MERS and current events

(A 12 year-old's depiction of a virus)

So, you may have heard about the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Korea. I'd like to preface this by saying, it's not quite as bad as the media might be churning it out to be. From what I've learned, it's not airborne and you can only contract it from very close contact with someone who's infected (likely as a caretaker). Basically, they'd have to spit in my mouth for me to get it. Besides, Chuncheon hasn't been touched. It's mostly hit Seoul and a few cities South of Seoul - all of which I've been avoiding like the plague (probably a poor word choice).

The things I've found to be true are that a doctor who contracted it in the Middle East ignored the quarantine and went to a conference anyway where he could have potentially exposed thousands of people. Also, apparently some Ajumma in Busan decided she ain't got time for no quarantine and waltzed out of the hospital. That one I just heard in passing so it may or may not be true. Truthfully, it hasn't been handled well by the government and Korean stubbornness is not helping. (Stay home people!) Word is that government initially wanted to keep the whole thing under wraps but the Seoul Mayor released the names of Hospitals that had seen cases anyway. Thankfully, people are being told to wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough (something that is sadly a bit rare in some parts).

The cases that have led to deaths were mostly people with weak immunity or pre-existing conditions. It's still devastating that it's happening, I don't mean to downplay that. But it's not exactly spreading like wildfire.

So, Mom and Dad, I'm perfectly safe. Though we may have to worry about the Chos who live near one of the cities that had a case of it. (And I would recommend any research to be on the CDC website and not these web articles trying to turn Korea into the Zombie Apocalypse).

Now that it's being taken more seriously, a lot of schools and events have been shut down to lower the chance of exposure by limiting travel. I'd been looking forward to a 6K obstacle course run for months but (understandably) it's been cancelled much to my disappointment.

Even though MERS is a still a pretty serious thing, my kids find it funny. This is no surprise... everything is a joke to them.

Coincidentally, our current unit for the 6th graders is called "What's wrong?" and teaches how to talk to a doctor or tell someone you're feeling sick. For some reason, my 6th graders just cannot handle the word "Medicine" and it comes out as "MERS" every time. And anytime I ask for examples of illnesses, MERS if the first one. So, basically, I'm not making much headway for this lesson.

The younger kids have been playing a tag game in the hallway too where they shout "MERS" and try to cough on eachother. And I'm over here like...

"That's hilarious, guys!"

I just hope it doesn't cause too much trouble when I fly out for my brother's wedding. It would suck to spend my whole week in the States under quarantine.... 

Anyway, MERS aside. things have been good. 

A few weeks ago I got to visit my best friend's parents on the American base and it was awesome. My friend, Rebecca (affectionately called "Cho") and her parents have moved around a lot for her father's work. For the past several years her parents have been living in Korea but on the American base. So, with Cho back home in Utah and me here in Korea, we've kind of switched families. Cho spends the occasional holiday with my family and now I'll be visiting hers as much as I can. Me and Cho used to take road-trips to Vegas to visit them pretty regularly so it was nice to see some familiar faces from home. 

I don't know what took me so long to finally visit (I guess mostly I just hate long bus rides and we never could find the time between everyone's jobs), but I'm glad I finally did.

They took me out to Chili's for some good ol' American food and then showed me around the base. They even bought me some groceries from the American grocery store and offered to send more if I ever need any. 

I got this mild feeling of culture-shock being around so many Americans and hearing English being spoken everywhere. I even got cat-called in the Chilis on my way to the bathroom and was so shocked, I just stared at the guys like they were aliens. 

I was pretty wiped from the bus ride so they let me take a nap in their guest bedroom and then we just chilled in their apartment, caught up, and ate Mr. Cho's homemade galbi.  The Cho's were really concerned over me and kept giving me loads of parental advice, it made me feel pretty at-home.

At one point, Cho's grandma popped out of a room speaking rapid Korean and grabbed me in a hug. I had no idea she lived there. I guess she wasn't feeling well so she mostly stayed in her bedroom.

And their dog, Buffy, who's slightly racist towards white people actually warmed up to me. It was a shock when she actually jumped into my lap. Usually she just barks her head off.

I tried taking pictures for Cho to taunt her about Buffy loving me more. But she just looks really freaked. 

