Thursday, March 15, 2012
So, I came to a very important realization today
It was that everybody, absolutely everybody looks like a drunken sailor on the bus. You could be the most austere gentleman, an eight month pregnant woman, or even a strapping young student. You will still look like you are 3/4 of the way in the bag, and there is nothing you can do about it. EXCEPT! You can pray to whatever God in which you believe (or the trees/grass/Bob Marley, whatever) that there is a seat open close to the front so you do not have to stumble through the bus as it lurches forward in its ever changing waves. You can also hope that someone will take pity on you, but that is a doubtful scenario, and you will just be setting yourself up for failure. Like Stephenie Meyer. Or the Hindenburg.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
So, I saw a fanny pack today
Aaaaaaaand, I was able to snap a pic.
So, in Busan (really, in India) there is a festival called Holi. It is a festival to welcome spring, new life, and love. It was such a jarring experience. I think it was the biggest culture shock I have ever had. I was there for five minutes when a man I have never seen before comes up to me with a handful of colored powder, put it on my face and said, "Happy Holi!" After that, it was just a free for all. There were so many paints, so many colors. There was so much love and camaraderie. I was overwhelmed at the incredible amount of people.
I think my favorite part of the day was spying someone rocking the fanny pack. she was just dancing around and hanging out, and there it was. Wearing a fanny exactly where a fanny should be worn. Right in front mid waist height. She was awesome!! So, I crept up and said, "Hey, umm, my friends back home are obsessed with fanny packs. Would it be weird if I took a picture of it/you?" She gratefully responded, "Aw, yeah, girl of course! Who doesn't love a good fanny." So, fanny packs are a phenomena that will never be erased. Not in America, not in Korea, for sure not in Europe, those cats are crazy! So, Fanny Packs 4eva!
So, this is a poem I wrote to try to capture some sort of sense of what I experienced today. Don't judge. It is just a baby in its first draft. If you have any suggestions, by all means, please do.
So, in Busan (really, in India) there is a festival called Holi. It is a festival to welcome spring, new life, and love. It was such a jarring experience. I think it was the biggest culture shock I have ever had. I was there for five minutes when a man I have never seen before comes up to me with a handful of colored powder, put it on my face and said, "Happy Holi!" After that, it was just a free for all. There were so many paints, so many colors. There was so much love and camaraderie. I was overwhelmed at the incredible amount of people.
So, this is a poem I wrote to try to capture some sort of sense of what I experienced today. Don't judge. It is just a baby in its first draft. If you have any suggestions, by all means, please do.
celebration
arms raised with unabandoned joy
gritty sand buries my feet
paint on my face, dancing like a fool
at the Holi celebration preparing for Spring
the gritty sand burying my feet
reminds me of a time spent in childhood dreams.
as the Holi celebration prepares for spring,
love brushes the air with one giant stroke.
the time spent in childhood dreams
brings me to a place of simplicity and joy.
love brushes across the air
as I run, dance, and sing for joy.
a place of simplicity and joy
surrounded by friends and strangers
who run, dance, and sing for joy
and paint my face a brilliant collage.
friends and strangers
come together in circles and lines
painting a brilliant collage
of bodies moving as one person.
all of us who come together in circles and lines
meld culture, gender and race.
the bodies move as one.
a forgotten view of humanity.
we meld culture, gender, and race
to create something new and entirely our own.
a view of humanity. forgotten.
in doing so, we are made perfect.
creating something new and entirely our own
takes communication, understanding, and respect.
in that, we are made perfect.
exactly in God’s image.
communication, understanding and respect
comes from deep within our hearts,
exactly in God’s image
with our arms raised in unabandoned joy.
So, that was the painting part. I was sooooooooo dirty. Some of my friends came prepared and were wearing swimming suits, just in case they jumped into. Now, it is March. It is still around 50 degrees. It is an ocean. I was looking at them like they were crazy folks.
Then, as I was talking to them praising their audacity, my friend Mari runs up and says, "Hey, I want to go swimming, but I need a buddy." I responded with, "No way, man. It is so freaking cold. That's absurd. I also don't have a suit..." She said that she was just going to drop trou and go in her underpants. So, there I was, giving into peer pressure like I always do. So, I took off my shirt (I was wearing a cami) and took off my pants and was standing around in my skivvies. And, I knew that I could go in toe by toe. This was a full submersion mission. So, I tagged her and ran away. I ran right into the water, came up and sprayed water out of my mouth like a dolphin.
After about 30 seconds, my legs were numb and all of the hair I just shaved off of them was back and healthy. We paddled around for a while, discussing how much we miss being in and near water. And, even the fact that this is freezing, it is the most we've felt alive. Then, my friend Brian joins, and sure not to be out done, Steve barrels in as well (I think it may have been because I called him a pansy...) Anyway, none of us were prepared. So, there we were, the four of us, swimming around in the freezing ocean in nothing but out underpants. Afterward, we took a picture to commemorate this awesome event. People who don't even know me came up to me saying that I had balls of steel, and that I am a true rock star, which I think is completely appropriate. :)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
So I saw a kid straight up spit on the subway floor...
And that wasn't even the weirdest thing that happened to me today.
Alright folks, let's mosey on back to a more positive subway experience. Saturday evening, I was on the subway to meet up with some friends in Haeundae. As I stepped onto the train a little boy (7?) looked up at me with the wide eyed bewilderment of an antelope. With mouth gaping, he said, "Hello?" I responded in kind. His mother looks up and sees me, reaches into her bag and hands him two pieces of candy. His eyes glowed with anticipation. He stumbled across the aisle to me, and with two hands, head bowed reverently offered me one of the little pieces of candy. A little token of his happiness. He kept the other for himself. We opened our pieces with matching glee, and popped them into our mouths. "Thank you!" I said. And, it was then I realized that I was no longer a social pariah on the Busan subway and for that I was truly thankful.
