My friend Ocean
Bike trip to the edge (of NK)
Ocean's boyfriend Danny (we gave him that name...can't remember his real one)
20090611
Pictures!!!
My friend OceanBike trip to the edge (of NK)
Ocean's boyfriend Danny (we gave him that name...can't remember his real one)
20090610
Korea-- summary
I feel like I don't have as many exciting stories now as when i first got to Korea, possibly because everything seems more normal now. Bizzarre English signs are really just-- usual. Okay some of them are still funny-- like the banner posted on campus, "FREE ENGLISH TALKING" and a building I noticed today "WORLD BEST STEM CELL COMPANY."
I think sometimes about how I would describe Korea- or, Seoul-- to someone. Its quite western, sort of. It has all our fast food comforts (though most dishes have a slight kimchi twang). There are stores that look comfortingly like Wal Mart on the inside. The cars they drive look the same as the cars we drive*. They dress about the same, sort of. I've never seen a Korean woman wearing ripped jeans or burkenstocks, and I've never seen an American over the age of 6 wearing sparkly heart hose (or a man wearing a sparly lilac tie, or anyone wear tulle or more than 3 neon colors at once... am I showing fashion-bias here?).
But just when you get to thinking Koreans arenot really that different from us Amurricuns, you find out something really bizzarre and you don't know what to think. Like, a friend being mistaken for a wh*** because she's wearing a spaghetti strap shirt, while Korean women parade around in almost-too-short-to-be-called-skirts and no one bats an eye. Also, Korea has a TV show where foreign women who speak Korean wear neon leggings (I know they didn't pick those out themselves), talk about cute Korean guys, and every once in a while get up and dance. On the other hand, is that really any stranger than watching people dress up to sing and dance in front of a berating panel, or watching fat people run around, or spouses tell each other they've been cheating on national TV?
There are alot of other cultural things I don't understand or see the merit of, but a friend of mine predicted that in a few decades things are going to look very different in Korea as the older generation passes and the younger one, with more Western values, emerges. And is that really good or not?
*Clarification: The cars look the same to the untrained eye. Husband is keenly aware of the Korean cars' differences and, in his mind, shortcomings. But really they're about the same.
I think sometimes about how I would describe Korea- or, Seoul-- to someone. Its quite western, sort of. It has all our fast food comforts (though most dishes have a slight kimchi twang). There are stores that look comfortingly like Wal Mart on the inside. The cars they drive look the same as the cars we drive*. They dress about the same, sort of. I've never seen a Korean woman wearing ripped jeans or burkenstocks, and I've never seen an American over the age of 6 wearing sparkly heart hose (or a man wearing a sparly lilac tie, or anyone wear tulle or more than 3 neon colors at once... am I showing fashion-bias here?).
But just when you get to thinking Koreans arenot really that different from us Amurricuns, you find out something really bizzarre and you don't know what to think. Like, a friend being mistaken for a wh*** because she's wearing a spaghetti strap shirt, while Korean women parade around in almost-too-short-to-be-called-skirts and no one bats an eye. Also, Korea has a TV show where foreign women who speak Korean wear neon leggings (I know they didn't pick those out themselves), talk about cute Korean guys, and every once in a while get up and dance. On the other hand, is that really any stranger than watching people dress up to sing and dance in front of a berating panel, or watching fat people run around, or spouses tell each other they've been cheating on national TV?
There are alot of other cultural things I don't understand or see the merit of, but a friend of mine predicted that in a few decades things are going to look very different in Korea as the older generation passes and the younger one, with more Western values, emerges. And is that really good or not?
*Clarification: The cars look the same to the untrained eye. Husband is keenly aware of the Korean cars' differences and, in his mind, shortcomings. But really they're about the same.
20090607
Job Search
With 1/52 of a year left until I'm effectively done with classes, its time to start looking for a job. This process is hindered by the facts that... A) because of an agreement between the US and ROK about military spouses, I'm not allowed to work in Korea. B) They speak Korean in Korea. C) The post offers a limited number of positions, most of which go to Koreans and none which involved any of the skills I acquired in college.
