connected like everyone else. On Thursday my friend Sin Nae (Jessica) took me to the local LG Telecom and helped me get a cell phone. It is possible to get one without bringing a Korean person along, but it is extremely helpful if you have someone who can vouch for you and translate things like plan costs, contract length, etc. You usually get a better deal that way. I paid $10 (10,000 Won) for my new Anycall phone complete with 3 color change cases, a plastic outer case, headphones, and a charger. And it's a sweet phone. The ringtones have names like "A rendezvous with friends," "Morning coffee," and "love letter." And my screen saver changes from day to night complete with sunrise and sunset pictures at the appropriate times. It does cost me to make phone calls (18 won or about 2 cents per 10 seconds) but text messaging is cheap so I'll stick to that most of the time. And I won't make international calls unless it's an emergency of some kind. If you want my cell phone number, send me an email and I'll give it to you.
On being vege-tarian in Korea: I have officially become an omnivore again. This is for many reasons. It's not impossible to be a vegetarian in Korea. However, when you don't possess the vocabulary necessary to omit certain items from your order it becomes difficult. Also, they make almost everything with a fish product. Just about all soups have fish broth and almost all kimchi is made with shrimp paste. And soup and kimchi are served at every meal. The concept of vegetarianism isn't really known in Korea. Culturally it isn't understood. So people at school always gave me funny looks and were concerned that I wasn't eating when I brought my own food to school for lunch. Now, the funny looks I'm entirely accustomed to, but people were genuinely concerned since they don't understand why you would not eat fish or meat. I should also explain that a normal Korean meal has roughly 5 side dishes most of which are vegetables and then 1 soup (fish, vegetables, seaweed, bean sprouts, etc), rice, and probably 1 meat dish. So they are very used to eating large amounts of vegetables at every meal. I just felt that I was being slightly offensive, causing my friends extra worry, and missing out on the experience here.
Sports Day! This Saturday was Sports Day for my school. Sports Day is a really big deal here. The students have been missing classes for the last 2 weeks + in preparation for the event. Families and friends, grandparents, school board members, and local politicians were all invited. The day was full of performances by the kids of different dances, races, and fun activities. It's somewhat similar to Field Day, but on a grander scale. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I came and participated. After the day the staff all went out to a seafood restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, I overdid it on the raw fish in my new eating-meat ways and got sick. Really sick. But 4 of the teachers took care of me, gave me a Korean massage on my stomach, took me home for some sweet plum tea (said to cure stomach troubles) and drove me all the way home (45 min from where we were). So Sunday I stayed in bed all day nursing myself with soup, tea, and juice.
Learning Korean: It's tough. I'll start with that. I've learned to read and write Korean characters. I sometimes feel like a kindergartner, practicing my letters slowly and in large-print. And reading from kids books trying to deduce meaning from pictures and sounds. Korean is very different from English. Pro-nouns are seldom used and subjects are often assumed. There are no articles and the verb always goes at the end of the sentence. But I'm getting the basic shape of sentence construction. I've been meeting with a friend once a week and she teaches me some Korean phrases that I study for the week. I have a large stack of flashcards that I study on my long bus rides everyday. And the teachers at school are helping me learn as well. I get the feeling that most foreign teachers don't make the effort. Every time I say something in Korean, I'm met with "Wow!" and wide eyes from my friends and teachers. They are incredibly impressed that I know any Korean and care to learn it at all. I may take a class at the local University. And I'm meeting more Koreans who want to help me all the time. Last week I went out with 3 teachers from my school and they are more than happy to help me learn when I ask what things are. It'll come. I've set a goal for myself that I want to have a conversation in Korean by Christmas. I think I can do it...
The Sa-oo-na (사우나): Friday was Korean National Day! Everyone hung Korean flags and we got a day off from school. So I celebrated by indulging. Cindy and I went out for waffles again (anyone who wants to come to Jeju will be treated to these delicious waffles I assure you!) and then I headed to a local Sauna. (Sauna in Korean is Sa-oo-na...사우나). Saunas are a big part of Korean culture. They are everywhere and most people go to their neighborhood sauna on a pretty regular basis. Men, women, and children all take part in this custom (men and women separately). I was told of a nice one in Oedo (Way-do) which is nearby my apartment that overlooks the ocean. It is in a pretty big hotel and the entrance fee was 5,000 won ($5!!!!) There were 4 indoor pools, 2 hot and 2 cold. They were all sea water (salt water) and one of the hot pools was green tea water with a big jet in the middle. There was also a hot sauna room and a cooler sauna room. And two outdoor pools that I didn't get to. I decided to get a scrub and have the full experience. And it was an experience! An older Korean woman laid me on a padded table and dumped warm water over me, then scrubbed every ounce of dead skin off until I wanted to scream. She oiled up my skin and washed my hair and gave me a vigorous massage on my shoulders and neck. Then she told me to go take a shower, which I gladly did. The scrub cost 20,000 won and it was worth it. I took a little nap watching the ocean, and as the sun started to set over the water I bathed in the hot pools. It was heavenly. At home a scrub or massage would probably $40-50 easily and the Korean Spa I go to in Lynnwood is $35 just to get in! I'll definitely be taking advantage of this local custom regularly. Oh, and this spa was more expensive than most... usually they are only 3,000 won ($3).
And so...I feel like I'm getting the hang of things here. And I'm becoming more Korean by the minute! Of course, the locals probably don't think so. I still get stared at every day, where ever I go. You learn to tune it out, or just smile back and that usually scares people into looking away. Usually.
1 comment:
Rock on Karissa!
Post a Comment