I feel like there is really no segue from that paragraph to the next. But, I will just smash on anyway. Today, a young man (senior in high school), asked me to join him for tea with his homeroom teacher. Now, I am never one to turn down tea, and it would have been rude for me to do so. So, I followed him to his classroom where everything was set up. I felt very much like I was on a date with this kid and his teacher was that mother that would just bring juice, soda, fresh bread, sliced pineapple, and pot roast at varying intervals just to make sure there was no hanky panky between the couple. Now, that never happened to me because
1. Boys were never allowed in my room,
2. Hanky panky has been rumored to lead to a baby,
3. Lesbie honest...not gonna happen.
Anyway, so this woman puts straight up dried flowers into a glass tea pot, and pours in boiling water. As the water infused the bulbs, they began to bloom in the water delightfully flavoring it chamomile. So, this young man pours my tea, and true to custom , I pour his. At this point, I was a little nervous. I didn't want to start breaking hearts so soon, and so young. Poor guy. Then, my ego way got the better of me. He very timidly said (in grammatically perfect English), "I am applying to University in Seoul, and I would like it if you would be able to help me." Ahhhh, all anxiety ceases, and I sputter between sips, "Yes, of course! With what would you like help?" etc, etc, etc. So, we set up a writing schedule. He gave me his number. I gave him my email. Then, he left for after school school. Then, there was a half a pot of tea left, so the homeroom teacher sat down and we finished the pot. She spoke a little more English than I do Korean, but she was able to read and understand very well. Needless to say, it was an awkward tea experience all around.
Then, I walked to my subway stop, got on, and patooie! Someonne spit right on the ground. Inside the subway. I also saw a guy pick his nose, and people sometimes do not cover their mouths when they cough. I understand why people wear the germ masks.
Now, throughout all of these observations, I was definitely rocking Charlotte Church and Eric Whitacre (for the record, Sarah, you sing Habanera better than her). It was one of the nicest days we have seen in Busan yet, and with music as my inspiration I decided to prove American stereotypes are wrong, and that not all of us are lardy lards. Juuuuuuuuust, most of us. After boiling water to purify it to make sure i had something to drink when I came home, changing, leaving my room, coming back to my room to change my bra, leaving heading down four flights of stairs, climbing back up those stairs to come back to my room, putting on my knee braces, and finally leaving my room. I took the elevator down. Some stereotype smasher I am. So, anyway, I leave my room and run a mile to this really beautiful park at the base of a mountain. As I was deciding what path to take, I very literally stumbled across this outdoor gym. Henceforth be known as Forest Gym.
It wasn't like in America where there is a balance beam, maybe some high bars, and, if you're lucky, a bench to do step ups. No, this was a full out gym. There were monkey bars, inverted sit up benches, high bars of various heights, parallel bars for short people, parallel bars for tall people. There was something that looked like a Tony Little Gazelle, and this thing that you stand on that swivels as you turn your hips side to side. There were triceps dips, and my very favorite huge, giant hula hoops. Yeah, hula hoops. Anyway, so I am trying to process all of this. I went to a machine, and very quickly realized that I was the only person there not an octogenarian, but I was also the one doing the weakest amount of reps with the poorest form. So, I tried the hipper swivel-doowopadoo. I am minding my own business, rocking to Glee's version of Bon Jovi. And, this women steps onto the hipper swivel-doowopadoo directly across from me. She just smiled and whipped her hips back and forth, she whipped her hips back and forth. After several rotations of that, while I am agape with profound befudlement, she trots off to the side near the stream and just starts stretching out. You know, doing the toe touches and hip swirls, sort of like Bartok from Anastasia. I want you to know right now that I am not making fun of this woman. She looked like a rock star and she could easily be my grandmother. I was impressed and a little jealous.
And then, IT happened. The thing that was weirder than a kid spitting on the floor. I see a cat, which looked like a domesticated house cat meander across the path leading to the Forest Gym. It looks around to see if anyone was looking (obviously he didn't catch me with his cat's eye), and just took a dump in front of God and Forest Gym people to see. He shook his little booty and walked away like nothing happened. I thought to myself, "Man, I wonder if I will ever get to that stage of life. Pooping where ever I want, shaking it off and walking away." Then, I realized that I am a human, and I had been taking up good space on the hipper swivel-doowopadoo. With that realization, I left Forest Gym and went wee wee wee all the way home. Or, I just ran. And then climbed the 20 flights of stairs. And then proceeded to huff and puff and enter in my 6 digit pin code to blow down (or open) the door.
Alright folks, let's mosey on back to a more positive subway experience. Saturday evening, I was on the subway to meet up with some friends in Haeundae. As I stepped onto the train a little boy (7?) looked up at me with the wide eyed bewilderment of an antelope. With mouth gaping, he said, "Hello?" I responded in kind. His mother looks up and sees me, reaches into her bag and hands him two pieces of candy. His eyes glowed with anticipation. He stumbled across the aisle to me, and with two hands, head bowed reverently offered me one of the little pieces of candy. A little token of his happiness. He kept the other for himself. We opened our pieces with matching glee, and popped them into our mouths. "Thank you!" I said. And, it was then I realized that I was no longer a social pariah on the Busan subway and for that I was truly thankful.
I feel like there is really no segue from that paragraph to the next. But, I will just smash on anyway. Today, a young man (senior in high school), asked me to join him for tea with his homeroom teacher. Now, I am never one to turn down tea, and it would have been rude for me to do so. So, I followed him to his classroom where everything was set up. I felt very much like I was on a date with this kid and his teacher was that mother that would just bring juice, soda, fresh bread, sliced pineapple, and pot roast at varying intervals just to make sure there was no hanky panky between the couple. Now, that never happened to me because
1. Boys were never allowed in my room,
2. Hanky panky has been rumored to lead to a baby,
3. Lesbie honest...not gonna happen.
Anyway, so this woman puts straight up dried flowers into a glass tea pot, and pours in boiling water. As the water infused the bulbs, they began to bloom in the water delightfully flavoring it chamomile. So, this young man pours my tea, and true to custom , I pour his. At this point, I was a little nervous. I didn't want to start breaking hearts so soon, and so young. Poor guy. Then, my ego way got the better of me. He very timidly said (in grammatically perfect English), "I am applying to University in Seoul, and I would like it if you would be able to help me." Ahhhh, all anxiety ceases, and I sputter between sips, "Yes, of course! With what would you like help?" etc, etc, etc. So, we set up a writing schedule. He gave me his number. I gave him my email. Then, he left for after school school. Then, there was a half a pot of tea left, so the homeroom teacher sat down and we finished the pot. She spoke a little more English than I do Korean, but she was able to read and understand very well. Needless to say, it was an awkward tea experience all around.
