Snow

Just a short one today! I am not too sure what I am going to write, and to be honest I am not a fan of writing something without a point, but I really want to do something other than sit here during my eight hours of silence - I am at work and English classes are canceled. I am hoping to be on here a little more frequently but I am very occupied my many other exciting ventures like sleeping, reading, and eating (primarily eating). One thing I need to do though is work on intellectual stimulation. I try hard to be smart and it takes a lot of effort on my part and my lack lately has me watching my brain slowly melt despite the exceedingly frigged temperatures.

I just found this picture, yes it's me circa Jan 2008

That's it, I will write about the cold. It's so cold. Rarely have I felt this level of frosty embrace without the gift of snow. I love snow. I want snow. I require snow. I don't care if it stops travel or makes me fall or makes all my clothes become instantly soaked the minute I enter a house. Snow has an amazing quality to make everything seem okay. It covers up all the things that are dirty, all the things that don't match, all the things that are ugly. It unifies everything and makes it all look pure. Plus it is fun to throw, jump, and sled in. Sometimes I wish it could snow over my life so it looks nice and unified, but then the thing about snow is that it melts. Its not a purifier, simply a cover up, and there is nothing worse than melting, dirty snow.

Things Korean's Say to Me (Part 1)

I have been posting these on Twitter but someone suggested I add them to my blog, so here is the fist batch of them. These are all actual conversations I have been apart of in Korea, mostly with my 11 and 12 year old students...enjoy!


ME: If we finish early next week we will watch a movie
STUDENT: Watch Harry Potter? 
ME: No, we don't have time or money
STUDENT: My dad does


STUDENT: Teacher ok? 
ME: I'm sick 
STUDENT: What sick? 
ME: You know 'cough, cough' 
STUDENT: Teacher no kiss, make other teacher sick 
ME: WHAT!?


STUDENT: Snow...outside 
ME: Yes, I love the snow 
STUDENT: Do you love it? 
ME: Yes 
STUDENT: Marry Snow 
ME: Merry Christmas 
STUDENT: No, snow is wife


ME: Open your book 
STUDENT: Cook? English! 
ME: I said book, with a "B" 
STUDENT: CDEFGHIJKLMOPPXYZ 
ME: You're right, lets cook


STUDENT: What is your study 
ME: Political Science 
STUDENT: Tutor me in science! 
ME: No, POLITICAL science 
STUDENT: Politics are liars...


STUDENT: Trebin teacher nice met you, make smile happy now? 
ME: Don't tell anyone I am your English teacher...


STUDENT: Teacher is talking strange 
ME: I had my tooth pulled 
STUDENT: Thats why face is fat? 
ME: yes 
STUDENT: You should be this always ...


STUDENT: Trebun teacher, why face hair 
ME: I like it 
STUDENT: Why? 
ME: Because it makes my face look skinny 
STUDENT: But teacher fat body!


STUDENT: Teacher you like bouncing? 
ME: Uhh...sure 
STUDENT: Me too 
ME: Why do you like bouncing? 
STUDENT: No Bounceahhh! 
ME: Oh Beyonce...


ME: You in trouble? 
STUDENT: China 
ME: China what? 
STUDENT: I go there 
ME: I said trouble not travel 
STUDENT:Oh...give me candy


FEMALE KOREAN TEACHER: You have a massage?
ME: Massage? Uh what?
KOREAN TEACHER: Here (hands me paper)
ME: Oh yeah, a 'message'...


STUDENT: Trebun Teacher! Why they call 'gross series'? 
ME: you mean Groceries?
STUDENT:yes that! They're not gross! 
ME: I don't know...




Also here is an extended list of the names some of my students have chosen as their "English" names:


Boys: Dark Templar, Mr. Bin, Mother, Life Point, Christstar, Flame 
Girls: Lucifer, Diamond, Candy, Cinnamon, Tree, Saint, Jeeze, Beyonce, Gaga

Thanksgiving on Three Continents

As the Holidays approached I was finding myself a little more home sick than usual, something that is rather hard for me to admit because I pride myself on my ability to be independent. To distract myself I volunteered for my favorite Thanksgiving job: cooking! This year provided the usual stresses and joys as well as many unforeseen hurdles that come when two cultures try and coexist. While preparing my recipes and shopping I found myself reminiscing about Thanksgivings past and realized that I have been on a different continent for Thanksgiving every year for the past three years, something that I assume is rather unusual for most. Not only have I been in three different continents, but every time I have been with entirely different people in entirely different cultures. All of these are so unique but also very comparable.


