It's gettin' kind of hectic

Doing the CELTA intensive course while trying to pack up my apartment and move stuff to storage has turned out to be unexpectedly crazy.  The course is serious business.  And I'm not trying to fail because that would be a waste of $2300.  There may be no more updates on the blog until the course ends.  I'm also realizing that I'm a bigger pack rat than I suspected.  I must reduce my belongings so that subsequent moves won't be such a headache.  

써니 Sunny (2011) & 말아톤 Marathon (2005)

The Korean Cultural Center in DC has two film screenings every month.  This month's offering is Sunny, a film about a group of high school friends in the 1980s and their reunion 25 years later.  It was quite good.  Those girls were a rough bunch.  I'd watch it again.  Here's the trailer:

 

Earlier this year they screened Marathon, which I also enjoyed.  It's based on the true story of an autistic marathon runner.  Most definitely plan to re-watch it when I have time.   The acting was superb.  I've had a few students on the autism spectrum in my classroom for the past three years, and the depiction was quite accurate.  It also gave me a bit of insight into how Korean society deals with people with disabilities. 

Also,  Jo Seung-woo, the main actor, holds a special place in my heart because, although I had been watching world cinema for a long time, his film 춘향뎐 Chunhyang (2000) was the first Korean film I really took notice of.  I watched it at Cinestudio with my friend Daniel.  When we left the theater he said "¡Que impresionante!"  Impressive indeed.  

    

Jo Seung-woo also starred in 도마뱀 Love Phobia (2006) which is another film I liked a lot.  I recommend it if you like a bit of magic realism.

WARNING:  Do not read the plot summaries on Wikipedia because they are full of spoilers.

I'm a Baking Fool

I've been reading several blogs and have joined a few Facebook groups of Westerners living Korea.  When it comes to posts from people like me, who plan to go, but are not there yet, I've noticed a few recurring themes.  Black women fret over whether they'll be able to find hair salons.  White women obsess about whether they'll be perceived as fat compared to local women.  Black men worry about the racism they might face.  And one of my friends, who's moving there this year, is concerned that there won't be any other Latinos around, or anywhere to dance salsa, merengue, bachata, etc.

Me?  I'm freaking out about baking.  You see, I enjoy baking and most Korean apartments don't come equipped with ovens.  So I've been on a baking frenzy since last autumn.  In the past, I would bake once a month and only during the cooler months.  Now I bake on a weekly basis despite the rising temperatures.   Muffins, olive bread, pizza, cheesy bread sticks, ginger bread cookies, whole wheat bread, bruschetta,  raisin bread, rolls, the list goes on... 

Yeah, I know I didn't mention white men.  I usually skip over what they have to say on forums. 

One of these went to my friend Ruth, who just had a baby.  Since she's breast feeding, baby Nicholas will be (indirectly) tasting my bread too!  She eats it with Nutella. 

 

First time making these super-easy rolls.  So pretty I didn't want to eat them. 

I normally use pasta sauce (store-bought or homemade), canned black olives and cheap mozzarella, but lately I've been using freshly diced tomatoes, kalamata olives and real mozzarella.  What a difference!

It's Starting to Feel Real

This week I sent the company that manages my apartment building my notice to vacate.  When I clicked on the Send button I felt a bit of anxiety.  There's no turning back now.  Exciting and frightening.  Eek!

Saturday Night Thrills, Nerd Style

Korean self-study when I could be out and about

Click on the photo if you want to read my sentences about famous people. 

After-Church Conversation with Mrs. Star

Mrs. Star:  How's school?
Me:  Good.
Mrs. Star:  Less than two months left!
Me:  Yeah.
Mrs. Star:  Where you goin' this summer?
Me:  Korea.
Mrs. Star:  What??  Mission trip?
Me:  No---yes.
Mrs. Star:  What are you going to be doing?
Me:  Teaching English at a language school.
Mrs. Star:  You know any Korean?
Me:  Yeah, I'm learning.  I'm nowhere near fluent, but I know the basics. 
Mrs. Star:  What did your parents say?
Me:  My mother's fine with it, but I haven't told my father yet because he worries every time I travel.  He feels that if I'm far away, he can't help me if something happens. 
Mrs. Star:  Aww, he's just being protective of his baby girl.  So when are you going to tell him, from the airport?
Me:  Probably next week, in person.

