Done, and done. I decided to give myself an early birthday present, so I picked a game against Doosan's rivals, the SK Wyverns. The Bears delivered, with a 15-2 win.
29 April 2009
Korealist 2009: 3
3: Watch a Bears baseball game in Jamsil
Done, and done. I decided to give myself an early birthday present, so I picked a game against Doosan's rivals, the SK Wyverns. The Bears delivered, with a 15-2 win.
Done, and done. I decided to give myself an early birthday present, so I picked a game against Doosan's rivals, the SK Wyverns. The Bears delivered, with a 15-2 win.
27 April 2009
Idiots on a bus
My trip gave me a chance to reflect on some of my very, very wrong conceptions of Western and Korean society. Let me just start out with a disclaimer that no matter where one is from nor how much one tries to prevent it, ethnocentrism will creep into one's mindset when living abroad. It's just too easy to compare cultures and to remember "how good it was" back home.
When I'm walking around, getting the one-arm shove, being stared at, or hearing people clear their noses (through their throats) at a dinner table, I often slip into the mindset that I come from such a courteous, conscientious culture. When that happens, the easy way to return to reality is to swallow a dose of "we think we're still in college," a.k.a. a group of 20-30 year-olds. Might I suggest a festival?
Large festivals will definitely draw expats. This is great for expats who want to experience a facet of their host country's culture, but also can leave distasteful memories when they fail to conduct themselves in a respectable manner. This reflects badly on Westerners, but Americans in particular; even if the individuals are Australian or Swedish, the automatic assumption to the untrained Korean ear is that any white person speaking English (or, sometimes, any foreign tongue) is American.
It was on the bus from Mokpo to Jindo. There was a group of three people; two were Australian, and one, I think, was British. Thank God I don't have to claim any of them! We have enough imbeciles giving us a bad rep.
I had decided to avoid them the moment I saw one of them boarding the bus with a half-empty soju bottle. Unfortunately for me, there were precious few empty seats when I boarded. They took 3 of the 5 back seats, leaving two empty. I didn't care if my avoiding them would offend them; the last thing I wanted was to be bathing in vomit. I wisely took a seat in a row cattycorner to them.
True to form, they proved to be overly loud, obnoxious, overbearing and ethnocentric. Not only did they lack any form of volume control, but they even sang on a bus. SANG. I cringed during the silence between my songs when I heard them.
I debated for awhile whether to confront them or not. I was sure they were bothering the rest of the bus, but I didn't really want to create a loud conflict that would add 'violent' and 'aggressive' to Koreans' list of adjectives describing Westerners. So I swallowed my bile and sat in silence, and now I rather regret that. I wish I had asked them, politely, to lower their voices, just to prove that we're not all a crowd of drunken rabble-rousers. I'm ashamed to admit that my courage failed me.
Why would they get drunk and get on a bus? Did they not see what problems that would pose? It was only noon, for crying out loud!
Cue in the waegugin factor. Often, foreigners can get away with things that Koreans can't get away with. Sometimes we get extra services. Sometimes, a cop won't prevent you from jaywalking, just because of a language barrier. Sometimes you can have seats to yourself because people don't want to sit next to a foreigner.
But the waegugin factor cuts both ways. Sometimes we get ripped off just because we're foreign. Sometimes cops hone in on you because you're an easy target. All too often, people will stare at you, just because your hair is different, your skin is different, and you have a big nose.
Perhaps, in their minds, those three on the bus justified their behaviour because Koreans are heavy drinkers and do occasionally cause a ruckus in public places. But they must have forgotten that in a foreign country, they do, in fact, represent Western society, English-speakers, English teachers, and like I mentioned, Americans, regardless of their country of origin. Because no matter how educated a person is, or how objective a person tries to remain, one's perception of a people group will be formed by one's exposure to persons of that group.
It's time for us expats to recognize that we aren't as important as we think we are, we're not as immune as we think we are, and that we are held to a higher standard of behaviour because we are representatives of Western society, and our actions will influence Korean perceptions.