Then, I walked to my subway stop, got on, and patooie! Someonne spit right on the ground. Inside the subway. I also saw a guy pick his nose, and people sometimes do not cover their mouths when they cough. I understand why people wear the germ masks.
Now, throughout all of these observations, I was definitely rocking Charlotte Church and Eric Whitacre (for the record, Sarah, you sing Habanera better than her). It was one of the nicest days we have seen in Busan yet, and with music as my inspiration I decided to prove American stereotypes are wrong, and that not all of us are lardy lards. Juuuuuuuuust, most of us. After boiling water to purify it to make sure i had something to drink when I came home, changing, leaving my room, coming back to my room to change my bra, leaving heading down four flights of stairs, climbing back up those stairs to come back to my room, putting on my knee braces, and finally leaving my room. I took the elevator down. Some stereotype smasher I am. So, anyway, I leave my room and run a mile to this really beautiful park at the base of a mountain. As I was deciding what path to take, I very literally stumbled across this outdoor gym. Henceforth be known as Forest Gym.
It wasn't like in America where there is a balance beam, maybe some high bars, and, if you're lucky, a bench to do step ups. No, this was a full out gym. There were monkey bars, inverted sit up benches, high bars of various heights, parallel bars for short people, parallel bars for tall people. There was something that looked like a Tony Little Gazelle, and this thing that you stand on that swivels as you turn your hips side to side. There were triceps dips, and my very favorite huge, giant hula hoops. Yeah, hula hoops. Anyway, so I am trying to process all of this. I went to a machine, and very quickly realized that I was the only person there not an octogenarian, but I was also the one doing the weakest amount of reps with the poorest form. So, I tried the hipper swivel-doowopadoo. I am minding my own business, rocking to Glee's version of Bon Jovi. And, this women steps onto the hipper swivel-doowopadoo directly across from me. She just smiled and whipped her hips back and forth, she whipped her hips back and forth. After several rotations of that, while I am agape with profound befudlement, she trots off to the side near the stream and just starts stretching out. You know, doing the toe touches and hip swirls, sort of like Bartok from Anastasia. I want you to know right now that I am not making fun of this woman. She looked like a rock star and she could easily be my grandmother. I was impressed and a little jealous.
And then, IT happened. The thing that was weirder than a kid spitting on the floor. I see a cat, which looked like a domesticated house cat meander across the path leading to the Forest Gym. It looks around to see if anyone was looking (obviously he didn't catch me with his cat's eye), and just took a dump in front of God and Forest Gym people to see. He shook his little booty and walked away like nothing happened. I thought to myself, "Man, I wonder if I will ever get to that stage of life. Pooping where ever I want, shaking it off and walking away." Then, I realized that I am a human, and I had been taking up good space on the hipper swivel-doowopadoo. With that realization, I left Forest Gym and went wee wee wee all the way home. Or, I just ran. And then climbed the 20 flights of stairs. And then proceeded to huff and puff and enter in my 6 digit pin code to blow down (or open) the door.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
So I caught the last Metro home....
So, it was around 9:00 pm my time here, and I was at a Packer bar with abunch of people from my orientation group. I wasn't really talking to anybody, and I had misjudged how much won I needed to take out, so I was at a bar with a bunch of people that I am not sure I know very well. So, I decided to leave. As I was saying my goodbyes, my friends, obviously, gave a me a bunch of shit for going home. Then, I started talking to them and things went well, and all of a sudden it was 11:45. The last metro leaves at midnight. I ha no fare for a cab ride home. So, I booked it out of there and made it safely on the train.
Things I did at the bar to pass the time:
1. Talk to the owners about how much he misses the Packers.
2. Talk to my friends about my how lucky I am to have someone who would be okay with me going across the world to teach. (Honey, I talked a lot about you and may have sent my friends some pictures of our family.)
3. Played the, "Where are you from" game, which consists of guessing where the person is from based solely on their looks and, if you're lucky, a sound clip. I guessed the east coast for someone from Canada, and she got really offended. Whoops.
4. Offered a trade of a hair cut for a massage. My friend will cut my hair, and I will give that person a massage. Excellent trade agreement.
5. Watched my friend blow perfect smoke rings from a hookah. I was pretty impressed.
Aside from gallivanting throughout the city of Busan, I do have some good stories. I will go backwards by day.
Today, I was going on an adventure. I can see the ocean from my apartment, so I took the old Grandma Bahr method to try to find it. Go in the direction-ish until you find something you recognize. Now, I am in a foreign country and I don't recognize a dang thing. So, this was helpful in the idea of going towards the idea of beach. So, with my nose to the air and sea breezes flowing, I started walking. I went down several streets zig zagging. And, then I came upon a metro station, which was good luck, because I needed to purchase a transportation card. After some gestured conversations and confused speech, we figured out what I needed. I thanked them profusely, "Kamsahimnida." Bowing and bowing. I walked a little more. Found an E Mart, which is like the Wal Mart of Korea. Then, found a sign that said Haeuendae and a picture of a dude swimming. "Yes!" I thought to myself, "This is it!" So, I followed this road down a sketchy back alley with people loading and unloading things. I didn't think it was right, so I turned around. I looked up and there was a huge building that said beach on it. Ah ha! That's the ticket. So, I followed the streets to this building, and there it was. A creamy colored wall that said, "Haeundae Fun and Sun." Perfect. This is it! I will just follow this wall until there is a break in it. So, I did. I looked through the break to see the beautiful, unmistakable signs of
CONSTRUCTION! They had the water portion of the beach partitioned off. I was so put off. I was concerned on how to get home because I had taken so many weird turns to get to that place. But, I saw the beacon of CINUS department store and just looked up the whole way. I found myself in my apartment in no time. But, tomorrow, I plan on surveying the land hoping for a little more success.