2008 - Mukono, Uganda

Watching "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"

Uganda was such an emotional and trying experience that was full of change, learning and unlearning. Now that I think about it I realize that I have not really written much about my experience there which is surprising. Almost everything I am today as a human being came out of Africa. I expected to come away from Uganda with a better understanding of how people in third world country live.  I expected to reaffirm my view of the world and the goals of my life. What I did not expect was to find that my values, goals, and understanding of God would change completely. I had my entire life all planned out, I knew exactly where I wanted to go and how I was going to get there. I have never viewed the people outside of those that I know with any sort of conviction for what they may be going through nor have I ever seen most of the  the world as more than statistics. Africa changed me entirely and about the time Thanksgiving rolled around I was exhausted from the roller coaster ride my spirit was constantly on. 

Our attempt at football

Thanksgiving was unlike any I had ever experienced. We played a giant game of football and as I recall I remember either sending a gaming winning pass or receiving one (either of these being a rare occurrence). Following that we had the largest and most extravagant meal I have ever been apart of for Thanksgiving. Everything you could imagine was there, and this was a huge deal because many of these dishes like stuffing and turkey had not really been seen while we where in Africa. About 50 foreigners and 50 Africans joined together for this intense buffet that included a smorgasbord of desserts followed by a screening of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" that was viewed on a bed sheet tied between to trees. All of this took place outside with the familiar smells of the holiday mingling with the scent I had come to know as the scent of Africa. By the time we shared this meal we were not strangers or students, we were friends.


2009 - Grangeville, Idaho

Taylor, Lacey, Me and the Readons on their front porch

Back in the states for this one. This time I was with old friends spending thanksgiving with a family - the first time in 4 years - the Reardon family in Northern Idaho. This was just one big laugh the whole time with singing, walks and endless food all weekend long. I cannot remember the last time I was fed so much. Miriam Reardon's, actually it's Miriam Clark now, mother would bring out a snack and as we finished she would bring another, than another. We had more food the day before and the day after Thanksgiving than we had on the day itself! It was a conveyer belt of treats! This was such a warm and traditional big family style day that I had not been apart of since I was a little kid. I think it was the most fun I have ever had with my sister and my best friend (Miss Lacey Smith) at the same time.  I remember feeling like I was in a family and didn't have to worry about a thing, I felt like a carefree kid again who was just along for the ride.  I think it is one of my fondest memories from my College days. I love and adore the Reardons! 


2010 - Cheonan, South Korea

The 24 pounder! and Go SEAHAWKS!

South Korea has been a bit of a challenge for me, as I mentioned, but this year's Thanksgiving was on par with the past two in terms of fun, fellowship, and learning. This year I was once again able to put on my Chef hat and go to town. We were fortunate enough to be given the use of a mega-church's industrial kitchen, it was like a dream for me, a kitchen that was able to perfectly cook our 24 pound turkey ($90) in just three hours. The day started a bit bumpy when I got up at 8, expecting to begin cooking at 9, only to find out that we couldn't start until 11:30 and upon arrival we had to share the kitchen with a church kitchen staff of 15. After these initial shocks, I kicked it into high gear and was able to produce: Turkey, that I really didn't eat a thing until leftovers, but I was satisfied with the results. I have never cooked for so many people or made so many dishes in three hours. We followed up the smorgasbord with football, which made my day. 

The Meal!

This year I have been reflecting on the past and all of the amazing opportunities that I have been given at such a young age. My family is all over the world and I miss you guys so much but each year this family seems to grow.  I pray that I continue to have these traveling opportunities and that someday I will be able to use the lessons learned in an effective ministry. The world is so much bigger than I ever imagined! I am so thankful for everyone who has let me be apart of their lives. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

North Korea

So a quick little note about the troubles with North Korea.


Let me briefly summarize the incident:
South Korea does annual military drills across the country, these drills started last weekend. The water boarder between the North and South has been hotly contested by the North since the UN created it back in the fifties, the South seems to observe the boundary but the North is very anxious over it, this has lead to several navel skirmishes in the area over the past 60 years. Last March a South Korean warship, the Cheonan - named after my city - was sunk and the signs point to North Korea though they firmly deny this. On tuesday, during the drills, the North sent a barrage of some 200 missiles to an island in the Yellow Sea that is about as close to this water border as you can get. The island has both civilian and military populations. Four people, two marines and two residents, have been confirmed as killed with many others injured. The South returned fire in defense. North Korea claims it was provoked but South Korea denies this.

