On being a local and other musings

It's official. Today marks one month of being Asian. 30 days ago today I was sitting on an airplane for 24 hours - thank goodness I was born to sleep because I think I was awake for maybe 4 of them.

But here I am, a world away and yet the same things that make life great back home have been found here in Tongyeong.

I've been coaching the little boys soccer team since I arrived. Kid you not, there is some serious talent in these 5th and 6th graders. It's funny to see their lives consumed with Man Utd, Chelsea, etc at 12 years old. It's been the best way to feel at home; of course it would be cool if they knew what I was saying. But I'll take what I can get for now. They played in the all city tournament last week and lost in double overtime in the final game. Frustrating for them, but probably a better learning experience than winning would have been.


We have stumbled upon a group of pretty fantastic foreigners here as well. Tongyeong is just such an odd place. I get this feeling like we all just washed up on the shores here without a clue of how or why.. and yet, these people remind me a lot of friends back home. In a town of a hand full of foreign teachers, it's much more than expected to find people you would choose to hang out with under different circumstances. Good people to learn and laugh much with.. Last night we sat outside the family mart (think 7-11 with eggs and olive oil) playing cards and shootin the shit. Cheap and easy (ha. my favorite).

Nature is on steroids here - It's all the best parts of the Northwest (san juan island filled straights, rolling green hills) meets Hawaii (hot weather, palm trees, laid back feel). There is a peace here I'd be hard pressed to find in Busan or Seoul. I have never seen so many fish, although most of them are swimming around in fish tanks in store front windows attempting to look unappetizing. Still..

The food is fantastic, cheap, and open all hours of the day. I have yet to experience a bath house, but it's on my list (nudity is strictly enforced from what I hear, and it tends to be a family outing. Being that I have over 700 students I directly teach, and another 1300 I see, I think I'll save this cultural experience for a town a bit further from home - It might make Monday morning a bit awkward).

So for the not so great things..
There are constantly eyes on us wherever we go. Amusing at first, claustrophobic now. I can't walk anywhere without being blatantly stared at (not just me of course, all the foreigners get this glorious star treatment). The hard part is, I don't really know how to handle it. Since I, the visitor, chose to come here, do I then need to accept the 3rd degree (being stopped on the road and asked to join random groups of men for dinner, or being asked for my cell phone number by any person that has spoken more than 2 words to me)? Not sure. Up til now it's been a judgment game. Sometimes I oblige, sometimes I don't, but always with a smile. Before I had met some other people sharing my boat, it was the tragic 'never alone, always lonesome' syndrome I feared would eventually set in.
Now I think I'll be alright.

Korea has a pandemic on it's hands: severely understocked bathrooms. If there is toilet paper, you can bet there's no soap. If there's soap count on there being no paper towels. I usually bank on having one of the three. I prefer the first.

It's an odd thing when you feel torn between two places. I miss my family (related and otherwise) so very much. Miss the frisbee team, miss the ladies, all of it, but don't want to be there at the same time - or rather, want to be here. Sorting out how to handle those contradictory emotions is difficult; Or maybe it's just that it's unfamiliar. Not a horrible thing to struggle over of course, but that's where my head's at this moment.

Ugh.. I've become an adult. For the first few weeks, the kids were pristine angels and I was fun Ms. K. Now, my novelty has worn off, and I am Ms. K, the woman who takes away girls' secret club notebooks, and uses her "stern" voice. I wouldn't have to if they'd shut their damn mouths and listen.. Thus, I blame them. But hey, good for them. Might as well push the line to see how much room I'll give 'em. I would have done the same..

Last thought: Vote. It's a tragic right to forgo.

people seem not to understand that their view of the world is also a confession of their character - rwe