"When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from...Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us...Only when this is recognized can the blown-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it."
-John Steinbeck, Foreword to Travels with Charley

Home

I'm home.

Sujfan Stevens' Christmas music is playing, logs are crackling in the woodstove, snow is falling outside (in Virginia, what??), and I'm with all my brothers for the first time in 2 years.

In the last week before flying over here, I could barely contain my excitement at the prospect of being home for Christmas. Last year's Christmas in Korea was fun, but also strangely detached from what I thought Christmas should feel like...that's probably more of an emotional feeling, but so it goes. But the thought of being home with my family (all of my family!!!) for even a few days was marvelous. I caught myself smiling a few times during the various flights on Tuesday.

I'm still smiling now, and that smile's only going to get bigger once my sisters start arriving.

Thanksgiving in Korea-Year 2

Looks like I've been neglecting the blog again. Life has been quite busy over here, but we still managed to celebrate Thanksgiving in good fashion. A fun night with friends and my Kosin family.

Homework Gems

Here are some favorites from a recent assignment in one of my basic classes.

"I hate swimming, because I have bad-looking body line."

"I like golf, because it is high class sports."

"...but I don't like hockey. I scary the hockey ball."

"I hate basketball. Because basketball is I don't game rule."

"Ice is slid so dislike ski."

"I like watching baseball...baseball player very handsome. But I hate I playing baseball. Because baseball is very very difficult exercise."

"I hate karate. I hurt when someone was hitted me."

"Soccer seems like a drama."

Culture Shock

"Sorry...but he is my 오빠 (older brother; senior), so..."

After living here for over a year, the culture can still surprise me. Or in this case, it can really frustrate me. Even after spending time, activities and exam questions on the topic of plagiarism, it is still popping up in our composition classes. A guy in Ashley's class copied the journals of a girl in my class. Her reason that she let him? He's her senior, so she had to give it to him when he asked.

A few days ago some students asked Ashley and I if we had culture shock. I said I did a little bit at first, but not anymore...I'm wondering if I spoke too soon.
There are times when I'm left thoroughly confused. I'm unable to understand why even though the professor (who should demand a higher level of respect in this culture) said not to, they still did it. I'm confused because the older student should have been setting a better example in this Confucian system. I'm particularly confused at why the Confucian system is held in higher esteem (in this situation) than honesty at a Christian university...

Sir

A student called me sir today and it kind of shocked me. I mean, I'm the same age as him. I'm more used to professor, teacher, or more often just my name. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely weird when middle aged students call me professor and bow to me. But most of the time it's just a sign of my position here and they don't have the English skills to be comfortable saying anything else. But sir?! This wasn't someone in a store being polite, this was a student that I've seen multiple times a week for months now. I told him not to call me that, and laughing, he asked if it made me feel old. I told him it did, but he said it's a position/title thing. I think he'll just do it on purpose now. I hope he doesn't tell his friends...

Fireworks Festival

This past weekend was the Fireworks Festival. Long story short, I went both nights (they were different shows). Friday we scored VIP seats, and I sat next to the president of Dordt of all people. It's a small world, eh? The next night we knew we weren't going to have good seats, so we took what we could get...which ended up being a spot on the street.
First stop: Street food dinner


The crowd starts to take over the street

Better than the street, but behind trees

What Alvin and I sat behind for most of the show.

"Why would you want to watch this on a 2 inch screen?!"-Alvin

I gave my camera to Ashley since she was standing in a better spot (and she's taller than me).


Overall it was well worth the crushing crowds, packed subway, and long wait. I do love fireworks! I also got interviewed by Korean TV on both nights. A few students have said they saw me on TV, so I'm pretty much a foreign star...or something.

Seafood Festival at Jagalchi

This weekend is the Jagalchi Festival. The Jagalchi Market is a famous seafood market here in Busan which is known throughout Korea. So there's lots of fresh stuff to be consumed, especially sushi. So what happens when a bunch of waygukins (foreigners) attend a festival? Well, besides receiving the usual stares (some even stopping mid-stride for a better look), there were other interesting moments.