Yeongpang Island, South Korea. This photo was taken during the bombing

Analysis: 
Talking to many Koreans and reading many news outlets, here is what I think; I believe that the North was not provoked in the way they are saying, they claim they were fired on first. South Korea is not stupid and such actions would bring harsh criticism from the west. However it is reasonable to assume a feeling of provocation when a country you are at war with - yes they are still technically at war - holds military exercises miles from your boarder. This being the case it is still unreasonable to attack unless you think you will gain something. Several Koreans have told me that in the past, the North would do something like this - though not to this scale - in order to goad the South into sending food and other support. You see the North is in shambles and its people are starving by the thousands. Past presidents have quickly ceded to these demands but the current president has refused saying that aid is dependent on nuclear disarmament. Something that is far from happening according to a recent report that claims US scientists have just been shown a massive uranium enrichment plant that has been erected in the North. This stance has mixed support from the average South Korean. Taking all of this into account I think it is safe to assume this was a desperate act by the North to get attention from the world and possibly supplies. Also it is worth noting that Kim Jung Il's son has just been made a top military official in order to boost his image for succession, this may also be a kind of pea-cocking on his part. I do not believe this will escalate much further, I think the North wants attention and aid. Click the link for a more in depth story. 
Korean skirmish: http://tinyurl.com/27mwyu5
North Korean Uranium: http://tinyurl.com/28sah5n


What does this mean?
For me and the many who live here it means little. In fact there is by far more news and concern about this incident everywhere else in the world than there is in South Korea. This is life as usual in a lot of ways. Though this incident was more severe than any in recent memory and has people talking, not many think it is going anywhere and most are just going about life as usual. The bombing took place about 100 miles away from where I am and the fact that nothing else has happened leads me to believe I am pretty safe. Cheers.

Pepero Day!

Happy Pepero Day! Today we will be having a short lesson on Korean holidays. Today happens to be one, although Pepero Day carries the same weight as Valentines in the US and it is not a national holiday. Pepero Day is devoted to a specific style of cookie that is popular in several Asian countries. You may or may not be familiar with it; in the US you can find its Japanese equivalent “Pocky” at Wal-Mart. I find these cookies to be awesomely delicious and affordable, I have long been a Pocky fan.

The reason today is Pepero Day is due to the fact that November 11 is written 11/11; a date which appears to be in the form of the tasty cookie (although when I was in junior high 11/11 was another “day”). Of course in the states it is Veterans Day. US honors Soldiers, Korea honors cookies…I am going to have to go with cookies on this one – and yes I know that statement is going to get me in trouble with some of you but what can I say? Have you heard me talk about pacifism? I am a lover (eater) not a fighter

Now I know you are super curious about other Korean holidays now that you have heard about Pepero day. Koreans celebrate a holiday called Chuseok – very similar to our thanksgiving – in October, it is a three-day event that closes schools for the week and families make a pilgrimage to their historical homes. During this time Korea Nazarene University was a Ghost town as was much of Cheonan City. The pictures I have seen (and included for you) are of glorious feasts that remind me of our own love of smorgasbords during the holidays.

Now Christmas has not yet arrived but I was surprised to find out, as no doubt you will be too, that it is not the family holiday of gifts and trees we are familiar with, but rather a couple’s holiday. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas music and Santa are still here but you are much more likely to see people going out on a date than going home to mom and dad. I guess you could say it’s more of a “Baby its Cold Outside” sort of day than it is a “Frosty the Snowman” sort. 

Another holiday I recently heard about is Black and White day. Black day is a holiday where girls give their boyfriends gifts and White Day, which takes place thirty days later, is when the boyfriends reciprocate. Interesting to me, no excuse for crappy gifts when you get a whole month to plan, plus you can buy accordingly. It is always awkward when your girlfriend gets you a 300-dollar watch and you get her flowers!

And of course Koreans celebrate birthdays much in the way we do...with cake - I had to mention this so i could have some sort of segue for this picture of one of my co-workers birthday cakes.

Korean holidays! Another one of those little differences you find out about as you go. Just some interesting info I found out and thought it would be fun to share. Of course this may not all be entirely accurate as much of this info was procured from my Australian co-worker, although he is married to a Korean so he should be aware of such things. Until next time! Cheers!

Bidet

Well I apologize for the twenty day gap in posting. I have been busy dealing with some personal items and have not had the time or motivation. But I do now! So I have a couple of stories to share as well as a an update of how life in Korea is going.

So in Korea, as is true with everywhere in the world, there are many differences in cultural and general modus operandi. Some things you experience right away, like everything being in a language with unrecognizable characters or being shoved into a train at the airport by something that I am quite sure was not the invisible hand of God. I recall my first time in Nairobi, getting out of the airport with Katherine Zook and having a man take our baggage cart away, I thought we where being robbed but he just wanted us to take his taxi, and of course tip him for taking our bags even though we where not using his services.

