Vanlentine's Day in Korea

I'm celebrating my second Valentine's Day since I've been in Korea. I, of course, am celebrating it alone again. However, it's not as lonely as it would be in the states. The children here just call it chocolate day.

The major difference in Valentine's Day in Korea is that the girls give the boys chocolate. Their either make them chocolate or they buy special chocolates and give it to the boy they like. It's like a small confession of love. However, since I teach at an academy I don't get to see the kids give out chocolates to the boys they like. :-(

However, I was slightly suprised when I met two of my students right outside my apartment and they gave me chocolate and wished my a happy Valentine's Day. When I got to school was was given a larg amount of chocolates by all my students. Of course, they were all girls. And the boys ran up to me screaming for chocolate. I felt terrible that I had forgotten this useless holiday and didn't have any chocolates to give out. I guess I won't be getting any chocolates from the boys on White Day, March 14th.

I feel a little sad that I don't really know the traditions of older people on Valentine's Day. I just know what the younger kids do. Maybe next year I will learn when I have a boyfriend to spend it with. But for now, I'm happy with receiving chocolates from my kids.

Lost

Recently I've been giving my future a lot of thought. What do I want to be, what do I want to do, where do I want to go, do I want to have a boyfriend, and basically what's going to happen to me in a year. I have 10 months left on my contract with my current school. After that, I have no idea what's going to happen. So, I wanted to throw my ideas out there and see what other people think.

1. Stay in Korea teaching English
1. Stay at the same school
2. Change schools in the same city
3. Change cities
2. Stay in Korea and go to GIST grad school
3. Teach English in Taiwan
4. Teach English in Japan
5. Move back to America (somewhere)
1. Go to grad school
2. Find a real job

I just don't know what I want to do. There are a lot of pro's and con's of each one of them. Kristina, one of my best friends is moving in a month and will probably go to Taiwan. Mandy, one of my other best friends will most likely stay for a third year here. I don't really think that I'm finished traveling yet to move back to America. As for grad school, I don't know if that's what I really want to be anymore so it won't be worth it to go there yet. As for Japan and Taiwan, I will make better money in Korea plus I get free flights.

So, that's the basic information. If you have any comments feel free to make them. I need some help sorting it all out. It is nice that I have some time to think about it. However, I will have to make a decision within 6 months. I don't know why, but this decision seems more imortant and deserves more thought than when I first decided to move here. I guess it's because I'm two years older and need to start thinking about the future. Man it sucks getting old!

Soccer 축구

So, let's be realistic, soccer isn't exactly popular back in the states. I mean, when you have the action of football, the fun of baseball, and the excitement of basketball, you don't really have room for a sport you don't really understand. I mean, they have crazy rules to this game and just run around kicking things with little contact.

However, after coming to Korea and experiencing the World Cup, I've changed my mind. I'd have to say that watching the World Cup in Korea was one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had. It was way more intense than the Super Bowl. I mean, we were all packed in bars trying to watch the game on the big screen. Everyone sports the red shirt, devil horns, face paint, and the Korean flag as a cape. Every steal, attempted shot, and foul is followed by an eruption of raw emotion, good or bad. Saying it was intense is an understatement. It's too bad that it ended early for both Korea and the U.S. But, we still have the Asian Cup.

So, last night I made the trek over to Chumdan, which costed me 10,000won ($10) by taxi. Just to experience the game with some of my good friends at the Game Bar. We started the night out with our red shirts and a beer. The game was pretty exciting because it was Korea vs. Japan. And we all know about Japan occupying Korea and how Koreans still haven't forgiven them. So, it was a huge game. It was also the game to decide who plays in the championship. So, there was a lot riding on this game. We watched the game with a mix of emotions. It was 1:1 and went into overtime. Japan scored early on and we were ready to leave and admit defeat but something told us to stay. Luck was with us because in the last moments Korea made a goal and tied it up in overtime. Then it went to penalty kicks and we had a glorious defeat.

So, feeling down and out we decided to head over to Salutoe's, a popular kareoke bar that we happen to know the owner of, and sing it off. Oh man! What a good choice. It was packed full of young Korean men who were also there to sing off the loss. So, we sang and drank a few rounds and repaired our broken hearts. I guess, there is always next time!

Another Happy Year or Another Year of Hell?

Seeing that I only have 3 months left on my current contract, my boss took it upon himself to ask me back for another year. I was genuinely suprised. My coworkers and boss tend to ignore me. I come in, teach, and leave. So, I got the notion that they disliked me. When he asked if I wanted to come back I wasn't sure. I had been thinking about switching to public school or another hagwan. However, he told me that if I re-signed my contract, he would give me an extra month of vacation and pay for a plane ticket home for me! So, my natural reaction was, heck yes!

So, I will be heading home for nearly a month at the end of November and the begining of December. I'm excited to eat American food and have good beer. I'm predicting a 5lb gain around my waist! After that, I'll head back to Korea for another Christmas, my birthday, v-day, and basically another year's worth of Holidays.

