Umbrellas are extremely popular here. If its rainy, up come the umbrellas. Even when you are hiking through the woods. We are very impressed with the people who bicycle holding their umbrella above their head, and here its normal! People (except us) don't even look twice. Its not just while its raining either. People also use their umbrellas in the sun! This isn't just a girl thing to try to keep their skin white, guys do it too.
Riley and I do not use umbrellas. The last time I used one was when I got one as a gift my freshman year of college. Then I misplaced it and switched to raincoats. I don't think Riley has ever had an umbrella. In America, raincoats are normal. Here, whenever we wear our raincoats, the Koreans around us get very concerned. They ask where our umbrella is, so we try to explain that our coats are waterproof. Sometimes I don't think they really believe us. One of the street sweepers stopped us the other day and tried to give us his extra umbrella. We turned him down pointing to our raincoats and trying to demonstrate their ability to shed water, but clearly raincoats are not normal here.
Because of all this, we were kind of smug this week when the typhoon hit. It didn't hit Daejeon very hard, but there were many gusts of wind. We walked around in our raincoats and watched all the people around us struggle with their umbrellas against the wind. I think if typhoons were the norm around here, our raincoats would not stand out so much when it rains.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, August 27, 2012
Car Phone Numbers
When you are walking around the small streets of Korea, there are usually lots of cars parked every which way. I've noticed there is almost always a phone number in the window. Some are just scribbled on a piece of paper, but there are also pillows with the phone number embroidered onto it. People put their phone numbers on their car so that if they block in someone, the person can call them and get them to move! Back home I would be afraid of random people calling me or putting my number on some call list, but here its normal!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Marshmellow Towers
As mentioned in the Sapshido blog, on our trip the children made marshmallow towers. I only have a few pictures of them making the tower, not the finished products.
Side note, I found out that our Pastor told them that the marshmallows were inedible at first, so that they would build the towers and not eat them. After the building we told them they could eat the marshmallows now, but they were confused and said that they couldn't eat them, they are inedible. Its interesting what kids listen to.
Side note, I found out that our Pastor told them that the marshmallows were inedible at first, so that they would build the towers and not eat them. After the building we told them they could eat the marshmallows now, but they were confused and said that they couldn't eat them, they are inedible. Its interesting what kids listen to.
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| Making marshmallow towers of Babel. |
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| Very focused! |
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Sapshido!
Last week Riley and I participated in a mission trip to one of the small islands off the west coast of South Korea called Sapshido. The trip was part of a larger mission that had a medical team, a hair salon, and a maintenance team. We were part of the English ministry group that had an English Camp/Vacation Bible School. It was only a three day mission trip, with the last day saved to explore the island. Riley was in charge of the music and I was in charge of crafts. We also had a English learning session. Preparing for the trip was interesting due to the amount of "This little light of mine" being sung. As for crafts, we were doing Noah's arc and the tower of Babel. Noah was easy, we just made rainbows and chickens (see picture), but what can you do with the tower of Babel? I thought we could do gumdrop and toothpick towers, but they don't have gumdrops in Korea. So, we did marshmallows! More on this later.
We left early in the morning and took a ferry to the island. The ferry was pretty much the same as the ones in the Outer Banks, just more crowded. Most people did not take their car. The seagulls still followed the boat, and some were very good at catching shrimp fries (common Korean snack) in mid-air.
Once we got to Sapshido, we piled in the back of a very hot truck and rode across the island to the main town (it took about 15 mins). It was almost like being on the mainland, there were rice fields and mountains. The only difference was the sudden appearance of a beach if you looked in some directions.
We ate a fishy lunch, then headed over to the local Elementary School to start our VBS. This was a very nice tiny school. There were only 24 kids in the whole school, and most of them were in our VBS as well. The first day went alright. One of the groups was a little sleepy, but they did good with crafts. I now appreciate what my friends who teach have to deal with. Preschoolers are really well behaved for some reason.
Some of the kids had never really seen foreigners before, at least not in person. They didn't understand why we couldn't speak with them. They seemed to have a good time, though. They really liked singing "Making Melodies in My Heart."
After we got back and had dinner (by the way, the church kitchen ladies came with us and cooked. The fed us so full that I think I gained weight on the trip. Kitchen ladies everywhere have the same goal, feed everyone until they can't move.) Then we went to the beach to watch the sunset. It was really pretty, none of my pictures did it justice, so I just included a picture of the beach. The water was warm and there were cliffs as well as beaches. It sort of reminded me of Maine, but with more beaches.
Then we got back, had some debriefing, and went to sleep. The next morning was really nice. All the farmers started work early before the heat set in. We had a Korean breakfast (kimchi, rice, beef and vegetable soup, eggplant stuff) then went to the school to get started. The second day was much nicer, I think the kids were more awake. We found out the marshmallows were foreign to even the teachers on the island. They had read about them, but never had any. I just wish we could have made smores (side note, Korea does not have graham crackers). Marshmallow towers do work, they just don't last very long. This actually fit the tower of Babel story really well since they never finished their tower either.