Mrs. Star:  If you frame it right, it will go down easier.  You going with people you know or you know somebody who's already there?
Me:  No.
Mrs. Star:  Girl, you're too grown!  Where are you going to be, Seoul?  My brother was stationed there and he liked it a lot.  He said everything's cheap and the people are friendly. 
Me:  For one week's training, yes.  After that they'll send me where they need me.
Mrs. Star:  See, now, I don't know how I'd feel about that.  I'd like to have a choice of where I'm going.
Me:  Most of the schools are in major cities with a few in the countryside.  Either way, I don't mind where they place me.
Mrs. Star:  Oh, then it's all good.  Maybe you'll bring back a Korean husband.
Me:  I don't know about that... 
Mrs. Star:  There's some tall Koreans out there.  Don't sleep!  When I was at University of Maryland there was this guy on the lacrosse team who was FINE!  All swolle and buff.  I was like, "The Koreans I know back in New York look nothing like this!"  And he had swag, too. Don't tell me you wouldn't give somebody like that a chance just because he's Asian.
Me:  It's not that, it's just that I have to be realistic about the cultural differences.
Mrs. Star:  You're right about that.  But you never know...

Packing Anxiety

As the date of my departure nears, I'm filled with excitement as well as dread.  Dread because I need to sort through, reduce, recycle, discard and pack up everything in my apartment.  Although I fancy myself a bit of a minimalist, I still managed to collect a lot over the years.  It doesn't help that teachers, by nature, tend to be pack rats because "Maybe I can use this in one of my classes next year."  So a good third of my belongings are boxes of lesson plans, text books, workbooks, teaching supplies and other work-related things.  I gave a lot to one of my colleagues, but still, a lot remains.  Had I known beforehand how dear basic school supplies are in Haitian schools, I would have taken a suitcase filled with just school supplies last summer when I was there to teach summer camp.  The few packs of pens and pencils I did take were so well received one would have thought I had given the kids money. 

Another third of my stuff is my books, music and yarn.  I've given away a lot of yarn, but, alas, my closets are still full of it.  Although I've set aside a large stack of compact discs to take to the used CD store,  it doesn't make much of a dent in my collection.  Reading is like eating for me, so we're not even going to talk about getting rid of books.  I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said, "Books are my friends."  Well, I have hundreds of friends. 

Another source of anxiety is the fact that I have to pack everything I'll need for the next six months into two measly suitcases.  I pride myself in being a light traveler.  Even when I spent three months traveling through North Africa and Europe, all I had was my back pack.  However, this is different.  I'll be working, so I need to take more than t-shirts and leggins, and I have to pack for several seasons.  Also, I am tall, have big feet and curves, so I'm not even going to set myself up into thinking I can walk into any random Korean clothing store to supplement my wardrobe.  In addition, I need to take books, yarn and a few baking/cooking essentials like spices.  The other thing is that I'd like to get most of this done before I begin the CELTA course, which is a month from now.  Pressure.

Better Than Finding a Ten Dollar Bill in My Jacket Pocket

A couple weeks ago I made a list of all the major expenditures (laptop, airplane tickets, CELTA certification course, first month's living expenses, etc.) I had to make in preparation for my move and became a bit worried that money was getting uncomfortably tight.  Then this week I checked my credit union account and realized I'd made several deposits over a year ago that I'd forgotten about and the balance was much higher than I remembered. Yay!  There's a lot to be said for having a savings account in a separate bank from the accounts that you use on a regular basis.

Yesterday I went to the Korean embassy to apply for my visa.  It was a fairly quick process and the line was short.  Filled out the form, provided my signed contract, passport and $45.  I'm supposed to pick up my passport tomorrow.  I got to the embassy a bit later than expected because I kept stopping on the walk from the subway to admire and photograph the colorful flowers adorning most buildings on embassy row.  The riot of color that occurs this time of year is one of the reasons why I love spring. 

Here are some of the photos I took:
  

I don't know the names of any of these flowers,

 

but I do recognize their beauty.

 

The Costa Rican embassy was next door to the Korean embassy.

 

The yellow ones are butter cups.

Fan Videos

I’ve decided not to watch any more fan videos.  It would be rather ridiculous to get all infatuated and fangirly about some actor or singer who I have no hope of ever meeting and who is like fifteen years my junior.  Besides, when fan-vids are based on a drama, they often include spoilers.  