Cutest dog ever. 

It was a short visit, but I'll definitely be going again for a weekend sometime and Mrs. Cho even offered to cook up a Thanksgiving dinner for me and some missionaries in November. 

As for teaching, I've finally made some headway with my difficult after-school classes. I realized that some of my kids who were having the hardest time were the ones who just wanna color and play. So I decided to start incorporating some crafts into my lessons. Last week we learned about faces and body parts with the "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" song and then did a little puppet-making craft with paper cups and whatever supplies I found lying around. I made my the kids ask for their supplies in English as we went so we could incorporate some vocab.

Here are some of the first-graders with their creations:

Yes, that girl is dressed as Elsa. Korea will never get over Frozen.

Their teacher randomly showed up for class. That's never happened. I don't know if she was there to help or just making sure I'm not some psychopath. 

The kids were really into it and I even got some of them to help with clean-up which never happens. Little Yusong who's in 2nd grade stayed after her class as usual and swept the entire room for me afterwards. She's my little teacher's pet. I'm starting to suspect she just doesn't like her next class and is stalling having to go.

During crafts I played the songs we've been learning in class and was surprised to hear the kids all singing along while they worked. I think we've finally found our rhythm and the kids were so much more chill too. 

Lately, I've been really into torturing my kids with songs when they start to look too bored. Even though I hate singing and dancing, I've been making them stand up and sing and dance with me just to get them energized. It works for the most part even though some of them get really embarrassed.

One of my fourth graders who rides the bus with me has caught on that I can understand some Korean but none of the other kids believe him so I just go with it to troll him. Sometimes he'll talk to me in Korean and I'll respond with English or gestures. The other day he asked me a question in Korean but his sister jumped in with "She doesn't speak Korean, stupid!" and translated the question for me so when he tried to insist that I do speak Korean, I just played dumb. It's been really fun to watch the struggle. He keeps begging me to speak Korean so his friends can see, but I've been refusing. Finally in class the other day, he asked a question in Korean and I nodded and he shouted "I knew it!" but no one else was paying attention. So much fun. It's preferred that we don't speak any Korean in class so that the kids can get more comfortable speaking English with us, so that's part of the reason I avoid letting the kids know I'm studying Korean. Except my 1st graders... there's no way I could survive that class alone if I didn't know at least a tiny bit of Korean. 

My 6th graders are fun and I wish we got to play more games but Mr. Hwang's been working them pretty hard so we never get a chance. Last week we finally had a little left over time and were learning directions so I did a little drawing activity. I used their vocab to give directions on how to draw a snowman but didn't tell them what they were drawing until it was over. The finished products were pretty interesting:

The only one that actually turned out.

The kids all laughed when they saw their results and took turns showing me their mutant snowmen. It was a good ice-breaker after lots of homework and writing-heavy lessons. Some of the girls are getting really chummy with me and keep wanting to tell me all about their favorite TV shows and singers. 

It's funny how the kids try to avoid doing their work by luring me into random conversations. Like I'll go over to a girl and ask her  "are you finished with your worksheet?" and she'll be like "My cat just had 7 kittens!"

Or little Choyeon who has a hamster named "Pudding". Every day since I came here has included an update on Pudding. Pudding makes an appearance in every single assignment she does as well. Choyeon's weather wheel featured Pudding in every kind of weather, including a tornado. And then one day, I walked into the classroom and found that someone had snuck in while I was away...

I wonder who it was. 

Then there are times during the lesson where I'M the one who can't keep it together. Like when this came up on the CD-Rom and I had to pretend like nothing was wrong:

And another time a guy got on the bus with the word "Acne" printed on his shirt and I busted up laughing but no one on the bus spoke English so they all just thought I was crazy.... waygook problems.

Anyway, hopefully some of my new methods will continue to work out. I'll be starting my second year soon and it's so weird to look back at old e-mails to my family and realize it wasn't that long ago that I was struggling so much. Now everything I used to find weird about Korea seems so normal and teaching hardly stresses me out at all. It's crazy what a difference a year can make. I'm glad I'm doing one more year now that I've sort of come into my own. I'm feeling pretty good about it all. 

