Back to the US!

Today is my last day in Seoul. To commemorate my final day, I followed my uncle, aunt, and cousin to mass. From the little I have seen, adult Korean Catholics are pretty different than adult Korean Protestants. While Korean Protestants are extremely emotional and vocal during service, Korean Catholics are...not. It was quite strange for me to be in a service in Seoul where people weren't raising their hands or crying out. I was lost for most of the service since I didn't understand the prayers and a large part of the sermon, but I'm glad I went (though I probably wouldn't go back). The presence of Christian churches in Seoul amazes me. For example, there are tons of people passing out handouts on the subways and popular streets about churches. (There are also old people with megaphones yelling to the pedestrians that they are all going to hell and must repent now. But unlike the nice people with the handouts and free refreshments, no one pays that much attention to the yellers.) In fact, there are a bunch of ads for churches on the subway map. (These maps have been faithfully guiding me these past two months. I will miss the multi-colored, multilingual, and extremely clean Seoul subway system.) It's safe to assume that the exterior of the church is a good representation of the economic background of the neighborhood. In the wealthy neighborhoods, the churches are gorgeous and immaculate buildings (e.g., Onnuri). In poorer neighborhoods, churches can be dilapidated buildings.

Back to my leaving the country: a part of me is happy to leave the unbearable humidity and monsoon season, but I am going to miss my relatives, even the crazy ones. And the food! I ate so much here and everything I ate was delicious. Even curry pizza. I look forward to chillaxing at home (call me if you live near me!) but I'm going to miss Seoul. I learned a lot, both about English's role in Korean society and about my own family. South Korea is an interesting country, historically and currently, and it was fun to look at Korean society and culture through my Korean-American eyes, though I can't stand Korean pop music any longer. (I get confused with all the girl and boy bands. They all look and sound the same.) I hope to make it back to the motherland soon!

Susan

PS On the next blog post of "Till We Have Faces"...

Side Job

I'm back!

Since I finished my interviews, I ended up having a lot of free time. So what do I do when I have free time? I get a job, apparently. Somehow (without any active movements on my part) I ended up tutoring English to four elementary kids (actually, my mom is the reason why I got the jobs). Two kids are Korean, and two kids are Korean American. From an English tutor's point of view, it seems like the Korean kids have a better work ethic than the Americans (the Korean kids are still in school until this week). Of course, the American kids are not pressured by their parents to "learn" English from a native English speaker; they're stuck with me so that they don't lose all their brain cells from playing Nintendo DS the whole day.

It's pretty interesting to tutor the Korean kids because of what I read for my research project. These two Korean kids are extremely bright and have a high level of English. In fact, I was pretty surprised how good their talking and writing levels were for Korean elementary students. One common characteristic is that these kids come from wealthy families. (I'm assuming the families are wealthy by the size of their homes, the location of their homes, and the fathers' high English abilities. Also, they have been in English-speaking countries, though they didn't study there.) Not only do these kids have a healthy dose of intellect and work ethic, but they have the resources to take all the classes that their brains can handle. The kids go to hagwon (private academies that offer classes beyond what the classes in schools teach) every day. On top that, they have music lessons. And they're not even 11 years old. When I was 11 years old, the last thing I was worried about was my education. These kids, though, already know how important English is to them as students and to their futures. Anyways, one of the kids, a 10-year-old, goes to hagwon right after my (almost) daily English writing lessons. Despite all the stress she must get from her classes, she's quite funny. Here's one excerpt from her essay for me on "family": "This is a secret: I like my mom the best!"; "My dad is a little chubby, but that is because he drinks alcohol. I like my dad, but I wish he would not drink so much alcohol. Then he would be more skinny." I couldn't stop laughing when I read this. She is also hilarious during our 5-minute breaks (which I give, since she's only 10 and she has hagwon right after our lessons). We enjoy a small chocolate break in the middle (the chocolate is supplied by the kid - score!) and ggong-gi games (bead-like things that rattle). These kids are pretty insightful for elementary students, and they realize what they have to do as students from an early age. I enjoy tutoring the Korean kids because of their eagerness to learn (and also because I get fed by their mothers). Hopefully, they'll get some time to play and act like kids once they have their summer vacation.

Thankful that I studied in the US,
Susan

PS I am going to Beijing next week! But I am going on a Korean tour...hilarious stories will follow.

PPS I forgot my camera cable, so I won't upload any pictures until I get back to the US. But I do have this sketchy-looking picture of me taken with the webcam.

You can kind of see my perm...kind of :)

Trace Bundy

Today was the first time I went to church in Korea. I went to the megachurch Onnuri (which has a daughter church in Irvine) since they have a pretty well-known English ministry. The service was surprisingly good, and also featured an acoustic guitarist, Trace Bundy, who was visiting Korea.