Yesterday, I went to get my Alien Registration card. When we got there, there were 272 people waiting, so my co-teacher and I went out for lunch and shopping, and then came back. For lunch we had Japanese curry. I had a cutlet and mine and her had a croquette on his. It was literally a hole in the wall restaurant. 4 tables each seating two people. But, oh my God. There was an egg carefully laid atop a steaming pile of curried rice and a perfectly made crusted cutlet snuggled in there, too. So. Good. If you come to visit me, we're going there. It is a 40 minute subway ride, but it is worth it.
Monday, I left Jeonju University and traveled to Busan. It was a three hour bus ride, and I could sleep during any of it. I met my co-teacher (James) and principal. I really enjoy my school. James has been so helpful through everything. We set up my internet and bank account. Then, we met up with one of his teacher friends Miss Kim (who, sidenote, ask if I wanted to get my nails done with her today. I joined her, but politely declined a mani) for dinner. We had tacos, fajitas and Mexican pizza. I MISS CHEESE. However, Korean Mexican food is quite a bit different. It used a very specific spice that I do not know, but it burned my mouth off. The beef for the fajitas seemed to be marinated in a jalapeno and soy bean vinaigrette and then sauteed to perfection. It melded with the peppers and onions quite beautifully. THen, we went to Miss Kim's house and picked up some essentials that I need for my house. Things like toilet paper and pots and pans.
Sunday was the last day of my orientation. I got up at 8 and had to watch every team's 15 minute condensed EFL lesson. It was seriously really difficult. I, then, had to perform my team's lesson last, which means that these people have been watching lessons for 4 hours, and now we have to go. Well, shoot. It went well. Then, we had the meeting which told us what school we were at and how many co-teachers we had. I have one named James. I am going to Centum City High School, which is an all boys school. I am really looking forward to it. I think that I will be able to use sports or music to help teach these kids English. It should be really fun. Then, we had our farewell dinner, which was sad to see my friends go, but good to know that we are all off to new and exciting adventures. I am certainly looking forward to my friends Paula, Kiera, Maeve, Bethany and Brittany to come and visit. It should be quite fun.
Saturday was pretty dull. I had classes, and then had to rewrite my lesson plan according to new rules. Yiiiiikes, but I got to bed early enough. Friday was sort of similar in classes etc. If you have an interest in classes please email me (kathryn.botsford@gmail.com) and I would love to tell you about them. But, en masse, they are pretty boring.
Now, Thursday! We went on a field trip to Hanok village in Jeonju. We left JU around nine and arrived at our destination about 15 minutes later. First, we descended into the city. Where I took some cloister pictures. We went to the shrine of King Tao-Je. We walked through the shrine and his gardens. It was beautiful.
We then went to the paper making factory. These women separate fibers and then put it into boiling water, and then the men take the boiling water fibers and put it into this huge basin and used their rack that is webbed like a tennis raket to collect the fibers and then put the wet paper onto this huge stack. I am not sure the drying process, but it was phenomenal to watch. And, oh my gosh, there was an adorable puppy right outside of the shop who wouldn't let go of my sleeve with his itty bitty teeth. I about died.
Then, we went to the So Ju information center and learned how this rice fermented alcohol is made. Holy crap that stuff puts you on your ass. Then, we had a little bit of free time where we played yard games like "Sort-of horseshoes" and "really hard darts."
After that time, we went to a restaurant to bipbimbop, which is a cultural dish here. It is essentially mushrooms, meet, hot sauce, cabbage, lettuce, sprouts, rice and egg all mixxed together in a giant cluster you know what. It was sooooooooo tasty. The bipbimbap has all separate flavor but they worked together in a way that I didn't think was possible. We also had sticky lotus root and a ginger tea. And, let me tell you, this tea tasted like a cinnamon gingerbread cookie. It was awesome.
After lunch, my group went to the north side of the city, and we had cultural lessons. The first on was a traditional Korean dance. The moves were pretty straight forward, but you had to be exact with them. Then, they asked for volunteers to be the lion. Of course, I volunteered. Who doesn't want to be a lion? So, we had to learn a NEW dance in front of all of these peopl (there was about 12 of us). Then, we put the lion on our head and danced around. My partner was Stephanie, and I think we made a pretty good lion team.
After our dance lesson, we played adult see saw which involves a board and a fulcrom. But, instead of sitting and going back and forth, you are jumping up and down. Safe? Maybe not. Fun? Yep.
Then, we went inside to use the fancy paper to cover boxes. Mine is teal and pink. The lady helping though was really sassy. And, if you didn't do the craft how she wanted, she came over and fixed it for you. Yeah, like that helped my craft anxiety.
After that, we went to a room with a bunch of traditional drums. We learned a beat, and tried to put it all together. When it was working, it was a lot, a lot of fun. I got on of the hour glass drums, and tried my best. Then, after that, it was time to go home. And that was a busy day.
Whew, this has been a long message. I will make sure to update more frequently. I hope all is well with you, and I will talk to you soon!
Things I did at the bar to pass the time:
1. Talk to the owners about how much he misses the Packers.
2. Talk to my friends about my how lucky I am to have someone who would be okay with me going across the world to teach. (Honey, I talked a lot about you and may have sent my friends some pictures of our family.)
3. Played the, "Where are you from" game, which consists of guessing where the person is from based solely on their looks and, if you're lucky, a sound clip. I guessed the east coast for someone from Canada, and she got really offended. Whoops.
4. Offered a trade of a hair cut for a massage. My friend will cut my hair, and I will give that person a massage. Excellent trade agreement.
5. Watched my friend blow perfect smoke rings from a hookah. I was pretty impressed.
Aside from gallivanting throughout the city of Busan, I do have some good stories. I will go backwards by day.