The Korean Experience - Part 2: Korean Life

There's a lot that I really love about Korean life and other things that I've kind of just come to terms with - like open sewers. Every once in a while, I'll be walking down the street and pass a nice-smelling flower shop or a restaurant and take a big whiff and then - BAM! Poo smell. But Korea's beautiful so I'm willing to forgive those random attacks on the senses.

One of the major cultural differences I've found in Korea is how kind people can be and how easily their kindness can be mistaken for rudeness by waygooks like me. Which isn't to say all Koreans are super nice, I've met some pretty mean Ajussis and Ajummas as well as some punk kids.

For one thing, in Korea, it's pretty common for people to grab you firmly by the arm and drag you around. Other teachers at my school do it to me all the time - sometimes in front of students -  and it seems really abrasive. Really, they're just trying to point you in the right direction of where to go. But, I have to fight myself not to resist every time because it seems aggressive or like they think I'm a child. And sometimes that grip kind of hurts.

I've also had to get used to people greeting me with "Did you eat?" For a long time, I thought they were offering me food. But it's just a way of inquiring about your health, I guess, rather than saying "how are you?". Eating regular meals can apparently say a lot about a person.

People often point out flaws too, like your weight or your complexion. It seems blunt but usually they want to give you advice to help with it or just express their concern for you. My supervisors at my schools often tell me "I worry about you", which I often respond with "I worry about me too" as a joke. (Jokes and sarcasm don't always translate, it's a habit I'm trying to break).  Sometimes, it seems like they must think something's wrong with me, but they're just being nice.

Despite the little pitfalls of culture-shock, I've found life here is really neat. I think if I were more picky about my food and creature-comforts I would have a hard time, but as it is, Korea really suits my needs. Here are some of the Pros and Cons I've found about living here:

PROS:

*The food - Most (traditional) Korean food is really healthy. Lots of vegetables, fish, and rice. And since side dishes are such a commodity here, it's hard to overdo it on a single food group. It's also almost always really delicious and full of flavor as well as cheap. I can get a whole meal for $3-4 most of the time. And street food here is the bomb. I know some people with the "All-American" palate have a hard time because most of the food has a distinct flavor, but I'm like a garbage disposal and will eat anything.

*Hiking and biking - Chuncheon has hiking and bike trails EVERYWHERE. I can find a trail in any direction I want right outside my apartment and ride for hours with beautiful scenery - here are some pictures. I live for my bike rides here:

The creepy amusement park in the woods. 

(The bike trails also have a lot of little spots with outdoor exercise equipment. For some reason I've never taken a picture of it, but it's pretty cool.)

*Free stuff - It's probably partly due to my being foreign, but, I get handed free stuff all the time. From candy to to food to a bag full of samples to free items from whatever store I'm visiting. Most shops are little Ma and Pa places so they do what they want. One time I went to buy a pillow case and the owner gave me these free adjustable grocery bags that fold into little strawberries. And whenever I go to my favorite coffee shop, they give me a baked sweet potato or a free pastry.

*Heated floors and toilet seats - I never knew how vital this was.

*Transportation - I've never even missed having a car. Except maybe when I'm on a bus packed with middle/high-schoolers. They suck. But it's super easy to find a bus or train anywhere you wanna go and taxi's are pretty cheap. I've always loved trains and Korea's trains are en pointe.

*Everything's adorable - Korea can make any item look cute. It could be a stapler and have big anime eyes that I never knew I needed but then it just keeps staring at me and I have to buy it....


*Delivery - Anything can be delivered. ANYTHING.  The roads are teaming with these little delivery scooters that really don't seem to operate by any kind of driving laws. Ordering delivery is super easy and fast too. And a lot of places will bring your food in dishes from the restaurant and then come to collect the dirty dishes once you're finished eating. Very eco-friendly. I've had to really restrain myself from getting delivery all the time. Even the Chinese restaurant next-door will bring my food over to my apartment when it's ready if I order in person.

McDonalds has the fanciest scooters.

Also, online shopping is really easy and you can usually get your items within a day or two. 

*Recycling - It's probably just because Korea's a small and densely-populated country, but they're pretty awesome about recycling. You can get special bags to separate your trash, recycling, and compost and then set them on the side of the road where someone will pick it up.