Here's one clip:



He can make even Backstreet Boys seem dignified and classy. Now that's talent. Unfortunately, people singing lyrics to the song reminded me of what the actual song sounds like.

He kind of reminded me of David Crowder Band, how they combine typical instruments and technology to make new and different sounds in their songs. In one of the songs he played for us, he used a guitar and a looping machine. He played different motifs to create a multi-layered song. It was awesome to see the way he used his own inventions for the guitar plus the looping machine and to see him play the guitar as a percussion and string instrument.

Not only was he a fantastic guitarist, but he also talked about his ministry through his guitar. He also said that if there is no love in what you do, it ultimately doesn't mean anything. Although he was blessed with his musical gifts, they would mean nothing to him if he didn't pursue music or God or anything else with love. He said "If I play the guitar and write my own songs, what can God say to me? 'Wow amazing, I could never do that.' That's ridiculous. I'd rather hear 'You loved me and loved others and did all that you could for me. You are my child. Welcome home.'" He was very humble and very passionate about using his gifts for God. I'd love to see him play again soon.

Susan

PS I got a haircut and a perm. I walked into the hair salon with my cousin expecting to just get a haircut. Somehow, I walked out of the salon with a haircut plus a perm. I told the hairdresser to do a "wave perm" and he heard "perm." And now I have a perm.

Costco

Costco is one of my favorite places in the world. I look forward to going to Costco every time I go back home (sad but true). Where else can you find unbeatable prices and free (and potentially unlimited) samples? Anyways, I went with my aunt to Costco in Seoul, which is humongous. Not only is it humongous (2 stories, parking garage with 3 levels above the actual Costco), but they have bulgogi (marinated beef) pizza. Only Korea would sell bulgogi pizza. I had to try one, and it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was pretty good, but I think I'll stick with good ol' pepperoni pizza. Also, Koreans eat hot dogs with a knife and fork. And they don't put condiments on their hot dogs. In fact, they mix all their condiments on a separate plate, mix them all up, then use their knife and fork to dip their hot dog piece into the condiment mix. I was eating my bulgogi pizza with my hands, and people kept staring at me. Well, I was staring right back at them with their fancy condiment plates.

Anyways, I have been working a bit on my project - English education in Korea. It's more on the symbolic value of English in Korean society and how English is used as a commodity taken from Western cultures to define and value Koreans. The more I interview and do research, the more I realize how deeply English is infused into Korean society. On the superficial level, everything must be written in English, from store names to senseless mottos on products. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense as long as you're using the English alphabet. On another level, everybody in Korea seems to be involved in some way with English education. Either you are a student, teacher, parent, policymaker, bookseller (English grammar books make up the biggest section), school administrator, politician, businessperson, or someone else associated directly or indirectly with English-education. The government, the mass media, and parents all work together to put an immense amount of pressure of the students, not just to excel in other subjects but also to excel in English (not the English language, but English exams). The more I stay here, the more I believe that Korean society revolves around English, but not as a language or means of communication. English has become a sort of symbol of intelligence and affluence for the Koreans. Crazy, isn't it?

Susan

School in June

Although I officially ended my semester on May 8, I have attended classes at school...Korean school that is. Since I'm in Seoul to do a project on English education, I've visited a high school, a middle school, and a university to interview some people.

The high school I visited was an all-boys school, so it was a little weird that the only female in the room was me. Strange? Yes. Especially if you were me. Anyways, I had some good conversations with two high school students, and they were able to give me some really insightful comments about English in Korean society. (Of course, it helped that both boys studied abroad in English-speaking countries for 4-5 years and had a strong grasp of the English language. Most high school students, though, were too shy to say anything to me. Perhaps they were stunned by my awesomeness.) At the high school, I had to talk a bit about myself in front of a class so the students could hear a "native English speaker." It was a little weird, talking about my life. (I was born in California. I eat Korean food. Yes, there is Korean food in the US. I go to college in Massachusetts. No, I don't go to Harvard. You have never heard of my college, etc.) They were just tedious bits about my life, but they were interested in what I had to say (they were probably more interested in the fact that I was talking rather than what I was talking about).

The middle school was a bit different. The majority of the students were from families in the lower middle class, and you could definitely tell the differences between the two schools in terms of future goals, educational approaches, etc. The students were not as shy, and they talked to me, though in Korean. But the middle schoolers were nice, and it made to remember the good ol' days at my own middle school - awkwardly proportioned kids, weird boy-girl exchanges, the "I'm all that" attitude, etc. These students weren't able to tell me as much as the high school students, but it was still interesting to talk to them.

