Rolling With the Punches

One thing about living in Korea, you tend to find things you don't understand.

For example, why do so many changes happen last minute?

It may not be last minute that the change was going to be implemented, but by the time I found out about it, well...it sometimes fell a little bit after last minute. However, it generally happens within five minutes of the impending event. Remember when I got a three-hour long class that originally was supposed to be only 40 mins long? (See post here)

Exactly.

I've contemplated many ways over these last six months on how to better get informed on the on-goings of my school.

One of those ways was asking for the school calendar. It's definitely all in Korean, but sitting down with it, translating it... It's helped loads. I can now initiate conversation with other teachers to ask what's going on for 'XXX' event or have an idea if a class of mine will get cancelled. And as I get more engaged about certain events, the more willing other teachers were to talk to me without prompting.

Whether it was about school or not.

I was getting informed!

Sometimes, even a month in advanced.

It also helped in connecting with the students. When I knew that a field trip was coming up, or a festival competition, I could start asking the kids if they felt ready or prepared for the event. Generally, I also tagged along, but it's more about the bonding before and after the event that were a great way to connect with the other students.

But, best to keep in mind...it doesn't solve all notification problems.

There is still an established culture of changing things up as they organically come up.

In Korea, you really learn to roll with the punches.

#SaveOurToya

Poetry - Reflection

I look at you from across the room and frankly, I don't like you.

You stare at me with dead begging eyes.

Eyes that won't let me look away.

Clutching tightly to the nasty words we hear every day.

How can you look at me like that?

You know why we're here.

Were you hoping for a happy ever after?

Ha!

Please. How many times have we learned

that we don't deserve it?

One? Two?

No.

Try higher.

It's not that we don't try.

We just don't trust.

Many times we try to work things out.

What you hear and what I see.

But it never works.

You're still depressed

And I'm still confused.

Sometimes though....

Things work out,

it gets easier.

Learning Korean

Friends back home must be shook that I took this long to finally write a post about learning Korean. Unlike my language learning in the past, I have no regrets this go around.

That's right, I used to have regrets when it came to learning languages. Or maybe it was more...guilt? 

Look, either way...there were some negative feelings. Even when I was learning French, which I have a degree in. And at some point, the negativity grew so overwhelming, it hindered me from enjoying French. It hindered me from getting better at French.

It kind of just held me down and wouldn't let go.

Even when I tried getting out of the funk by studying ASL. Things seemed like they were going better, but next thing I knew...

NOPE!

I kind of forgot what it meant to learn a new language. Why I enjoyed it so much. 

Until very recently, anyways. I remembered that the point in learning a new language was having fun with it! If you get fixated on the finer details or shy about your ability, you may end up like I did a few years ago.

A rut.

A rut filled with disappointments and a complete lack of motivation.

All-in-all, my French phase was ROUGH.

Which is why I don't want to slip into that same pattern that took the joy out of language engagement when it comes to learning Korean.

Now, my level may be a shaky step from the starting line, but it's a GOOD step. A step forward, and that's all that matters. I'm going to try my damned hardest not to be shy in my Korean. Nor will I be so obsessed on my Korean being perfect.

What matters is the engagement!

Today in class, while others were making sentences like, '만두 맛있어요!'[Dumplings are delicious!], I'm gonna be that student who says, '손 두개 있어요'. [I have two hands.]

I'm going to be the student who is going to try and take what we learned that day and apply it to me and not just reiterate the same old lingo. (Yes, I do have 2 hands. Wild. I know.)

Every new vocabulary word is going to be added to my Quizlet Word Bank. Even if grammar is out the window, mostly because we haven't studied it yet, at least I am gathering the parts together to at least start the puzzle.

I LOVE puzzles by the way.

And sure, maybe sometimes I'll struggle and get shy. 

But hell...

I'm trying, and that's what matters.

#SaveOurToya

A Good Day

Today's been a good day.

For once, I have nothing to say in the matter of negativity. I woke up to fantastic news. I put off breakfast for even better news. And, I actually completed all my errands today.

Let's also not forget that today's Chicken Day.

Today has been so good to me, I wanted to share it with all of you!