Alvin, Ashley, Jay (a student) and I went to the festival last night for dinner. As soon as we sat down at one of the outdoor tents to eat sushi, two guys with a video camera showed up. We had seen them earlier and Ashley said she wanted to be on TV, so we made her do the interview. The best part was when they didn't like her first comment, so they told her what to say. After our food came, they stuck around for awhile to film us eating. A couple students said they saw us on the news last night, so I guess we're famous. Those guys left and all of a sudden there's an ajuma (older lady), leaning over our table, going a mile a minute in Korean, all the while grabbing my hand, and stroking Ashley's arm. Apparently her son is in the US, but she can't go visit him, so she was thanking us?? As if this wasn't strange enough, she decides to touch my nose, apparently saying she thought it was cute. About 5 minutes later, she's back, repeating all of this, including touching my nose again...that's twice in 2 weeks that a random Asian has violated what the West would consider my personal space.

Anyways, later on we continued to receive stares, witnessed the worse ajushi (older man) fight I've seen here, saw fireworks, and ate more food.

I wish more students apologized like this.

A Teacher (by students)

For a recent quiz I had students pick a job and talk about responsibilities. Quite enlightening to see what students thought about being a teacher.

-He/she doesn't have to hit students.
-He has to love his students.
-A teacher doesn't have to teach false.
-A teacher has to teach easily for students.
-A teacher has to study for teach.
-A teacher doesn't have to angry. (sometimes, it's necessary...)
-A teacher has to knowledge.
-A teacher has to good speech.
-A teacher doesn't have two jobs in Korea.
-He/she doesn't have to tired.
-He/she has to take care of students


Another student obviously couldn't figure out how to spell "professor" as these were scribbled all over:
prre
profassor
professor(!!!!)
proffesor
prof
profase
profesor
proff
praffesor
-They finally went with "profesor." So close...

Highs and Lows

Students who plagiarize after I tell them not to do it (and apparently don't think I've ever heard of Wikipedia). "Teacher, so sorry for being late...I was sleeping" for an 11 o'clock class. Blank looks and sleepy faces. Grading. Making quizzes. More grading. "They're not here because their mom is in the hospital." The lack of effort sometimes.
These are the low points...

But thankfully that's not all there is to it. The look of comprehension. Excellent answers (at whatever level). Students seeming genuinely happy to see me...every time. Hearing little bits of slang or parts of lessons in their speech. Seeing (and hearing) students improving. Questions being asked from the desire to learn. People eagerly talking to me outside of class.

This is what keeps me going on rough days like today.

Jinju

On Tuesday, I went to Jinju with some friends. Jinju is a city about 1 1/2 hours to the west of Busan. It's famous for the fortress which was the site of a famous victory against the Japanese in 1592 (although the next year, the Japanese came back with even more troops and wiped out the whole place). There's also a well known lantern festival in early October, so we got to see preparations for that as well.

Waiting for the bus. There were so many people leaving to go visit family for Chuseok. This line was nothing compared to the one inside for some of the other buses.

Ajushi at the bus stop.

Watchtower at the fortress.

View of the river with the floats for the festival.

Legend has it that a Korean girl seduced a Japanese general and then jumped into the river with him, killing them both. This is the rock that it happened...I'm assuming neither of them could swim. The float showing this event is directly behind.

Grass!! Also, a statue of General Kim.

This guy was making popped rice on this old machine. 맛있어요!!

16th century Korean artillery (for Dad).

Waiting out the rain while eating the popped rice.

Rainbow!

Kosin Festiver

Here are some pictures from the festival the other day.

Setting up. Hot air balloon and giant slide!

Free hugs from "Jesus" (love the sharpie beard and choir robe)

We're not sure what we're endorsing here...

English majors selling food

Lots of students and tents (we were hounded to buy things from everyone)

Adam airborne and bouncing down the slide

Superman and spiderman?

