An American Abroad

Today the whole school was out on various field trip excursions save for a few secretaries, Principal, Vice principal, and a few of the special subject teachers (such as myself and my co-English teacher) that had opted (or in my case been told) to remain behind.

It was a beautiful day and not having class gave me the chance to get together some materials for next weeks lessons.  It also gave me the chance to have lunch in a more intimate setting than the cafeteria and chat a bit with my colleagues.  There was limited English (and virtually no Korean coming from my side) so conversation was rough but with my co-English teacher helping out we had a nice flow going.

Korea in a word, America in a word

One of the topics that arose was what I thought of Korea, in one word.  Or more, what most of my country thought of Korea, in a word.  I opted for the word "Seoul" since this was pretty much all I knew of SK before planning my move, and I didn't think it would be prudent to say "crazy North Koreans with nukes..."

I reciprocated with the question about America.  My co-teacher said Obama and Washington D.C.  (Although I knew she was holding back the word "guns" from a previous conversation I'd had with her...more on that later.)  There were two other teachers present.  One spoke only a few words and was waiting for a translation.  The other had a good grasp of elementary English.  He told me he really didn't want to say because it was bad.

I urged him on.  One of the most interesting parts about travel and living abroad is to hear other cultures' thoughts and opinions, no matter what the subject.  

He proceeded to tell me that he did not really like America.  He liked Americans and he was very insistent that I should not take this the wrong way and please don't be insulted, but he's not a fan of a lot of America's work.  He said that he is sure there is a good side to America-- the culture, the people-- but that there is also a dark side.  He said the words Iraq, Afghanistan,  bully, and grimaced a lot.  I could tell he was very worried that he was not getting what he wanted across, but I assured him I understood what he was saying.  And I do.

Those gun toting Americans...

After traveling and living in several different countries for several months or, well, years, you meet all sorts of people from everywhere in the world, not just from the countries you are traveling in.  And many of them have the same opinion of America when the subject of politics comes up (as it invariably does after a couple beers around a community table in any particular backpacker guesthouse.)

Being American myself, I try and be politically correct.  I'm not big on politics-- I will do a lot to avoid most political debates.  There are a few topics I feel strongly on but generally it's not a subject that I'm jumping at the bit to dive into.

I usually nod quite a bit, say that I understand, defend us as much as possible without getting argumentative, and change the subject.

But it's difficult to hear so many peoples' negative views about the country where you come from, even if you agree with some of them, and agreeing with them perhaps more so than usual with the current state of things at home.  Its like you can insult your sibling from dusk till dawn, but someone else does and your back immediately goes up.  It's a reflex to defend your own.

And its an interesting feeling knowing most of your foreigner friends aren't really fans of your country.  It's a bit eyebrow raising to hear that going into Vietnam, maybe you should put a Canadian maple leaf patch on your backpack.  And its really fascinating to hear, upon suggesting that your Principal might like to live in cities like San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle for a year (after being asked where a good place to live abroad for a year and learn some English post-retirement would be) that, "Hmmm but isn't America very dangerous?  Everyone has guns." 

(To this I said well, in America, good guys AND bad guys have guns.  Everywhere else, only the bad guys do.) 

America, a double edged sword

Today, I explained my personal opinion of America like this:  We want to help make the world a better place.  We help, we help, we help, but there is a line where helping crosses into bullying and overstaying our welcome.  We jump back and forth over this line a lot.  I don't think we quite know where it is.  Also, America represents a greater variety of people and beliefs under one government than anywhere in the world.  It is very difficult to be fair to so many different cultures that want so many different things.

I realize that is is a very simplified version of what America has been through over the past few decades, but what else do you say to someone with limited English as you're walking down the hall and you've reached the point where you're parting ways?

