Exercising with Dad

The first day that I announced that I was going for a run around the apartment complex area, I was questioned about my intentions, but allowed to go. The second time that I mentioned running, my host father insisted that we "go together." I wasn't sure what this meant, but I was ready with my shoes on at the time I was told to be ready. I asked my host father if he wanted to run with me. He said no, but still he wanted to show me where to run.

We left the aparment and headed to a local school that has a track. My host father decided to borrow my second grade little brother's bike and ride next to me while I ran to the school. He is so thoughtful and always wants to help.  We "traveled" together to the school. We looked like quite a duo, a white girl in a college t-shirt with an ipod and my Korean host father, dressed with a and popped collar, riding a kiddie bike. We chatted on our way to the school and sometimes we would just stop and giggle at how silly the whole situation was. 

The track turned out to be under construction and I returned to running on the sidewalks. I will always remember the picture of the two of us heading out of the apartment complex together and I will always regret not having a picture of the event.

Surprise Soju!

One night I was just hanging out and playing with the kids after dinner. My host mother mentioned that I should go take a shower. I didn't really feel like it at the time, decided to myself that I would shower before bed and I continued to play. A litte while later, I was told to shower again. At this point I was wondering if I smelled and by the third request for me to take a shower, I gave in. I took a shower and dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.

I had just gotten out of the shower when I saw my host dad arrive home (I didn't know he had left) with a bunch of grocery bags in his hands. He put them on the counter, looked at me and said, "people will arrive in five minutes and we will drink alcohol togther." I was so surprised that I went straight to my room and changed my clothes. The people had arrived by the time I returned to the kitchen. Soju and beer was poured for all of us and the toasts began. My surprise attack to drink was complemented with an abundance of fresh fruit and fried chicken. Korean people like to eat lots of food with their alcohol.

We chatted for a while with basic Korean and basic English words so that everyone could understand. Every once in a while the group would get bored with speaking slowly and jump into Korean conversations that I could not follow. However, I did know when they were talking about me because they did not try to hide it and would use my name over and over. Sometimes I could gather the topic of the conversation, but other times I just hoped that they were saying nice things. We covered the usual Korean topics: Do you have a boyfriend? An outraged, Why
not?! What can you say in Korean? And why don't Americans like to eat octopus?

At one point, while sipping on some 43% alcohol from China, I was left out of the conversation and realized that they were no longer talking about me. I was putting all of my energy into trying to not make faces when I was sipping my drink that I stopped paying attention to the conversation. Then, I heard Discovery Channel and Bear. When I inquired about their conversation I learned that they were talking about Man Vs. Wild the television show. During my six week stay at home I got really into this show (Thanks James) and I was surprised to hear that it was also popular in Korea.

Overall my suprise attack to drink on a Thursday night was pretty successful. 

Lesson learned: Take a shower the first time you are told.

Our First Hike

There is a mountain behind our apartment building and my host father goes on a two hour hike everyday. One day I mentioned that I wanted to go for a walk and explore the area so that I could get a good grasp on where we live in relation to other things. My host father understood my comment as though I wanted to go for a hike in the mountain. I was told to quickly go put pants on and handed a visor. We were off into the mountains before I could debate anything. 

We hiked in many different directions so that I could learn many of the trails and multiple ways to return home. This first hike, although a bit awkward, was a great bonding experience for us to have some time to talk and get to know eachother.

My host father also was kind enough to show me how to use all of the workout equipment that is located at different points on the mountain. Maybe he thought that people only did sit ups and pull ups in Korea? Bless his caring heart. He was so nice and showed me everything that I could possibly need to know.

Move-in Night

I arrived to the apartment building and immediately knew that I was going to live in a beautiful home for the year. We took the elevator up to the 14th floor and I was home. The Park family greeted me at the door with lots of waves and hellos. My host mother, Elijah, is even more beautiful than my co-teacher described and was full of smiles during our introduction. My host sister, Heewon, is in the fifth grade and my brother, Sungchan, is in second grade. Both of the children learn English in schools and from tutoring at private academies and have basic conversation skills.

I was given a tour of the apartment and showed my room for the year. My host family is Catholic and was very excited to hear that I am also Catholic. Before I was finished with my tour of the apartment I was on the floor bowing to statues of Mary and Jesus and praying with my host father in Korean. My host parents asked me to call them by their Catholic names, Mark and Elijah, rather than their Korean names. There was some discussion about calling me by my confirmation name, Anne, but it was decided that the same name, Meghan, should be used at home and school. I was happy about that decision.

We had our first traditional Korean dinner together and I was treated like royalty. I spent most of the night unpacking and discussing the logistics of the house with Mark. Within the first hour I was informed that Elijah  would do my laundry (very nice!), but that I would need to clean my own under garments (also very Korean). Nothing says family like talking about underwear on the first night!!

Yonsei Day

On Monday morning we dressed in our teaching best and loaded our belongings onto a truck. In typical fashion, my suitcase was so heavy that it fell over and I ripped my suit skirt up the back, trying to catch it from falling. Thank goodness for hotel sewing kits! I fixed my skirt and still managed to grab a cup of coffee with my coffee buddy for the last time during orientation.

