Christmas in July

So, Sam's family is finally here and we could not be happier to have them! It has been a whirlwind three days in which the Hosacks have managed to log over 50,000 steps according to Laurie's trusty pedometer, have been all over the city about 3 times, and have been thoroughly enjoying the company :)

The fam. was also nice enough to bring over two extra (bulging!) suitcases with stuff from home. It definitely felt like Christmas in July. Our parents hooked us up with a bunch of Weight Watchers treats, Crystal Light, macaroni and cheese, new shoes, and other various needed/craved items. Thanks to Mama Hughey for filling my "wish list" and then some! The best, though, was that Sam and Laurie worked together to suprise me with a 6 pack of actual-real-authentic Diet Coke! It had been 5 months since I tasted that glorious, chemically goodness (they have Coke Light here, which is just soooo not the same) and Sam asking for it/Laurie risking a carbonation explosion in her suitcase was just about the sweetest thing ever!

I neglected to take my camera anywhere the first 2 days, but today we went to the DMZ so as soon as I upload those pictures you should be getting a nice long post from Sam or myself on a most interesting day involving: our 4:30am wake-up time, a family portrait in North Korea, me breaking every rule they told us to strictly obey, a mini-riot at the City Hall subway station and a delicious galbi dinner. So, stay tuned!

The Death of a Skirt

... the end of an era. (Or, why I should not be allowed to use black dry erase markers ever again.)

Friday afternoon proved to be a tragic day in the life of my wardrobe. Now, this isn't the first time I have managed to get marker all over myself (the running office joke is that I am cursed with the black ones in particular), and normally it wouldn't warrant a blog posting. However, the spontaneous marker explosion (ok, I took the cap off and the tip fell out, so it wasn't quite that dramatic) that took place in first period resulted in this:

That's right... it was THAT skirt. The beautiful Anne Taylor skirt I have owned and worn for TWELVE years! I took my "Parkway School District Star 8th Grader" pictures in that skirt. I also took my High School Senior pictures in that skirt. It was the perfect summer weight and color. I literally shed a single rolling tear, knowing from previous experience that this stuff does not come out of clothing (although, from a bit of on-line research I've heard Murphy's Oil Soap works wonders, if you are ever faced with this delimma in a country that actually sells Murphy's Oil Soap).

However, when I got home and removed it I was faced with this, the ultimate skirt-death irony.

(no, you didn't read that wrong... it says "made in korea")

That's right, people, my skirt lived a long, full life, then came home to die. If that's not mildly hilarious, I don't know what is.

A Relaxing Sunday

Today Sam and I spent a very relaxing afternoon in the Namsangol Hanok Park. It's a really cool park where several very old homes have been relocated and restored. There are courtyard areas where different demonstrations and things take place and then a park area and the time capsule. We walked around for awhile checking out the different areas and then settled under a tree to read for a bit. Later we walked down to Myeongdong for some street food and people watching. Here are a few random shots from the day (more can be found on the picture page).

I'm pretty sure there was 1000 year old kimchi in those pots.

The time capsule. We're planning on going to the opening in 2394... anyone else in?

It was such a relaxing day and the Village is definitely someplace we'll return to in the future. One of the things I absolutely love about Seoul is that even in all of its "urban-ness" there are still areas of beauty and quiet. While we sat and read we could hear the sounds of the traditional drumming and music demonstration in the distance... it almost completely drowned out the sound of the traffic :)

Maybe it's the fact that summer has officially arrived, or that the Hosacks will be here in just a couple of weeks, more than likely it has a lot to do with finally making good on my promise to myself to be more disciplined in my prayer/study/praise time, but whatever the case, this is the happiest I have been in a long long time. This year is such a gift in so many ways and I am so thankful for it.

Lots of love from two English teachers who obviously need to get some sun :)

Namdaemun Market

The markets in Seoul are some of my favorite places in the city. You can go and wander for hours through side streets and alleys and never get tired of looking at all of the random piles of stuff for sale, the people, everything.

You do have to be able to brave a crowd, though...

And the smell of bundegi (roasted silkworm larvae... yummm)

Sorry there are not more pictures... blogger is being VERY persnickity lately... or it's just that my computer is awful I can't decide which.

Busy Days

I realized it has been awhile since I posted anything (thanks to Sam for picking up my slack!) so I thought I'd turn to some of our best material: our students.

On Monday one of our book activities was to have the students write a letter to a friend describing their day. It gave some insight into how busy some of our students really are, so I thought I'd share a couple with you. I also left all of the mistakes so that you could get a sense of where they are skill-wise. These are all from 4th or 5th grade boys and girls.

Dear Lucy,
Hi Lucy? I am Jamie. Maybe you are busy. I am busy, too. So, I am always tired. Monday, Wednesday, Friday I'm go to Avalon at 3:40-6:40 (You too :) and Tuesday, Thursday I have math classes, Leather gym (class name) and Brain class. It's so busy. I'm always sleep at 12:00 or 11:30 and gets up at at 6:00 or 6:45 so I'm always tired. I thinks it's student's life. Oh, it's very hard. but when we grow up maybe good. Bye bye!