Most of these differences however, are noticed as time goes on. They are often small, or at least seem small but there impact is rather large. One thing I have begun to noticed is that a traffic stop will only let one direction of traffic go at a time and it rotates in a square, like an extended four way stop. This is good to know because I have almost been road kill three times because I was miss-judging whose turn it was. Another "little" difference is how Koreans view age. In Korea when you are born you are 1 and then you gain a year when the new year arrives. Take me for example, I was born on December 3, 1987 so by January 1, 1988 i was already 2 years old. Which means right now I am 22 in the USA, 24 in Korea. When I turn 23 I will remain 24 until New Years. Confused yet? Why is this a big deal? Well first, it makes a big difference to people here, when I say I am 22 they think I am 20 and still in school. Age is very respected and even 2 years can make a difference.

I could go through dozens of other differences but right now I want to talk about, what for me has been the most important so far: Bathrooms. So here is the thing, there are many 'little' differences in this area, and some of them have been somewhat unsettling. This topic may seem in poor taste but I believe these stories are the best way to show you the full extent of my plight. Just be thankful I am not sharing bathroom stories from Africa.

E-Mart...Duh

I was shopping at E-Mart (a major walmart-ish store that is 2 stories and full of everything Korean) and nature began to take its course. So I went to the restroom and was amazed at the luxury! The bathroom was immaculate, with beautiful tiled walls and stall doors of rich mahogany  that went all the way to the floor (I call them Larry Craig stalls). I was in heaven! So I took care of business, almost. For all the luxury and convenience afforded in this masterful commode, they for some reason had absolutely no toilet paper. At least not within the four walls of my stall, which now seemed much closer than before and far less luxurious. Not only was the TP absent, there wasn't even evidence that it was ever there at all. No holder, no stand, no naked tube. Then it dawned on me. It must be on the other side, out in the open with the general population. I cautiously unlatched the door to gain perspective and sure enough there it was. Staring back at me from the opposite wall, twelve feet away or in the terms of the moment, on the other side of the world. Just as I was about to make my move a cleaning woman came in (yes woman). Shocked and frightened over my embarrassing predicament I recoiled, slammed the door, and sat down. Too bad I missed my mark and fell, breaking a changing table I had reached for in a last ditch effort to stave off my inevitable collision. I immediately cursed the cold and unforgiving tile as well as the bathroom as a whole for luring me in with promises of comfort only to cause me pain. For the next twenty or so minutes I remained trapped while she cleaned.

This, unfortunately would not be my only 'incident' with Korean public restrooms nor my most traumatic. As I have written before, working at my schools have been both positive and negative experiences. You can decide what category this one falls into.

The one that got me...

One of the perks of my school is that the teachers are given there own restroom. Nothing too fancy - not like E-Mart - but clean and void of the messes children make. It is also one of the few quite places in the school. The only thing about this sanctuary that seemed out of place was the space-age seat attached to the toilet. This frightened me until I discovered that it was heated. This is a nice feature in these increasingly cold fall days. The toilet, as shown, had many different pictures and buttons that made little sense to me but i ignored them. Until a fateful day when curiosity got the better of me. The toilet has a normal flush in the back which I had been using, but a picture on the seat showed what I thought was water circulating around the bowl. I took this to mean it was a button to flush. So i pushed it. While I was still seated. I believe every person has a few moments in life when they start out in the best of moods making what they think is the best choice only to realize that they have chosen wrong and the outcome will forever change their life. This was one of those times for me. Upon pushing the button I was attacked, or at least that's what I thought at the time. I flew off of the seat, screaming loudly and smashed my face into the stall door. I was so mortified I just hung against the paneling, to scared to move. My body, in the awkward angle that it was in, slowly slid down the door until I collapsed in a heap on top of myself. What had happened was this: the button I pushed was for a bidet. A bidet (pronounced BADAY) is a device that shoots water up from below to aid the cleaning process. I have heard of and even seen these before in Europe but not like this. I was not expecting an icy and wet force to attack me from below. On top of this horrifying experience, my screams had brought the vice principle in, who attempted to save me by trying to bust down the door despite my plea's. Thank God for sturdy cedar.

Korea, despite being somewhat lonely and confusing, is very much the adventure. I hope you all are well  and learn something from (or at least find humour in) my experiences!

My Address

Several people have asked me for my mailing address in Korea and because it holds the Guinness World Record for longest-most difficult foreign address, I have decided to post here. I thought that perhaps this would be a bad idea because of junk mail or creepers but I realize that I am often bored so would probably read. Plus many of my friends are creepers. Anyways here is the 411:

Trevan Hauck

Special District of International Education

Korea Nazarene University (Attn. Jenny Kim)

456 Ssangyong-Dong Seobukgu 

Cheonan City Choongnam 331-718 South Korea

Just reading it makes me run out of breath! So if you want to send me something, great! If not thats fine but an elephant never forgets. Also never send anything but letters by FedEx, DHL, or UPS, use regular postage or priority with USPS - not their FedEx service. This is because I will have to pay taxes on whatever you send, even letters sometimes. Have a great day and maybe do something to make someone else's day better. 

