Honeymooning

From reading travel broshures and browsing the internet, I have learned from the travel gurus about the dangers of getting culture shock. It is a scary condition indeed.
The first stage, entitled the honeymoon stage, is filled with feelings of excitement and fascination for the lone traveller. But, this feeling will eventually turn into feelings of alienation and resentment for the host country and lead to over-eating and loss of humour.
I guess it would be fair to say I am in the honeymooning stage right now. Everything is fun and exciting and although I've stopped taking pictures of every meal I'm about to eat, there are still new things I'm discovering on a daily basis that I enjoy. As such, I thought it best to bask in the glories of it for a bit before stage two hits and I run out of humour and my waist line turns into blub.

What I do like about the city/school/country:
- The doors to my school open both ways. I never have to pull open another heavy glass door again. Now, this may not seem like worthy news, but for days I was struggling to pull open heavy glass doors until I saw someome just glide right on through it. It still excites me everyday. I have not tested it yet, but this small wonder may be the norm in the entire country! Every door may swing both ways! I will keep you informed as I explore the region's bountiful doors.
-Lunch time without segregation. All the teachers and staff eat in the same room and are served the same food as the students. Sometimes students and staff sit at the same table too. There is no "special" room for teachers to go hide and feel superior to their kids.
-Students bow their heads slightly and greet you if they run across you in the hall, at the supermarket, or on the street. On my second trip out to the market, I ran into a group of my grade 8's and they took me into the store and helped me get everything I needed. It was great.
-Prepared foods are cheap.
-Guinness in a four pack at the supermarket
-The school heads (Principal, VP, and Chair) are the sweetest souls Ive ever encountered. They take care of me so well. In less than two weeks since Ive been in this country, they hooked me up with my alien registration card, which allows me to get a phone and a bank account. But they took it under their care to drive me to get my medical check-up, drive me to Seoul to get my alien card, drive me to the bank to get me sorted out, and then BUY me a cell phone (which is not cheap bc all contracts were two years or more so they paid a hefty dollar for the one-year phone) and hooked up my internet. Day 12 and I have everything I need. The VP is especially adorable, making sure to ask whether I eat at night or have friends to hang out with. Sweet.
-Peppero day with kids handing out chocolate covered sesame sticks or MASSIVE Pokeys.
-Everyone does their part to keep the place clean. Students come into the office during last period to sweep and tidy up our kitchen area. In the mornings, they would sweep the fallen leaves outside into huge piles. The school looks a bit too clean from the outside sometimes. I have noticed this trend across the countryside. Store owners and office people sweep all the fallen leaves that fall in the area, keeping their surrounding clean. (On a side note, what I dont get are the baby brooms they use here. Apparently, Koreans dont sweep inside their houses with brooms. Instead, they use vacuums and use brooms to sweep the outside of their houses, only the length of the broom stick only goes up to their crotch, so they are constantly hunching over. I just dont get that.)
-School punishment for kids. Apparently if you misbehave, you have to stand or kneel with your arms raised. This can happen in the classroom, or you can be sent to the staff room and do this. A whole period of standing/kneeling with your arms raised. Wierdly enough, the students dont talk back, but perform this punishment willingly. I like it. I was hoping ruler-whip someone, but this is also fitting. (Kidding about the ruler-whip).
-I have cows in my backyard!!!! I dont go near them bc of swine flu and mad-cow and sars. You never know. (Also, if I saw the treatment of them I might never want to eat meat again.)
-My landlords are wonderful. A wife, husband, and I think grandfather. They also own a restaurant in front of the apartment and there is an auto shop next to it, which I see the old man working at. The grandpa likes Keiko. So I like them all.
-There is this small glutinous boy that is all cheeks and squinty eyes. The other kids call him Piggy. He is so cute.
-Mountain landscape. It is beautiful. Each way I turn there are mountains, beautiful hills. I want to hike them one day. It' nice.
-The setting sun. Although there is not much sun here, I guess it doesn't rise here, but when it sets it is like the moon. Round and small and you can look right at it on the horizon. It kind of looks like the moon emblazoned red and orange.