Two of my students singing a ballad at the talent show. They were awesome

Strange Food

Since coming to Korea, I've enthusiastically embraced trying pretty much any food I encounter. I've surprised myself (and my family) in what I'm not only willing to eat, but actually truly enjoy. My brothers thought I was crazy this summer when I ate 김(seaweed) plain for a snack. I regularly eat food that I would have never considered touching in the U.S. But there are still some foods here that I haven't tried. Recently, I've made that list a little bit shorter.

In the last 24 hours I've consumed two dishes that most people I know would likely cringe at just the thought of eating. The first one was last night and was, put simply, pig skin. You cook it up on the grill just like any other meat. I didn't find this too bad actually, although if it's not cooked long enough it's quite chewy. For those wondering, we also got some other meat as well. Apparently it's good for the skin.

The second Korean treat was "bundigie" which translates as silk worm larva. You can find this at many street food stands, and apparently it's very popular with children. We had some today at Kosin Festival...thankfully one of my students decided that one cup was probably good enough for all of us. It wasn't bad, but nothing to go running back to anytime soon.

Punishment

Koreans typically play games a bit differently than we would in America. Normally the point back home is to win, usually by answering correctly or being the last one standing. If you lose, then you're often, "out." That's not the case here!

These students are from my English Club. If you notice their hair, it's a bit unusual (you might need to click for a closer view). You see, Koreans use punishment to judge games. I think this comes from the Asian mentality of togetherness, where everyone must be part of the group. So instead of getting "out" or something like that, you are punished if you lose. After being punished, you resume the game all together still. I've seen people have to sing songs or dance. Your humble narrator has had to write my name with my hips and apply an ice pack to my face, stomach and back. I can't say I'm a big fan of this, but it is quite an experience to play a Korean game.

Extra
They also were playing a game in Ashley's English Club, the loser had to either sing or chug some kind of nasty drink. Here's one of my students who chose to drink:
Smelling it first...

Reaching for the snacks with a grimace

Students say things and I laugh...a lot

Just a small sampling of some things students have said over the last week (the ones I remember). It's really a joy to teach them and see them using new expressions and vocabulary (even if they're not always applicable). Sometimes their explanations are hilarious.

Me: "What is graffiti?"
Student: "Hip hop paint."

"I dress to kill."-My assistant explaining why he was wearing a vest when it was hot outside.

"I'm looking for a fox."-explaining why he wanted to go dancing

"We want violence sometimes. Just a little."-student explaining why violent movies shouldn't be banned.

"Your voice is gorgeous."

Yeongdo Skies

Twilight

Morning Clouds

Rainstorm sunrise

This is the hokduk man. While there's many hokduk vendors in Nampo, he was apparently the first. People will shun all the other sellers, and form a big line for his stand. For the majority of you who don't know what Hokduk is, it's a doughnut type pastry with melted brown sugar inside. Simply amazing.

The other day we went to Songdo beach. It's not as big or as crowded as the more popular Haeundae, but there were still plenty of people there, albeit on the other end of the beach. Many Koreans like to hang out in inner tubes, and not many people seem to actually swim at all. There is also a tendency and a general acceptance of going into the water fully clothed.

Appearance

"Elijah, your face looks orange. You were in the sun a lot this summer?"

"I think maybe you gained *just a little* (holds up his fingers) weight in America."

Comments on physical appearance are fair game in Korean culture. If you're ever offended, you have to remember that they're not trying to rude, they just think about things differently. While they're rather too honest sometimes, it's usually because the students genuinely care about my health. But I don't think I'll be taking their suggestions that I go to the hospital next time I look tired or have a cold.

It's kind of hard to see but the guy in the middle is trying to sell some goods on the subway. Various vendors make the rounds through the subway cars selling different things, usually with some sort of demonstration. Kind of like an infomercial, but in person

Things are really busy here, so excuse me if I play a little catch up.

Alvin showcasing a classic Korean grocery store ploy. This one seems fairly legitimate as the free stuff is labeled the same as the product. But I've seen other goods which seem like they're just randomly stuck on as a bonus.

The other night, a couple of friends and I stopped in at a church to see a gospel choir...sung by Koreans. It was pretty fun to watch.

Yeongdosam Park a few nights ago.