I feel very blessed this week to be living in a small city in South Korea where there are no earthquakes, tsunamis, or violent revolutions. As I look at the news, the devastation that is being wreaked upon other people, I feel incredibly lucky to be living the life I am living. With all of the earthquakes taking place all over the world, I took the time to look at a fault line map, and I am happy to report that no major fault lines run through Korea.
Since I have moved to Wonju, I have come to the realization that for the past two years, I was not actually living in Korea. I was living in an international bubble that can be found in all major cities in the world. Of course I was surrounded by Korean people, and Korean food. The customs were strange and interesting to observe and attempt to follow. However, if I ever needed that taste of home, that friendly American embrace, it was right around the corner. The local shops all carried peanut butter and Oreos. Mexican and Indian restaurants were a short subway ride away. It was the fun of living in a foreign culture without any of the isolation from everything I’ve ever known.
Wonju is different. The school I work for doesn’t allow students or teachers to wear shoes inside, there are no western toilets in the bathrooms, and no custodial staff. Every day after school I watch as the students, after a long day of studying, pick up their brooms and mops and clean their own school. I thought I got stared at a lot in Seoul, but here it’s amped up. However it’s not the rude disgusted stares I was used to. They are stares of curiosity. There aren’t many foreigners living in this city, especially foreign girls, so I am a bit of an oddity. My students are constantly telling me how pretty I am, and asking about my hair.
I went to the supermarket yesterday to go grocery shopping. It was strange how spoiled I was in Seoul with easy, if expensive, access to any food I want. In Seoul the local stores sold tortillas, salsa, and cinnamon. Those things were no where to be found. However, I did invest in some delicious dumplings. The school I am currently working at is a vegetarian school. Previous to this year, I had always relied on my school lunches for my weekly supply of protein. However, this school doesn’t meet that requirement, so I have declared Saturday and Sunday to be meat days. I have meat dumplings, tuna fish, and even some pork. I go back to being a weekday vegetarian first thing tomorrow morning.
Today, I went to my new church for the first time. I was a little nervous because I’ve never attended church in Korean, but it went pretty well. There are a lot of words I don’t know, but I’ll learn. The people there were very nice, and took me under their wings immediately. One nice lady sat next to me all through church and told me all about the trip she’s taking to America in July. They’re going to see all of the church history sights. Should be fun for them. Apparently her son is studying dentistry in Michigan.
After church I was talked into joining the makeshift ward choir. There are only about thirty people who go to the church consistently, so they needed everyone they could get. It was fun singing in Korean. Before I left I had already exchanged numbers with some people and arranged to meet up with a bunch of people for a trip to the east coast next Saturday. It was a good day. I am slowly becoming adjusted to the peace and quiet lifestyle that Wonju offers. It’s so nice after the bustle of Seoul. However, it’s time to stop lazing about and use my newfound free time to write an awesome graduate entrance essay.
No comments:
Post a Comment