This discussion did continue with my quite fluent in English co-teacher when we reached our office.  I was trying to explain how I don't think people quite realize how BIG America is.  South Korea is about the size of West Virginia.  America is 50 different countries, all rolled into one large government.  Think about  the southwest.  LA.  Vegas.  The Pacific Northwest.  Hawaii.  Alaska.  The deep South?  The New England States.  Yes, there is a dark side to America.  We are a large nation with a congress that can't stop bickering long enough to listen to what each other are saying.  We have an education system that lays off teachers left and right while freezing the employed teachers' salaries while basketball players are paid millions.  We have intentions that don't always finish the way they started. 


Yet while my co teacher is one of the world citizens that is afraid of Americans and their guns and their politics, she did tell me something heartening.  She said that her father told her that he believes if America did not do what they did (she was not specific here), South Korea might be communist and might not have their freedom, and many more countries would probably be at war.  Yes!!  They don't ALL think we're gun toting crazies with no morals...

A bunch of negative Nancy's

But what makes news is often the negatives.  Keeping people up to date on the worst that could happen.  For instance, what people think of Korea.  All the world hears is missile launch, North Korea, new government, North Korea, nukes, North Korea, failed missile launch, nukes, war?  No war.  War?  And what are you doing about it South Korea?  Asking my co-teacher about it, apparently the average South Korean doesn't really think about it.  Ah, well, North Korea is launching missiles and pissing everyone off again.  Same ol', same ol'. 

America-- war?  Iraq?  Oil?  World domination?

Do people around the world hear about how every year the cherry blossoms bloom in Gyeongju and simply blow you away?  Or about how when you're on the top of Mt. Hood and can see for miles you swear you'd have paid $400 just to go up that once?  Even if they do, it's not what sticks.

And as always, a few ruin it for the rest.  Apparently quite a bit of the Army stationed in South Korea act like jackasses, misrepresenting the larger portion of polite, respectful citizens.  I come from a family with a history in the military and have several friends that I love and respect in the military.  But I've heard so many stories from so many different people about how many of our soldiers act while stationed abroad that I have no words to defend them anymore.

A patchwork of diversity

But all this said and done, American is a beautiful country with so much diversity to offer.  I was explaining to my co workers that walking around Korea, or Thailand, is very different from walking around America (or Europe for that matter.)  In Korea, everyone is either a Korean, or a foreigner.  In America, you can walk down the street and see someone Korean, Thai, Chinese, Irish, African American, Japanese, Filipino, Swedish, Norwegian, or Russian.  And until they open their mouth and out comes an accent, they could have been born a United States citizen.  Sometimes even people with accents were born American citizens.  

I think that this is both one of America's greatest challenges and one of it's best qualities.  And while where our government is headed scares the crap out of me, I'm proud to say I come from a country of such diversity, and such patchwork of different landscapes and cultures.

Acting Tourist

Last weekend we had the opportunity to really play tourist for the first time and see some of the sights South Korea has to offer.  We traveled about 2.5 hours south to the city of Gyeongju.  Before arriving in Korea if we had been allowed to choose one city within our province to live, it would have been this one.  Our assumptions were correct.  It is a perfect sized city with beautiful parks and surrounding areas.  We had a great time visiting friends and enjoying cherry blossom season.  It was incredibly crowded-- Gyeongju is known for its cherry blossoms and they only last for a few weeks once a year and it seemed that the whole of South Korea decided to come and take it all in.  While this type of crowd usually turns me off, everyone was so happy and having such a great time, and the sights to see were often quite spread out, the mass amounts of tourists didn't detract from having a wonderful time.  Here are some of my favorite pictures: 

Bomun Park

Paddle Boats

Riding bikes around the outside of the park

we all love our Toms

we stayed all day, until after sunset

have NO idea what these are... art, I suppose...

these mounds are tombs for members of the Silla dynasty

We weren't sure what was happening here, but it seems like a good photo opportunity!

Cheomseongdae-- a World Heritage Site, this is the Far East's oldest astrological observatory!  Constructed between AD 632 and 646 (Lonely Planet, South Korea).