When I'm walking around, getting the one-arm shove, being stared at, or hearing people clear their noses (through their throats) at a dinner table, I often slip into the mindset that I come from such a courteous, conscientious culture. When that happens, the easy way to return to reality is to swallow a dose of "we think we're still in college," a.k.a. a group of 20-30 year-olds. Might I suggest a festival?
Large festivals will definitely draw expats. This is great for expats who want to experience a facet of their host country's culture, but also can leave distasteful memories when they fail to conduct themselves in a respectable manner. This reflects badly on Westerners, but Americans in particular; even if the individuals are Australian or Swedish, the automatic assumption to the untrained Korean ear is that any white person speaking English (or, sometimes, any foreign tongue) is American.
It was on the bus from Mokpo to Jindo. There was a group of three people; two were Australian, and one, I think, was British. Thank God I don't have to claim any of them! We have enough imbeciles giving us a bad rep.
I had decided to avoid them the moment I saw one of them boarding the bus with a half-empty soju bottle. Unfortunately for me, there were precious few empty seats when I boarded. They took 3 of the 5 back seats, leaving two empty. I didn't care if my avoiding them would offend them; the last thing I wanted was to be bathing in vomit. I wisely took a seat in a row cattycorner to them.
True to form, they proved to be overly loud, obnoxious, overbearing and ethnocentric. Not only did they lack any form of volume control, but they even sang on a bus. SANG. I cringed during the silence between my songs when I heard them.
I debated for awhile whether to confront them or not. I was sure they were bothering the rest of the bus, but I didn't really want to create a loud conflict that would add 'violent' and 'aggressive' to Koreans' list of adjectives describing Westerners. So I swallowed my bile and sat in silence, and now I rather regret that. I wish I had asked them, politely, to lower their voices, just to prove that we're not all a crowd of drunken rabble-rousers. I'm ashamed to admit that my courage failed me.
Why would they get drunk and get on a bus? Did they not see what problems that would pose? It was only noon, for crying out loud!
Cue in the waegugin factor. Often, foreigners can get away with things that Koreans can't get away with. Sometimes we get extra services. Sometimes, a cop won't prevent you from jaywalking, just because of a language barrier. Sometimes you can have seats to yourself because people don't want to sit next to a foreigner.
But the waegugin factor cuts both ways. Sometimes we get ripped off just because we're foreign. Sometimes cops hone in on you because you're an easy target. All too often, people will stare at you, just because your hair is different, your skin is different, and you have a big nose.
Perhaps, in their minds, those three on the bus justified their behaviour because Koreans are heavy drinkers and do occasionally cause a ruckus in public places. But they must have forgotten that in a foreign country, they do, in fact, represent Western society, English-speakers, English teachers, and like I mentioned, Americans, regardless of their country of origin. Because no matter how educated a person is, or how objective a person tries to remain, one's perception of a people group will be formed by one's exposure to persons of that group.
It's time for us expats to recognize that we aren't as important as we think we are, we're not as immune as we think we are, and that we are held to a higher standard of behaviour because we are representatives of Western society, and our actions will influence Korean perceptions.
Korealist 2009: 7
7: See the parted waters in Jindo
I walked the ocean road in Jindo!
Each year, the ocean parts in Jindo, due to the moon's influence on ocean currents, etc. But the mythical version is so much more fun.
Centuries ago, Jindo was full of tigers. One day, Jindo's inhabitants decided to sail a raft across a narrow inlet to the island of Modo. Unfortunately, they left dear old Grandmother Bbong to be eaten alive by the tigers.
Grandmother prayed to the Dragon King to be reunited with her family. The Dragon King told her to cross the rainbow to Modo. When she went to the sea, there was an arced passageway leading to Modo. She began to cross, but in her haste and excitement, she was overcome. Her family, also discovering the passageway, rushed to her, and she died in their arms, happy to be reunited.
