Hey er'boday. So yeah it's been a while. And I've been SUPER busy. I sit here listening to Numa Numa and sniffing since I now have developed a cold. It's been a whirlwind of a week and a lot has gone through my head. My plans to travel to Jinju for the lantern festival today have been botched by my stupid and nagging cold. I have never had this much snot before. But wait.... that's not even the start of it.
So a few weeks ago (more like maybe 3 1/2) I had a cough. Phelmy and gross I went to the doctor with my host mom who decided to not let me pay for anything. Anyways, I take the 6 pills three times a day for 3 days that they give me and it doesn't really work that well. However, it worked in other ways....thanks antibiotics. But now I'm sick again. Stuffed like a chimney. I just finished my lowered dose of antibiotics that have done SQUAT and am still coughing up phelm. I found some Equate Sinus and Allergy stuff and it's given me some relief....but I might go get the shot to just stop it all together.
Before I was on my 2nd dose of medication for my new cough and head cold, another little surprise came around. When you say it in Korean it sounds like "salsa." Can anyone take a guess what it was? No, I did not have delicious Mexican food. No I did not stuff my face with a fatty burrito with salsa on it....No, my friends. It was 설사, seolsa....DIARRHEA. I had the craps for 2 friggin days. I thought it would stop, but then I remembered...."Wait....people DIE from having DIarrhea..." Finally I decided to tell my host mom before I started taking the other antibiotics. We were conveniently at the dinner table, just host mom, host sister and I chowin' down on some chicken and kimchi. I told my host mom and she looked up with a (O.o) look on her face and said "Why? 왜?" ....Host mom, if only I knew. So right away she whisked me away to the 약국 or pharmacy to get some antidiarrheals. (also, can i just let you all know I'm sitting here cracking up at this ridiculous story) We obtained the goods, and she made me take two pills right in the pharmacy. With some nasty ass drink that tasted like cough syrup. I almost choked on it as both my host mom and the pharmacist looked on. After gagging down the syrup and pills host mom rushed me out of the pharmacy and then we were driving somewhere. It wasn't back home.
Next thing I know my host mom pulls out her phone and types something in it and then shows me. The dictionary/translator on her phone says 본죽 : porridge; gruel; SLOPS. Trying to pronounce the words to me, I remembered that Koreans, when they get diarrhea all they eat is porridge. She was like "slops?" and I told her that was for animals....porridge would be the correct term. Or at least I hoped. We stopped at a little restaurant and went in. It was a porridge shop and quite charming. My host mom had me pick out which porridge I would be eating for the next 2 days. Of course, I pick the crab meat one. Classy salsa. She ends up getting a bunch of porridge for the whole family because apparently my host brother likes the stuff. And so begins my 2 day porridge diet. My host mom had to even pack me a lunch and I had to hide in my office and eat alone for fear of weird stares by students and co-workers alike. Nah, just kidding, they understand. People get diarrhea all the time. NOT.
Thank god, that porridge worked. Stuffed me right up. Stuffed me so much that I now have a friggin stuffy nose and head. ::sigh::
So this week teaching has been interesting. I really started questioning whether or not I'm doing a good job. I want to do the best that I can, but I am always not sure if I am. Some days were real struggles. It's hard when you are sick. But I found myself pulling energy from somewhere. I taught lessons on emotions and casual conversation. Peace out has been a success. I also roughly planned my winter break 2 week camp. It's dubbed "Around the World in 10 Days." We will see how it goes. Sometimes it is hard to connect with my host siblings too....they aren't as curious as I thought they would be. I'm just hoping I'm doing a good job with them too... I really need to get better though...I want to travel! On the agenda: October 3rd - Andong Mask Festival and Oct 7-8 Busan International Film Festival. :)
But first we have to go to 할머니's house (halmoni's/Grandma's house) because today (Oct 1) is her birthday! I made her a card and will give her some ginseng candies. My host mom and sister think halmoni will get a kick out of it. I hope she does. ^^
Until next time - may the salsa NOT be with you.
~Ashlee
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Who Run the World? - Girls.
Usually on Fridays right after my last class I am ambushed by my boys to arm-wrestle. Today was something a bit different though- right after my last class a girl nick-named "Mushroom" and her friends come up to me and we start chatting. One boy points to her and calls her a man. And I say no, no she's a girl she's a girl. Mushroom then explains to me that she wants to be a soldier. For those of you who don't know, Korea has a female sector of their military. It's pretty legitimate. Apparently she wants to be a soldier because her sister is one, which to me, still makes me ask the question "But why do you want to be one?" Then one of my boys goes "Yeah she strong so she a man." Oh really??? I then continue to go on about how women/girls are strong too. The boys are looking like they don't believe me, and then one of them goes "wait...teacher...." and motions for me to hold up my arm and flex.That's right. I had 10-15 middle schoolers poking my biceps and in awe. I then said pointing to myself "Woman, right?" And the boys nodded, now knowing that women can be physically strong too. Also, when I got home today I had the opportunity to connect with my host brother a bit over sports. He really likes soccer and what not. I asked him what he was going to do tomorrow (Saturday) and he said go to exercise academy. I was somewhat confused and said that I had no idea there was any type of exercise academy. Basically he will go somewhere to play soccer for about 3 hours. How cool right? Then I told him that since I was about 4 years old I have been playing softball. And I told him that I guess if I averaged out the time I spent playing softball all these years I would guess it would be around 3 hours every day of my life for about 18 years, right? His eyes got this big--> O____O . I then proceeded to show him pictures of DePauw's softball team aka real strong women. He was somewhat amazed and I think he thinks that DePauw's softball team is famous.....When he asked me the question "So, is your team famous in the United States?" I pretty much said..."Well....you could say that. We are very, very special." And he nodded in agreement. Hopefully we will bond over watching some Arsenal soccer games soon...