Anapji Pond

What Should Have Been Taught at Orientation But Wasn't

Orientation was great, and I give EPIK huge props for putting so much effort into our first ten days in Korea.  It allowed us to network with other foreigners and make some great friends, and gave us a wealth of information that I use teaching every day.  However, there were a few things they forgot...

How to de-bone fish with chopsticks. 

At my school, and from the sounds of it many others, there is no knife or fork option. Chopsticks and spoon. I actually prefer using spoons or chopsticks to eat, so this usually isn't an issue. Until the day of the week comes when you find a delicious fried fish on your plate and you can't put a bite in your mouth without getting stabbed with several little bones that you swore you'd picked out. 

These are tiny fish with a tiny bone structure. I've tried to watch my Korean co-workers de-bone their fish with their own chopsticks, and never seem to quite catch how they do it. It may be a form of Korean magic. I can usually get the main backbone out okay, but the little teeny bones attached never seem to come with it. So I poke and prod at the thing with my useless chopsticks and try to maneuver these eensy bones out of the fish and onto the side of the plate. At the end of my endeavor I've put about three bites of fish in my mouth, two of wish I have had to subtlety spit several bones out of.  The worst part of this is, the fried fish is actually one of the few foods I actually thoroughly enjoy the taste of, adding to the frustration of its inaccessibility. 

 

Meanwhile, my Korean co workers have finished, have all bones in a neat pile with no scrap of meat to be seen, and are looking with eyebrows raised, at my mangled fish.

Five Lies That I Was Told or I Read About South Korea

(or at the least, exaggerations and miscommunications...)

I would like to start this off by saying this post is not a knock on SK per say.  It is more of a reiteration of a told and retold warning;  Don't believe everything you hear.  Or read.

1.  Korea is the most wired country in the world.  

I live in a small town in South Korea.  A population of about 120k.  Now I know what a small town is.  I've grown up in a town with an exaggerated 10,000 residents.  120k is not my definition of a small town, but I suppose relative to places such as Busan and Seoul?  Okay.

Before arriving in Korea I heard numerous times from numerous sources about how technologically advanced Korea is in terms of their internet.  Well, if you say so.  But they missed Sangju and surrounding areas.

2.  Korea has the fastest wireless in the world.

After spending every Friday waiting several minutes for a webpage to load, I beg to differ.  Granted the middle school that I teach at on Friday is in the middle of farm country, but to me it sounded like every inch of Korea was wifi central-- the kids might not have shoes and their parents might be in the middle of a rice field, but just walk inside their hut to find the newest computer system hooked to lightning fast internet.

I'm not saying that Korea doesn't have the fastest wireless in the world.  Perhaps in small pockets; when on the subway underground in Seoul I've had the fastest wifi on my phone ever experienced.  But either I sure interpreted it wrong or there is some major exaggeration going on within the various websites I looked at while researching Korea, because slow internet has been a constant frustration since moving here.  And neither the dorms I resided in upon first arriving or my current apartment has wireless.  But again, maybe SK just missed Sangju and surrounding areas when planning their supersonic wifi system.

3.  Cheap electronics.

This may have been a bad assumption on my part.  I assumed since it seems like half of the electronics I own were made in Korea, electronic gadgets would be fairly cheaper here.  But after glancing at TV, laptop, and even blender prices its almost always cheaper to buy it in The States and have it shipped!

 4.  Incredibly easy transportation.

This is really only a partial lie.  I think that this was again subject to exaggeration by several websites and guidebooks.  I was under the impression that you could travel anywhere in Korea within three hours, and that transportation was insanely easy here.  It's not bad, but unless you're riding the KTX to a major city, to me the transportation seems about the same as most places.  Good subway system, often having to juggle both buses and trains to get where you want to want to go, having to rearrange your plans around the fact that there are only two buses a day to where you want to go for a quick weekend trip.  It's not terrible, just the usual.

My disclaimer is I've only been in Korea for a few months-- there may yet be some secret that I've not yet discovered.    