Fantastic News: One of my oldest friends is being stationed in Korea starting August. That means...she'll be here all of my second year!

Even Better News: My parents booked their tickets and will be visiting me come May~! No clue how they'll like Korea, but I'm hoping they'll see how well I've adjusted and get to enjoy their time here.

My Errands: Finally able to finish two particular errands that I've been putting off for a week or so now. I even found the post office. I sent letters.

Chicken Day: A day I hang out with a few of the other foreigners in my town and we get to enjoy chicken, good company, a wonderful playlist, and relax!

All-in-all, this Wednesday is my kind of Wednesday.

#SaveOurToya

That time I flooded the apartment

This was NOT my fault.

None. 

All I did was wash my dishes. 

The flood came out of nowhere. 

Well, not nowhere. It came from the pot I just emptied, but I emptied the pot into the sink. Remember, I was washing dishes...minding my own business...not at fault.

Okay, so let me start at the beginning...

I'd just finished eating dinner, a delicious meal of spaghetti. Yes, it was made by yours truly, which means I had dishes to wash. No problem.

Unlike the states, I didn't fill up the sink with water as the sink at my homestay doesn't work that way. All the water was in the pot. So much water. You know, you never realize just how much water a decent-sized pot can hold until you're flooding your kitchen. 

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So I washed the small dishes first, putting them on the drying rack, and just being a decent houseguest. When I finally got to the pot, I poured the dirty water out (no flood here) and refilled it with enough to continue cleaning. Now, mind you, this was perhaps the second time I'd done it, and there had been no issue.

But it was the third time that did it. 

It's ALWAYS the third time. 

I just pour the whole thing out, oblivious and innocent as all get out when I hear a weird rushing noise. I don't know why I looked down. It wasn't because my feet were soaked, my house slippers prevented that, and it wasn't like the noise was noticeably coming from below me, I just looked.

And there it was. 

Water coming out from below the sink- okay, fine. From the cabinet below the sink. I rush to pull it open to see where the water was coming from, which also meant more water came running out. For those first five seconds, I was devastated. 

I was about to flood my homestay and my host parents weren't even home. They were out of town for the night and I was flooding their house. Even though it wasn't my fault, I was the one home and the water pipe burst (at least that's what I thought had happened in those five seconds).

After those five seconds, I was able to find the source of the water. 

Apparently, this gigantic thermos had fallen on the hose that connected the sink to where ever sinks are connected too. I mean, besides realizing I would be a horrible plumber, I got scared. How the heck was I supposed to finish the dishes if the hose was disconnected? 

Of course, that's when I realized I could probably just...wiggle the hose back on, right?

Oh, and the water had spread into the dinning area by now.

Executive decision making had me wiggling the hose back on, walking intent-fully to my bathroom (running on wet surfaces are dangerous), grabbed towels and threw them at the water. And by towels, I mean hand towels, because those are towels in Korea. Oh my god, those towels did their best but the water soaked through them so quickly; I had to go back to the bathroom two more times.

By the time I felt even an ounce calmer, I stood in a quiet apartment with a pile of wet towels at my feet, missing a sock, and a sore stomach. Oh! And I still had dishes to finish washing. 

#SaveOurToya

56km later...

I have made the "wild" decision of walking from my school to my apartment.

Doesn't sound like a big deal, does it?

Well, my school is three towns over from the town where my apartment stands tall. It's about a ten minute car ride, but by foot...it's a little under two hours.

It's a wee bit of a walk.

And by wee bit, I mean a little over 8km (~5 miles).

But! Despite my legs and feet being angry with me by the time I get home, I don't really regret the walk. It's nice to just walk in nature, which is almost what I'm doing. Just on a paved road...with cars passing by...rather closely...God, I wished there were more sidewalks in rural Korea.

I digress.

Nature! So, I get to walk along the foot of many mountains as I make my way back to Geochang, seeing the Korean countryside for realsies. All those glimpses I get when on a bus or carpooling with my host mom has prevented me from really getting a real look of the Korean rural life.

Apparently, that also means my student's parents see me walking on the side of the road. I wonder how long it'll take until all my students know and they start questioning me on my sanity? I mean, more than usual.