Also, I will not be watching any dramas whose main characters are all in high school.  I no longer have patience for nor interest in teenaged angst domestic or imported.   Sorry, Boys Over Flowers fans and et al. 


[Edited to add, little did I know when I wrote this that three years later I would end up working on the campus where Boys Over Flowers was filmed.  Still haven’t watched it, though.]

14-day Kpop Challenge

Day 1: Favorite boyy group -  DBSK/TVSQ/JYJ
Day 2: Favorite girl group - 2NE1

Day 3: Ultimate crush – Bi/Rain
Day 4: Favorite boy group song - Share the World & Found You
Day 5: Favorite girl group song -  Can’t Nobody & Follow Me
Day 6: A song that makes you cry - Clazziquai’s She Is doesn’t make me cry, but it does make me a bit melancholy (most likely due to Kim Sam Soon drama memories.)
Day 7: A group you dislike -  any group comprised of more than five members
Day 8: A song that makes you smile - Infinite’s Come Back Again
Day 9: Favorite music video - DBSK’s Mirotic (dance version)
Day 10: Favorite cover of a k-pop song by another k-pop artist - Kim Tae Woo’s cover of SNSD’s Gee
Day 11: Favorite cover of an American pop song by a k-pop artist - GDragon’s version of Maroon Five’s “This Love”

Day 12: Favorite cover of an R&B ballad by a k-pop artist – anything by Bak Hyo Shin
Day 13: A k-pop song you never get tired of – MBLAQ’s Cry & Alex’s Waltz Lesson
Day 14: How do you find new K-pop? YouTube, suggestions from my students, askakorean@blogspot.com, eatyoukimchi.com

Where in Asia?

Korea.  If you had asked me ten years ago, I would have said India or Japan.  If the question had been posed in the 90s, the answer would have been Europe or Latin America.  But things change.  I still want to visit India & Japan and would like to see more of Europe & Latin America, but, for now, Korea is where I want to work.

How I Began Watching K-dramas

I got into Korean dramas in 2010.  I read an article about DBSK/TVSQ, the pop group with the biggest fan group in the world.  So I went on YouTube to check out their videos.  Then I watched several videos from the side bar (I later discovered that they were Sungkyunkwan Scandal fan fics).  These were confusing and had no subtitles, but they piqued my interest, so I searched out the actual drama and began watching it from the beginning.  By the third episode I was hooked.  


I watched the first four episodes with Spanish subtitles (thanks to a YouTuber in Peru), then that channel was closed down, so I watched whatever I could find with English or French subtitles.  There were a couple episodes that I watched raw on Chinese video sharing platform, Tudou because I couldn’t find them subtitled in any of my languages.   I then watched four more dramas between winter break and Martin Luther King Day.  I began to realize that I had to take a break because my stack of grading was piling up (I’m a high school teacher).  So I took about two months off, and then started watching them again, but limiting myself to just one per month.  Meanwhile, I discovered Kpop, drama recap websites, Korean food, learned how to read & write hangeul and am learning how to speak Korean.  All because of a fluff piece about Caceopeia on Yahoo News.


As someone who isn’t terribly impressed with Hollywood’s output, I’ve always been into world cinema, so it’s not unusual for me to watch subtitled films.  I’ve been through a French & Italian film phase, a Chinese film phase and, in the early 2000s, a serious Bollywood movie phase.  Since I’ve always been a bit different from my family and friends in general, they don’t think much (good or bad) of my current predilection for Korean entertainment.  Also, being an adult, I don’t worry about what people think about my choices.  
             

December 2011

What do I do? What will I do? When am I going?

I am a high school teacher and hope to continue being one.

I plan to move sometime this summer.

Why now?

Because...


-I've put this off for much too long.
-When I get older, I don't want to regret not having done this.
-I'm ready for something new.
-I have no dependents, spouse or debt to hold me here.
-The joy of teaching was slowly being sucked out of me by the unprofessional and incompetent administrators at my high school and by all the politics and drama at District of Columbia Public Schools.
-I enjoy teaching too much to allow myself to become a burned out teacher who just goes through the motions in order to collect a paycheck. 

Why did I decide to move?

Because I...

...enjoy traveling.
...have wanted to work abroad since the 90s.
...know that the challenges that I will experience will help me grow into an (even more) awesome person! 

The purpose of this blog...

...is to chronicle my experiences while in Asia.  Since I'm not there yet, the first few posts will be about my preparations for the move.  Cheers!

Guaria