I'm excited to be staying another year and to see what my future holds!

Let's Talk About Bugs Baby!

Street vedor selling dried seafoods, and bundeggi.

It comes as no surprise, being half-way around the world; you would experience new, different, and sometimes downright disgusting foods. I am happy to say that I've tried most of these tasty delicacies and some of the nastiest things ever thought up to eat. But, I think that trying each and every one of these is important in understanding the culture!

In Thailand it was the bottle of rice vodka mixed with scorpion and poisonous centipedes. While here, I'm experiencing blood soup, bundeggi, pig spine soup, blood noodle rolls, and let's not forget all the seafood with the heads on!! I'm sure there are a lot more that I have tasted but just didn't realize what it was. The only gross thing I didn't eat were the deep-fried chicken feet. Because what can you really get out of chewing chicken bones besides certain death, if I was a dog anyways?!

So, let's begin with the blood soup. The soup is served boiling hot in a special bowl that acts as an oven. There are various vegetables in it, depending on season, and some pork. There are also chunks of coagulated blood. Now, I'm not brave enough to dig right into the coagulated blood because of a bad experience in Thailand, but I've tasted it already. The soup broth is actually very delicious. Some of the blood melts into the broth with the water and other seasonings. It's a spicy smooth taste. I highly recommend it to everyone. Plus you'll get a healthy serving of iron with it! ;-)

Bundeggi

Second, is Korea's most famous bug dish, bundeggi (shown left). It's actually a silkworm larva. They are in some sort of liquid. I don't know if it's a little bit of preserves and water to keep them from quickly going bad or what. But what I do know is that the smell is rancid. The streets of downtown are rank with the smell because there are one or two stands that sell these. They are also complementary when you go to a soju shack. I've personally tried bundeggi twice. The first time I was "slightly" inebriated at an early time of 7:30am (still hadn't been home). After the initial taste I thought it was a bland, wet cardboard taste. It wasn't delicious but wasn't horrible either. The second time I tasted it was at a soju room before any drinks were consumed. So, I was the picture of perfect sobriety. I slowly lowered the soft-bodied life form into my mouth and chewed. After a few gags I managed to get it down the pipe. Then I grabbed the nearest soju bottle to try to burn away the nastiest taste ever! It was like a rancid vomit chunk. I can't even describe the taste without gagging! However, some people, mostly Koreans, seem to enjoy this delicacy so if you're into weird food I suggest you try it.

The third interesting food I've had here is pig spine soup. I didn't realize what it was until yesterday and I had been eating it for eight months. But, it's basically just a soup with ham on the bone in it. The bone just happens to be a spine. It's a highly recommendable soup especially if you like ham. I, however, don't like ham very much so I prefer the blood soup.

Seafood stand

The next one was a surprise attack on my taste buds with the blood noodle roll. I thought it was some sort of sausage with those clear noodles in it. One of my Korean friends told me he loved them and for me to try it. So, being me I happily grabbed it and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. Man, does it suck to be trusting or what?! It was like a punch in the face! It was Thailand all over again! The coagulated blood not watered down by spices or soup broth assaulted my taste buds. Even the texture of the blood caused my stomach to revolt! I actually had to spit it out in the middle of the restaurant for fear of loosing my stomach! I then burned the taste out of my mouth with more soju! I don't recommend this food to anyone unless you are of the night breed and are used to feasting on blood!

The last of my questionable food experiences are the seafoods with the heads still on. All the fish are cooked with their heads and scales still on! Even the shrimp aren't undressed! They look like they could get up and walk right off your plate. I guess I'm not a fan of eating an animal that still looks like an animal. It's like cooking a chicken with the feathers still on! So, I don't actually eat any of these because I don't like seafood. However, I have eaten the dried anchovies that they serve at the local hof's. But I do tear off their heads before dipping them in the red chili sauce. They're actually quite tasty. They kind of taste like salmon jerky, which I learned to like because of my Scandinavian heritage.

Seaweed, anchovies, and cheese.

Some other various other foods have included squid/octopus beaks, octopus jerky, deep fried cuddle fish, octopus pancake and soup, and some various other versions of octopus. I have also had so many versions of seaweed. It's everywhere! Kimbap, soup, bibimbap, rice, and just plain seaweed with soy sauce dippings.

I'm sure that I've consumed a lot more "disgusting" things, according to our standards, but I just didn't know it. However, most of them aren't bad at all and I think that we should try it before condemning it. Before I leave Korea there are two more things that I really want to try, which are dog and a live octopus! It's really nice to try some of these new things that are just an every day dish to people over here. It's like a new adventure in every bite!

Friend, Lover, Boyfriend?

I've decided that growing up in a small town is not only disadventagous in the educational department but also in the love education department.