What is My Job Exactly?

So I have written 4 times about food and nothing about what it is I actually do here in Korea (you can see where my priorities are), so I thought it was about time I wrote a little bit about it  show you a little video and put up some pictures.

Cheongryoung Elementary

My official job title in Korea is “Native English Speaking Teacher” and as this implies I teach English. I work a 40 hour work week but I am only in the actual classroom about half that time. The rest of the time is spent planning or blogging or what ever else I can do to distract myself from the hundreds of kids who scream “hello Mr. Trebun!” I actually work in two separate elementary schools, one called Boonyung and the other (my favorite) called Cheongryong Elementary. All of the pics and the video are from Cheongryong. These schools are dramatically different in economic status, education level, and what my role is.

One of my 5 classes

At Boongyung my job so far seems to be little more than a novelty act. I sit in the front of the classroom at a desk while the Korean English Teacher – I use this term loosely as his English is somewhat lacking – and do nothing unless he calls me up to read a list of words or to explain how to play a game. This school is a very old school in what seems to be a poorer part of Cheonan. I really enjoy the student and find the hour long journey to get there, the inability of my teachers to understand me, and the lack of an actual job to be frustrating; it’s a learning process for me. I think it is the place where I miss my ability to communicate the most. Often I will read directions to a game that have been translated from Korean to English, then my co-teacher will explain in Korean and what follows seldom resembles anything I thought I read. But what can I expect? When I first met my co-teacher I told him that I would be having my first day on Wednesday. He stared at me blankly and said “what?’ I repeated. He said he didn’t understand what a Wednesday was; and this is the fulltime English teacher!

Yes it is alive.
Yes she threw it at me after the picture.
Yes I screamed like a girl.

My other school is completely different. I only teach 5^th grade and many of the teachers are very competent English speakers. The school is in a wealthy neighborhood and is only 4 years old. The resources this place has are incredible. Every classroom comes with smart boards, plasma TV, and state of the art computer equipment. The best part about this school is my job. I am a full-blown teacher. I create my own lessons, games, worksheets, and I teach alone most of the time. The homeroom teacher is there of course in case I need something translated but other than that I get to run the show and it has been a lot of fun so far. Some confusing things happen, like the sanitizer and a crazy bathroom story that will be in my next blog.

The girl on the left is constantly following
me around asking me to do things for her
 or to give her candy.

I am thankful for the contrast though because it gives me a wider perspective on life here and how it differs within as much as it differs from my culture. I am also learning just how tough it is for most of the children. Education seems to be everything in Korea, kids go to school from 8:30 until 2 and then after that they go to after school programs for math or English at places called “Hagwans”. Most get home at late and then are up late doing homework for school and the Hagwan. I am told that high school students are often up until 1 or 2 a.m. studying. I couldn’t even imagine going to school all day (no real recess) and then going to school after that! Some even have early morning lessons. Oh and did I mention there is school every other Saturday? I only work during the week thank goodness

  

My other blog!

I have recently relocated my other blog from Blogger to WordPress! It is still in need of a new post, which I am currently working on.

This blog "Figuring It Out", is about theology, life, and God. It is not very dramatic, just some of my papers from college and newspaper articles I have written on various topics. I will be updating it but not as frequently as this because of the time it takes to create something I feel is worth reading in this area. My most recent post, from March, is about sex. Now that you know that you are more likely to go there! Just click on the picture or there is also a link on the left. Have a great day.

Korean Cooking! (Attempt #1)

Let us talk food! Again!

So many of you know how much I love to cook! Cooking is a big part of how I relieve stress (though sometimes it adds to it!) because it allows me to be creative, it allows me to try something new, and most importantly it allows me to eat! I have been very excited to begin cooking Korean food because there are many things here that I like that I have never really made or seen made back home.

My first attempt with Korean Cooking was made possible by this wonderful Korean woman named Maangchi who lives in New York and has an outstanding step-by-step cooking website that breaks everything down. She also has videos of most of her recipes. She was even featured on the Korean National News for bring Korean Cooking to the US - OK, I know I sound a little obsessed, but this lady is great and she is so funny! If you are interested I posted a link to her website on my blog, or just click her name above!

The first thing I made is called 찐빵 만두 (Jjinppang mandu), which is basically a steamed pork bun. The outside is a spongy, fluffy breading made with flour while the inside can be a multitude of things. I went along with the recipes filling and stayed traditional. Pork, sesame oil, carrots, mushrooms, onions, and chili peppers however, I imagine you could put just about anything inside these suckers. They take some time but are really simple and if I can make them here with my limited kitchen resources, you can surely do it. The only difficult thing may be the steaming part, but really all you need to so is fill a huge pot with a little water and put a metal rack or colander inside. 

