups, and seafood--some of which i still fail to identify. This has been somewhat of a theme while I'm with the Suh's. Even though I've shared with them my misfortune/excuse of gaining 30 lbs in the last 18 mo.'s, and most everything they've had me try on* hasn't quite fit, I get the feeling that they don't believe that I was fed in the last 22 years. Boy, are they misled.

On SUNDAY, after another extensive Korean meal, I went to Incheon and got to see part of the western coast (SEE FIG 2). It was a windy day, and after walking a few planks of the boardwalk, we left to meet up with Hae Mi again; but, not before my mother, in whom I've seen flashes of "gramma" (one of my closest friend's grandmothers who is renowned for her ability to give you food when you don't need it), somehow convinced me that i needed some dak bok gi (think penne, but in rice form), a mysterious broth, and fruit. Funny enough, a few moments later we were all seated cross-legged on the floor around a traditional dinner table for a delicious meal of kal-bi (korean beef bbq, SEE FIG 3). Before leaving Seoul, I went to a man-made lake, played some badminton (SEE FIG 3b), and finally got my hands on another korean language book. For, in the haze that was the 48 hours before my big flight, I somehow couldn't find a way to sacrifice a few ties for this essential tool.

I finished the weekend off with a little party with my sis, her husband, and one of her high school friends (SEE FIG 4). I got to experience the Korean version of ramen...though the american version of the chinese dish seems like child's play compared this flamy salt water. Dizzam, I was mos' def in need of my new baller sweatbands. Luckily it wasn't a first date sichiashun. Then, after a few rounds of soju (korean headache water), mek-ju (beer), and Johnny Walker, Sung Jae had to retire from one of the card games we were exchanging.

OVERALL WEEKEND SCORE: A

*note: I'm often confused when they present me with clothes. without explanation, one of them will just hold up a jacket, shirt, etc. and say, "try on." The occassion of gift-giving has yet to be clearly indentified. It's actually kind of cute. On another interesting sidenote, I've already tried on the 2 largest sizes of the jacket that my Shin Hae (2nd oldest) bought me. Apparently I have monkey arms.
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FIG. 1


FIG. 2


FIG. 3


FIG. 3b


FIG. 4


Thanks for tuning into the latest installment of P or P. Join me next time, as I investigate some of the inner workings of Dongtan Readingtown. Until then, don't do anything your twice engaged grandmother wouldn't do ;)

Post Script: I've been trying to find north amidst the mass of buildings here, but never thought to look to the night sky. In the calm of 3am, I still can't find the north star...

untitled no. 1

inferiority complex aside...i've reached a new level of appreciation for simple, unassuming conversation that had recently dominated my personal life. in a sea of canadian conceitedness i wade and wallow...but i digress.

today was november 11th. seemingly unworthy of particular notice. however, in korea, it is assumed that you celebrate this tuesday with a box or bag of cacao sticks. specifically, 빼빼로, as it's known locally, is toted like hallmark on st. valentines day. i was furtunate enough to be on the receiving end of one of these tokens of appreciation to "lotte".



my family(s) is/are awesome. if i've failed at presenting it/them as, sincerely, my north star, i apologize. my life has been all the easier because of our blood and/or its/their presence.

midnight ramblings...

after meeting most of my family within 24 hours of landing in the hermit kingdom, i began my first day at work...at this point i'm am comfortable with resorting to lists. it's all starting to blur together...but we'll make sense of it all somehow:

1) teachers aren't addressed in the same manner as westerners. korean natives address their teachers as name + son sang nim which literally translates, for example, as "chad teacher"

2) matthew teacher is a thin thirty-something who has really been my guide, as far as adjusting to my new work environment...i feel like there's a mutual respect present due to our common interest in politics, even though our ideals lie on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

3) the other foreign teachers consist of 3 canadian females who, though at times may ere on the side of snootery, are well cultured and good-natured folk. i've already had the pleasure of breaking bread over some stimulating conversation: sharing lists of favorite movies, books, american/canadian pop-culture, etc...

4) any pre-conceived notions of my homeland as being a highly hierarchical society have been all but expelled. henceforth...#5

4.5) any pre-conceived notion of korea being an alcohol inspired country has been all but expelled. (ex. i have been drinking most frequently since i arrived).

5) it was a huge secret, that on my fourth night in korea, i was invited by my school's director to attend a dinner party of higher ups. (i have a sneaking suspicion that they were trying to hook me up with one of the korean teachers). henceforth...#6

6) as according to matthew teacher, a single korean female is an oxymoron.

7) life isn't fair...

8) "teach. your children well. your parents hell."