Back off! I'm on vacation!

For those of you keeping up with the ongoings in my life, I'm practically over my fear of flying. I attribute it to 15 months of riding in Korean buses and taxis, which usually leaves me thinking "Arghhhhh! I'd feel much safer at 35,000 feet!"

Anyway, last Friday I woke up super early and headed to the local bus station to catch a bus to Busan, from which I would be hopping on a flight to Jeju-do. (Quick fact: "do" means "island). Guess what? I was not nervous one bit!

It was early, I was tired, and DAMMIT it was the start of  my vacation. So I grabbed a cappuccino and bag of potato chips from the bus convenience store (weren't many options) and sat on a bench to wait for my bus. THEN an ajosshi (older man) walked up to me, pointed to the potato chips, and grabbed the fat on my arms! I started yelling at him by saying "HAJIMA! HAJIMA!" (Don't do that!) He just started laughing, so I stood up, dumped the entire bag of potato chips on him, flipped him off, and burst into tears. His wife came up to me and apologized and tried to calm me down, but I just walked off. Which is for the best because I probably would have scratched his eyes out.

Now, I in no way support abuse of the elderly, but I came close to getting into an all out brawl with a grandfather. Call me fat, but do NOT touch me! I don't care if it is your culture, and you have no boundaries. But it's situations like this that has resulted in Korea having the highest suicide rate in the world. Constantly pointing out others' flaws, does not encourage change and self-improvement. It encourages self-hatred and impossible goals.

Earlier in the semester, my college employers deemed me too fat for brochure pictures and a student informed me that my nickname was "Pig Teacher." The student was completed baffled when I got upset and demanded an apology letter, which basically ended up being an apology wrapped in shit, but at least the apology was included in the letter.

In Korea it is common to jokingly call overweight people "pig," but he would not have said those words to one of his Korean professors. Maybe I just did not notice it before, but there seems to be more racism and bigotry in this area of Korea. I'm trying to remain positive. Life is hard, and I cannot please everyone, but this country is really beginning to take its toll on me.

TAKE NOTE KOREA: "Ugly. Is irrelevant. It is an immeasurable insult to a woman, and then supposedly the worst crime you can commit as a woman. But ugly, as beautiful, is an illusion."
Margaret Cho 


I cried the entire 2 1/2 hours on the bus to Busan but eventually pulled myself together and reminded myself that I was only hurting because I ALLOWED the old man, student, etc. to hurt me. I have control over my emotions and my happiness. ME! NO ONE ELSE!

Fortunately, I love my job. It's hard to beat less than 20 hours of teaching per week and 40 days paid vacation. Plus, I have seen so much improvement in my students, and I am very proud of them. Will I remain in Korea for a third year? Only time will tell, but it would be nice to finally move to Prague next year. All I know is that moving back to America will not be in the cards for a while. I want to see as much of the world as possible, and, at the moment, just thinking about the American education system makes my head hurt.

In closing, I don't hate Korea, and I have some wonderful Korean friends. I know that what I am experiencing is no different from what Koreans experience when moving to America. Racism and meanness are prevalent all over the world but so are love and acceptance.

Also, my weekend in Jeju-do was phenomenal and quite possibly my best Korean experience, so the bus terminal experience was quickly forgotten. Besides, who can be unhappy in paradise???

So here' to love, acceptance, and happiness!

"It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy."
Lucille Ball

Hampyeong Butterfly Festival

Last month, I went to the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival. It takes place each May in a beautiful, and I don't use the word "beautiful" lightly, park.

The festival is fairly new. It began in 1999, and it is easy to see that tons of money and time have been put into the presentation of the pristine festival area. It was the kind of pristine that I like to call "Disney" pristine.

(This is a butterfly emerging from its cocoon before my very eyes!)

So, my fellow Korean expats, next may, I hightly recommend making the trek down to the small farming town of Hampyeong in South Jeolla Province.

Other than the festival, there is not much to do in Hampyeong, so I opted to stay in a Hotel in Gwangju, which was an easy 30 minute bus ride from the festival.

Plus, I had never been to Gwangju, which is the sixth largest city in South Korea, and I wanted to check it off my "to see while in Korea list."

It was a great and relaxing weekend, during which I got to spend some "me" time. I love being social and traveling with others, but I most definitely prefer traveling alone sometimes. It's empowering and gives me a chance to have a flexible itinerary.  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm not a planner. Too much structure and too many time restraints make me claustrophobic (But my neurotic ways could fill a whole different blog!). I like to wake up in the morning with no plans or responsibilities and just spend a day exploring, which is why for me, traveling alone is like a breath of fresh air.

