Rainy Afternoon Musings

At this very moment, I am sheltered from the rain and dreary weather outside by means of a Starbucks. I found a little corner nook for myself to write, process life, read, and sip on my ever-so-delicious chai tea latte. It's nice to have something warm and wonderful that reminds me of home. They're also playing very American Christmas music, so I'm feeling quite in the spirit even though I'm half a world away. If you had said that to me last year at this time, I would have never believed I would actually be half a world away this Christmas. It's been 3 weeks now of life in Pohang. Half of me feels like I've been here forever already, and half of me still thinks it's all new and crazy and unreal. Time is a strange thing, my friends...a very strange thing. I will never understand it, but I think that's OK.

A little picture of my afternoon :)

Alright, how did I end up at this Starbucks today? I wanted to go to the post office to mail some stuff, so I man-ed up and walked through the drizzly rain. I hadn't walked this way alone yet, but the post office is essentially right on the way to work. So I've walked it several times in the last couple weeks but not by myself. Surprisingly enough, it was successful. Well it was successful in terms of getting there. It was supposed to close at 1:00, and I got there at like 12:45...all locked up and very closed. Sad day. Oh well. I got some exercise, boosted my directional confidence, and still made it to Starbucks. I'd call that at least mild success.
OK, I promised to write more about culture. First though, I feel like you need to know how my second week of teaching went. Monday: good. Tuesday: good. Wednesday: good. Thursday: a little girl named Lin proceeded (without any warning) to puke in her hands and then all over her desk while another student was reading. Those of you who know me well know that blood doesn't bother me, but puke definitely does. Past traumatic life experiences. So I took her to the bathroom to wash off her hands and jacket while the Korean girls who work in the front lobby cleaned her desk and books and everything. I felt bad making them have to do that, but I would have just added to the pile if I had cleaned it. Lin, the little trooper though, went right back to class and finished the lesson. She refused to lie down on the couches in the lobby. She certainly has some extra respect points in my book. Now Friday: two little girls who are usually BFFs (once again with no warning) started sobbing in the middle of class. All I could get was, "teeeeacher, my eraser"..."no teacher, myyyyy eraser"..."teeeeeacher, friend (sister/someone) gave to meeeeeee" out of them. They couldn't explain it in English, so I had to take them out to the manager lady to sort and sob it out. I still have no clue whose dang eraser it was. Kids. They keep things interesting if nothing else.
On to culture. Somehow I missed this before I arrived, but South Korea has the biggest drinking culture in the world. Not one of, but THE heaviest drinking culture. Once again those who know me well know my story and my family's story. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with drinking, but it's just something I don't really do. I'm not one to judge others for it, so I try to make sure I don't give off that vibe. Who in the world am I to tell other people how to live their lives? So that's definitely gonna be one thing I have to learn how to handle for the rest of the year, or longer if I choose to stay. Everyone's been pretty OK about it so far, but it is certainly not gonna make life easier for me. Since when is life easy though? That wouldn't be life. That would be some fairy tale that I think would get really boring really fast. What else? Korea's culture is also very focused on respect and saving face. You are expected to respect your elders in every possible way. It affects the way you eat and drink and offer things to them. I have found them to be very friendly though. Most Koreans don't acknowledge strangers in passing, no smile, nod, hello, anything. Even while I've been sitting here though, an older man walked down the stairs and smiled real big and said, "Hello. How are you?" It's happened before with older people. They're curious about foreigners. They want to know where you're from. It's nice.
One final thought. I read about the shooting at the elementary school in CT this morning. As I read the story, I just started crying. It made me so incredibly sad that someone could even think to do that. Lord only knows what drove him to do it, but maybe teaching all these children is making it hit home even harder than it would standing on its own. I can't imagine someone doing that to my kids (or the kids I taught this summer), which are all around the ages of the children that were killed. I can't even imagine. And it's not like they're my own physical children. They're kids I've taught a couple hours a week for 2 weeks. The pain these kids' families are feeling in CT must just be unreal. I'm almost crying now just thinking about it again. My prayers for healing, comfort, and peace, my thoughts, and my broken heart go out to that community. I have no idea why it happened, and I can't pretend that everything is going to be okay. It's a terrible tragedy, but it hits you in the face even harder when the victims are innocent little children. I didn't meant to end on a somber note, but it feels like a somber day. I am thankful for my safety, but I am also reminded not to take life for granted. Nothing in this life is guaranteed. Not even the next minute.