I don't know why I am blogging this other than the fact that I am super proud of myself for adding a Korean dish to my repertoire. 


UPDATE:  After making this amazing dish and then writing about it, I decided to use my brand-new mandolin slicer to make potato chips. In the process of doing this I sliced off the front of my index finger! I mean this thing bled all night and the next day. Needless to say I am now on painkillers, with a stitch, and no fingerprint but yeah for cooking!

Thirty Days in South Korea

Tomorrow marks 30 days in Korea. Thirty days of exploring, getting lost, getting confused and eating crazy things, though I have been here thirty days and I have not even been to Seoul yet! This realization hit me yesterday as I got ready to go to school. I could not believe that I haven’t been to the number one attraction in this tiny country. A city of almost 15 million jam-packed with people from all over the world, buildings that are state of the art standing next to monuments old as a thousand years. Companies working on everything from cars to cell-phones and producing products at record speed.  This is one city I must see, even though I risk getting terribly lost in translation and perhaps even ending up in some un-reputable area that I would rather not be (word on the street is Seoul has a ‘Red Light’ district that rivals Amsterdam. Ok so word amongst the Americans. So far the word on the street is something like 이봐, 조심해!).

Thirty days and I have yet to learn more than a few phrases in Korean, which is not good because English is used very little in spite of the vast amount of money being poured into English education by the Korean government. Most of the people that can speak it refuse to use it for some reason, I have been given several reasons for this, either they are shy, they dislike it or my own theory – they get a kick out of watching you panic while you try to order a pizza without oysters on it. Whatever the case it does not serve me well in communication and if you know me you are aware that communication is my biggest asset.

I am a communicator and according to Strength Finder I am a WOOer (stands for ‘Winning Others Over’). These characteristics are key to how I function and I have been completely disarmed. Gone are the days of using my infamous charm to get discounts or free stuff. Overwhelming is the amount of information being shared, advertised, and reported here yet I understand none of it. It is mostly my own fault, I don’t know why but I have just not put the effort in to learn more than ‘hello’, ‘thank you’, and ‘goodbye’ except in the case of food words. I can successfully order about 25 different things in Korean. Being able to order food is an essential, and let me tell you I have gotten enough chickens feet and fungus to motivate me into learning how to say “hold the fish head”.

I have been here thirty days and I was begining to feel at home however, yesterday I was made aware of the fact that I am still very much a foreigner. I was feeling pretty good for my first couple of weeks in Cheonan. I know the buses for the most part, where many places are and I found several dishes I like. One of my favorites is tonkaseu, which means breaded pork. Because of my love for this dish I learned how to say it right away and have ordered it many times. My program director asked me what dishes I have tried in Korea. Excited to show off my skill I said a couple of Korean foods prefacing the last one as one of my favorites “I love tonkaseu, it is so good in fact I would eat tonkaseu every night if I could. I could go for some tonkaseu right now.” As I was saying this, I watched her eyes getting bigger and bigger, finally she doubled over laughing saying to herself “ttong gaseu! ttong gaseu!” Finally she explained that it is pronounced “donkaseu”, and “ttong gaseu” means feces fart. No wonder the lady at Kimbob Nara (local restaurant) laughs and says only for you when I order my pork!

Now since I am on the topic of feeling like a foreigner or in other words looking like an idiot, I might as well tell you about yesterday mornings adventure with water. The tap water in Korea is no good, can’t drink a drop. Because of this there are filtered water machines everywhere, I mean everywhere. If you know me and my disdain for tap water or ordinary fountains – especially those in Idaho – you know that this is like my paradise. Fresh Ice cold water down the hall, in school, in every business and anyone at anytime can fill up; in most cases you need your own vessel to fill.

Water Machine in South Korea

Now I am no rocket scientist, but I believe myself to be a fairly competent individual when it comes to life. I feel confident in my powers to use deductive reasoning to assess a situation. So I am walking down the hall at school looking for my water bottle so I can fill up at one of the dozens of watering holes, but I cannot find the dang thing anywhere. So I go in search of cups or some other means of slaking my increasing thirst. Walking downstairs to the first level, an area I am not too familiar with, I see a water machine with paper cups on top just outside the principles office. Now this particular machine had a different look to it, it seemed streamlined, black with a blue light on the front, most of these machines are white with a little lever. I’m thinking “well of course, this is the principle. He’s the big man, the boss; he would have the best water.” Getting excited about the cups and the upcoming event of drinking the best water, I walk up to the machine. I grab a cup, feeling a little disappointed that it is not bigger because surely I am going to desire more of my new-found “principle water”, I put the in the hole and push the button. A tiny amount shoots out into the cup, confused I press and hold; a bit more comes out, I repeat. Maybe this is like a pump or something, designed to keep people from running down the reservoir. After a I get a full cup (it feels icy cold in my hands) I look over to see my head teacher approaching; I down the water. Three things happened simultaneously: first, upon entering my mouth I am instantly aware that this is not water however I am not quick enough to completely reverse the swallowing process; Second, my head teacher runs over and screams “geumanhae!” or “stop!”; Finally, while my brain is saying “this is not water” and my teacher is saying “stop!” my body is saying “turn your head and spit this crap out at her!”. All of this happening at once, I freak out she screams, I spit, she screams again – dodgeing it thankfully – and then I begin some sort of choking and tap dancing routine. The principle then arrives on the scene and begins to laugh saying “Sanitizer! Sanitizer!”