The nice thing about legends is that you never have to include reality: why didn't the island's inhabitants learn how to swim instead of living there for years? how could you leave Grandma behind? why would Grandma want to be reunited with the people who deserted her? But as I said, you never have to even consider these things; it's a legend.
20 April 2009
Korealist 2009: 14, 15 & 17
14: Master past tense
15: Learn future tense
Done! The grammatical structure isn't exactly unbearable; my main task now is to actually pick up the vocabulary necessary to carry on a conversation beyond "Have you eaten [fill in the meal]?" and "What did you eat?" and "What will you eat for [fill in the meal]?" that not-so-surprisingly comprises a great deal of Korean conversation.
17: 320 gigs; 115,000원. I find it frustrating that the won button on my computer doesn't work...
My favourite part by far is the fact that the little circles light up when I plug it in. Cooool
15: Learn future tense
Done! The grammatical structure isn't exactly unbearable; my main task now is to actually pick up the vocabulary necessary to carry on a conversation beyond "Have you eaten [fill in the meal]?" and "What did you eat?" and "What will you eat for [fill in the meal]?" that not-so-surprisingly comprises a great deal of Korean conversation.
17: 320 gigs; 115,000원. I find it frustrating that the won button on my computer doesn't work...
My favourite part by far is the fact that the little circles light up when I plug it in. Cooool18 April 2009
Big TVs
Yesterday, as I was walking home from school, I passed through AK Plaza. Usually, I take the stairs outside, but as my coworker was with me, I decided to go inside (she really likes to shop).
Periodically, the Plaza will have something akin to a sidewalk sale; vendors will take their sale items and display them at tables in the mall's hallways. Yesterday, one of the electronics vendors had a table set up in the main hall that runs from the east side to the west side of the building.
KyungHee was on my left, and so as we walked by I had a chance to see what was on the TVs. There were about 4 TVs on display, all with high-def screens. On two were some really pretty pictures. On the other two, though, was something different: apparently it was a movie.
The first glimpse I got was a between-the legs shot of a woman in a swimsuit as she lay tanning on a boat. First of all, might I point out what a curious film choice that is in a public setting where people of all ages may see it?
Second, it was interesting that four ajeossis were standing around these two TVs, their eyes unabashedly glued to the screens. I'm sure they were only admiring the picture quality, which obviously couldn't be admired on the other two TVs.
Noticing the men, I quickly pointed it out to KyungHee. We both started laughing. And curse my slowness! By the time I managed to pull my phone out of my pocket to take a picture, there were people in the way of perhaps the best shot of my life! At least one of the funniest shots of my life.
Being Korean, KyungHee did what I, as a representative of Western society, couldn't do: she pointed and started talking about them as loudly as she could in order to attract attention to these four 'gentlemen,' possibly hoping to shame them into tucking their..tails between their legs and going home to their wives?
Which brings me to wonder: could I actually be filmed in that type of a scene? Not necessarily a swimsuit shot, but the camera angle on that was a little risque. I don't think I can. The thought of three types of people watching a scene with me would deter me:
1) my mom. I can only imagine the response I would get from her.
2) my grandmothers. How perfectly horrifying!
3) old men and middle school boys. Need I say more?
Periodically, the Plaza will have something akin to a sidewalk sale; vendors will take their sale items and display them at tables in the mall's hallways. Yesterday, one of the electronics vendors had a table set up in the main hall that runs from the east side to the west side of the building.
KyungHee was on my left, and so as we walked by I had a chance to see what was on the TVs. There were about 4 TVs on display, all with high-def screens. On two were some really pretty pictures. On the other two, though, was something different: apparently it was a movie.
The first glimpse I got was a between-the legs shot of a woman in a swimsuit as she lay tanning on a boat. First of all, might I point out what a curious film choice that is in a public setting where people of all ages may see it?
