Do You Funny Korea?

Hi! So the holiday season is approaching...can you believe it? I'm in shock that I am 2 short weeks away from my 4th full month of living here, and 2 1/2 weeks away from my first ever Christmas away from home. Unreal.

Last week I went to dance as usual. I really really like the studio and its so easy to get to on the subway. I'm excited to have a place where I can go to classes consistently!

Sara's mom came into town last Friday. She was incredibly generous and took us (me, Rebecca, Dave, and of course Sara) out to dinner and also reserved a suite for us to stay in at the New Seoul (Best Western) hotel. She had a smaller room for herself, and left the suite to us. Being out to dinner with her was so fun. We got to teach her the Korean way to drink, eat galbi, and use chopsticks! She wasn't too impressed by kimchi, but we assured her it grows on you. The location of the hotel was great because it was in the heart of Seoul so it was perfect for sightseeing, but was also a cheap taxi ride away from our favorite places to go out near Hongdae - and located on a subway line. Perfect. Mom and Dad: when/if you come visit I definitely recommend staying there for a night or two! We did our best to keep her jet lagged mother up until after midnight in order to try to get her on schedule, and then we went out for the night.

Christmas lights up near the hotel

Our Korean dinner

Saturday I went to Myeongdong with Rebecca, Mieke, and Q to do a little Christmas shopping. After that we went near the river that runs through the middle of Seoul to cheer our friend John on in the 10K he was running that day. It was freezing out, but he definitely appreciated our support. Rebecca and I went back to my place to take a nap and grab some dinner before heading back out in Seoul for the night to meet up with everyone again.

Me, Rebecca, Mieke, and Q in Myeongdong!

Anna and me out in Hongdae

We were sort of tired from being out late the night before, but since it was around 1am when the tiredness hit us, we really had no choice but to stay out. There was, of course, the option to take a 40,000 won cab ride home, but that wasn't too appealing, so we did the next best thing. No, we didn't sleep in the subway (or in the Burger King). We went to a DVD bang! DVD bangs are these rooms (remember bang - or 방 - means 'room') where you can just sit and watch movies. You have to pay per person - maybe around 5-7,000 won - but it sure beats shelling out tons of money for a cab! We sat/slept in there for 4 hours while we watched Wall-E and one of the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I wish I had remembered to take a picture, but I'm sure there will be more times so I will make sure to have some pics next time. When the subway finally opened Rebecca and I came back to my place.

We slept pretty late, but once we woke up we hopped on the subway one stop down to Uijeongbu Station. New Moon came out this weekend here finally and we had been dying to see it. I did my best to look for movie times online before we went, but of course I couldn't find them anywhere. So we decided to just wing it. Of course when we got there it was incredibly crowded, and the next available show time wasn't for about another hour and a half, but it worked out ok in the end. So, Korean movie theaters work a little bit differently than they do in the U.S. When you get there, you take a number (kind of like at the DMV). Once your number is called you can buy your tickets, and also reserve your seats. Check out this video by Simon and Martina to learn about movie theaters in Korea. They are a young married couple from Toronto who are teaching here in Korea. They spoke at our orientation about lesson plans and general cultural things that we should be aware of. They have a website and blog and YouTube channel - all with helpful and sometimes comical information about how to live and teach in Korea. The theater you see in their video is pretty much what every theater looks like from what I can tell. Overall, pretty normal.

The movie theater near my apartment is on the 14th and 15th floors of the Central Tower in Uijeongbu. Its basically just a bunch of restaurants, food courts, shops, and game rooms. Since Rebecca and I had to wait so long for our movie to start, we hit up the arcade. We played a motorcycle racing game, and a kill-the-zombies shooting game.

Bang! Bang!

We practically killed ourselves trying to play some Japanese version of Dance Dance Revolution. We couldn't choose the setting for some reason so instead of doing it on "Easy" which we would have preferred, we ended up on "Totally Impossible" and made complete fools of ourselves. Whatever. We get stared at wherever we go anyway, we might as well give them something fun to look at while all eyes are on us. Its getting pretty old to be stared at everywhere we go. Its like they're waiting for us to do tricks or something offensive or something. I don't understand it and I certainly don't appreciate it. There is no possible way I am the first non-asian they have ever seen. I always have the urge to yell "I'M SORRY I'M WHITE BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO STARE AT ME!" every time I walk onto the subway - but of course nobody would understand a word that was coming out of my mouth. It sort of reminds me of that scene in Mean Girls where Karen asks Cady why she's white. "You can't just ask people why they're white..". Makes me laugh every time.