*Low crime rate - Korea's probably one of the safest countries in the world. Crime does happen but it's super rare. Civilians can't own guns so I think that contributes a little bit to it. I don't even feel a desperate need to lock up my bike most days (but I still do). One time I lost my phone and someone handed in to the police. When I went there the police had been charging it for me and not a single item or card was missing from the wallet case. People are crazy-nice. It's one of very few places I've been, where I felt okay walking around at night. I think the most the police have to do is pull people over or pick up the occasional drunkard.

*Talking to strangers - people here seem a lot more friendly than I'm used to. I get a lot of strangers wanting to chat or take pictures with me when I go out and about. It used to make me feel weird but lately I've embraced it and even started asking for my own picture. Here's the first I've gotten so far:

(really nice couple I met by the river)

CONS:

*The language barrier is a given

* Clothes - Korean fashion is pretty different from the U.S. so I have a hard time finding styles that suit me. And most Koreans are narrower in the hips and shoulders. This makes shopping REALLY difficult. In the States, I'm pretty average-sized. I think my size ranges from a 2-4. But, here, I'm slightly overweight. I've had shop-owners turn me away because they don't have my size or else they have to go to the back to find the biggest size they have. It's awkward and a little embarrassing. I may be developing a mild case of body dysmorphic disorder thanks to it. Luckily, my feet are fairly small but most foreigners I've talked to can't buy shoes here because their size is too big.

*Crowds. My personal space has been invaded in so many ways. Especially in Seoul. I'm not a fan.

*Vanity - This mostly applies to the younger generation. But they can be crazy vain. It's pretty common knowledge that Korea is the plastic surgery capital of the world. It's a common graduation gift for wealthier families to get their students plastic surgery. And I've seen a lot of younger Koreans who are OBSESSED with their looks. Even a few of my Elementary school students carry little mirrors around with them everywhere they go. (And mirrors are EVERYWHERE). It makes me a little self-conscious because I might not put quite as much work into my appearance and feel like other girls are judging me when I'm out and about (aside from being a weird foreigner). More often than not, I'll see girls walk out of a bathroom stall and spend a few minutes fussing over their hair and makeup and completely forego washing their hands. Every Tuesday, I pass a crosswalk where every single high-schooler has a mirror out and sits there checking themselves out while waiting for a cross signal. Every Tuesday it's the same exact thing, I'm amazed. I've also seen a girl on the bus who was all over her boyfriend while holding a giant mirror out and staring at herself. That was a weird one. This doesn't apply to everyone of that generation but it's a pretty good percentage. The "K-POP Idol" culture is definitely not helping.

*Bowing - Not really a con, but I'll never get over being awkward when I bow to people. It usually comes out as a quick bob or head-nod.

*Korean surprises - Nothing's EVER planned here, especially at schools. I never know what events are going to derail my whole lesson plan or schedule each day. On the plus side, I'm like SUPER flexible now. And patient.

*The roads - Korea's completely mountainous, which makes for some crazy narrow, curvy, and bumpy roads. I'm not one to get carsick, but every time I take a bus to another city, I wanna upchuck.

*No public trash receptacles -  Just finished a soda or had to pick up after your dog? Too bad! You're gonna carry that around all day. I kid. They exist, they're just really rare and hard to find. Especially in public places. I've gotten used to carrying a lot of trash around in my bag until I get home because of this.

*No toilet paper and Squatty-potties - I don't actually mind the squatters (holes in the floor that you have to squat to use). But sometimes when you're wearing a skirt or something, it can be a bit awkward. And sometimes people miss the hole. More often than not, public restrooms don't have toilet paper either. I've learned to carry my own around just in case.

*Showers - I'm used to it now, but when I first got here I did not love the showers. Like the one in my apartment, it's usually just a hose that's connected to your sink and can spray all over the bathroom, which is why hotels usually provide shower slippers. There's a drain in the middle of my bathroom floor and anything is free game for getting doused. No curtains or platform or anything. I've learned to stash anything I don't want getting wet but it's been an adventure trying not to get my towel wet when I take a shower. I should really just get a hook on the other side of the door.


