| Volume 60, September '08 |  |
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The 411 on the Far East
By: Amanda DiLauro Dan, my boyfriend, and I arrived in Jeonju, South Korea about four days ago. These four days have been by far the most interesting days of my entire life. Everything is really odd, and a bit backwards here. I am working at The Giving Tree Academy, a hagwan or private after school, which is located two blocks from our house. The school is super cute, as are my students. I have already fallen in love with the kids, especially the younger ones. On the first day of class, the students gave us welcome letters and made me Origami. They were so excited to find out where I came from and what my home life is like. My last class had 13 year old boys, all boys. I don't think they have seen many American women before, so they were a little awestruck, not to mention obnoxious. They just kept making fun of me in Korean and being annoying. We only had one day of work last week because Friday was the Korean Independence Day from Japan. There are eight English teachers all from the U.S. all around my age, who all seem awesome. All of the Korean staff at the school are really nice and accommodating. The owner of the school, Eddie--my boss--is also really nice, speaks perfect English and has a strong grasp on Western culture. He lived in the U.S. for 5 years and attended college in California. I am so thankful that he understands our way of life. I have heard horror stories from other English teachers who say the boss of their hagwan only speaks Korean and does not even try to accept the westernized culture. After work, Dan and I went to "Lotteria," a Korean version of McDonalds. I was relieved to find a "tended grilled chicken" sandwich on the menu. I took one bite and spit it out in horror, only to find that the meat was red and tasted like what pork smells like. I am disgusted by pork, so, needless to say, I lost my appetite. We skipped out on Lotteria and went to Mart a Mart, the local grocery store. Everything looked more or less similar to the U.S. stores until I got to the fish section. Apparently, squid is their national cuisine. They have large squids sitting on ice, with their tentacles still moving. They have squid rings, which I almost mistook for onion rings--thank god I didn't go there. They also have dried out squid in a bag. I saw this little fashionable Korean walking down the street gnawing on a dried squid, as a westerner would gnaw on beef jerky. It is a very nauseating sight. They have dried fish in bags, and dried fish in yogurt containers if you'd prefer a snack on the go. The native Koreans themselves are a riot as well. Couples match outfits together. Seriously wear the same exact outfit to signify their love, I guess. It looks silly. Also, since there are not that many westerners in Jeonju, whenever the Koreans see us, they giggle and wave as if we are famous. Wherever you go they giggle and say "Hi" trying to seem cool for us, it makes me feel like a celebrity. The Olympic coverage is also hilarious. The Koreans only compete in silly sports like men's Field Hockey, Ping Pong, Badminton, something that looks like judo or sumo wrestling? Dan and I tried to catch the American swimming relay, but the Koreans only had their Ping Pong match on. Then, at the last second, they aired the swimming race where Mr. Phelps won his eighth gold medal. In the corner of the T.V., there was still a small screen airing the ping pong match. Talk about patriotism. I guess this is going to take a while getting used to. Otherwise, the weather is hot and muggy. Not many people here speak English at all. You get lost so easily cause everything looks the same. My neck hurts from bowing it so much. I am signing up for Tae Kwon Do and traditional Bikram and Vinyasa yoga. Life is totally different, but totally cool. Be sure to check back next month for another installment of the 411 on the Far East. |
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