Dear Jasmine,
Hello! I'm Amy. Now, I tell about my week. Okay. My week is always busy. I go to piano class and English class on Manday, Wendsday and Friday. On Tuesday I go to Jazz, science, and discuss class. I love all thing. I go to history and math on Thursday. It's so busy. Right? I want to go Jazz always. You like Jazz. This is my weekend. Goodbye! Write soon!

Hey my friend Jun. I don't know about you. So, you may teach me about you and we will dro friendly. I have only a little free time. I play computer games during free time and that's so fun! I have a lot of help in house and take out trash. I don't like!

Hi Jessica,
I love weekend becaus there sleep every day and in the week we go to school every day and go academy every day. I am very tired. Sometimes I think 'I want to die I hate school I hate academy.' I think weekend make for like me. I believe school is burn and I want (insert picture of school burning). Bye <3

I think one of the keys to the low crime rate here is that everyone is so exausted all the time! I am always happy on the weekends when I see kids out riding their bikes or playing in the park with their parents because it seems like they are getting a well deserved break. It's tough to argue with this system, though, because these kids are very bright. However, ask them to write a short story and it becomes pretty obvious where the educational system is lacking. That's a different story, though.

By the way...I'm a foreigner.

Alison might weigh in on this at a later date, but these are my thoughts.

So, we have been here almost four months now, kind of hard to believe we are one third of the way through our contracts.  I have been doing a lot of thinking about what it actually means to be a foreigner.  I don't always feel like a foreigner here.  During the week when I simply go to school and run in the park everything seems normal, even when I go to my regular restaurants and convenience stores.  But anywhere new is completely different.  I wonder what the native citizens of Korea think about when they see me.  It is a safe assumption that if you see a foreigner in Seoul, they are probably an english teacher, especially if they are around my age.  It might even be a stereotype, not necessarily negative though.  In attempting to figure out what they think when they see me I thought about my thoughts when I see a foreigner back in the states.  Here is what I came up with.

Living in Texas I would see or interact with hispanics everyday, especially working in restaurants and areas where there is construction.  I think it would be a safe assumption that these men and women are here seeking better opportunities than what they could find in the their native country, whether they crossed the border last week, or their grandparents did 50 years ago.  What they came for was something better than what they could get in their native land.  I have that in common with them.  Our skill sets are different, but our objective is the same.  With my low-demand and low pay sociology degree, finding something comparable to what I have here is very slim.  My benefits here include a competitive salary(when you figure that housing is paid for), full health insurance coverage for roughly $50/month, not to mention that a doctors visit will set me back a mere $7.00 and 3 days worth of prescriptions is usually less than $5.00, and I am actually putting money away in the back, not merely scraping by. While I am sending my money home to build a base savings for a marriage and family, hispanics that immigrate into the states are seeking money to send home to mexico to support their family there.   I never thought about why hispanics came to the states this much before, I always knew they were seeking better opportunities, but I feel like I can empathize with them slightly as well.  I have heard people say of hispanics "why don't they learn the language?"  to this my response would now be "I work a mere 30 hours every week and have a hard time trying to find time to learn the language.  I have learned the phrases that I should know to get by, and I am going to keep trying to learn more, but it is hard finding the time.  For many of the men and women who come into the states, they are learning more of the language than I have here, and they often work 2 or 3 jobs to stay afloat."

The state does not make it as easy for foreigners as other countries do.  Granted english is more widely spoken throughout the world.  But here in korea, all subways signs and traffic signs are in korean, english, and japanese, and sometimes chinese.  Where korea goes the extra step to help foreigners, the states do very little to nothing at all.  I will say that the in the state of texas there has been change, all state forms can found in spanish, and most companies have spanish options for calls to customer service.

When I am out in public, I do my best to not embarass my country by adhering to all the customs of this country.  I believe that most foreigners in the US have the same attitude, so I would encourage you to think about how welcoming your attitude is towards them.  I can tell when someone here is not quite sure why I am there, or think I am out of place, and it's just as easy to tell when someone just accepts you and respects you for being brave and living in a foreign country.  Let me know your thoughts on this.

same ole same ole

By now the days have alot less excitement than when the first month here.   We have settled into our job, every day is a little different, but it is the same challenges everyday.  I guess that is to be expected from most jobs though, so can't really complain about that.  We try to balance it with making sure that we get out and explore on the weekends, which really reminds us that we are halfway around the world. Like Alison said, we met up with some korean friends two weeks ago, and this past weekend we attended one of our korean co workers weddings.  It was different, held at a wedding hall, where they probably push out 5-6 weddings on a saturday.  Everything is on one floor in building in the middle of the city, so you just move across the hall from the ceremony to the banquet hall.  There is no true reception, just a meal.  Everyone goes through the buffet line of fantastic food and then the bride and groom go around and greet everyone. Its all over in just about two hours.

I also shaved off my beard this past week.  It was beginning to get warm and muggy here, and it was just getting to be a nuisance, so i shaved it off in phases and sculpted it into to nasty facial hair.