After the main sessions we had recreation outside, i.e. GIANT WATER FIGHT! Everyone got water guns and had fun just getting people wet, but then some of the boys figured out it was easier just to fill up a bucket of water and dump it on people. Specifically the teachers. It felt really good actually, it was really hot.
Side Story: Riley was unable to participate in the water fight due to falling on cement the day before and scraping up his leg. One of the most entertaining parts of the trip was watching the majority of the medical team grouped around Riley's knee watching one of the doctors bandage it up and giving advice. So instead of water, he played with bubbles.
After the water fight we went back and ate lunch (once again delicious) and get ready to paint a room. I'm not sure what this building was used for, but the church had a large room with a small kitchen attached to it. We just cleaned and painted the kitchen part. Lots of scraping, lots of primer (walls here are mostly cement), then lots of paint. It didn't take too long. The inner door was filthy, so I started wiping some of the dirt off and it was a beautiful traditional Korean door with solid wood in a grid. If someone just washed it and put some stain on it, it would have looked amazing. We didn't have time to do much but just wipe the door off. The room looked a lot better at least.
Then another delicious supper and off to bed. One of our group got up for the 3:00am Korea vs Brazil soccer match, but most of us just watched some Greco-roman wrestling and went to bed.
In the morning we had "Western breakfast." It ended up being potato salad sandwiches. We knew they were trying, and it was better than kimchi, so we ate them without complaint. Then we headed to the beach! The tide was out when we got there, and there was a giant expanse of crabs! Tiny crabs that hid when you walked by, but popped up again if you didn't move. I also caught some hermit crabs, and investigated some type of jellyfish-like creature I still can't figure out. Most of my time was spent watching the tiny crabs feed on sand. Then people would come over to see what I was staring at and the crabs would all disappear and I would look a little crazy.
After the beach was time to go. We had to finish off the rest of the potato salad sandwiches so they wouldn't spoil (they were much better in the afternoon), and then we took the ferry back and ate another meal of various species of seafood (crab, shrimp, whelk, clam, fish, and unknown).
It was a great trip, we experienced new areas, foods, and people, and hopefully there are some preschoolers who now know the word rainbow!
We left early in the morning and took a ferry to the island. The ferry was pretty much the same as the ones in the Outer Banks, just more crowded. Most people did not take their car. The seagulls still followed the boat, and some were very good at catching shrimp fries (common Korean snack) in mid-air.
Once we got to Sapshido, we piled in the back of a very hot truck and rode across the island to the main town (it took about 15 mins). It was almost like being on the mainland, there were rice fields and mountains. The only difference was the sudden appearance of a beach if you looked in some directions.
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| Island life! |
Some of the kids had never really seen foreigners before, at least not in person. They didn't understand why we couldn't speak with them. They seemed to have a good time, though. They really liked singing "Making Melodies in My Heart."
 |
| Chickens and rainbows! |
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| Coast of Sapshido (can you see China? Its past the islands.) |
Then we got back, had some debriefing, and went to sleep. The next morning was really nice. All the farmers started work early before the heat set in. We had a Korean breakfast (kimchi, rice, beef and vegetable soup, eggplant stuff) then went to the school to get started. The second day was much nicer, I think the kids were more awake. We found out the marshmallows were foreign to even the teachers on the island. They had read about them, but never had any. I just wish we could have made smores (side note, Korea does not have graham crackers). Marshmallow towers do work, they just don't last very long. This actually fit the tower of Babel story really well since they never finished their tower either.
After the main sessions we had recreation outside, i.e. GIANT WATER FIGHT! Everyone got water guns and had fun just getting people wet, but then some of the boys figured out it was easier just to fill up a bucket of water and dump it on people. Specifically the teachers. It felt really good actually, it was really hot.
Side Story: Riley was unable to participate in the water fight due to falling on cement the day before and scraping up his leg. One of the most entertaining parts of the trip was watching the majority of the medical team grouped around Riley's knee watching one of the doctors bandage it up and giving advice. So instead of water, he played with bubbles.
After the water fight we went back and ate lunch (once again delicious) and get ready to paint a room. I'm not sure what this building was used for, but the church had a large room with a small kitchen attached to it. We just cleaned and painted the kitchen part. Lots of scraping, lots of primer (walls here are mostly cement), then lots of paint. It didn't take too long. The inner door was filthy, so I started wiping some of the dirt off and it was a beautiful traditional Korean door with solid wood in a grid. If someone just washed it and put some stain on it, it would have looked amazing. We didn't have time to do much but just wipe the door off. The room looked a lot better at least.
Then another delicious supper and off to bed. One of our group got up for the 3:00am Korea vs Brazil soccer match, but most of us just watched some Greco-roman wrestling and went to bed.