Today, I was going on an adventure. I can see the ocean from my apartment, so I took the old Grandma Bahr method to try to find it. Go in the direction-ish until you find something you recognize. Now, I am in a foreign country and I don't recognize a dang thing. So, this was helpful in the idea of going towards the idea of beach. So, with my nose to the air and sea breezes flowing, I started walking. I went down several streets zig zagging. And, then I came upon a metro station, which was good luck, because I needed to purchase a transportation card. After some gestured conversations and confused speech, we figured out what I needed. I thanked them profusely, "Kamsahimnida." Bowing and bowing. I walked a little more. Found an E Mart, which is like the Wal Mart of Korea. Then, found a sign that said Haeuendae and a picture of a dude swimming. "Yes!" I thought to myself, "This is it!" So, I followed this road down a sketchy back alley with people loading and unloading things. I didn't think it was right, so I turned around. I looked up and there was a huge building that said beach on it. Ah ha! That's the ticket. So, I followed the streets to this building, and there it was. A creamy colored wall that said, "Haeundae Fun and Sun." Perfect. This is it! I will just follow this wall until there is a break in it. So, I did. I looked through the break to see the beautiful, unmistakable signs of
CONSTRUCTION! They had the water portion of the beach partitioned off. I was so put off. I was concerned on how to get home because I had taken so many weird turns to get to that place. But, I saw the beacon of CINUS department store and just looked up the whole way. I found myself in my apartment in no time. But, tomorrow, I plan on surveying the land hoping for a little more success.
Yesterday, I went to get my Alien Registration card. When we got there, there were 272 people waiting, so my co-teacher and I went out for lunch and shopping, and then came back. For lunch we had Japanese curry. I had a cutlet and mine and her had a croquette on his. It was literally a hole in the wall restaurant. 4 tables each seating two people. But, oh my God. There was an egg carefully laid atop a steaming pile of curried rice and a perfectly made crusted cutlet snuggled in there, too. So. Good. If you come to visit me, we're going there. It is a 40 minute subway ride, but it is worth it.
Monday, I left Jeonju University and traveled to Busan. It was a three hour bus ride, and I could sleep during any of it. I met my co-teacher (James) and principal. I really enjoy my school. James has been so helpful through everything. We set up my internet and bank account. Then, we met up with one of his teacher friends Miss Kim (who, sidenote, ask if I wanted to get my nails done with her today. I joined her, but politely declined a mani) for dinner. We had tacos, fajitas and Mexican pizza. I MISS CHEESE. However, Korean Mexican food is quite a bit different. It used a very specific spice that I do not know, but it burned my mouth off. The beef for the fajitas seemed to be marinated in a jalapeno and soy bean vinaigrette and then sauteed to perfection. It melded with the peppers and onions quite beautifully. THen, we went to Miss Kim's house and picked up some essentials that I need for my house. Things like toilet paper and pots and pans.
Sunday was the last day of my orientation. I got up at 8 and had to watch every team's 15 minute condensed EFL lesson. It was seriously really difficult. I, then, had to perform my team's lesson last, which means that these people have been watching lessons for 4 hours, and now we have to go. Well, shoot. It went well. Then, we had the meeting which told us what school we were at and how many co-teachers we had. I have one named James. I am going to Centum City High School, which is an all boys school. I am really looking forward to it. I think that I will be able to use sports or music to help teach these kids English. It should be really fun. Then, we had our farewell dinner, which was sad to see my friends go, but good to know that we are all off to new and exciting adventures. I am certainly looking forward to my friends Paula, Kiera, Maeve, Bethany and Brittany to come and visit. It should be quite fun.
Saturday was pretty dull. I had classes, and then had to rewrite my lesson plan according to new rules. Yiiiiikes, but I got to bed early enough. Friday was sort of similar in classes etc. If you have an interest in classes please email me (kathryn.botsford@gmail.com) and I would love to tell you about them. But, en masse, they are pretty boring.
Now, Thursday! We went on a field trip to Hanok village in Jeonju. We left JU around nine and arrived at our destination about 15 minutes later. First, we descended into the city. Where I took some cloister pictures. We went to the shrine of King Tao-Je. We walked through the shrine and his gardens. It was beautiful.
We then went to the paper making factory. These women separate fibers and then put it into boiling water, and then the men take the boiling water fibers and put it into this huge basin and used their rack that is webbed like a tennis raket to collect the fibers and then put the wet paper onto this huge stack. I am not sure the drying process, but it was phenomenal to watch. And, oh my gosh, there was an adorable puppy right outside of the shop who wouldn't let go of my sleeve with his itty bitty teeth. I about died.
Then, we went to the So Ju information center and learned how this rice fermented alcohol is made. Holy crap that stuff puts you on your ass. Then, we had a little bit of free time where we played yard games like "Sort-of horseshoes" and "really hard darts."
After that time, we went to a restaurant to bipbimbop, which is a cultural dish here. It is essentially mushrooms, meet, hot sauce, cabbage, lettuce, sprouts, rice and egg all mixxed together in a giant cluster you know what. It was sooooooooo tasty. The bipbimbap has all separate flavor but they worked together in a way that I didn't think was possible. We also had sticky lotus root and a ginger tea. And, let me tell you, this tea tasted like a cinnamon gingerbread cookie. It was awesome.
After lunch, my group went to the north side of the city, and we had cultural lessons. The first on was a traditional Korean dance. The moves were pretty straight forward, but you had to be exact with them. Then, they asked for volunteers to be the lion. Of course, I volunteered. Who doesn't want to be a lion? So, we had to learn a NEW dance in front of all of these peopl (there was about 12 of us). Then, we put the lion on our head and danced around. My partner was Stephanie, and I think we made a pretty good lion team.
After our dance lesson, we played adult see saw which involves a board and a fulcrom. But, instead of sitting and going back and forth, you are jumping up and down. Safe? Maybe not. Fun? Yep.
Then, we went inside to use the fancy paper to cover boxes. Mine is teal and pink. The lady helping though was really sassy. And, if you didn't do the craft how she wanted, she came over and fixed it for you. Yeah, like that helped my craft anxiety.
After that, we went to a room with a bunch of traditional drums. We learned a beat, and tried to put it all together. When it was working, it was a lot, a lot of fun. I got on of the hour glass drums, and tried my best. Then, after that, it was time to go home. And that was a busy day.
Whew, this has been a long message. I will make sure to update more frequently. I hope all is well with you, and I will talk to you soon!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Holy Crap! I am in Korea
1. My flight to San Fran went really well.
2. My flight to Seoul was uncomfortable. The guy had his seat back the WHOLE flight.
3. I found a huge group of people going to the same place, so we sort of worked together, and have stayed close.
4. Our buses were delayed, so I didn't get to the university until 11:30 pm. I was so sleepy. I got my internet working and went to bed. I met my roommate. Her name is Paula, and she is from Limerick, Ireland. I did not make a single joke or say a limerick. Aren't you proud! She is really nice.