One job posting I did find that I'm qualifies for: "Defense Army Commissary Sales Store Technician." Job description: Operating an electronic check out system to record unit prices, proper accounts, purchase totals, surcharge, and change due. Determine proper prices by unit marking, price scanning, or reference to price lists. Accept cash or other negotiable instruments according to established procedures. Aka, grocery cashier.
We'll see.
One job posting I did find that I'm qualifies for: "Defense Army Commissary Sales Store Technician." Job description: Operating an electronic check out system to record unit prices, proper accounts, purchase totals, surcharge, and change due. Determine proper prices by unit marking, price scanning, or reference to price lists. Accept cash or other negotiable instruments according to established procedures. Aka, grocery cashier.
We'll see.
20090302
return!
To start out this returning post, I'll answer some common questions I got while in the States about life in Korea:
1. Is it summer in Korea now?
Answer: No. Korea is north of the equator, about the same latitude as Pennsylvania, and has a similar climate.
2. Do you live in North Korea or South Korea?
Answer: South. They do not allow people with blond hair and blue eyes into North Korea. Except Diane Sawyer. They do not, actually, allow anyone into North Korea. (okay, I only got this question once).
3. Is Korea a third world country?
Answer: No. South Koreans are very wealthy. I cannot afford their clothes. They own some household name businesses like Samsung, Kia, and LG. The average home is much smaller than in the US, but that's probably because they have 49 million people in a country somewhere between the sizes of Indiana and Kentucky.
4. Why are US troops in South Korea?
Because shortly after Korea was freed from Japan in World War II, North Korea claimed sovereignty over the whole peninsula by a god-leader, and invaded Seoul. The US came and fought alongside the Koreans for three years, until they came to a cease fire. Technically they are still at war. Do the South Koreans still need us there? I don't know. But the North Koreans have the 4th largest army in the world (according to a National Geographic documentary I found on youtube), are test launching "experimental satellites," may have undiscovered tunnels under the DMZ, and learn from childhood to desire the reunification of Korea under Pyongyang. So maybe we're better safe than sorry.
5. Do you get to see much of your husband?
Yes! We live together and he works regular hours, most of the time.
6. Do you miss American food?
No, but only because I buy groceries on base, where I can get almost any American food I want. If that were not the case, I freaking would miss American food. Most Korean food is extremely garlicy, fish saucey, and often fermented. But I like it in moderation (and when it doesn't smell like fish). I've yet to find an American candy that the Korean students in my studio haven't heard of. They even know what Girl Scout Cookies are, which I can't figure out because none of them have been to the US. I did leave a Fresca in the fridge once, which some of them found and are now in love with.
1. Is it summer in Korea now?
Answer: No. Korea is north of the equator, about the same latitude as Pennsylvania, and has a similar climate.
2. Do you live in North Korea or South Korea?
Answer: South. They do not allow people with blond hair and blue eyes into North Korea. Except Diane Sawyer. They do not, actually, allow anyone into North Korea. (okay, I only got this question once).
3. Is Korea a third world country?
Answer: No. South Koreans are very wealthy. I cannot afford their clothes. They own some household name businesses like Samsung, Kia, and LG. The average home is much smaller than in the US, but that's probably because they have 49 million people in a country somewhere between the sizes of Indiana and Kentucky.
4. Why are US troops in South Korea?
Because shortly after Korea was freed from Japan in World War II, North Korea claimed sovereignty over the whole peninsula by a god-leader, and invaded Seoul. The US came and fought alongside the Koreans for three years, until they came to a cease fire. Technically they are still at war. Do the South Koreans still need us there? I don't know. But the North Koreans have the 4th largest army in the world (according to a National Geographic documentary I found on youtube), are test launching "experimental satellites," may have undiscovered tunnels under the DMZ, and learn from childhood to desire the reunification of Korea under Pyongyang. So maybe we're better safe than sorry.
5. Do you get to see much of your husband?
Yes! We live together and he works regular hours, most of the time.