Anyway, there are a lot of pros and cons but definitely more pros for me. I've got a really good thing going here. My job is fun for the most part and it's been a lot easier to get acclimated than I thought it would be. For one thing, Koreans are very accommodating and often willing to help if I can't figure something out.

The foreign community in Chuncheon isn't super big but most foreigners I've met are really cool and I've managed to build a nice little social circle here. I'm actually a lot more social in Korea than I ever was in the states and have a lot more friends including both foreigners (from various countries) and Koreans. My main posse live around Chuncheon and are always down for movies and traveling around the country. We come from really different backgrounds but we get along really well. I've even joined a book club and a writers workshop (I know, super nerdy) here in town that have gotten me back into literature. Some friends are hoping to start a sports league soon as well. I've been jonzzing some ultimate frisbee since we played at a BBQ for a local church:

I was born and raised Mormon and actually managed to find an LDS church right here in Chuncheon. The congregation is really tiny but they're like a little family and take really good care of each other. I think it's been a huge comfort for my parents knowing the members are watching out for me. The missionaries and a few English-speaking members help to translate for me as well and they're always feeding me. One family, the Kims, often give me rides to church  and invite me to their house for dinner from time to time.

This was a farewell party for a couple of the missionaries at the church.

A different church in Chuncheon was set-up just for foreigners living here and, although I don't attend the services, they've been providing me and other foreigners with free Korean lessons. That's actually where I met a lot of my friends. I just recently graduated from the beginner levels and I'm pretty proud of myself. I'm finally starting to get a grip on the language and it makes things so much easier and I feel much more independent with what little Korean I know.

Our little graduation ceremony after completion levels 1 and 2. 

(^This was my final essay. I would translate it, but it sounds like a 2nd grader wrote it. It's basically just introducing myself, my likes/dislikes, my hobbies, and a little bit about my travels. It's chicken-scratch, but I'm kind of proud of it.)


I also take yoga classes at the little blue castle right next to my apartment.

Pictured in the bottom right.

My teacher is from Russia and speaks just a tiny bit of English and very good Korean so I get a mix of English and Korean thrown at me in class, but with a Russian accent. It's been an interesting experience. There was a point where I kind of wanted to quit because I really suck at it and have no flexibility but, of course, I was too polite to quit and kept going so I wouldn't lose money. I'm liking it more now though and have seen a lot of improvement. I remember the first time I managed to touch my toes in a sitting position and my teacher, Ella, shouted "Oooh, you progress!" Yoga's been really good for my body-image too. At first I felt like a fat, clumsy idiot and thought everyone was judging me but soon realized we all had our own strengths and weaknesses and there really wasn't any competition. I'm much more comfortable with it now and don't care so much if my thighs jiggle a little bit. It's still a little embarrassing though when Ella shouts in English and everyone knows I'm the one messing up. But what can you do?

I've developed a nice camaraderie with the shop owners in my neighborhood. There's the owner of a chicken-fried-rice shop who likes to make me practice my Korean when I come in and tells me to stop eating his food or I'll get fat. And then Jino and his wife at Jino's Coffee, who I mentioned before like to give me free food and chat. Recently a girl about my age started working at the convenience store under my apartment and we've become sort of buddies through my broken Korean and her tiny bit of English. I go to that convenience store way too often. The shop keepers love asking me if I live alone and then act really sad when I tell them I do. I think they're all really worried that I'm a loner and have no friends. My friends, Veronica and Sarah came to visit a week ago and the girl at the convenience store was really surprised to see I had friends and wanted to know all about them the next day.

Korea is great for festivals and holidays. Most recently, we had Buddha's birthday and then the mime festival back-to-back so we would hit random little parades and shows as we walked around town. Here's a mime show we stumbled upon in the shopping district:

And a parade for Buddha's birthday as well as the lanterns that have decorated the entire city all month:

One of the guys at the end gave me and my friends a big thumbs up when he saw us gawking. 

Most of my free-time here is spent biking, hanging around the river, or wandering around Chuncheon, since I stumble on something new every time I go out. There's still a lot of boring downtime here but I feel like there's much more going on than where I was at before. And since most of my experiences each day are new and different, I don't think I'll really get bored of it here. I just love it.