In the morning we had "Western breakfast." It ended up being potato salad sandwiches. We knew they were trying, and it was better than kimchi, so we ate them without complaint. Then we headed to the beach! The tide was out when we got there, and there was a giant expanse of crabs! Tiny crabs that hid when you walked by, but popped up again if you didn't move. I also caught some hermit crabs, and investigated some type of jellyfish-like creature I still can't figure out. Most of my time was spent watching the tiny crabs feed on sand. Then people would come over to see what I was staring at and the crabs would all disappear and I would look a little crazy.
After the beach was time to go. We had to finish off the rest of the potato salad sandwiches so they wouldn't spoil (they were much better in the afternoon), and then we took the ferry back and ate another meal of various species of seafood (crab, shrimp, whelk, clam, fish, and unknown).
It was a great trip, we experienced new areas, foods, and people, and hopefully there are some preschoolers who now know the word rainbow!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Olympics
As you well know, its time for the Olympics! This time, I actually have my own television to watch them on! I love Olympic season because there is always something good on tv.
However, in Korea, you don't watch the sports Americans dominate in, you watch the ones Koreans dominate in. These are very different sports! There is only a little bit of gymnastics, diving, or track and field. Instead, the tv is full of Judo matches, fencing, archery, taekwando, and handball. There is sometimes swimming, and I've seen a little beach volleyball, but there is no pommel horse in sight! There was badmitten, but they've stopped replaying the women's team for some reason...
However, in Korea, you don't watch the sports Americans dominate in, you watch the ones Koreans dominate in. These are very different sports! There is only a little bit of gymnastics, diving, or track and field. Instead, the tv is full of Judo matches, fencing, archery, taekwando, and handball. There is sometimes swimming, and I've seen a little beach volleyball, but there is no pommel horse in sight! There was badmitten, but they've stopped replaying the women's team for some reason...
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Inevitable Job
"You are an American English speaker? Would you like a job?"
"We want to speak English with an American accent."
"Will you edit my paper? I'll give you 50,000₩..."
As Americans living in Korea, we hear these sorts of things all the time. Riley and I have been offered countless jobs teaching and tutoring English to all ages and situations. I don't think people believe us when we tell them that we have no teaching experience and you probably don't want us to try to teach anyone English. Most don't understand that just because we speak English, it doesn't mean we know how to teach it. I do not remember all the words for grammar (like progressive tense?), or how to teach phonics (cat=kat). I didn't even know what an idiom was until I came to Korea and was asked about them. I suppose since the majority of foreigners here are English teachers, they assume all foreigners are born to teach English automatically.
The American accent thing is really interesting. We have many friends from Europe and Africa who speak English fluently, either bilingual or as their only language, but they have a much harder time getting a job here. For some reason, Koreans like the American accent better. We have a Korean friend who learned British English, and she sounds really really neat when she speaks English. However, she doesn't like her accent because its not American.
Even though we have gotten out of teaching English jobs, there is one job we cannot escape, editing. I have edited thesis, brochures, speeches, presentations, applications, resumes, and essays many times since coming to Korea. Sometimes they are for friends, but it seems more often they are friends of a friend. These are not just Koreans either. I've edited English writing of friends from China and the UAE as well. The topics have ranged from Chinese-US trade relations, to lotus species, to reactor systems. At least in editing writing I don't have to worry about explaining why a sentence sounds funny.
So, if you are a native English speaker in a foreign land, expect to have someone say "will you please check my grammar?"
"We want to speak English with an American accent."
"Will you edit my paper? I'll give you 50,000₩..."
As Americans living in Korea, we hear these sorts of things all the time. Riley and I have been offered countless jobs teaching and tutoring English to all ages and situations. I don't think people believe us when we tell them that we have no teaching experience and you probably don't want us to try to teach anyone English. Most don't understand that just because we speak English, it doesn't mean we know how to teach it. I do not remember all the words for grammar (like progressive tense?), or how to teach phonics (cat=kat). I didn't even know what an idiom was until I came to Korea and was asked about them. I suppose since the majority of foreigners here are English teachers, they assume all foreigners are born to teach English automatically.
The American accent thing is really interesting. We have many friends from Europe and Africa who speak English fluently, either bilingual or as their only language, but they have a much harder time getting a job here. For some reason, Koreans like the American accent better. We have a Korean friend who learned British English, and she sounds really really neat when she speaks English. However, she doesn't like her accent because its not American.
Even though we have gotten out of teaching English jobs, there is one job we cannot escape, editing. I have edited thesis, brochures, speeches, presentations, applications, resumes, and essays many times since coming to Korea. Sometimes they are for friends, but it seems more often they are friends of a friend. These are not just Koreans either. I've edited English writing of friends from China and the UAE as well. The topics have ranged from Chinese-US trade relations, to lotus species, to reactor systems. At least in editing writing I don't have to worry about explaining why a sentence sounds funny.
So, if you are a native English speaker in a foreign land, expect to have someone say "will you please check my grammar?"
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