With such a small population you have the advantage and disadvantage of knowing everyone. The good thing is that you grew up with them your whole life so you know everything about them and the bad thing is that you know everything about them. But leaving that fact aside, you are still inclined to date them. Now let's define the term dating, according to my small town upbringing. It's the point when the boys asks, "Will you go out with me?" and the girl says,"Ok." Or something along those lines. It's very straightforward and high school.

So, we grow up knowing everything about these boys; the good, the bad, and the ugly. We "go out" with them for a while and then break up. We still see each other all the time because we all share the same friends but do our best to avoid them. Later, one of our friends starts dating them and we start dating our other friend's boyfriend. (There is a lot of recycling.) In this delicately woven web of dating each others boyfriends, with the precise amount of mourning time inbetween because we don't want to piss off our friends, we don't actually "date".

We never really do the whole dance of meeting someone new, testing them out with a few casual dates before we get exclusive. This is what is supposed to happen in high school and college. But stupid me, I grow up in a small town and have a boyfriend for all of my college days. Now I'm a clueless 25 year old woman! I have finally resorted to calling my mother and asking her if I actually have a boyfriend or if I'm just a friend. How sad is that?

Ok, I'm not going to attribute all of my confusion to growing up sheltered but also to a cultural difference. Living in South Korea is a little different than home. I've been slowly aquire information on relationships in Korea because it's drastically different. They use the word love frivolously and "love" to throw it out there. They also use the term girlfriend loosely. Many of the Korean men have "girlfriends", many of them in fact! Whereas back home, girlfriend tends to signify exclusivity. So, in Korea a girlfriend is defined, according to my Korean friends, as someone you've had sex with (not including one nights after the club), a girl you've gone out with at least 3 times, or someone you've declared your love for. FYI this is only true for the true Korean population. The problem comes with the westernized Koreans.

The westernized Koreans brings a whole new issue to the table. They vary somewhere between American and Korean. So, how do you know if you are just a casual fling or dating that someone? More to the fact, how do you know if they are actually westernized or not? Are you just supposed to have all of the standards checked off before you're 75% sure that you're his girlfriend? These are the questions I have to ask myself in every new relationship over here.

Ok, so you finally figure out that you're his girlfriend after the relationship defining talk. So, how do you know he's serious. Most Koreans over here don't get serious about foreign women because their families want a nice Korean girl for their perfect son! So even if you establish the fact that your his girlfriend, do you know that it's going to go anywhere? I have a friend over here who had a Korean boyfriend for 6 months and was introduced to the family and talking serious business like marriage and children. Not too long after he tells her that he doesn't want her anymore and that he likes her but he really wants a Korean wife.

You don't really notice it at first, but there is a lot of racism towards foreigners in Korea. We get it most from older Koreans. But, I forgive them because that's the way they were raised, just like our grandparents. But, I expected more from the younger generation.

So, back to the point. You have your boyfriend and now you have to wonder if he's serious about you or not, if he's serious but will give in to his parents wishes, or if your just something he can brag about to his friends. Do the questions ever end?

Now, you're to the breaking point in wondering. Do you just say, "What the hell, que sera sera!" and just take it lightly and lets the chips fall where they may? Do you flat out ask him these questions, granted that he speaks enough English for this discussion, and scare him away? Or do you worry yourself sick with these questions leading you to read into everything and causing further misunderstandings? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm............................

So, after all of these questions and debates taking place in my inner mind, I choose "What the hell, que sera sera!" What am I going to accomplish worring myself sick or by trying to discuss this with someone who doesn't speak English? So, we'll see how things work out!! Stay tuned!!

Unrestful 6 Months

As I hit my 6 month marker here in Korea I start to feel the tinyest bit of uneasiness. The reason stemming from the tension between North and South Korea.

I was here when the South Korean military ship was sunk off the coast between North and South Korea in disputed waters. It was recently discovered that it was the fault of North Korean and not due to the fact that the ship was not well maintained. So, South Korea cut off all trading ties with North Korea and the tension is building up. Word on the street is that China is backing North Korea in this fight while the US will step in and help South Korea.

What makes me nervous is the unpredictability of North Korea. It's like you never want to get into a fight with a crazy man because you never know what they might do. You might be bigger, better, and smarter but they will fight with no self preservation making them all the more dangerous. That's what North Korea reminds me of.

So in this time of tension I've been getting e-mails just to be prepared for the worst. They say most likely that nothing will happen but we need to be ready just in case. So now I have to make the effort to register with the US Embassy in South Korea so that they know where I am and can get me out if need be. I also was sent the evacuation place where we are supposed to go. But the thing is that it's realatively far away. I would have to travel a good 2-3 hours to get to the evacuation place in Daegu! The thing is that it would only take about 5 hours for people coming from the boarder all the way to Gwangju. Would that be enough time to evacuate especially factoring the delay with the relay of the messages?

Well, whatever. I'm not really worried at all and neither is anyone else. It's just nice to know that if something does happen I'll be prepared.