"Get lovely Tweety into your dream and hope"

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I started off this blog with this "lovely" (ha) quote to show you how funny some of the slogans/quotes/advertisements I see here are. This particular sentence is written all over the mat my students sit on during story time.

During Daniel's introduction classes with the Army regarding Korean culture he was presented with a gift from the Korean government. It is a set of tea spoons with masks that were created for the Yangju byeolsandae nori; a Mask Dance which is a drama that depicts the joys and sorrows of common people and social concerns. "The drama unfolds as various people including a ruined aristocrat, a deprived monk, a shaman and servants come onstage and disclose the social ironies through unique dance and gestures and both comical and provacative dialogue which are extremely entertaining." The drama was established 200 years ago and has traditionally been performed on Buddah's Birthday, Dano Festival, and Thanksgiving Day (Aug 15). Now the performance is given every Saturday at a center. I have included a picture of the spoons, and they were given with a dark wood plaque on which to hang them. Quite a nice gift from the Korean government!

On Thursday, we took the students to the Natural History Museum which was on a college campus about 30 minutes from the school. It was nice to get out of the classroom, and I really hope the kids actually walked away from the trip with some sort of understanding about what they saw. I was very nervous when we first got there because the first floor we toured was all rocks. Yeah. Real exciting. And it gets better. The next floor we went to was all trees, leaves and bushes. There were hundreds of different kinds of leaves between pressed glass. I found it extremely boring; I can't imagine how thrilled the 5-year-olds must have been. But after that we saw stuff that was a little more on their level; floors of fish, insects, mammals, and birds. The kids would shout "Erin Teacher!" as they pointed to a large stuffed animal, and were able to identify some of them, too, which was nice, because we have been working on that for four weeks now.

Last night (Friday) it was Renae's birthday (a fellow teacher) so a bunch of other teachers, along with her boyfriend and other people, went to a Mexican restaurant in a district I had not been to yet. I was excited to see the places where people go to hang out, because I am always hearing about this "great bar" or "cool restaurant" in some district I can't pronounce. It was nice to meet some new people and not sit at home alone, like I have done all week. After (the best Mexican food I have ever had in my entire life!) we walked a few blocks to a Hukkah (sp?) bar which was accessed by three flights of tight winding stairs and opened into a tiny but trendy and relaxing space. Each table had a Hukkah which would be replenished with hot coals and your choice of wet tobacco. A few examples of flavors are sour apple, strawberry, melon, and carrot (yeah, carrot). The round tables sit amid colorful, plush pillows, and the patrons appear to be sitting as though their feet cannot touch the floor, like the soft benches stretch completely under the tables. But you can sit very comfortably. We were taken upstairs and given half of the second floor space (not that big) which included a hightop table against the wall, and a low table on the floor with cushions and pillows. One of the native Koreans we were with suggested Sour Apple for the Hukkah and within minutes everyone was smoking the sweet tobacco, which tasted cool and light, nothing like I expected it to. I probably won't partake in the smoking aspect of these establishments again, because I'm not into cancer, but it was fun and relaxing.

I decided to leave early, (at least I thought it was early) to be sure to make it home on time. Our apartment is as North as the trains go, and at the time I was a good 20 minutes further south than my school is, which is about 40 minutes south of my apartment. So to be safe (and because the trains stop at 1am) I left at 11pm. I made my way back to the train station, took the Number 4, connected at City Hall, and got on the Number 1 line. I was about 4 stops from home when the train stopped and everyone got off. I knew the train wasn't going all the way, but I assumed that I would be able to catch the next one and get home. Nope. Everyone left the train station and I was standing on the platform, finally coming to the realization that there would be no more trains, despite the fact that it was 12:15. So I had to take a cab ($30) and I learned that cab drivers don't much care for red lights. Don't get me wrong, they do slow down, but as far as coming to a complete stop, it only happens when there is a traffic cop nearby. Several times I heard my cabbie muttering what I believe to have been profanities and at times like those I wish I knew more Korean.

I've found a few more things I would like to the "Fun Things I've Noticed About Koreans" list.
- Men are comfortable with resting their hands on each others' backs. For ex., last night on the train ride home I saw two male friends, probably 21 or 22, and one of them had his hand on his friend's back for 3-4 minutes. I will sometimes see American men slap each other on the back, but I have never seen them leave it there for minutes at a time. It is not a homosexual thing, but merely a way of showing camaraderie.

-Everyone uses store bags as purses. Not Wegmans type bags, but nicer retail store bags with rope handles. I found it very odd that everyone seems to have just gone shopping, until I peeked inside one and saw toothpaste. I realized that they would bring a nice store bag and use that as a grocery bag.

-Men carry purses. And not just "man bags" like school duffles, but actual purses. Most of them look like they should be carried by women. And I think its actually a really good idea. Who says bags are meant only for women? They are fashionable and sensible.

-There are cartoon-like images everywhere I go. Even on the sides of apartment buildings. The apartments in the city are in these 20 story buildings, and there will be 5-8 buildings all together. On the side of each building will be a different colorful cartoon-like figure, or something that looks a little whimsical.


Well, I guess that's it for now. I'm looking into teaching private lessons because as an American with a degree (and being female) I can charge a lot and supplement my income. One teacher gets $40 an hour, but I was told by my landlord that this is far too little. Some people will pay up to $60 an hour, so she is helping me find students, although I have to be careful because I guess this isn't allowed here (although all the teachers here do it; I can just hear my Mom, "If everyone else jumped off a cliff..."). Wish me luck, and take care!

-Erin

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Photos

Yanju byeolsandae nori Tea Spoons
Given to Daniel as a gift from the Korean Government

Statue of Brothers
This plaque is on the floor underneath the Statue of Brothers. It shows all the countries that aided South Korean during the Korean War.

Looking Down
Looking through a opening in the floor onto a table at the Hukkah Bar.

Me
Because I have no other pictures right now, and this is my way of givin' a shout-out to my girls who went to Western Ill. Love you!

Comments

[Jennefer]

Money is money
Well Erin, don't jump off a cliff but if you can make 60/hr to teach, do it!! <3