Second, it was interesting that four ajeossis were standing around these two TVs, their eyes unabashedly glued to the screens. I'm sure they were only admiring the picture quality, which obviously couldn't be admired on the other two TVs.
Noticing the men, I quickly pointed it out to KyungHee. We both started laughing. And curse my slowness! By the time I managed to pull my phone out of my pocket to take a picture, there were people in the way of perhaps the best shot of my life! At least one of the funniest shots of my life.
Being Korean, KyungHee did what I, as a representative of Western society, couldn't do: she pointed and started talking about them as loudly as she could in order to attract attention to these four 'gentlemen,' possibly hoping to shame them into tucking their..tails between their legs and going home to their wives?
Which brings me to wonder: could I actually be filmed in that type of a scene? Not necessarily a swimsuit shot, but the camera angle on that was a little risque. I don't think I can. The thought of three types of people watching a scene with me would deter me:
1) my mom. I can only imagine the response I would get from her.
2) my grandmothers. How perfectly horrifying!
3) old men and middle school boys. Need I say more?
07 April 2009
Sick Daze part: the second
Lunch today was yummy. It was a good-banchan day. We had soondae stir-fry, gimchi jjigae, buckwheat mook, and strawberries for dessert. Days like these make me happy. Add to that the fact that my sixth hour class was cancelled and that I'd be free after lunch. Also add to that the fact that I had confiscated water balloons and a water gun, which I immediately employed outside after lunch.
The day was definitely improving.
About two years ago, before I came to Korea, my mom and I headed to Denver to visit family. When we were there, I ordered naengmyeon, cold noodles in hot pepper sauce. We had it delivered. My mom, my aunt, my grandmother and I ate dinner, then went for a walk.
It was dusk when we arrived home, the air was cool near the mountains, and we sat outside to enjoy the weather. Suddenly I started feeling weird. I was itchy. My throat felt like it was constricting. My face skin felt stretched.
I got scared, and so did everybody else. Even grandma, the woman who beat a huge snake senseless while in her sixties (I was a witness), was worried. It was mostly the whole air flow thing that was really an issue.
My aunt and grandmother don't know how to drive, and for some reason my mother couldn't drive (I think she was on medicine?). Anyhow, I was the only driver in the house, and I was the one who was sick. There was no allergy medicine in the house, but my aunt remembered that she had Benadryl cream.
Half a Benadryl tube and one lathered upper body later, I was feeling much better and everybody was relaxed. I had eaten naengmyeon before and was perfectly fine; we decided there was something wrong with the egg.
I forgot about that little incident until about a half-hour after lunch. I suddenly started coughing violently and wheezing. True, I'm getting over 'the cold that wouldn't die,' but this coughing was completely different. My throat felt constricted, and my palms itched. I went to the nurse's office, and she gave me some medicine. I think she gave me a pill for a throatache, and I don't question her capabilities in any way; the fault rests entirely on my inability to describe my symptoms. I returned to my desk. After about five more minutes, I glance in the mirror and saw my red, hived face. I grabbed an English teacher and we saw the nurse. She gave me an antihistamine.
When my friend came down from her class, she took me to the hospital. I have a food allergy. Apparently, each reaction gets progressively worse, and they are potentially fatal. It's difficult to determine to what exactly I'm allergic: they'd have to hospitalize me and feed me today's lunch menu ingredient-by-ingredient, and once we find out they'll pump me full of drugs, as I'll be ballooning out and wheezing.
I got my first IV drip. That was exciting. My friend managed to snap a few pictures before the nurse kicked her out.
I feel so much cooler now, just knowing that for over an hour, I was among the number that includes the select few who take stupid risks and are consequently hospitalized.
We are: the IVees.
(There are three syllables in the last word. You'll sound stupid of you mispronounce it. People will point and laugh.)