Laura Teacher

OK, so I know that I've been here over two weeks now and haven't written anything. Well, that's not true. I've written some things...just not a blog post. I figured that it was about time to do so. So here I go.
I am finally settled into my own apartment in a building called "Royal Tower". There isn't too much that's royal about it. I believe it's one of the older buildings around Yugang, but I can't complain. Other than it being constantly cold, it's nice to have my own place and to know that it's mine for the next year. The teacher who was here before me left quite a bit of stuff that I am more than grateful I don't have to purchase on my own, i.e. a blender, microwave, all sorts of cooking utensils, food, a drying rack for clothes, power converters/adapters, various other goodies. That's one of things that I like about the culture here. Everybody is so generous and kind...especially when you're new and they know that's it's difficult at first to adjust. I am so very thankful for all the help I've been given these last couple of weeks.
My first week here I observed different classes at the school, and then on Friday I took over classes for the teacher I replaced so that she could pack and such. This past week was the start of a new term, so I have my own full slate of 6 classes a day that I will teach for the next 3 months. Some kids come MWF and others come TH. We get to work at about 1:00 and get ready for lessons, eat lunch, and do office work until 3:00. Then there are six 45-minute classes from 3:00-8:00 of all different ages and levels of English abilities. Some of my classes are just me and one student. Others involve eight 7-year-olds. So far I am enjoying the teaching and the kids...some are definitely a challenge, but that's to be expected anywhere. There isn't much freedom with what we teach...the lessons are planned and we go right through the curriculum. I'm at a hagwon (private academy where the parents pay tuition) as opposed to a public school where the teachers work earlier in the day, have to plan lessons, and usually have much larger classes. So I am also grateful that I was placed at a school with a very reasonable schedule, work load, and hours. I feel very blessed to have this as my first teaching experience abroad. I guess the one big downside is that it's nearly impossible to take the vacation time we technically have. Oh, and instead of Ms. Laura or Ms. Page or whatever we would consider a respectful name for a teacher in the States, the kids call you by what you are. So I am Laura Teacher, or when they're whining, just Teeeeeeacher. Also, the Korean alphabet has only one character for the L/R sound, so my name is difficult for some of them. Especially with the younger ones, I get "Lola Teacher" a lot. It's adorable. I love it.
That's a lot about what I do. Next time maybe I'll write more about culture and life and the experiences I've had so far. I'm convinced I'm gonna do a lot of growing and learning this year. Hopefully it won't take me almost three weeks to write again. For now, I'll leave you with two lists.

1) Things that I've eaten (not exhaustive and I've yet to eat something I didn't like)...look 'em up
-Pajeon -Gimbap -Korean Barbecue -Haejangguk -Shabu Shabu -Bibimbap -Cheesy Jimdak -Mandu -Donkas -Lots of Kimchi

2) Things that I miss so far
-My wonderful friends and family -My puppy -Putting on a hoodie straight out of the dryer (no dryers) -Instant Netflix -My guitar

Chapter 1...or perhaps the Prologue

Let me begin by saying how much I love this background. It's just one of those preset templates and doesn't really look like where I am or where I'm going, but I seriously wish I could know where it is (if it's even real). I want to spend an afternoon there lost in a book or in a conversation with someone over the age of 75. It just seems to fit perfectly.

OK, on to what I actually meant to write. I'm leaving the country!!!! Soon! Well, that's the plan at least. My flight still isn't technically officially booked, and I'm supposed to leave in like 36 hours. Talk about learning how to be flexible even before I move halfway around the world. Most people already know, but just in case you don't, let me explain what I'm doing...or the little that I know about it. I am moving to a city on the east coast of South Korea called Pohang to teach ESL, English as a Second Language, to 1st-6th grade students. Korean students. I signed a year-long contract, so I'll be there until at least next December. Do I know how to speak Korean? No sir (ma'am). I know a couple of words. I'm gonna need to work on that so that I can get around and do stuff on my own, but they don't want the teachers speaking anything but English around the students so they're completely immersed in it. So, yeah. That's what I'll be doing. The school has a little apartment for me close by that will be my new homestead while I'm there. Life is about to get real...and interesting...and exciting. I'm terrified, but I also can't wait. Maybe I'm a little bit insane, but I have a peace about it and I know this is what God has planned for me next. Who knows what life holds for me after this, but I plan on spending the next year being as present and learning as much as I possibly can.

I always hated writing papers in school because it took me so long to get my thoughts onto the page in a way that made sense and I thought was good enough. This type of thing is a little easier for me, but if you continue to follow my blog, I apologize in advance for the rambling and illogical nature of my thoughts. I often process things when I write about them, so it might be a mess from time to time.

Lastly, I want to say thank you. I have been blessed in the last few weeks to have said goodbye to a lot of people who mean a great deal to me. It's been overwhelming to see all the love and support I have here in family and friends. You guys are all crazy awesome. I know I haven't been able to say thank you or even goodbye to every person individually by phone or by note or in person, but please know how much I will keep you with me as I'm gone. I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart for every encouraging thought, prayer, note, card, letter, gift, or amount of time you have shared with me. It means more than you can know. I promise to write about more interesting things once I get to KOREA and settle in to life. Whoa. I must be nuts. That sounds nuts.