While we waited for our movie to start we also got to talking about how we're surprised more people can't speak English given the infiltration of American culture in their country. Its so strange to think about from their point of view. Of course, all of our movies are in English, and that's pretty much how it is, with the exception of the occasional foreign film. But can you imagine if every box office in the United States had over half of the movies in a different language, and you had to read subtitles all the time? If half of the movies I saw were in Spanish, or French, I would certainly be more inclined to learn that language. And speaking of language...we also got to talking about the fact that literally everything we do can be stressful because we have the constant concern that we won't be understood or that we ourselves won't understand. Even going to the movies, as fun as it is, can be a bit more challenging because chances are that the person helping us can't speak English, and we need to somehow communicate what movie we need to see (although generally the movie titles don't change, but occasionally they do) and what time we want to see it, and where we want to sit. We got lucky this time, and the person who sold us our tickets spoke English well enough to tell us which theater we were in and where to go. Restaurants can be the same - especially if the menu doesn't have the English translation we sort of just have to guess and hope we're not getting raw cow liver...but we're figuring it out more every time.

So anyway...we saw New Moon. We even got awesome Korean "New Moon" (뉴문) posters! This picture is backwards since I took it with the camera on my computer but since most of you reading this can't read Korean anyway...you get the idea.

The movie was in English of course, but there were Korean subtitles to go with it. I'm afraid some of the comedy of it was lost in translation. There's a part where one of the girls is being incredibly sarcastic and bratty and Rebecca and I were cracking up - but we were the only ones laughing. Guess it didn't come through in the subtitles. The movie was...well those of you who have seen it, or seen Twilight know the quality of those movies. We didn't care though, we loved it. At least we can recognize that the acting is bad. My students on the other hand think it deserves an Oscar. They aren't used to those Michael Bay/James Cameron blockbusters that we are so accustomed to in the US - so their expectations for movies are a little bit lower. There really isn't a film industry anywhere in the world like Hollywood - so they think anything that comes from America is amazing. Its pretty obvious by watching any Korean movie or TV show that they just don't have the same quality of production. Here's a trailer for a movie that came out this summer here called 해운대 (Haeundae)...pronounced hay-oon-day. It was filmed on Haeundae Beach in Busan where I visited a few months ago. Its about a tsunami that hits Busan. Look for the Rainbow Bridge and the fireworks! I saw this movie after I had visited there, and it was so strange! But this movie is a recent Korean hit and everyone has seen it and loves it. The trailer alone will probably make you laugh (although believe it or not its supposed to be a really sad movie) - but hopefully you can gain enough insight from the trailer into the film industry here. No joke, its apparently the best movie that came out this year. Yikes. I admit, it was a little sad...but I would not say it was good.

Last week I did "celebrity interviews" with my kids. We reviewed the basic who, what, where, when, why, and how questions and then I showed them a mock interview that I did with Kanye West as an example. I handed out sheets with different prompts and told them to choose a partner and interview a celebrity of their choice, or they could make up their own celebrity (like themselves). In addition to the "who, what, where, etc." questions, they also had to ask 3 'fun' questions not using those words. Then they had to draw a picture of their celebrity or signature "gear" like Kanye's shutter shades. One of my students decided to interview me. I'm sure you can only imagine how that went. Since I needed to be walking around the room helping the other kids, I asked him to write down all of his questions and then I would stop back to answer them. Some of the questions made sense. But here are some word-for-word examples of what I found waiting for me when I went back to his desk...along with my responses. Of course I corrected his grammar as we went, but the questions are so much better in their original form.

Min Joon: "What your hopes?"
Me: "To have a good career."
Min Joon: "Where did you fall in first love?"
Me: "We met in high school through a friend."
Min Joon: "Do you funny Korea?"
Me: "Yes I think Korea is a lot of fun."
Min Joon: "Do you delicious Korea food?"
Me: "Yes I like Korean food but sometimes it is too spicy."
Min Joon: "Do you love me?"

It was all just so adorable I had to laugh. Of course I answered the "do you love me" question with a simple "yes". However, he changed my answer so that it said "Yes. I love Min Joon". Gaaahh! This was the same kid who a few days before had interrupted me while I was teaching class with "Amy! What's your name?". All the kids, including the other teacher in the room with me burst out laughing. Definitely up there at the top of the list of memorable quotes from my kids, along with "I am English very well".