It took over an hour for the drip to finish. I slept for awhile, but then they moved a man into the bed next to me and he snored. He sounded like those WWII bombers when they dive and pull up. The lady on the left of me snored, too, but she wasn't that bad. And the lady in the bed cattycorner to me had the most annoying phone jingle, and she never managed to turn off the sound on her buttons.
While I was awake and doing nothing but answering text messages, I had time to contemplate life's deep questions. I was just told that my allergy could be fatal, yes, but my focus wasn't on mortality or life's meaning, I was actually more focused on the fluid entering my body. Once it enters my bloodstream, where does it go? It can't stay in there; my veins would burst. I'm assuming that it osmosizes through my vein's cell walls, but where does it go after that? Does it float lazily through my body, as on a river? Or does it speed to my stomach and digestive tract? Is that what made me have to use the washroom so badly, or was it the single cup of coffee I had this morning? Or is it a combination? Friends who are biologists or health-caregivers, (or people who for whatever strange reason 'just know') let me know!
I also had time to notice the little hole in the big toe of my right sock, which would have gone unnoticed had I not been in that particular situation. Which brings me to the age-old question: darn, or purchase? I will test the clothal area around the hole to determine which is the more feasible option.
As we were leaving, my friend and I talked about what could have caused my reaction. I eat all of the food on a regular basis, except for the buckwheat mook. I wonder if the Denver naengmyeon had buckwheat in it, and if so, why did I never experience a reaction during those many many times I've eaten naengmyeon in Korea? Did they not contain buckwheat? And then again, just last month I had buckwheat ddeok & dumpling soup, and I didn't have any adverse reactions. Is it a combination of buckwheat and red pepper paste? I don't really know what to do except avoid buckwheat, and hope that that is, in fact, the cause of my food allergy.
There's really nothing more to say. I have to keep an eye on my health, and if I experience a recurrance, I have to head straight to the emergency room. I guess I can tout about the service and the fee: for over an hour in the hospital, I spent a whopping 5,000won.
The weather's still really great, and I walked home from work. On the way I picked up some ice cream and Pringles. After checking the ingredients list and coming clean, I enjoyed. After all that coughing, the ice cream was especially soothing.
So I got out of school early, took a nap for a half-hour, and ate ice cream; assuming that I don't have another one of these occurrences, I'd say that I'm the winner!
PS: One more thing
5 April, 2009
I believe I've discovered Korea's best Mexican restaurant: Poncho's, in Itaewon. I'd say it's better than On the Border, but I've never been a big fan of OTB, even in the U.S. Also, Poncho's hires authentic employees (Filipino is close enough, right? I mean, it WAS a colony, so it's got the old-World Spanish flavour!). Strangely, it was with, and at the suggestion of, my aunt and cousin, who had never before stepped inside Itaewon. lol
The day was definitely improving.
* * *
About two years ago, before I came to Korea, my mom and I headed to Denver to visit family. When we were there, I ordered naengmyeon, cold noodles in hot pepper sauce. We had it delivered. My mom, my aunt, my grandmother and I ate dinner, then went for a walk.
It was dusk when we arrived home, the air was cool near the mountains, and we sat outside to enjoy the weather. Suddenly I started feeling weird. I was itchy. My throat felt like it was constricting. My face skin felt stretched.
I got scared, and so did everybody else. Even grandma, the woman who beat a huge snake senseless while in her sixties (I was a witness), was worried. It was mostly the whole air flow thing that was really an issue.
My aunt and grandmother don't know how to drive, and for some reason my mother couldn't drive (I think she was on medicine?). Anyhow, I was the only driver in the house, and I was the one who was sick. There was no allergy medicine in the house, but my aunt remembered that she had Benadryl cream.
Half a Benadryl tube and one lathered upper body later, I was feeling much better and everybody was relaxed. I had eaten naengmyeon before and was perfectly fine; we decided there was something wrong with the egg.
