Bachata!

Looks as though that dry spell I had during October of no where to go and no one to go there with is clearing up...and hopefully for good. You see, Feb-April, I experience the whole ECC deal and had other foreigners to talk with. May I went to Fukouka and got settled in a new town and new school. Late May, early June, my dad came to visit. June and July my Korean friends from Georgia came to Korea to visit their families. August I went to see Hyeji in Busan for two weeks. September my mom came to visit during Chuseok. October was a nightmare. I actually work 4hrs a day and am a sitting duck the other 4hrs, which is crazy, but I like to get paid, so I do it. Three days a week I have afterschool classes, but other than that, I lesson plan, facebook friends, or watch tv shows. Then, I would go home to an empty house. On Saturdays I'd sleep in, clean house, grocery shop, and lay around. Sundays I'd go to church and come back home to lay around some more. With no tv, no internet, no one to talk to, nothing to do, and no magazines to read, I was bored stiff. It was madness. Well, things are looking up. I never seem to find other foreigners like me, but oh well.

Wednesday night I met Aaron and Justin for dinner at Emart. This is when I passed the buck on the whole Korean-English tutoring gig, which I initially regretted, but am now kinda thankful for. Thursday night I went out to Jungang in Ansan for some meet and great at a burger joint. Friday I laid low and got some good sleep. This past weekend was the big to-do. Just how they use to be I supposed....get me tired, but totally worth it.

Saturday morning I woke up at 8am so I could leave the house at 9am, be at the station by 9:30am, and in Seoul by 11:30am to meet Chorong at Starbucks for my first Korean lesson. I showed her a book I bought, just for this, and she really liked it. She wants me to get down every section perfectly so that we can one day speak only in Korean. That would be super-cool, but apparently I'm not so good at learning a second language when it doesn't come from an everyday lesson in a classroom. But, as I have been with several people before and after coming to Korea, I'll give it a try. And she will give me homework too, which will help.

Chorong had invited me to her cousin's wedding, which was super-quick by the way. Although the wedding was at 1pm, her mom didn't show up to the coffee shop to get us until 1:10pm, the two talked for a while, changed purses, and so forth before leaving. We met her dad at the station where he insisted on carrying my backpack for me. Then, we headed towards the wedding nearby. Like many Korean streets, this one was filled with traffic, so it is much easier to cross the street underground via the station exits.

Korean weddings are not performed in churches, but rather wedding halls. Like many stores, wedding halls have many small floors, each with rooms designed and decorated for ceremonies. And of course, their is also a reception center, which is a great big dinning room adorned with generic decorations to suit any of the many wedding parties and guest that will be eating there in a given day. The greeters, caterers, decorators, etc work for the wedding halls rather than the bride and groom.

We arrived after the ceremony had started. I was surprised to find such a tiny room. It wasn't incredibly small, but it was as large as an average size church fellowship hall. The floors were white and shiny, with the walls white as well and a red carpet leading up to the bride and groom. The tiny chairs were like those you might see sitting outside of a cottage, made of tightly woven straw with a nice fluffy white cushion and a bow on the side. The parents and grandparents of both sides were in their hangboks, Korean traditional gowns.

To my surprise, there were many people standing up in the large open space behind the chairs near the door. In fact, they were talking and carrying on as though they were in the mall or at a theme park...as if this wedding was just a formality. (I see this in Korean culture a lot, and it transfers over into my classes as well. Talking during events, happenings, and class is ok I guess.) This was very strange and sad to me. Not even 10minutes later, the ceremony was over. First, picture of the bride and groom together, then with parents, then with family. Apparently I was part of the family, because I was told to join..hehe. Chorong's dad did say to her something about having another daughter that day. I was able to ask 카피 주새요?, which means "Do you want coffee?" and got them coffee.. But beyond that was just smiling and nodding.

Delicious foods for sure!! The 김밥 even had crab in it, so they tasted like California rolls. 찹채 맜잇아요! (not at all sure if I spelled that correct, but it means that the chopchae was delicious). And of course, I have no idea how to use Korean particles (은,는,이,가,을,를) yet either, so I don't. Korean particles are like English articles (a, the). The other stuff had no names. Chorong couldn't identify it either. But I also find the "I don't know" typical of Korean culture as well. No one asks "why?" because it is considered rude, so no one gets the answer. Everyone just accepts things as they are. I kept asking "what is this?; what is this?" and when Chorong kept saying "I don't know," I eventually stopped asking because it was probably just annoying since she didn't know the answer. If it didn't have unidentifiable meat in it (been there, done that), I would try it. But mainly I stuck to the chopchae and kimbahp.