Can we say cultural ambassadorship at its finest? I think so.
Conclusion of the day: Who run da world? GIRLS.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Thursday, September 1, 2011
강애정((姜愛情)Kang AeJeong), Kool Aid Man, and Kickin’ It With the Fam
The other day at lunch I introduced Kool Aid Man to my host parents. My host mother all of a sudden said “OH YEAAAAH” and the way she said it completely triggered my memory of Kool Aid Man bustin through a wall and screaming “OHYEAAAAAHHHHHH” in that amusing voice. I started giggling to myself and began to introduce the lovely master of American sugary drinks who every kid bows down to. This somehow led to my host father showing me his favorite singer Kim KwangSeok….I’ll probably check out his stuff soon.
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| OH YEAHHHHHH |
Again sorry for not frequently updating the blog. Things have been super busy and eery night I sit down to write and I end up falling asleep or talking to people. Therefore this post will probably be a long one! So much has happened in the past week(s). Some highlights are:
*So as you all might know I have been placed in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. After coming back from Seoul all the Fulbrights were desperately trying to get ready for receiving information about their host families. I don’t think we received the information until two nights before we met them. So needless to say we were all nervous. The most nerve-racking thing for me was meeting my principal, vice-principal and co-teacher. All the Fulbrights started saying our “see you laters” early. I really miss my roomie! SHOUT OUT TO COCO! ^^
Anyways, D-Day aka Departure Day: emotional, exciting, nerve-racking- the true beginning of my year in Korea. During the ceremony when we step out of the Fulbright line and meet our vice-principal or principal and co-teacher I was greeted by my co-teacher (whom I love!) throwing a huge bouquet of flowers into my arms. It was precious.
After the ceremony there was a lot of waiting (and praying that my vice-principal’s car was big enough to hold all my dang luggage….) and then kind of an awkward car ride. It ended up not being that bad as I was whisked away from the gigantic one-building Sovietesque castle known as Jungwon. We then met up with my principal and department head for dinner at a local Gumi restaurant. I was nervous and excited to meet everyone. The comment that took the cake the most at this event was this: My co-teacher: “Now, please don’t take this the wrong way, but the principal says that he is very pleased since you have blonde hair… he thinks this will make the kids want to speak English more.” Me: “ummmmm oh…hahah thanks….?!” And then again when offered beer later in the dinner and then I politely refuse because I’m not really a beer person “Oh please don’t worry about sexual harassment. We don’t have that at our school.” I wasn’t even thinking about that….that seriously took me by surprise. Then I had to explain that I was not really into the taste of beer. I think they got it?
After dinner I was off to meet my host family. And to put it quite frankly, my host family is da bomb. You will see why later. I have two host siblings- one in elementary school and one in middle school- and my host parents are both teachers. Super sweet and unbelievably generous and invested in their children’s education. Let’s just say there is no TV in the house. That’s an indicator. J I hope I don’t disappoint my host family in any way. Especially with helping them learn English. So far I think we have a healthy balance going between Korean and English. I have much to learn! *Ashley Restaurant in Daegu – My host family is seriously so sweet. The first weekend we were together they took me to Daegu to go to a restaurant that shares my name- Ashley Restaurant. They serve all types of food there but is basically known for its Western cuisine. Also, my host mom always checks in with me to see if I really like her food, and am comfortable. I keep telling her that I am. I really am lucky to have such a great family.