6. Do you miss American food?
No, but only because I buy groceries on base, where I can get almost any American food I want. If that were not the case, I freaking would miss American food. Most Korean food is extremely garlicy, fish saucey, and often fermented. But I like it in moderation (and when it doesn't smell like fish). I've yet to find an American candy that the Korean students in my studio haven't heard of. They even know what Girl Scout Cookies are, which I can't figure out because none of them have been to the US. I did leave a Fresca in the fridge once, which some of them found and are now in love with.
20081020
power plant park
Yesterday I went on a field trip to a landfill-turned park and power plant. These tubes go into the landfill and extract the methane, which is converted to electricity. Koreans love parks. Even on a Monday afternoon, their were people everywhere. I guess when you don't have very much open space, you appreciate it more. Or maybe there's a really high unemployment rate.
Every Korean male has to be in the army or police force for at least two years. I guess alot opt for the police, and as a result Korea has an unnecessarily large amount of cops. While in the States, a pair of cops drive around in a patrol car, in Korea, they travel in buses. Three or four buses full might, say, make sure everything's calm at a street festival . They park somewhere near the edge, then a few dozen 18 and 19 year old policemen hover around their buses for a few hours. Other times, they do random patrols, but always in groups of 5 or 6. They guard all the post entrances, but so far none of them have yelled at me for not waiting for the green walking man. They're probably too busy thinking about how to break up underground-decaf-coffee rings (as artificially decaffeinated products are illegal here).
Today one of my classmates told me that she didn't think I was American because I'm not fat.
20081007
school
Husband gets home tomorrow. It's been just me the past ten days. I'm busy, so its not too lonely. Though I did almost get a puppy. I know we should wait-- we have a small apartment, it'd be hard to go on trips (not that we've gone on any yet, but I'm hoping), I don't know how to train it, and it could have a bizarre Korean disease that won't let it come to the States.
I go back and forth between being excited about and then overwhelmed by/frustrated with school. I'm excited about my project, which I don't like to admit. I'd rather keep an angsty, complaining profile and pretend I hate landscape architecture. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm forced to do it, I decide I can't stand it. Recently I've come to like wearing business clothes, so the only problem I can see now with actually becoming a landscape architect some day is having to work 9 to 5. I refuse to sit down or do the same thing that long. And I'd have to get up way too early to run.
But anyway, I am actually excited about my project. There's not a ton of things I feel strongly about, but the sinister evils of suburban sprawl is one of them. And the army's quirky reproduction of it in South Korea. So I'm going to tell them how to do it better. Except that I'm not actually going to tell anyone anything. I don't even think my professor cares what I'm doing. I feel like I'm painting a masterpiece... on a wall getting ready to be plastered over. Not that my project will be a master piece, just that I'm doing alot of work for no one to see.
The other frustrating thing is a research project for my other class. Every idea I have my professor tells me is good, but keep thinking of other ideas. We're supposed to do a small-scale "experiment" to write about in a publishable paper. I could... see how long it takes me to be detained for suspected terrorism from taking sketches, pictures, and measurements on base.
I go back and forth between being excited about and then overwhelmed by/frustrated with school. I'm excited about my project, which I don't like to admit. I'd rather keep an angsty, complaining profile and pretend I hate landscape architecture. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I'm forced to do it, I decide I can't stand it. Recently I've come to like wearing business clothes, so the only problem I can see now with actually becoming a landscape architect some day is having to work 9 to 5. I refuse to sit down or do the same thing that long. And I'd have to get up way too early to run.
But anyway, I am actually excited about my project. There's not a ton of things I feel strongly about, but the sinister evils of suburban sprawl is one of them. And the army's quirky reproduction of it in South Korea. So I'm going to tell them how to do it better. Except that I'm not actually going to tell anyone anything. I don't even think my professor cares what I'm doing. I feel like I'm painting a masterpiece... on a wall getting ready to be plastered over. Not that my project will be a master piece, just that I'm doing alot of work for no one to see.
The other frustrating thing is a research project for my other class. Every idea I have my professor tells me is good, but keep thinking of other ideas. We're supposed to do a small-scale "experiment" to write about in a publishable paper. I could... see how long it takes me to be detained for suspected terrorism from taking sketches, pictures, and measurements on base.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