5. I woke up this morning at about 6:45 because I could no longer sleep. I just read and wrote some emails.
6. I had my medical exam today. I did really poorly on the colorblind section and things. My blood test went well. They had a hard time finding my veins. I also had to give a urine sample. It was so hard! I already have weird pee anxiety that having to do it on command was really rough. AND I had just gone before the exam. But, I think I will pass it. In line for the exam I met a couple of people. I made friends with them, and I think I am going to really like Michal (from Scotland), Stephenie and Patrick (both from LA). All of them are in Busan as well. I think they will be good people.
7. In the afternoon we had a welcoming ceremony which involved some speeches and also a traditional Korean band which had a small gong, a big drum , and hour glass drum and a huge gong. It was super awesome. About halfway through the song, a guy cam e out in their traditional garb and started dancing with a ribbon attached to his head. It was like break dancing combined with ribbon dancing. It was a fabulous twist. Then there was a traditional Korean fan dance, which was beautiful. But then, there was a tae kwon do exhibit. And, Oh my God! I want to do that. One of the guys had people stand on a chair and another person stood on his shoulders and held up a board. He ran used one of the other people as a spring board and backflipped and kicked the board in. It was absolutely nuts! They were flipping and kicking and being all sorts of awesome!
8. We had our welcoming dinner, and I sat with some friends I've met. I tried TWO new things today. I ate Octopus and Kimchi. The octopus wasn't bad. It was a little rubbery, but sort of like a chewy veal. The kimchi was spicy! I had to drink orange juice like crazy to change the taste. but in general it was very good. And the barbecued beef is amazing! So many vegetables!
9.This morning we had scrambled eggs with carrots, onions, peas and random other veggies and this incredible spice that made all of the vegetables work together to not overpower the yolk. So. Good.
10. I had two 90 minute lectures in the morning. One was on project based learning. The lecturer reminded me of Dr. Risden for those who had him, and for those who didn't, a radical ball of energy that bounced about the classroom for 90 minutes. His information was really well delivered and we did a mock lesson that was really fun and useful. I will probably steal it. The second lecture was about intonation and how native English speakers use a lot more dynamics than Koreans. He stressed that it is not as important for the fluency to be 100% but that the message of communication got through. That was good information for my type A neurotic personality to know. I need to really focus on the message and content words more than the function words.
11. Then we had lunch. It was some sort of soup. I believe it was a fish broth with noodles and vegetables. I didn;t care for it all that much. I had rice with natural soy bean sauce. There were sesame seeds and carrots floating in it. It was so fresh and tangy. It danced around my mouth for about an hour afterwards.
12. Then, we had a 90 minute lecture on Reading and Writing comprehension. It seems as though these people all got together and said, "Alright, let's give them so many different approaches to teaching and suggest that ours is the only one to use." It is just a lot of conflicting information. I think I liked some of the things in this one. She told us that using KPOP (or Korean Pop) songs will instantly hook them. I sat next to a man name Allistar Pincklesmith. I thought his name was fabulous, but I was too skeered to tell him. He may think that I am just this pedistrian teacher from the cow state.
13. I had a Tae Kwon Do lesson. It kicked my butt. I will definitely be sore tomorrow. But, it did give me reason to work out more. We did some kicks and running and stuff. They asked for dancing volunteers and nobody was stepping forward, so I finally caved. I walked up and did the worm on the gym floor and then went up into a handstand and then stood. I felt like it accomplished. Then the instructor asked if I played sports. I told him I dove in high school, but he didn't understand. He asked me to show him. So, not really knowing what to do, I did my approach, kicked my toes up into the pike position, then did a round off. It worked well, I think. Or maybe everyone thinks I am pretentious ass. Although, I hope not.
14. I had rice and Korean fried chicken wings for dinner. There was no sauce on them, but the breading had a hint of sugar in it. All of their breads are sweet. It was certainly an interesting contrast.
15. Now, I am off to my Korean Language lessons. I am about to lean the Hangul alphabet. Huzzah!
Peace, love, and applesauce,
Kat(i)e
2. My flight to Seoul was uncomfortable. The guy had his seat back the WHOLE flight.
3. I found a huge group of people going to the same place, so we sort of worked together, and have stayed close.
4. Our buses were delayed, so I didn't get to the university until 11:30 pm. I was so sleepy. I got my internet working and went to bed. I met my roommate. Her name is Paula, and she is from Limerick, Ireland. I did not make a single joke or say a limerick. Aren't you proud! She is really nice.
5. I woke up this morning at about 6:45 because I could no longer sleep. I just read and wrote some emails.
6. I had my medical exam today. I did really poorly on the colorblind section and things. My blood test went well. They had a hard time finding my veins. I also had to give a urine sample. It was so hard! I already have weird pee anxiety that having to do it on command was really rough. AND I had just gone before the exam. But, I think I will pass it. In line for the exam I met a couple of people. I made friends with them, and I think I am going to really like Michal (from Scotland), Stephenie and Patrick (both from LA). All of them are in Busan as well. I think they will be good people.
7. In the afternoon we had a welcoming ceremony which involved some speeches and also a traditional Korean band which had a small gong, a big drum , and hour glass drum and a huge gong. It was super awesome. About halfway through the song, a guy cam e out in their traditional garb and started dancing with a ribbon attached to his head. It was like break dancing combined with ribbon dancing. It was a fabulous twist. Then there was a traditional Korean fan dance, which was beautiful. But then, there was a tae kwon do exhibit. And, Oh my God! I want to do that. One of the guys had people stand on a chair and another person stood on his shoulders and held up a board. He ran used one of the other people as a spring board and backflipped and kicked the board in. It was absolutely nuts! They were flipping and kicking and being all sorts of awesome!
8. We had our welcoming dinner, and I sat with some friends I've met. I tried TWO new things today. I ate Octopus and Kimchi. The octopus wasn't bad. It was a little rubbery, but sort of like a chewy veal. The kimchi was spicy! I had to drink orange juice like crazy to change the taste. but in general it was very good. And the barbecued beef is amazing! So many vegetables!