We finished with the meet, greet, and eat around 4pm. Afterwards, Chorong and I made plans for next weekend and parted ways. I had time to kill, so I walked around Sinchon and then headed towards Iteawon. Shame, they were so close, but I need to make two transfers to get there. In Iteawon, I changed from my dress clothes into workout clothes, went to the bank to get some cash, and sat in the upstairs window seat of Nescafe while sipping a green apple frappe until 5:45pm when I was gonna meet Jen and Aaron.

From the station we ventured over to this hot Salsa club where this famous Texan had stopped on his world tour to teach Bachata lessons. There must have been at least 100 people in that tiny club...enough to cause a fire hazard for sure. Bachata is like a sexier version of salsa and of course, requires a partner. So, most of the night was spent switching partners as if I had come to a speed dating event. Met some nice people though...I guess...didn't get to dance with them for long...most were American.

We finished Bachata around 10:30pm or so, then hopped on the subway for the long ride home. After the walk home from the station, showering, and bed, it was quite early in the morning. Sunday had definitely called for sleeping in. Angelique, this rad Canadian/Jamaican that I met Thursday night at the burger place, and I met Jen at Gojan in Ansan for brunch. However, we didn't find anything either good or open, so we headed towards Myeongdong for shopping, and stopped off at Sadang along the way for some food. I smelled Italian as soon as I stepped of the subway, and sure enough, there it was. Shame, 20min wait. We were hungry, and smelled Vietnamese food, so we went for that instead. Delicious spring rolls, and my usual Vietnamese cuisine, PhoPa (chicken noodle soup...yummy style!) No chicken broth...doesn't taste anything like American chicken noodle.

All day shopping trip to Myeong-dong. These shoppers knew all the stores! In and out we went for hours. I didn't mind. I even bought a street-vendor winter scarf. You all might have seen the pic on facebook. That and a small pink spring scarf, and I just window shopped while these ladies brought home large bags piled high with fashion. I got home around 12:30am or 1am; can't remember.

I already knew there was no class today, so I asked Min Chan if I could have a special day to go get a multi-destination visa from Incheon immigration, which by car is about 30min and by subway is a couple hours or more. He said sure, but I didn't end up going. I realized that it is a multi-entry visa that I needed and since I'm American, I already have multi-entry privileges on my current visa. I know that Canadians and South Africans must get another visa to re-enter Korea after traveling outside the country. Now, I must figure out whether or not I need a visa to enter Thailand or Nepal. It was nice having the day off though. I slept in and stayed inside my warm house.

I'm thinking it's cold if I feel the need to wear gloves and a winter coat while I teach.

I finished my open class lesson planning and American powerpoint Friday before I left. Min Chan translated my own lesson plan into his, which is still in English, so that is weird. In making my powerpoint, I decided to give a little American history, talk about holidays, focus on the major ones: Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I also talked about Southern culture, including football and comfort foods. I actually forgot some of the foods because I hadn't had them in so long, so I googled that one.. I know; sad right?!

So, I started a morning letter this semester, reduced it to "fill in the blank" two months ago, fill in the blank plus mistakes a month ago, and now leave it completely blank. The students just tell me what to write. Not sure how its gonna go for open class, so I think I might go back to blanks and mistakes.

Oh..uncomfortable. Lesson 13: That's too bad! Teaching the kids about symptoms, vocabulary, sympathy vs empathy, etc. But one of the symptoms is "I have diarrhea," which is so awkward to say for me. I think Min Chan figured that out and does it for me now.

Speaking of Min Chan, I'm not sure what happened, but I think he gets it now. I hope this continues. He totally helps with class, keeps them quiet, and disciplines them when necessary. Granted he will discipline them openly, which means I feel the need to stop class, but its a giant step for sure. I think he didn't realize that it was frustrating to me when the students talk amongst themselves, write on the desk, and doodle in their notebooks while I'm trying to teach. They hardly ever look at me when I'm talking to them either. These are all cultural things. But they should learn that certain things that might be tolerated and ok in a Korean classroom, aren't in the English classroom. I feel less helpless now, and like I don't have to spend 20min (1/2 class) asking students to stop talking and listen.

Alright. I need to get groceries. It's 5pm here, getting dark, and is FREEZING cold. My hands are ice as I type this at school. So, until next time...peace! Over and out.....