*Taekwondo class at Jungwon- Sparring my Sabeomnim….bad AND good choice. So when we took our Taekwondo master out for drinks one night I decided it would be a smart and amusing choice to challenge him to a sparring match. Not just by myself…..but three of us on one. Two of my other friends were totally in- 3 girls on 1 taekwondo master….we could do it…..NOT. So hoping that we were going to get him drunk enough so he didn’t remember we shook on it. The next day was Taekwondo class. And who is the only one who shows up to sparring that day out of the original group who proposed such a preposterous idea? ME. My luck ran out with this one: right as I walked into class he smiled at me and totally remembered my challenge from the night before. He said “Ahh Ashlee, we spar to-day!” And me in a fit of fear told him “Sabeomnim, if Di-Hoa and Amy do NOT come I will NOT spar you!” And he proceeded to brush me off. And of course I was the only chump who showed up. So I think I am off the hook until I am done sparring my other partner and he starts getting his gear on and saying “Okay Ashlee! Time to spar!” I then continued to repeatedly tell him that Di-Hoa and Amy were not here therefore I could not take him one on one. So his suggestion: get two more girls who were NOT up to the challenge. One was pretty much forced into it. Needless to say, he totally handed me my behind and he was not even trying! I wish someone got that sparring match on film… I am glad that it happened though. Now we have a special, special bond. Especially after he could have easily roundhouse kicked my head in. Gotta love Sabeomnim. ^^
*Some new-found biddies! (I mean, no one could replace the true ones…just sayin) I legit have awesome co-workers. I am now the youngest employee in the school and some ladies in the office have decided to take me under their wings. It has been really great. Most of them are in their mid to late twenties and they are bunches of fun. I really look forward to bonding with them in the coming year. They even gave me a Korean name. We went to Outback Steakhouse for a co-worker’s birthday (which is WAY too expensive by the way….no I will not pay $35 for a mini steak….thank god for family style-eating culture…) and we were talking in both Korean and English and the subject of names came up. Then they decided on the spot to give me a Korean name- Kang AeJeong or 강애정((姜愛情). Let’s just say I was overwhelmingly honored. It took me forever to get a Kanji in Japan (my name = 亜朱利) And it basically took me a week and a half to get one here. So in return, I gave them all English names. ^^ I think they liked the exchange. J
*1st week of teaching- crazy and good. Some things include:
-Arm wrestling middle school boys….and beating them.
-Me: Hey kid, whaddya want to be? What is your future dream? Student: How do you spell “paelentologist?” Me: OH…um…..uh….wait a minute let me check my dictionary…::goes and gets mini pocket dictionary praying the stupid word is in it…no dice:: Me: ::sits there for a good minute trying to figure out the spelling and eventually telling the kid I will get back to him…well I guess since you can’t spell it, you can’t be that, now can ya kid?.....
- Rockstar status and an ego boost to boot! I have this boy who constantly makes it a point to come up to me and yell in my face YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL! It’s super sweet and hilarious at the same time.
-All I do is sweat…even more. So Korea has decided that it will carry its summer into September when, as my co-teach swears it is cool by this time. I will believe that when I see it. One day I had pit-stains to my boobs. No lie. Embarrassing? Yes. Lesson learned? Heck yes. Hoping it will help keep the Korean pounds off? HELL yes.
*Wanting to join a gym- if I don’t ill go insane –NEWSFLASH. Ashlee has joined a gym. Named ChicaGO Fitness. Go figure. My host dad made a funny joke the night I joined: “haha…oh well now you can go home every day.” Cute, huh? Joined a gym with the help of her co-teacher and the guy decided to take her muscle mass and body weight in order to join. Thanks dude, I lift on a normal basis even though by your standards I probs don’t look like I work out. He also told me that if I concentrated on dieting and exercising I would be even more glamorous….WOW! That’s great….James. Yeah he told me tonight his name was James. And the most exciting part about this gym? You change into a workout uniform…good for my host mom….bad for the gym! HEAVEN! Also, I am by far the sweatiest person there, but really I don’t think anyone is surprised by that. AM I RIGHT MOM AND DAD?! The yoga class I just took was super interesting….not at all like American yoga. It was hysterical and the ladies were sweet. Next time I am doing the spinning class afterwards!
*Wanting my Korean to get better – I have been trying to sit down and study but I feel like lesson planning has been taking the bulk of my time especially at work. Once I plan this semester I will have more time to work on Korean but for now I will just have to learn on the fly. I really really want to learn it. Especially since I can read all of it. It is amazing how frustrating things can get if you don’t know the language….reminds me of me about 2 years ago in Japan…
*Star Wars- spreadin’ American pop culture like it’s my job...OH WAIT! It IS my job!
*Worrying about whether or not I am trying too much or too hard with my host siblings
*Becoming more interested in painting my nails…all the time...thanks for that one Jenny Wilborn!
*Having the most epic day with my host sister, host mother, and host sister’s friend. Get this: host sister and her friend are 11. They like scary movies. We went to see a scary movie. I cowered like a baby. I will blog more about this later.
*Lesson planning is hard. Thank god I have resources…and family!
*Forgot most of my gifts at Jungwon- my school co-workers probably secretly think I’m an incompetent fool of an American….the gifts should be here this weekend…
*DePauw-sickness and longing – I just really miss DePauw. I love Korea and my experience here, but you will not have anything like college ever again, people. Live it up. I’m glad I did.
*Worried I’m not going to explore on my own! – I need to channel you Nikki Brueggeman!
*Worried about educating Koreans and whether or not I am really making a difference….
*Koreans eat and eat and eat some more. Seriously. Pretty much at about 11:00pm another smaller meal comes along… probably because the kids are studying half the night away.
*Native American dream catchers- a piece of American culture to carry with me wherever I go!
안녕히계세요!~
애슐리~
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