Thirty days and I have yet to go to Seoul, but all things considered it is probably safer for me (and others) if I stay put for a while.

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It has just come to my attention that you can subscribe to blogs to get updates! I have been asked a couple of times now if I have updated my blog, now you can just enter your email on the left side under  "Get Email Updates!" and viola! You will be updated via e-mail.

P.S I double checked this service before I installed it and they will only send you something if I update, so no spam or stupid junk.

Food, Food?, and Food!

My first experience with food in Korea will make many of you laugh, but some of you will understand right away. The scene: I have just settled in to my first night in Korea, sitting with David relaying my journey when that old familiar feeling of hunger came up. Actually I was starving, my last meal had been on the plane at 3 p.m. and 6 hours later I was famished. David told me that there were few options at this hour, but I already knew exactly what I wanted. I told David and to my delight he said it was open and just around the corner. Soon we arrived at McDonalds and my hunger was satisfied. That’s right, my first ‘Korean’ meal and it was super good too. One thing I have found is that no matter where you go in the world, no matter what culture or what language they may have, there are two universals when it comes to food: Coke and a Big Mac. Sounds the same in every language and tastes the same in every culture. I have had Big Macs in Amsterdam, Santo Domingo, Chicago and Cheonan and the only difference is the person serving it. It’s comforting too in a way, a scary way actually. I see McDonalds and feel good about life, not because I love the food or am filled with a since of nationalism for the motherland. For some reason it is just nice to be familiar with something in a culture where I cannot read or understand anything that is said to me.

Back to food, which I feel is one of if not the biggest parts of the cross culture experience. We all eat and we all love to eat, this fact transcends all cultures. I often hear people say that all we ever do in America together is go out to eat, even if we go to a movie or bowling eating is seemingly a requirement. And this why we are fat right? WRONG! It is the same everywhere, eating is a communal thing, it is a bonding thing. It’s been like that forever, it was for a long time, the only part of the day that families or friends could get together. Work all day in the fields come home, do chores, then everyone pauses to eat together. It is a beautiful thing and it is not why Americans, or rather U.S. citizens are fat. The portion sizes in Africa and Korea are phenomenal, often outstripping meals I have had in the States. It is what is in the food that is making us fat and killing us, not the act of eating a big meal. 


Once again, back to food. The food in Korea ranges from the exotic and tasty to the disgusting and downright hysterical. My meals have been so turbulent that I cannot really compare them. Everything from breaded pork cutlet called donkkaseu (which is perhaps one of my favorites) to a plate of seasoned chicken’s feet (ordered by accident) to live octopus or sannakji, which I have yet to try but will in the name of science and bragging rights.


Needless to say Korean food has wondrous variety, much of which has never been seen in the states. Seafood is huge in Korea, which is fine with me I just have to get used to the general rule of seafood in Korea. What is this rule you ask? Well, if it is in the sea then by golly its seafood! This rule has led to some interesting soups and dishes, many of which have actually made me thankful that I cannot read the menu to see what it is I am actually eating. There are of course familiar things to be consumed, some super delicious fried chicken and corndogs, also there is pizza but it often falls under the hysterical category. I think when pizza first came to Korea a Korean asked what it was and some idiot said “oh, pizza can be anything you want it to be, as long as there is cheese” thus cementing a description of Korean pizza for the rest of time. There is no end to what they put on pizza here, name it and I have seen it. My first pizza (picture to follow) in Korea, was cheese, hotdog, green olive and hardboiled egg; we chose this because it was the most normal pizza combo available.  

Food will always be an adventure here and I don’t think I will be able to sample it all, though I will try. Much of it is very cheap in fact going out to eat is often more economical than making your own food, unless you’re really into instant ramen which is huge here, I mean literally three isles inthe super market are nothing but varieties of instant ramen. Unfortunatly I am ramened out from college. 