* * *
I forgot about that little incident until about a half-hour after lunch. I suddenly started coughing violently and wheezing. True, I'm getting over 'the cold that wouldn't die,' but this coughing was completely different. My throat felt constricted, and my palms itched. I went to the nurse's office, and she gave me some medicine. I think she gave me a pill for a throatache, and I don't question her capabilities in any way; the fault rests entirely on my inability to describe my symptoms. I returned to my desk. After about five more minutes, I glance in the mirror and saw my red, hived face. I grabbed an English teacher and we saw the nurse. She gave me an antihistamine.
When my friend came down from her class, she took me to the hospital. I have a food allergy. Apparently, each reaction gets progressively worse, and they are potentially fatal. It's difficult to determine to what exactly I'm allergic: they'd have to hospitalize me and feed me today's lunch menu ingredient-by-ingredient, and once we find out they'll pump me full of drugs, as I'll be ballooning out and wheezing.
I got my first IV drip. That was exciting. My friend managed to snap a few pictures before the nurse kicked her out.
I feel so much cooler now, just knowing that for over an hour, I was among the number that includes the select few who take stupid risks and are consequently hospitalized.We are: the IVees.
(There are three syllables in the last word. You'll sound stupid of you mispronounce it. People will point and laugh.)
It took over an hour for the drip to finish. I slept for awhile, but then they moved a man into the bed next to me and he snored. He sounded like those WWII bombers when they dive and pull up. The lady on the left of me snored, too, but she wasn't that bad. And the lady in the bed cattycorner to me had the most annoying phone jingle, and she never managed to turn off the sound on her buttons.
While I was awake and doing nothing but answering text messages, I had time to contemplate life's deep questions. I was just told that my allergy could be fatal, yes, but my focus wasn't on mortality or life's meaning, I was actually more focused on the fluid entering my body. Once it enters my bloodstream, where does it go? It can't stay in there; my veins would burst. I'm assuming that it osmosizes through my vein's cell walls, but where does it go after that? Does it float lazily through my body, as on a river? Or does it speed to my stomach and digestive tract? Is that what made me have to use the washroom so badly, or was it the single cup of coffee I had this morning? Or is it a combination? Friends who are biologists or health-caregivers, (or people who for whatever strange reason 'just know') let me know!
I also had time to notice the little hole in the big toe of my right sock, which would have gone unnoticed had I not been in that particular situation. Which brings me to the age-old question: darn, or purchase? I will test the clothal area around the hole to determine which is the more feasible option.
As we were leaving, my friend and I talked about what could have caused my reaction. I eat all of the food on a regular basis, except for the buckwheat mook. I wonder if the Denver naengmyeon had buckwheat in it, and if so, why did I never experience a reaction during those many many times I've eaten naengmyeon in Korea? Did they not contain buckwheat? And then again, just last month I had buckwheat ddeok & dumpling soup, and I didn't have any adverse reactions. Is it a combination of buckwheat and red pepper paste? I don't really know what to do except avoid buckwheat, and hope that that is, in fact, the cause of my food allergy.
There's really nothing more to say. I have to keep an eye on my health, and if I experience a recurrance, I have to head straight to the emergency room. I guess I can tout about the service and the fee: for over an hour in the hospital, I spent a whopping 5,000won.
The weather's still really great, and I walked home from work. On the way I picked up some ice cream and Pringles. After checking the ingredients list and coming clean, I enjoyed. After all that coughing, the ice cream was especially soothing.
So I got out of school early, took a nap for a half-hour, and ate ice cream; assuming that I don't have another one of these occurrences, I'd say that I'm the winner!
PS: One more thing
5 April, 2009
I believe I've discovered Korea's best Mexican restaurant: Poncho's, in Itaewon. I'd say it's better than On the Border, but I've never been a big fan of OTB, even in the U.S. Also, Poncho's hires authentic employees (Filipino is close enough, right? I mean, it WAS a colony, so it's got the old-World Spanish flavour!). Strangely, it was with, and at the suggestion of, my aunt and cousin, who had never before stepped inside Itaewon. lol
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