My first Soju

Here's my first Cultural Adjustment Check (CAC) assignment that I had to do. We were meant to write about five hundred words in reply to a set of questions... I'm sure you can glean what they were. So in case you're interested:

To tell the truth, before applying for the Fulbright in South Korea, I’d never been terribly interested in Asian studies. As part of my history major, I was able to choose particular areas and period of history that I really loved to focus on (ancient Rome, modern Ireland, and twentieth century America), and take less electives in other areas. And because I had never found myself drawn to Asian history, roughly one hundred percent of my knowledge about it came from what I had learned in my American history classes, specifically the one I took on American diplomacy. My knowledge was limited to Japan in World War II, Communist China, Vietnam, and to an even lesser extent, the Korean War. The only recent “knowledge” I had about Korea was about the very basic events with Kim Jong-Il in North Korea, and what I could glean from the movie Team America: World Police. I’d done what all the journalists and historians’ books I’ve read recently accuse most Americans of doing: taking no interest in Korea until some major event forces it onto the world stage, and then forgetting about it the moment the drama dies down. I have only a couple Korean-American friends, both of whom are adoptees, so most of the pre-travel advice I received came from a military brat friend who had lived here when she was very young, and even she could tell me very little aside from the word for dog, in hopes that I could avoid eating it. Since finding out I got the grant, I’ve read quite a few books which have hopefully filled in some of the holes and given me a little more context, especially T.R. Reid’s Confucius Lives Next Door, which attempts to explain to Westerners some of the ways Confucian thought still shapes so many aspects of Asian society. But I still know that I will have to make up for my previous one-sided knowledge about Korea by making a concerted effort to see the country, and what I can learn about its history, from a Korean perspective.

My absolute number one goal for Orientation is to learn as much Korean as humanly possible. Knowing myself, I’m pretty sure that the worst part of the culture shock for me will be not being able to express myself, so I’m trying to combat that by throwing myself wholeheartedly into the language learning. I don’t have any special skill at picking up language, but I really like them, so it makes it easy for me to study. While working in a homeless shelter in Ireland the last few months, I worked with a lot of Polish people, and I made it a point to learn even the most basic phrases because I could tell that it immediately helped put them at ease, and that they really appreciated that someone took the time to learn to say hello (“Czesc”) and goodbye (“Dowidzenia”). I’m hoping the same effort will help me get along in Korea, and I’m really hoping to do some language classes in Seoul during winter break. My second goal is to get some real experience with lesson-planning, so that I feel confident when I get to my placement. I’m not really too nervous about teaching and discipline, because I’ve spent quite a bit of time in front of students (although not students who spoke a different language), but most of the time I’ve been delivering pre-organized material, complete with lesson plans. I know Fulbright provides a lot of examples and help, but I want to learn as much as possible about it, because I know I want to be a teacher, but missed out on that part by not studying education, so I’m really excited about what I can learn over the next year. My third goal is to make as many friends as possible, so that I have a real support network to sustain me through the next eleven months. Because I spent the last five months living in Ireland, I’ve already worked out most of the kinks of communicating with people back home, but it will be so much better to be able to share ideas (and commiserate) with people who know exactly what I’m going through.

So anyway. Today was pretty amazing. I got up this morning and went jalking. I didn't go very far, just to the Front Gate and the Back Gate (the two places where Kwangjon University meet the city). Then I came back and showered, and did that assignment before breakfast. Breakfast was surprisingly okay. The kimchi (seaweed) was still really spicy, but the rice was consistent, and the soup had a recognizable meat (not fish)! It was pretty good. Then we had a meeting with more information and Korean language placement interview. (Surprise surprise: I'm in beginner!) Then I decided to go out with some people for lunch, and I'm so glad I did, because I finally ate something I liked! It's called mandu, which just means dumplings, but they had MEAT in them, so I'm protein-loaded, and I had a nice time. We came back for a workshop--it was two of the current ETAs talking about 'how to be an other in Korea.' They were funny guys, and it was actually a really interesting presentation. Then we had to do a scavenger hunt type thing around the city of Chuncheon. It was kind of annoying, just because it was hot outside, but they paid for us to take a taxi to E-mart, a kinda-Target like store, where I was able to get... a water bottle, because I didn't bring my money (I forgot). But it has some cool stuff. Then about thirty of us went out to dinner with the current ETA speakers, and we filled up a restaurant. We had tagalbi, which is either roast chicken or duck, but it was amazingly good (but reeeeally spicy). Came back, got our textbooks for language class tomorrow, then had a mixer with the KEY Club (Kangwon English Yard), Korean students who are studying English, so I got to talk to some nice girls and we ended up playing drinking games, drinking soju, their national alcohol (20% if I remember correctly). It tastes a little like vodka, but less vile, and it was a really neat time. And now... a luxurious shower and sleep to prepare for first day of language class tomorrow!