Here's the picture he drew of me (backwards again from being taken on my computer). It totally resembles me, right?




In the spirit of the holidays I made a little video of me and Jin on Elf Yourself. I sent it to her, and she told me she almost cried watching it she was laughing so hard. Its a pretty common website among my friends and I during the holidays, but Sang Jin had never seen it before and she thought it was absolutely hilarious. Made one for the fam too, so you can watch Bob break it down here. You can also see us in the country version and the singing version.

Next week is finals for my students, which means no teaching and lots of time for skyping everyone! Also, I'd like to send some Christmas cards home to people so leave your addresses please and I'll send you some (don't judge me on the improper English, I'm just working with what I can get over here).

My student's "do you love me" question made me think of this song for your K-Pop video of the week. Maybe this is where he got it from? This song is called Abracadabra by the Brown Eyed Girls. The music video is incredibly racy for Korea, and I have to admit even by American standards its up there with some of Britney's. I've linked you to the version with English subtitles so you can understand what its actually saying. The video still doesn't really make sense with the song - but that's Korea for you.

Its getting really cold here. Luckily it doesn't snow much, I've only seen a few flurries. But I'm still not happy about it. 39 days til Thailand!

"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind."-- Seneca

I Wish You To Better

Hi!

So to be honest, I really don't have a whole lot to say (again). My friends and I haven't traveled the past few weeks. This is partly due to the fact that we spent all of our money on previous adventures, and also because we've been busy celebrating Halloween followed by a series of birthdays.


Once I finally went back to school after being sick I was bombarded by the students. One of the teachers jokingly told them that I moved back to America and some of the kids actually believed it. Sad. When they found out the real reason I was gone, they kept asking me if I was ok and "are you have a cold?". When I told them that yes I do in fact have a "cold" aka a swine flu scare, they would tell me "I wish you to better". I think they meant "I wish you would feel better" but its all the same right? It sounds cuter when they say it anyway.


Birthday weekend was quite extensive. Sara, Anna, and Rebecca had birthdays (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - respectively). Friday night we went out for dinner to celebrate Sara's birthday. Saturday night we got a room in the Grand Hilton Seoul to have a birthday party for everyone. The hotel was really nice and the staff spoke perfect English. The Grand Hilton is also a convention center, so there are several nice restaurants in the hotel as well as a spa. We didn't take advantage of that but we did take advantage of the overpriced room service. Naturally we ordered cheeseburgers and I'm telling you it worth every penny...uhm won? Especially because they were delivered by a beautiful man. Being the typical polite Korean accommodating worker that he was, he actually asked when we answered the door if he could come in to our room with the cart to bring us our food. What? Did he actually think we were going to say no or something? Um...no sexy Korean man at the door with a cart full of cheeseburgers I don't want you anywhere near my room.





We had birthday cake, of course, which I got for the girls at the ubiquitous Paris Baguette. Rebecca has a serious aversion to birthdays and getting older (even though she only turned 23), but she still marketed the weekend as a "Sweet Sixteen" party. So in order to make her happy, and not make her feel old, or rub it in her face that I am still a baby at 22, I put 16 on the cake. We're not old yet, but we'll be there soon, and after turning 21, birthdays are a little scary I suppose. Our next big milestone is 30 - which I don't even want to think about.

Anna, me, Rebecca, Sara, and Mika

Acting 16

We went out in Hongdae of course, not letting the bad weather rain (literally) on our big birthday parade. We were so excited to go out and not have to stay out all night waiting for the subway to open since our hotel was a short cab ride away from where we go out. Ironically, we still stayed out until 5am. But it sure was nice not to have to take the subway home for an hour at 6am.


Sunday a few of us went to a movie in the COEX mall. It was raining and we needed a place to nurse our hangovers. We tried to see Inglorious Bastards, but it was sold out for the afternoon show, so we went to the Michael Jackson movie - the only other movie playing in English that none of us had seen (the movies come out about a month after they do in the US here, some even later). The movies are shown in the original language just with Korean subtitles. Usually subtitles bother me because I end up reading them even if I can understand the movie perfectly without them, but Korean is still incredibly foreign to me even though I'm getting better at reading it, so they were easy to ignore. I wasn't super impressed by the movie, to be honest, but listening to Michael Jackson for 90 minutes wasn't too terrible. He was crazy for sure, but also undeniably genius at what he did.


