Some Updates

By this time, I have tried a wide variety of Korean food.  The strangest dish I have tried has been dog meat soup.  Since going to China, I have always wanted to try dog meat.  I think it's funny that common dishes, or relatively common dishes, in one culture are completely odd or disgusting in a different culture.  I think dog meat is one of those dishes that many North Americans would find revolting.  Dog meat soup is most often eaten in the summer.  My co-teacher said there is one holiday where families will line up outside of restaurants just to eat dog meat soup.  The soup was great and a little spicy.  The dog meat was incredibly tender and similar in taste to dark chicken meat.  However, I will say that my digestive system didn't react too kindly to it the following day...

My school's cafeteria serves different items for lunch and dinner almost every day. Some of the other teachers have complemented the fact that I'll try any food at least once.  In fact, I have liked the majority of dishes that I've had in Korea.   

It's funny, there have been several times that fellow male teachers have told me that whatever I happen to be eating at the time will "help my stamina".  Of course, what they mean is that it will "help my stamina in bed".  From how often that phrase has been told to me, I feel like every dish in Korea would help my stamina!

Speaking of food, Koreans very casually comment on each other's weight, and I am definitely not immune from that kind of talk.  I've had many people tell me that I should work out.  I definitely don't take it to heart as I'm sure some others from English-speaking countries would.  Although I will say that I have been more conscious of my figure since I've been here.  Koreans are incredibly lean for the most part.  Even a lot of women who have had children maintain a slim figure.  There are obviously a lot of factors for this.  Their incredibly healthy diet is one factor, as I mentioned previously.  Another is the fact that maintaining health is incredibly important to Koreans.  I've seen people of all ages hiking, riding bikes, or playing sports.  That being said, it's also an effective way of marketing products here similar to how organic products are marketed in the United States.  If you market a product as health food, well, that's all the more reason to buy it!

While Koreans maintain their health through diet and exercise, there is also something to say with how the Koreans view illness.  Unless Koreans are deathly ill, they will come to work or school.  One of my co-teachers had mumps last week, so she stayed home for a few days.  However, teachers could have fevers, flus, etc. and they would still come to work as long as they can function at some level.  Many of my students have been sick but still come to class.  Again, if you can function, then you should come to class or work.  It's just part of their incredible work ethic.  When we stay home from work or school in the States, we view it as not only taking care of yourself, but also as a courtesy to your co-workers or classmates so you won't get them sick.  Two very different views.

Although I mentioned earlier that Koreans have a big focus on health, I think my students clearly lack good health because they don't get a lot of sleep and are often sick.  I feel sorry for my students because many of them are at school 15 hours a day.  All students arrive at school around 7:30 a.m. and many do not leave until 11:00 p.m.  Not only that, but many of them stay up until 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. each night studying.  Clearly, education is paramount in Korean society.  I think it has a lot to do with Confucianism in that it is very important to honor your ancestors, and one very big way to do that is to take education very seriously so that you have the best opportunities available to you.    

Two weeks ago my head co-teacher and another teacher (the one they call "Baby") took me to Independence Shrine.  Independence Shrine is a complex of seven or eight different buildings chronicling the Japanese occupation of Korea.  The buildings chronicled the history of the Japanese occupation with each building having one main focus.  For example, one building focused on the underground groups who fought the Japanese with terrorist-like tactics (bombings and assassinations).  We spent five hours walking through the different buildings, and even skimmed over some parts.  There was a lot of information!

For the most part, my students have been great.  They all say "Hello" or "Hi" to me in the hallways, and they never cease to make me laugh.  After lunch one day, one student asked me, "Did you like lunch today?" to which I replied, "Yes, it was good!".  The student then said with a sense of incredulation, "Really?  I think the menu is shit!"  At first I had to register what she said.  I was thinking, "Could she have meant to say something else, or did she mispronounce something."  But after a minute I just started laughing my ass off.  On one of my first days here, a group of girls were behind me as I walked to class singing "You Are So Beautiful".  Also, one time in class I asked a student, "What do you think?" and the student replied, "I don't think."  During my first couple of weeks, both girls and boys told me, "So handsome!" In Korea, it's not considered as a homosexual comeon to comment on the looks of someone of the same sex like it is in the United States.  In fact, not only are girls very touchy feely with each other, but boys as well.  Boys will lean on each others shoulders, rub each others hands, etc.  They call this "skinship"...I guess kind of like showing their fondness for each other by touching.  It's a little surprising at first, but I think it's a great element to friendships that American boys and men don't have for the most part.  Many of my friends back home are very touchy feely, but not to the extent they are here. Korean girls will also hold each others hands while walking, but that wouldn't happen in the States unless they are prepared for accusations of lesbianism.

Last weekend I went to a baseball game with about 20 different teachers in my program.  Quite the same experience as going to a baseball game in the United States, except here you can bring in all of your own food and drinks.  Hell, you can order pizza and buy beer right outside of the stadium, practically.

On Saturday I went hiking with my one of my co-teachers to a beautiful mountain called Gyeryongsan just outside of Daejeon.  It wasn't too bad of a hike and we took it slow.  A total of five hours.  At one point, my co-teacher pointed to a pair of two gigantic rocks jutting upwards.  He said, "There is a woman who lives between those two rocks...she has psychological problems."  I inquired further..."sometimes she sells mak gul li (a Korean rice liquor) to hikers..."

After hiking we went to a public bathhouse which marks my first experience in one.  I haven't been "culturally shocked" by too much since I have been here, but I must say that I certainly was at the public bathhouse...it was surreal!  More than a hundred Korean men lounging in various showers, jacuzzis, saunas, and baths as naked as they came into this world.  Even the masseuses giving massages were naked.  Disappointingly, the barber giving haircuts was not also naked.  They even had a green tea jacuzzi!  I jokingly asked my co-teacher if I could drink from the jacuzzi but I don't think he got the joke.  After the public bathhouse, my co-teacher took me to his family's apartment and his wife prepared a delicious dinner for us.  Korean pancakes (kind of similar to Western omelets), a beef and seaweed soup with tons of sides (including, of course, KIMCHI!!!).  After a couple hours of rest, we met up with my co-teachers "Mountain Club" to take a bus to the south.  Our destination: Jirisan...the tallest mountain in South Korea.

The entire time we were on the bus I was thinking "What am I getting myself into?" and "This shit is crazy!"  We arrived at 2:30 a.m. and we started the hike at 3:00 a.m.  Now, we were doing a 10 hour hike, but you still might ask what possesses anyone to START a hike at 3:00 a.m.  Well, the trail that our genius guide chose for us was a forbidden trail.  A trail that was only for park rangers apparently.  Apparently, the guide told us not to get seen by park rangers because it could mean the equivalent of a $100 fine...great.  Anyway, we were wore headlamps until sunrise and kept going, and going, and going.  Taking pictures here.  Resting a little here.  It was really difficult in some places, but I knew I couldn't give up (hahaha, so cheesy!).  In some places, we just had to straight up climb over 10-15 feet of rocks.  What made it more difficult is that I was wearing tennis shoes since I don't own a pair of hiking boots...not making that mistake again.  I was slipping everywhere.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to the peak because we ran out of time and we had to take a shortcut back (the "shortcut" being another hour and a half of hiking).  With the rest of the stragglers we eventually took a pickup truck that took us to a bus, that dropped us off to take another bus, that dropped us off at our long distance bus.  We all had dinner together on many stools and tables with mak gul li (the Korean rice liquor I mentioned earlier...it's kind of a milky, semi-carbonated rice liquor...I LOVE IT!).  What an exhausting weekend!