Here are some of the staples of Korea I have discovered so far:

Kimchi - basically this is fermented cabbage with spicy red peppers, garlic, ginger and fish sauce. There are literally hundreds of type of Kimchi from cucumber to seaweed but cabbage seems to be the most popular. I happen to like it,
which is good because it is served with every meal

Donkkaseu - Pork that has been breaded and fried with a really good sauce

Samgyeopsal - Pork bellies that come salted and you cook them yourselves at you table, this is quite common with meats here. You eat this in a lettuce wrap with garlic and bean paste

All of these are delightful and interesting but of course if there is any craving for North American fast food there is no shortage. Besides the golden arches I have access to: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeyes, Burger King, Taco Bell, and most recently Dominoes where pepperoni pizza can be had -praise Jesus. Of course most of these places have variations of what you are familiar with and additions that are stricly korean, like the shrimp burger at mcdonalds or the fried squid rings (that can often be mistaken for onion rings) at KFC. There is also more upscale dining like Outback Steakhouse. With all of these familiar and mysterious options I am sure I will end up writing about food again soon. Very soon, cheers!

Touchdown

Well it is by far a new experience. I am in South Korea, in the city of Cheonan to be precise, in culture that I have really thought about or had much interest in…ever. This world moves so quickly and I have been thrust into the middle of it. I have been trying to catch my breath since I arrived and it is only sixteen days, later that I have the energy to put together anything to relate back home. Now that I have some time, let me back up a bit and give you a brief timeline of my arrival in South Korea.

My journey began at 6 p.m. in Nampa Idaho on September 3^rd – I was actually supposed to leave the 25^th of August, however my passport which was sent in for the proper visa did not arrive on time, in fact it did not arrive until 3:30 p.m. on the 3^rd which cut things very close – I drove to Boise to catch my plane to Portland. I was super excited to be in Portland at first, but after spending 11 hours in the baggage claim I was ready to leave. From Portland it was on to wonderful San Francisco! My plane in San Fran was supposed to leave at 12 p.m. and my plane from Portland landed at 11:15 a.m. so my plan was to run full speed from terminal to terminal, which I did, got on the plane right away, and settled into my lovely seat in Coach next to a Korean boy and an American with a tiny dog (which barked uncontrollably for almost the entire 14 hour flight). I was ready to take off for my first flight across the great Pacific! I was ready but the plane was not “just a little problem with the fuel tank ladies and gentlemen, we will take off as soon as it is fixed.” Fuel tank, what could be wrong. Nothing major I’m sure or else they wouldn’t fly right? Should take just a few minutes right? Two and half hours later we are ready to fly, the whole time waiting I am thinking of all the possibilities and the longer I thought the worse the scenario became, what I imagined as a finicky gas cap quickly became a gaping hole created by some unknown creature of the air, the longer we were on the tarmac the hotter it got and the more my air monster who eats gas tanks became a reality, I envisioned myself looking out the window shortly after take-off and seeing the beast savagely sink its shark-like teeth into the fuel tank. I became frantic but no one would believe me, the stewardess thought I had gone insane. I became wild with fear and began screaming, the plane had to be grounded in Hawaii the whole time John Lithgow is laughing at me. But to my dismay, I was not in the Twilight Zone, I was somewhere worse - a plane full of angry, sweaty people who were two hours into their flight haveing gone no where.

The plane finally landed in South Korea to my great relief, because the dog was getting super annoying, although his owner was super nice. The poor dog would just not shut up and everyone from the stewardess to the 70 year old Indian woman in front of me was getting very ticked off. I felt bad for the dogs owner because there was not much she could do, although I do have fond memories of thinking about drowning the dog in the airplane toilet. Once we got throught customs I was greeted by David Laird, which was nice because it was a familiar face in a new world. What wasn't nice was the discovery that we had about a two hour bus ride to our destination, the great city of Cheonan. We finally did get to Cheonan, though not to our dorm. We got off the bus smack in the middle of Downtown (a little note on Cheonan, it is considered out in the country by those living close to Seoul, which it may be when compared to Seoul's 10 million+ people, but Cheonan itself seems like a bustling city with amost a million people). It was a bit overwhelming because I was dead tired, it was saturday (remember i started traveling thursday) and we still had to catch a cab. Davids girlfirend, the first Korean I met in Korea, lukily was already waiting with one; we just had to find her. Once we did and exchanged greetings we were off and I quickly became aware of th fact that Korean cab drivers are like Dominican cab drivers are like African cab drivers, basically seatbelts on is the advice. Finally we arrived at Korea Nazarene University, quite the impressive outfit i must say - I will put some amzing pictures up later.

Once i finally got settled - a feat which took about an hour and a half because I had the wrong room key and had to wait for someone to come find the right one - it was about midnight. What a long journey with many delays and crises! The whole time my mentality was that of a vacationer, the fact that I am going to be here for at least a year was not sinking in. It still hasn't completely sunk in but I am thankful for a safe arrival. Just relfecting on this has exhausted me and I must conclude here but I will have another post very soon that will have more substance than just a play by play.