5.  Good food.

I had several people come up to me before I left and tell me how much they love Korean food.  What were you eating?!?  There are some things I've found that I don't mind, and several that I slightly enjoy, but overall I don't think I will ever go to a Korean restaurant when I return home unless forced.  There has been nothing of yet that I am just over the moon about, and this is a change for me-- in every other country I've traveled, the different food has been one of my favorite experiences.

Again, only been here two months.  Maybe I just haven't found the right dish yet.  The vegetarian aspect is also problematic.

The exemplary so-so food:  bimbimbop

Conclusions:

It seems to me that when talking or writing about South Korea, what people are really referring to are the large cities.  Which I suppose is fair-- when I thought about South Korea before arriving I largely associated it with skyscrapers and subway systems.  But living in a "smaller" city has given me the chance to see South Korea as much more than that.  Sometimes in a positive light and sometimes not so much, but the reality of it is that while much of the population resides in places like Seoul there is a huge landscape full of farmers, run down fences, tiny schools, and areas void of the fast paced (and often very convenient) living conditions that the country as a whole is so known for.

 

Vegetarianism in Korea. Ha ha.... Oh well.

It doesn't exist.  If you're a strict vegetarian you'll either have to a) bend your rules, b) never eat out of your home, or c) don't come to Korea. 

I grew up vegetarian. (Well, with the exception of seafood, so whatever you choose to call that...) As an adult with choices, my reasons for not eating meat are mostly taste and health, which makes eating meat all the more difficult.  It's not like I love a good steak but really don't want cows to suffer.  I mostly just don't like the taste, and not growing up around meat being cooked has me looking at most meat with an element of disgust.  What is all of that white stuff on the edge?  What in gods name is that texture?  And do you really expect me to put this piece of what used to be a furry animal in my mouth?  Some people hate brussel sprouts and broccoli, I'm not a fan of most meats.

However, I chose option A.  This seems to be the most popular choice as the other two are a bit difficult if you've signed on for a year as an EPIK teacher.  However, be warned--

for just as you've decided that you'll sacrifice your regular eating habits out of a sense of adventure and, well, hunger, as you approach the restaurant you find yourself staring into the eyes of the cute little animal that you and your friends are about to devour.  That's right-- if you plan on eating duck that evening, there will be a picture of little Huey right outside the door of the restaurant to welcome you in.  Pig?  Little piglet waves at you from the neon sign.  While I assume that really these signs are a way of allowing the animals to brag a bit ("that's right-- I'm cute AND edible...") if you are a vegetarian it definitely doesn't help you forget what you're about to indulge in.  Or, if you look at it another way, perhaps it does help.  The cute little animals are always smiling, assuring you that they were in no way treated cruelly before their death.  They are happy to be eaten by you, and hope you enjoy your dinner.

 (This is the sign for a butcher shop)


Another thing I noticed today while lunching at my rural middle school-- (eating at school is the biggest obstacle for a vegetarian, as you're expected to eat school lunch with the teachers as well as join in the occasional teachers dinner at a restaurant, cute animal assuredly in its place..) in America, if you state that you are a vegetarian, its understood that there are many varieties of vegetarian and people choose this lifestyle for different reasons.  Religious, animal rights, health, simple preference.  Attitudes of vegetarians can range from I try not to eat too much meat but have the occasional burger of piece of bacon,  I still eat seafood (pescatarian, I have heard this somewhat pretentiously labeled), I have been vegetarian for a year and am still deciding, I've been strict a vegetarian for seven years and am quite happier and healthier because of my lifestyle choice, and finally oh my god did you know that hamburger used to be a living thing you how could you eat that you demon of Satan.

In Korea, vegetarianism seems to be such a foreign concept that no one really believes it.  (Probably like veganism is to me-- you don't eat CHEESE?? Out of CHOICE??  If you say so...)  My eating strategy in Korea so as not to starve has been to eat as much of the school lunch as I can without touching the meat, and then depending on how scary it looks give it a try if I'm still hungry.  This has worked surprisingly well so far as rice fills me up  and there are usually several side dishes consisting of vegetables, and with the soup I can usually spoon out the broth around the chunks of who knows what.  My fellow teachers at my Elementary school take this in stride.  My co teacher at my middle school, however, first broadcasted to the rest of the staff that I am a vegetarian and then proceeded to insist that I try a piece of pork.  In a different, later discussion she asked me if I ever cooked at home and after describing several different vegetable and tofu dishes I like to whip up, she asks don't I ever cook beef or pork.  Nope, still a vegetarian.