A lot of the staff are so quick to stop and offer me a ride when they see me on the side of the road. The thought that I willingly walk back to Geochang is mindblowing.

Therefore, I even took the time to take pictures on my walk. I hope you enjoy the views as much as I did!

#SaveOurToya

Poetry - 6 months ago

6 months

It was 6 months ago that I came to Korea.

Where I traded in my hello's for 안녀하세요's.

My bread for rice, and my voice for understanding.

6 months

It was 6 months ago where I learned what it meant to be a foreigner

Yes, back home I was a minority,

Yes, back home I was a woman,

Yes, back home I was other.

But here in Korea? I am Other,

with a capital O.

I stick out with my afro hair,

my choco-lusciousness,

my own certain style of flair.

6 months ago

It was 6 months ago that I said good bye to home.

Do you know what it's like to be a minority Other?

Where your life is in the hands of another?

Where you have no say, hoping for a new day?

I thought I came here with open eyes,

but what did I know?

At home, I could do something about my problems.

But here...here I am a 6 month year old infant without a home.

I have no claim.

Nothing is the same.

6 months ago

It was 6 months ago that I hoped to find it.

You know...it;

the flame that lit every relationship, interaction, and thought;

a burning sensation of belonging.

Just when I thought that spark ignited,

the warmth fluttering across my skin like an old friend,

that I am doused in the ice cold waters of the North.

6 months ago

It was 6 months ago that I zipped my suitcase closed

Smiling despite the tears

I was ready to see the world

Make a change in my life

I was brushing away the shackles of defeat and depression

My flame was going to grow to new levels.

6 months ago

It was 6 months ago and I'm standing here

feeling no different than I did the day before.

Host Families

May I be frank?

Because I think it's time we've had a real conversation about host families. It's such a big part of the Fulbright Korea experience, after all.

I've mentioned my host family in the past a few times already, both in a positive and not so positive light. I haven't necessarily hidden anything, but I think I've finally figured out how to describe a homestay.

And though you may not like what I'm about to say, its the honest truth.

A homestay family is what you make of it.

Each family is different. And that's the most important thing to understand. No one family is alike. They all have different situations going on, with different plans and ideas. They even have these preconceived ideas of who you are. They worry about what to feed you as they are required to feed you both breakfast and dinner. They make agreements with your school before your arrival.

Or not with your school and everyone finds out last minute or mid-way through your grant year.

Now, none of these statements are excuses. They are simply statements of facts that can and/or will affect your homestay life.

Does that mean that you live as if the other shoe may drop at any second?

Maybe.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

I already said it. Homestay life is what you make of it.

So, how do you handle moments that leave you- well...freaking out?

First, your freakout is totally understandable. There's nothing wrong with it. Nothing.

Its the next part that's a little harder. Making an informed decision of what to do next.

For example. Your homestay family just told you something that basically sounds like you're going to be homeless in a month or two due to them only agreeing to six months of housing you.

That's all they tell you and it's left you floundering for at least a week.

But there's more.

There's always more...

That is why making an informed decision is so hard.

So, you have to give it time, even though you don't want to give it time. No, that's the furthest thing from your mind of what you want to do. Time? Ugh, no. But time you must give. Because then you find out the truth.

The truth why you're only staying for six months.

It can take weeks before you get the full story, but at the same time, you're going crazy from all the thoughts.

Homestays can be hard, they can be challenging in ways you least expect them to be. But you can also have fun and have loads of inside jokes with your homestay family. Half a year can fly by and you don't even know it.

Make what you can at your homestay, and never not try to connect with the people that you live with. You may be surprised who you're living with, whether the situation is bad or good.

#SaveOurToya

2019~!

During the new year, we make resolutions that may or may not be upheld. I don't even remember what 2018's resolutions were, and I more than likely didn't even meet them.

But realistically, I'm not too upset with 2018. It was much better than the years before it. And for the most part, I'm happy.

As for 2019...

...well...I've decided that my resolution is to love myself more.

And that's it. Nothing fancy, but rather difficult in the execution.

So, wish me luck!

Here's to a new year!

#SaveOurToya