I also visited an all-women's university. I was easily the shabbiest looking person with my blue jeans and t-shirt. These girls all had high heels (as opposed to my Nike sneakers), oversized shiny bags, crazy accessories, and looking very chic in the Korean summer even though the university is located on top of a hill. (Hills aren't my friends in Nike sneakers, so I imagine that they still wouldn't be my friends in high heels.) Anyways, I didn't interview that many students since I was just following my cousin and to interview private tutors, but it was an experience to be surrounded only by girls after being surrounded only by boys.

After all the interviews with teachers and students, I appreciate my education in the US. Korean education is interesting, but only from the perspective of an outsider.

Susan

PS If you're really interested in English education in Korea, you can always read my report that I'm supposed to write by September. Who knows when the report will actually be written, though.

Weekend in the Countryside

Since my dad came with me to Seoul, we have been doing nothing but meeting relatives and eating. This weekend, my dad and I left the bustling city of Seoul to the Korean countryside with 10 other relatives to visit some hot springs. This weekend was a weekend of many firsts. It was the first time I saw my 7-year-old cousin, Jun-ho. On my last visit to Korea, he was still in the womb, and now he's a chatterbox. We called him 고추가루 (red pepper powder) because even though he's tiny, he still has a punch. He's learning English, so we "communicated" a bit in English. (Communication required his whispering to his older sister, her translating his Korean statements in English and whispering back to him, then his actual talking to me in English.) It was hilarious when Jun-ho criticized my uncle's English pronunciation, then looked away and remained silent when my uncle questioned his English. He's adorable, and even more so when he fed me food. He asked his mom if we could take some Korean bbq and rice back with us to the US (I don't know what the kid thinks Koreans in the US eat, but apparently anything but Korean food). It was also the first time I went to a public showering place, which was a shock to me. Men and women are separated, and you bathe naked with people all around you. Even though I'm a 20-year-old adult, my aunts all scrubbed me until I was red (but clean!). It must have been a funny sight to the other women: 3 women scrubbing another adult, who refused to let go of the towel. While I was being scrubbed till my skin turned red, a little girl was in the bathing pool and swimming. Like moving her arms and kicking her legs swimming, which was a welcome distraction to me. Anyways, I probably won't go to another public showering place ever again. It was also the first time I drank baek-sae-ju (alcohol), which was so much better than soju (I'm not a huge fan of soju). Korea has a strong drinking culture, and drinking with your relatives is natural and expected. It was also the first time I had some traditional Korean meals; it's too bad I don't remember any of the names. Anyways, this weekend was fun and I'm glad that I got to meet Red Pepper Powder and spend some time in the countryside.

In Seoul, I also tutor little kids but the kids are much different than the little terrors in Madrid. (They're actually not that bad, and I kind of miss crazy Bea and Mariana. Kind of.) I tutor rich elementary students whose parents are concerned for their kids' English education and want a native English speaker for their children's tutor. They are expecting me to turn their kids into native English speakers, which is unrealistic since I only have 2 months here. The kids, though, are very cute and really obedient (no screaming and climbing on my back).

There are some Japanese tourists next to me in Starbucks. I love how big Korean Starbucks are (this one is 3 stories tall) and how all the non-Koreans seem to gather in Starbucks. Hooray for wireless in Starbucks and its omnipresence in Seoul.

Susan

First Update

In Seoul I am dependent on Starbucks for internet. Unlike my time in Europe, where I avoided Starbucks like the plague, here I colored all the subway stops that have at least one Starbucks nearby. Seoul is different from anything I've seen. First of all, the people are pretty homogenous (this is obvious, but it's the first time I've been in a place where there is so little ethnic diversity). Like most native Koreans, I can't help but look at anyone who is obviously not Korean because they stand out so much. This homogeneity is a problem for me since I look like a Korean (I technically am a Korean, but I certainly don't sound like one). So, when I open my mouth, people give me a puzzled look. In some ways, it would be easier if I was blond with blue eyes since then they would expect me not to speak perfect Korean. I think my Spanish pronunciation is better than my Korean pronunciation, so that gives you an idea how much I suck at Korean. Second, Seoul's huge! Madrid was tiny compared to Seoul, and I can't walk around like I did in Madrid since the places I need to go are so far apart. Third, Seoul is so advanced in terms of technology. For example, the people in Madrid's Metro read books to pass the time; the people in Seoul's subways watch TV on their phones (there's no phone service in Madrid's Metro). Of course, Spain's technology was a bit of a joke, but I'm astonished by some of the gadgets Koreans have. Fourth, English is really forced here. One example: I'm currently looking at an ad for a coffee shop that is entirely in English, including "Comming soon May." I love reading people's shirts (they probably think I'm a weirdo for staring intently at them) for the English phrases. I could go on about unique qualities about Seoul culture (man-bags...) but I'm tired :)

I haven't had the chance to fully explore Seoul, since my dad is with me for one more week. So, more updates later!

Susan