What I can do without:
-There is no grass anywhere. You would think that being in the middle of a countryside there would be long endless stretches of grassland, but there is none. All the grass has been dug up and converted to farm land. So everywhere you look there are rows of crop. This is nice...I guess, but there is no where to walk Keiko, or run, or frollic about.
-Korea is definitely an on-the-go society focused on the now now now. Drivers, shoppers, and just people in general are always in a rush, even if they dont really have anything important to do that would warrant rushing. Lunch time is a good example. From getting served, sitting down and eating, it takes the average Korean about 5-10 minutes. Probably closer to five minutes to eat. I like to take my time and enjoy my break, but I am trying to fit in so I too, gobble up my lunch in seconds. My mother would this place, she is exactly like everyone.
-Everything is spicy. "What's that red stuff on it?" The answer is always "hot, spicy deliciousness."
-Garbage bags cost 12 dollars for a pack of ten.
-It is cold. There is no central heating system at school. Kids are warm in their four layer uniforms (shirt+vest+sweater+jacket) and teachers wear big sweaters. I, unfortunately, donated all my clothes to Lyn before coming.
-For the first time in my life, my name is too big to put into the space provided when signing forms. Because natives here use Korean scripture, they only need a tiny cube of space to sign their names. My name is too big to sign. I was amazed. Who da thunkit?!
-They eat dogs. The restaurant across from my house just got a precious tiny little pup, only weeks old. It is stuck outside all day (which is fine if it wasnt a puppy, freezing in its light thin short coat). I pick him up and he is shivering. The first night I saw him, I ran back into the house and got one of Keiko's blankets to give him and a plastic cup filled with water. All he eats is rice and NO WATER. Now, I take him for walks with Keiko whenever I can. Its winter now, I don't know how he'll make it through. A part of me hopes he doesn't for the long hard road ahead would suck more. He is so cute. I brought him a ball and it was his first time playing with it. I bring him to the middle school and go running. He tries to bite Keiko's ears off. He is so cute. I brought him spam the other day and some carrots. The thing that bugs me is THEY DONT NEED TO EAT HIM! They own a very popular restaurant (there are always customers) and have a tank of live fish on the outside. LIVE FISH to eat, so why eat dog. I hate them.


Things I am indifferent to:
-LG is king here.
-So is Hyundai.
-Hamburgers have wierd bbq sauce on it.
-I see cargos carrying soldiers home from training. They wave at students and students scream. They are celebrities. I actually passed by the base area where they were training. It was at the bottom of a mountain, there were tanks and dozens and dozens of tents. I hope all they end up doing is train.
-All Koreans have the same writing. Its like one hand penned every word written.

First impressions

I hope I am not too early when I say I really like my school. After hearing some horror stories and reading some online, I think I lucked out with a very quaint school who treats me very well. Being one of only two native English teachers here, it is easy to feel left out, but all the staff members are absolutely phenomenal. My wellbeing is asked about often, even by the principle, vp, and chair, who personally check in on me and make sure I have all I need at school, at home, and that I am happy and adjusting well.

My students are a thrill. Because I am in the countryside, I think the students are less tainted by media, by stereotypes, and by other superficial flaws that middle school students may experience. They bow their heads to greet me when I walk by, and during my first week here, I was the new celebrity. Kids came running into the teacher's lounge shrieking in delight, screaming out whatever English phrases they have memorized, and then going to get their friends and doing the same thing. In fact, the first week of classes, I had students stand outside the window that faces across from my cubicle. I look up and see a throng of kids looking and waving and smiling. When I waved back, they screamed with joy. LOL.

I have noticed a lot of mirrors in the school though. I think appearance has a high priority here. The students and teachers are never overdone, but mirrors are in hallways, bathrooms, and every classroom. I was told that the English teacher before me, the one I am replacing, looked exactly like Obama. He was tall, dark, handsome and had big arms. Because of this, the students all really liked him and clung to him. I also found mirrors in subways and full length ones in public bathrooms. Maybe that is why cosmetic plastic surgery is so big here.

Also, every class Ive been to has asked the following three questions: do you have a boyfriend, how old are you, and describe your boyfriend? It is funny because everyone knows about Igor now. "What does he look like? tall? hair? eyes?" I had one of my grade 7 students ask me today "what kind of guys do you like?" It is so cute.
The Korean co-teacher said questions like that are rude in Canada, but in Korea it is very common for people to ask those questions when first meeting someone.

My first aeeeroplane ride.