Ah, well.

Food what?

This first post after residing in Korea for a few weeks is going to be on food.  As, quite likely, will many other posts to come.  Why?  Because one thing that living abroad (and several anthro classes) has brought to my attention is how important food is and how much eating cultures differ depending on who and where we are.

Street Market, Daegu, South Korea

In the last several years, or even the last decade, the world seems to be focused on the new fad of where does our food come from. Authors like Michael Pollen bring to our attention how little we know, local markets are popping up everywhere, and gardens are being grown in little patches of dirt among skyscrapers.  This is a great fad and I hope it's here to stay.

One thing I have learned living abroad is even with this movement to pay attention to what we're putting in hour mouths we, or at least I, take our daily eating habits for granted.  When you move to a new country, suddenly your whole mode of survival is kicked out of balance. You have to think about things that before were simply a way of life that you'd always known. Before moving to Thailand, how I acquired my food was something I'd only thought about in connection with a few anthropology papers I wrote, or what I read in Discovery Magazine or in the Omnivore's Dilemma.  I love shopping at farmers markets, but in the States I know what I'm looking for, where it's most likely to be, and if I'm not sure it's just a few words and a question mark away.  In the States, I would also grocery shop maybe once a week.  Perhaps picking up something here and there if I run out of milk or yogurt or am making some special dish, but I certainly never frequented the shopping market every day.

I remember my first experience abroad in Italy.  I was walking home from school one day and I ran into my teacher.  He asked the equivalent of what was I up to now that school was out, and asked where I stopped to pick up my bread.  He was holding a brown sack of what looked like several items with lettuce and a large baguette sticking out.  I told him that I wasn't picking up any bread, and he was really quite confused.  You don't like bread?  No, I already have some at home.  Do you not buy bread every day?  No... should I?  You go grocery shopping every day?  Huh.  Then we said our awkward goodbye and parted ways (while still pretty much walking in the same direction...)

After living in Thailand, I now completely understand what he was talking about.  After settling in for a few months and buying my food at Big C, (basically like a Super WalMart), I started going to the market almost every day to pick up whatever I would be eating that evening.  I was in an unknown place with many unknown foods and going to the market was always an adventure.  But it was also necessary for me to eat unless I wanted spaghetti every night or to taxi to Big C for groceries all the time.  I had to think about where I was going to get my food that day in a way that had never been an issue.  Gradually I found a pattern in my eating habits, but at first, I really had to put some thought into what I would be feeding myself.

It really brought to my attention what an important part food plays in our lives and how foraging for food whatever the circumstances has had a huge impact on each individual culture.  Why did people first start to settle in once place?  Why have some cultures advanced technologically as far as they have while others remain hunter gatherers?  Some cultures savor meals using them as a time for social gathering and conversation, in others its a matter of just eating enough sustain.  What food we put in our mouths and how we go about it  has changed so much over time, and varies so distinctly across cultures. What we eat, how we eat it and what lies behind these decisions is something that most of us never really need to think about, but I think that how we procure our food says a lot about us.

So far, Korea has been no different.  I've already found myself getting annoyed with hunger because we neglected to think ahead to our meal that night, and now we've got to go forage something up in the city of Sangju.  Simple?  Sure, if we want some instant noddles.  It also doesn't help that I'm not the biggest fan of Korean food, that I speak hardly a word of Korean, and that we're in a smaller city so a menu in English?  Don't think so.  Thus, the adventure of figuring out what and how I will satisfy my grumbling stomach begins.

Looking for food, South Korea:

Eggs by the... 10??