9.This morning we had scrambled eggs with carrots, onions, peas and random other veggies and this incredible spice that made all of the vegetables work together to not overpower the yolk. So. Good.
10. I had two 90 minute lectures in the morning. One was on project based learning. The lecturer reminded me of Dr. Risden for those who had him, and for those who didn't, a radical ball of energy that bounced about the classroom for 90 minutes. His information was really well delivered and we did a mock lesson that was really fun and useful. I will probably steal it. The second lecture was about intonation and how native English speakers use a lot more dynamics than Koreans. He stressed that it is not as important for the fluency to be 100% but that the message of communication got through. That was good information for my type A neurotic personality to know. I need to really focus on the message and content words more than the function words.
11. Then we had lunch. It was some sort of soup. I believe it was a fish broth with noodles and vegetables. I didn;t care for it all that much. I had rice with natural soy bean sauce. There were sesame seeds and carrots floating in it. It was so fresh and tangy. It danced around my mouth for about an hour afterwards.
12. Then, we had a 90 minute lecture on Reading and Writing comprehension. It seems as though these people all got together and said, "Alright, let's give them so many different approaches to teaching and suggest that ours is the only one to use." It is just a lot of conflicting information. I think I liked some of the things in this one. She told us that using KPOP (or Korean Pop) songs will instantly hook them. I sat next to a man name Allistar Pincklesmith. I thought his name was fabulous, but I was too skeered to tell him. He may think that I am just this pedistrian teacher from the cow state.
13. I had a Tae Kwon Do lesson. It kicked my butt. I will definitely be sore tomorrow. But, it did give me reason to work out more. We did some kicks and running and stuff. They asked for dancing volunteers and nobody was stepping forward, so I finally caved. I walked up and did the worm on the gym floor and then went up into a handstand and then stood. I felt like it accomplished. Then the instructor asked if I played sports. I told him I dove in high school, but he didn't understand. He asked me to show him. So, not really knowing what to do, I did my approach, kicked my toes up into the pike position, then did a round off. It worked well, I think. Or maybe everyone thinks I am pretentious ass. Although, I hope not.
14. I had rice and Korean fried chicken wings for dinner. There was no sauce on them, but the breading had a hint of sugar in it. All of their breads are sweet. It was certainly an interesting contrast.
15. Now, I am off to my Korean Language lessons. I am about to lean the Hangul alphabet. Huzzah!
Peace, love, and applesauce,
Kat(i)e
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Panic! At the dildo
Forewarning, this post will not be as crass as the title.
So, several weeks ago (I know, I KNOW I suck at publishing), my friend asked (read pleaded) me to go to a Pure Romance party she was hosting. She needed twelve people to be there so that she could get X amount of money off of her order. So, I said, "If the Packer's aren't playing I will be there." Since the Packers were obviously going to the Superbowl, I thought this a coy trade. But, then the dumb Packers had to lose to the NY Giants. So, there I was on an icy Sunday afternoon, driving my friend Mel (whom I convinced to come with me if I got her free booze, and who told her mother she was going to a Pampered Chef party) and Shannon, we trekked off to my dear friend Julie's house.
So, we walk into this beautiful home. The first thing that catches my eye is a gorgeous baby grande piano and about 15 years worth of sheet music. The first thing that Mel spies with her little eyes, is the GIANT blue silicon penis suctioned onto the coffee table. When she pointed it out to me, I obviously turned bright red and said, "I don't think I can do this."
"Sure you can," piped Julie. "Here's some sangria."
Well, when there is sangria involved my faculties become undone and my morals loose. So, there I was seated on a couch learning about sex from this woman, whom I had never met. I giggle at the appropriate and inappropriate times. Whatever.
Now, this is when the panic sets in. This woman is giving testimonies and all sorts of things, and this is what hits me. "Oh, this program, Pure Romance, is all about feminism and recognizing your inner self."
Alright, I can buy that. Knowing your self and the ways that please you are a very important part of feminism. However, after saying that, the ONLY way she talked about her product was in conjunction with a partner, more specifically, a husband or boyfriend. "Your boyfriend can use this tool to help with this...." or "Your husband will love this one with ball bearings embedded in the the shaft." All the while, telling these women that they are pioneer feminists and that intimacy with a tool is such a progressive way of embracing of female individuality and sexuality.
I almost lost it. I just wanted to say something about what real feminism is, and how yes, sexuality of pleasing oneself is very important, it is not in the least the only thing about feminism. However, I decided that this was neither the time nor the place to go head to head with a Pure romance salesperson on the ethics and definitions of feminism. I just kept my mouth shut, drank sangria, and enjoyed the company. I did walk away one shaving cream richer, though. So, I count that as a life win.
So, several weeks ago (I know, I KNOW I suck at publishing), my friend asked (read pleaded) me to go to a Pure Romance party she was hosting. She needed twelve people to be there so that she could get X amount of money off of her order. So, I said, "If the Packer's aren't playing I will be there." Since the Packers were obviously going to the Superbowl, I thought this a coy trade. But, then the dumb Packers had to lose to the NY Giants. So, there I was on an icy Sunday afternoon, driving my friend Mel (whom I convinced to come with me if I got her free booze, and who told her mother she was going to a Pampered Chef party) and Shannon, we trekked off to my dear friend Julie's house.
So, we walk into this beautiful home. The first thing that catches my eye is a gorgeous baby grande piano and about 15 years worth of sheet music. The first thing that Mel spies with her little eyes, is the GIANT blue silicon penis suctioned onto the coffee table. When she pointed it out to me, I obviously turned bright red and said, "I don't think I can do this."
"Sure you can," piped Julie. "Here's some sangria."
Well, when there is sangria involved my faculties become undone and my morals loose. So, there I was seated on a couch learning about sex from this woman, whom I had never met. I giggle at the appropriate and inappropriate times. Whatever.
Now, this is when the panic sets in. This woman is giving testimonies and all sorts of things, and this is what hits me. "Oh, this program, Pure Romance, is all about feminism and recognizing your inner self."