And that is exactly what my weekend in Gwangju/Hampyeong was, a breath of fresh air.

"One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more."
Thomas Jefferson 

BUDDHAS, BROTHERS, BATTLES, AND BIRDS

Tomorrow is Buddha's Birthday, which is a national holiday in Korea, so I have the day off work. I'm taking advantage of the three day weekend and finally moseying down to the beautiful island of Jeju! 


It is Korea's most famous island (often called the Korean Hawaii), and many people tell me that I will feel like I am in a completely different country. 


I'm busing it to Busan first thing in the morning then boarding a plane at 2:30pm and heading to paradise. (ASAH!) I'll be meeting my new South African friend, Diana (she is also a teacher in Geochang), at the Jeju Hiking (oh, the irony) Inn for a fun-filled weekend in the sun! Oh sun, how I've missed thee! I cannot wait to feel your cancerous invoking, ultra-violet arms around me once again!

Along with planning a last-minute trip to paradise, today has been quite eventful. After lunch, I was informed by my students that North and South Korea will break into an all out war tomorrow. (They tend to exaggerate) But it did remind me to check a daily news site other than Perez, and sure enough, South Korea has publicly accused the North of torpedoing (is that a word?) the Cheonan Warship last March, which killed 46 sailors. To put it mildly, this is one pissed off peninsula.


I'm glad to be getting the hell out of dodge tomorrow. I even excitedly told the aforementioned class that I am going to Jeju for the holiday weekend. I expected equally excited responses. Instead, I got...




"Teacher, no! Tomorrow is war! You don't go to Jeju! You go to USA!"




"I don't need to go to the USA. I'm safe. The American Army is here."




"Teacher! Call your brother! Tell him come to Korea!"




They then talked about my brother's height for the next 45 minutes, while I tried to teach a lesson on speaking with doctors and pharmacists.




A few weeks ago, I showed my students pictures of my family, and now they are obsessed with my brother. I showed them a picture of him all decked out in his dress blues (which is impressive, I must say) and pictures of his return from Iraq. They went on and on about his height, blonde hair, blue eyes, and the "many decorations" on his uniform. Now they pretty much think he is the Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

I also told them that his wife, my sister-in-law, is also an officer in the army, but they were not able to fully grasp the concept of a woman being a wife, mother, attorney, and army officer. (Don't get me started on my sexist rant)




So, Scott, if you could just swing by Korea tomorrow and solve the whole North/South issue, that would be great. Thanks.




ALSO, I heard a cuckoo bird outside my window today. Other than in a German-made clock, I've never heard one in real life. AND it sounded just like the clock! I did not know that cuckoo birds were native to Korea, but I checked my resources (aka wikipedia), and they do, indeed, live in Korea, among other places all over the world. I did not see the bird. I only heard it. Hopefully, it will stick around, so I can try to get a pic.




Well, THIS bird needs to pack for tomorrow and get some beauty sleep, so I must bid you, my tens of readers, adieu.

Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival

The Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival is held annually, each March, in Cheongdo, South Korea. 

Bullfighting in Korea is a 1000 year old tradition, and the event in Cheongdo is the biggest in the country. Unlike Spanish-style bullfighting, no humans are involved in the actual battle. It is between two bulls and two bulls only. Also, no bulls are killed in the fights, but there is definite blood shed. I'm a bit soft-hearted when it comes to animals, so it was not my cup of tea. I did, however, have a great time socializing with friends. There was a surprising huge turn out of waygookins (foreigners). And I got to see a ton of friends from Seoul and Yongin that I had not seen in quite some time. I was even interviewed by a small Korean film studio based in Daegu who was filming a documentary on the event.
It was a good day, but I doubt I will attend again next year. As I mentioned earlier, it was not exactly my "thing." But most of my friends had a blast cheering and making bets on the bulls. Also, a group of my friends ingeniously crafted paper-mache bull horns, which almost outshone the actual bull fights!

Most importantly, it has been checked off my Korean festival list, so no complaints here!

Festivals in Korea

One of my 2010 goals is the attend as many Korean Festivals as possible. I also want to see as much of Korea as possible, so it is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. Here is a great site I use to keep up with the yearly happenings:

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/festival/eng/korea_festival.html?festival=0

Remember, folks, keep it real. Real Festive!