After our arrival at Yonsei University, we had a short briefing about our contracts and we signed the dotted line to officially become Fulbright English Teachers in Korea. Next, we all proceeded into a room that was filled with our future principals and co-teachers. We had practiced the perfect walk and bow (insa) during orientation and the procession was flawless. We stood and lined the aisles of the auditorium while Mrs. Shim, the director of Fulbright Korea, read each of our names and schools. When our name was called we stepped out from our line, bowed and waved to our school representatives, who at that point were standing up. Some of the schools cheered when their ETA’s name was called and others some ran and handed presents or flowers to their ETA. My representatives stood up with a professionally made poster that said, “Welcome Meghan Kathleen Manning.” It was adorable and for the rest of the ceremony I could not stop looking at them and smiling because their excitement was radiating throughout the room. I felt like my dad was in the audience because my male representative was taking pictures of me from his seat.

Following the ceremony we were released into a big room to find our school and go to lunch at a restaurant close by. In Korea, first impressions are very important and I was sure to get mine right. I made a deep bow and gave a very formal greeting in Korean. My co-teacher quickly lightened the mood by speaking in English and telling me to call her Young. She then introduced my host father who had joined her for the day because my principal was unable to make the trip. He told me to call him Mark. I couldn’t help but to smile and realize that it really was “my dad” in the audience taking pictures.

The somewhat awkward lunch on the floor was followed with more meetings with Mrs. Shim, many goodbyes and a car ride from Seoul to Cheonan. My host father talked about my future home and told me about his family. He explained that he speaks English because he spent many years traveling to the US for work, but has not used his English since he retired ten years ago. My co-teacher explained that my host mother was nervous about meeting me because she does not speak English. The car ride seemed long and I was nervous the whole time about what the night ahead would be like.

 

Weekend in Seoul

My weekend is Seoul was a great time to relax and recharge before moving to my homestay. Friday night the U.S. Embassy invited our group to a barbecue w

ith the Ambassador and many members of her staff. We were treated with an American menu of hamburgers, Mexican dip, and s’mores. Ambassador Stephens was a great host and spent a large part of her night speaking with us in small groups and answering all of our questions. She also informed us that because Korea’s Independence day was that weekend the Seoul Philharmonic would be playing at city hall that night. We left the Embassy and were able to sit outside city hall and watch the Korean National Ballet perform with the Seoul Philharmonic.  It was a beautiful night and one that I will never forget.

 

On Saturday, my friends and I went shopping. There are so many wonderful shopping districts in Seoul and many of them are very inexpensive. I was on a mission to get many of the necessities that I would need for my home-stay and presents for my Principal and Vice Principal. Completely out of character for me, I stayed within my list and only purchased the things that I needed. Although, I did let my eyes wander and I will be back to visit the Myeong-Dong and go shopping.

One of my ETA friends studied abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul and guided us around the nightlife in that area over the weekend. Many of the clubs are really crowded, but we were able to get into the VIP area and later on to the stage to dance with our new Korean friends. K-Pop, the Korean music was playing all night and we knew many of the songs by the end of the night. Koreans sure can drink and drink into the very early hours of the morning. Let’s just say that it was nice to not have to wake up for anything on Sunday morning. 

Our weekend finished up with manicures, Starbucks and repacking my suitcases so that I did not seem like I had too much stuff when I arrived at my new home. My weekend in Seoul was one of my best yet. I cannot wait to go back and maybe live there over winter break! 

August E-mails

August 17, 2009

Today is my last official day of orientation. This morning, I will meet my Principal and leave for Cheonan, a city about 45 minutes south of Seoul, where I will spend the rest of my grant year living and teaching. I will be moving in with my home stay family on tonight, but I will not begin teaching until the end of the month because my students are still on summer vacation. I am looking forward to catching up with many people that I have not been able to talk to often during orientation. During this time I will also get a cell phone and start language training in Cheonan.

August 15, 2009

I'm shopping for gifts in Seoul for my man principal and there are starbucks everywhere. Ice. Coffee tastes just like home. I'll call you tonight before I go to bed and tell you about my host family. I miss you lots!

 

August 15, 2009

Hey!

Seoul is great but I'm really nervous about tomorrow.

August 8, 2009

I just got back from the DMZ. I survived and Kim Jung Il is still chillin' like a villain in the north. The roads in Korea are very curvy and I threw up on the bus. Don't worry, it was in a bag. We lunched at the Peace Dam that was created to save South Korea from the North's plot to flood it with their own dam. In typical Fulbright fashion the government allowed us to ring a peace bell that people are not allowed to ring without permission from the government.

Last night we went out to dinner with our taekwondo masters. It was so funny because the head master came around to all of the tables to have us take a shot of soju (a rice wine/ light vodka) with him. Then later in the dinner a soju bottle with chopsticks in it was passed around and people have to stand up and sing a song. Luckily I never had to sing. After dinner he took us out for drinks and proceeded to feed us cake with chopsticks. Picture an 8th degree black belt wearing a pink shirt feeding a bunch of Americans cake with chopsticks. We got a lot of funny looks. Needless to say it was a night that I will never forget. I have to go meet with my language partner now because I have my final on Monday. Talk to you soon!

August 4, 2009

I am running to finish up some work and have dinner with my Korean language teacher for her birthday, but I wanted to tell you about my placement. In two weeks I will be moving to Cheonan, South Korea. This is a city (a pretty good sized city) about an hour train ride south of Seoul. I will be teaching at Cheonan Yongso Elementary, a coed elementary school with about 1,000 students. My class sizes will be no bigger than 30 students and the school sounds great. I will get more information soon from the ETA in my school this past year. For now I only know the basics. I will be near very close to 5 other ETAs and within an hour of about 10 total. All of these people have been great people to spend time with at orientation and I am really looking forward to having them nearby.  There is a STARBUCKS in Cheonan along with many other western chain stores. I am still looking up additional information and I will continue to learn more throughout the week. I love you all very much.