So - what else is there to say? I always tell you all about what I'm doing, but I'm not sure if you get a feel for what its actually like here. Well, where to begin? The differences are endless. Pretty much everybody lives in apartments here. Even in my city (of 400,000) there are no houses. It makes the cities seem smaller than they actually are, because everybody is just sort of stacked on top of everybody else. The majority of apartments are high rises (mine is pretty small - only 6 stories). In Korea, instead of making one giant apartment building, companies make 10 or 15 or more that all look identical to each other and put them in little arrangements. Mine is not like this, but mine is an exception. Most of my friends live in those types of apartments. One of the teachers at my school told me that one of these little apartments can cost the equivalent of $300-400,000 in a larger city (like maybe Suwon with approximately 2 million people). In Seoul, it can be almost double that. But to rent one apparently you just deposit like $100,000 with the landlord, live there for a few years, and then when you move you get your deposit back. I tried to ask how they make their money, but all I could really get out of the conversation was that they invest the deposit to make enough money to pay the mortgage. Seems like a strange system to me because I'm used to paying actual rent, so...I'll look into this.


On the agenda for the next week: nothing. At least not until I get paid. No school Thursday (I'm working on convincing my school to allow me to skip school entirely) because its the big college entrance exam (sort of the equivalent of the SAT) on Thursday - so none of the students will be in school. Hopefully the English portion goes ok for the kids. Some of my students are still saying "nice to meet you" in the hallway to me, even though I've been here for close to 3 months. I tried explaining the difference between "nice to meet you" and "nice to see you" to them. Some of them got it, some of them seemed to get it but still say "nice to meet you", and the rest of them didn't have a clue what I was saying. I'm finally learning a few of their names, which is a big deal considering I have half of the students twice a week, and the other half only once a week, and they all have names like Yoon Kyeong, Seok Min, and Cham Yeup. Names to me sort of just sound like the rest of the language. Its not instantly obvious to me that what someone is saying is actually a name. What's a cham yeup? I'm learning, but its slow going.


Teaching overall is good. Its definitely helpful to have the co teachers in the room with me, because they can translate game rules, or even just basic things I say that the students don't understand. It really amazes me that after studying English since elementary school these kids don't have much of a response for when I ask simple questions like "what did you do/are you doing this weekend?". I took Spanish for the same amount of time these kids have been learning English and I can think of plenty of things to say. Hell, I took Italian for only one semester (well ok it was two semesters crammed into one) - but still, I can think of equally as many things to say in Italian as I can think of in Spanish or even English! I mean, how do they not get it by now? To me that shows that there is a serious flaw in the way English is taught here. The only class where I don't have a co teacher is with the taekwondo kids. In case I never explained this - I teach them because their coach feels its important for them to speak English because some of the students compete internationally and English is spoken pretty much everywhere they go. The only problem with teaching them (and with the rest of the kids really) is that there are no lesson plans or objectives or goals or anything to give me an idea of what I should be teaching them. And I don't speak Korean. So basically what this means is that I don't know what I'm doing, but even if I did know, I have no way of communicating it to my students because at any given point I am the only one in the room who has any freaking idea what I'm saying!


On another note, I have become acquainted with someone who I can only assume is the godfather of dance in Seoul. He was referred to me by several friends who I know that are in LA dancing but have connections in Seoul. He gave me the name of a studio that seems legit and apparently the staff can speak somewhat passable English. Which doesn't bother me too much because luckily you don't really need to speak the same language to understand dance. He seems pretty integrated in the hip hop scene here so I'm excited to finally get back in a dance studio. Its been since May since I actually danced (clubbing doesn't count for me!). I'm pumpppppped.


That's all for now. Here's the latest from G-Dragon, he's got a new song out. The video is...well you'll see. And I'm strongly opposed to most of his wardrobe choices, but the song is catchy! Also, I'm not sure what GaHo is doing in there at the end. GaHo is G-Dragon's dog, and its sad that I know that, but its sort of a famous dog. Like Tinkerbell to Paris Hilton. Gaho (가호) means like...blessing or grace in Korean. The song is called Breathe. Click here to listen!


"Things I can't say in words run through my body as I dance...Because we feel the power of speaking another language: the language of dance." -- Elenor Schick