Alright. So the week leading up to my departure from Toronto was literally a whirlwind of crap that I had to do. I wish I spent the last two days eating nonstop, filling myself with delicious noodle soups and rice and stirfries and pad thai, because that is what I miss most. But Every single day was filled with must do 's and I dont think I got a chance to really appreciate living at home with all my family and friends around.
The night before I left was Halloween. I got to see Ryan, Nic, and Katelyn one last time before I left. And they were all dresssed up and giddy on candy and sugar. It was wonderful. Taking Leanne and Ryan trick or treating with Keiko and Igor was so much fun! It had been at least five years since I had been trick or treating.
When I said goodbye to Leanne that night, I think she was about to cry. She was genuinely sad and understood clearly that it would be a LONG time before we met again. :(
When I left for the airport at 6ish in the morning, my parents wanted to come with me, but I made them stay at home. My mom was so sad when I left. When I called her days later, she said she cried for a whole day.

At the airport, I realized that travelling by air is no fun at all. Just a bunch of rushing about, waiting in lines, declaring things, filling out forms, etc. Igor wasn't allowed in with me to customs so I had to hastily say goodbye to him. It felt so unfulfilling. So it was just me and Keiko now. We took American Airlines to Chicago in the TINIEST aircraft ever. I almost had to duck when boarding and finding my seat...ME having to DUCK!. Anyways, the lift off was so much fun, but after then I had a queesy feeling, kind of like riding on rollercoasters. I wanted to panic but I was really tired so I closed my eyes and just waited it out. (One point for Na, zero for nerves.)

In Chicago, it was a fucking circus. I had two hours before I had to board Korean Air. At Pearson International, I was told that my baggage would automatically be sent to Korean Air, but I could pick up my dog in Chicago. When I got to Chicago, I talked to about 5 different people about getting my dog and they say "Well, your dog has been transferred to Korean Air already." Um, I dont think so. Its a 14 hour flight, she is a DOG, not cargo and she needs to be cleared by Korean airlines and tested and whatnot. So it takes about one hour for them to get someone on the loading dock and get her back to me. She is so distraught when I get her and there is no time to take her to a grassy area to potty and she wouldnt go on cement.
I now have about half an hour to make it to Korean Air. So I ask another five people how to get to the Korean Air terminal. (The rudest people ever!) I thought airlines would employ their best, top notch staff, but instead its all new immigrants with no customer service skills. Anyways, some lady said you need to get on a train and go. Shit, now I have to find a train. I find it, get to the International Terminal, Keiko goes through a thorough inspection for hidden drugs and whatnot and goes into baggage. She is the only dog on the airline and she barks relentlessly. They wont let me put water in her cage so after five minutes of barking, she is going to be extremely thirsty. For fourteen hours. What a brave girl.

As for myself, I think Ill keep my flying to a minimal, and when I do fly, I should opt for first class. Being stuck for 14 hours in a sitting position squeezed next to two other people sucks massive ass. BUT, I did get a window seat, so I could see outside to the clouds below. Planes are so frikken cool. They are so surreal in how they just float in the sky and all of sudden, you are half way around the world.
Also, it never got dark as we flew across time zones. It was so cool. The moon was out and it was daylight. I felt like a time traveller. I had an urge to read science fiction.

You know what, I am over-reacting. The plane ride wasnt terrible. I was just grumpy.

Anyways, I land in Incheon International Airport at 4 pm on Monday and go to get Keiko back and bring her to quarantine. After she is checked and approved, I bring her and my suitcase (which was half open and missing a chunk from its side) out towards the arrival gates and I see a middle aged man holding a piece of paper with my name on it. There were a lot of people standing around holding white signs with names on it. I had to scan the crowd slowly until I found my name squiggled on some airport paper. Actually, I just remembered that I took that paper and kept it as a souvenir...but where did I put it...
Anyways, he was the driver the school hired. His Korean face looked so serious and I was scared to approach him. But when I did, he smiled and his whole face transformed. He was not scary any more.
My first priority was to get Keiko to pee somewhere bc she hadnt gone for over 20 hours and she wouldnt go just anywhere. We drove for about ten minutes until we found grass, and she went potty for the LONGEST time. The driver got out of the car mid-pee bc she took so long and he gave out a cheer. It was funny. I could tell he was proud.

An hour and a half later, I arrive at Samgwang Middle School in northern Paju City. The vice prinicple and two Korean English teachers stayed behind to meet me. They were so friendly. They drove me to my apartment, introduced me to the landlords, checked and made sure I had everything and it was all working. Then we went to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant, which was very not Chinese at all. It was pleasant, but all I wanted to do was sleep.
So I slept at 8 pm and woke up at 4am. And I had been doing that for my entire first week here.
Luckily. I am no longer jet legged and wake and sleep like a normal Korean person now.