Alright, I can buy that. Knowing your self and the ways that please you are a very important part of feminism. However, after saying that, the ONLY way she talked about her product was in conjunction with a partner, more specifically, a husband or boyfriend. "Your boyfriend can use this tool to help with this...." or "Your husband will love this one with ball bearings embedded in the the shaft." All the while, telling these women that they are pioneer feminists and that intimacy with a tool is such a progressive way of embracing of female individuality and sexuality.
I almost lost it. I just wanted to say something about what real feminism is, and how yes, sexuality of pleasing oneself is very important, it is not in the least the only thing about feminism. However, I decided that this was neither the time nor the place to go head to head with a Pure romance salesperson on the ethics and definitions of feminism. I just kept my mouth shut, drank sangria, and enjoyed the company. I did walk away one shaving cream richer, though. So, I count that as a life win.
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Importance of Pineapple in the Midwest, Including, but not limited to, Wisconsin Summers
Disclosure: This is creative non-fiction, which means that some of it is real and some of it is not. My mom is not as ridiculously Wisconsin as she seems in here. I promise.
Bottom line, without fruit you get scurvy, and since really to be an acceptable case of scurvy you also need a combination of three of the following five things: eye patch, peg leg, tri-cornered hat, plentiful assortments of rum and probably a tattoo of sorts. However, I also found on Google search (while fighting the brain fart for the disease: “scurvy”) that cancer is also a consequence of fruit deficiency (or cigarettes or drinking or unprotected sex or hard-living or really just bad and unfortunate luck). Thanks, Dr. Furhman. So, instead of drinking your Ovaltine, eat your fruit, kiddo, or else your life is going to suck. I digress.
So, now that I have discussed the base line importance of fruit in the average person’s life, let’s break it down. Why pineapple? Really because it is fantastic and not native to anywhere in the Midwest, or the nation for that matter (with the exception of Hawaii, but we’ll get to that later).
Getting pineapple is like getting a super yummy treat, like when you’re good in church or you didn’t beat up your brother. (Side note: Pineapple is a healthy alternative to rice krispi treats or chips or donuts or Hostess anything or chocolate covered bacon. It also prevents scurvy and cancer.) Pineapple is also on sale about one week in the summer time when it is so God awful hot you can’t even leave your box fan in the window to go into your car (or bike) and drive (or ride) to the store to purchase a fruit that is now only $5.50 a pop versus $7.50: the regular price.
You also know that pineapples are important because of their placement within your local Pick N Save or Piggly Wiggly or Festival or Lund’s or Aldi. Pineapples are always in the front; as if all of the coupon-cutting people of the world don’t already know they’re on sale. I would go to the store with my mom and we would wind amongst the dairies and cheeses (sharp cheddar finely shredded, “It’s fancy,” my mom says). And then pow (or some other graphic novel onomatopoeia of the sorts), men, women and children flitting about the produce. They look like little chipmunks skittering around the towering pyramid of foreign fruit.
My mom would grab my shoulder and say, “Keep your head down, go in and get the greenest looking one.” Sure, send in the kid who is wily and has no remorse for pushing or pulling or biting or hair-pulling or screaming “fire.” It is a mad house. Snag the one at the top. Snatch the one on the bottom, the cornerstone of the pyramid. And the fruit comes a-tumbling down. Now, my $5.50 fruit that wards off scurvy and cancer is now bruised. Shit.
I feel like I’ve shifted my focus. Pineapple (as opposed to watermelon or marshmallows or corn on the cob or bratwursts—although brats are a damn close second) defines Midwest, specifically Wisconsin and Botsford summers. Every summer, my family would traverse the rugged Milwaukee-Suburbs terrain, drive through two-lane highway hell (one lane of which was always closed), and arrive, safely, slightly haggard from the backseat fighting in which my sister and I actively partook. We’d roll out of the car, nursing bites, bruises, and tufts of hair, straight into the arms of our 20 cousins, and 6 sets of aunt and uncles, and several wayside stragglers clad in black, cut off jean shorts, or straight up cow-boy gear. They were my favorite. Gram, Bless Her Soul, would always purchase a pineapple for my mother (even if it was a little “pricey”) to practice cutting them. It took about 21 years of marriage and Mother-In-Law pineapple gifting and a daughter who spent a summer working as a pseudo-chef to teach her how to do it properly. She’s got the hang of it now.
My point is that pineapple, like summer, and life, as it were, happens only for a very short time and you must, taste, enjoy, devour it as quickly as you can. You must savor it past its point of sweetness and know that there is something waiting for you at the end. Another piece, perhaps? A brisk, beautiful autumn? An after-life, or whatever you believe? Pineapple and summer and life must be shared with those you love. Without these things, life is incomplete.
In my family, you knew you were loved when Mom brought home the pineapple (or you snagged it yourself). However, she says in a beautifully articulated Wisconsin accent, “Not ‘til another week, honey, it has to ripen.”
What the hell? Are you kidding me? I almost died. I had bruises. I waited 11 months and 21 days (and fought literally tooth and nail) for a pineapple and you’re going to tell me to wait another week until I can partake in the ambrosia—the freakin’ nectar of the gods. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I will eat a fruit cup. I am still eating fruit to stave off piracy and cancer.
Growing up in a midwestern town, I came to love all things homey. My mom, dad, and sister, derived from the Irish Catholic ancestry, all grew up together sharing all of the amenities of one bathroom and a box fan crammed in a window to promote circulation through our house. That worked as well as tying a hand fan to my wiener dog, Sam, and telling her to run amuck. Real effective. Pineapple season with my family also meant about five to ten more of my mother’s “pretties” (a generic term to mean kitsch) amongst the cornhusk dolls and Oklahoma! plates and Christmas cards we’ve yet to take down and artwork from the children who are so not gifted in that particular area. Ma would arrange the husk-heads around the kitchen, “Just to brighten things up, you know?” Personal favorite seasonal kitsch: the pineapple boat. You cut the pineapple straight on through the center (headdress still firmly attached), use a knife or spoon or ice cream scoop or spatula or (on one very desperate occasion) a turkey baster—not pretty—to scoop out the insides so that you can artfully display some sort of treat inside. It was generally hosting lesser food items such as apples or pears or rice or vegetables or rum—generally white, but then you’re evading your piracy. However, if you want to be a pirate, pineapple is absolutely not the fruit for you.
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