Oh hey, November. Where did you come from? The thing I dreaded most about my return trip to life as Peter Teacher was the really horrendous Korean summer. I am sure there are a lot of people out there who have experienced summers way worse than one will find in Korea, and to these people, I must now politely say I have little to no interest in hearing your opinions. I hate summer here. The bugs, the heat, the ten minute walk to work that leaves you drenched in sweat as you jump around trying to entertain large groups of children who come from a race of people who don't sweat, and therefore don't understand your pit stains the size of a Dakota. Not fun. I guess I spent so much time mentally preparing myself for the upcoming summer, that I didn't really notice that it came, was not that bad, and passed. And here we are. November. And with each passing day, I find myself working steadily towards the half way mark of my second year in Korea, which is now less than three weeks away.
When we last spoke, I was spending a large portion of my mornings working with a group of kindergarten students, aged 3-6, who, on a daily basis, brought a smile to my face and demanded, on an average per student basis, 87 in the air high fives. In early August, we began preparing for the annual kindergarten concert extravaganza. This event brings students' families together to listen to classic English numbers performed by toddlers who don't speak English. Adorable.
Days before the event, I made a comment to one of the Korean teachers, who seemed unusually stressed, about how well the students were doing. And to be honest, they weren't doing that well. The line "What is Sally wearing today? Shoes, socks, pants and a blouse," at best, sounded like, "What sorry wearing day? Shocks, shocks, pans and brouse." As the most fluent English speaker in the room, I of course understood that little Sarah was butchering this song, but my comment about how well she was doing was me working under the assumption that it was a universal understanding that a little kid singing a song is cute. I mean, how can one really expect a person to master a song in another language when said child has yet to learn how to use a toilet? The Korean teacher's reply was something along the lines of, "Are you insane!?" She explained to me that Korean parents do not work under the same, 'my child is adorable' mindset that parents of kindergartners do in the West. She said that this concert is kind of a test for the school, and that parents expect their children to be flawless in their renditions of "What is Sally Wearing Today?" I didn't take this concern too seriously, not realizing how serious it actually was.
The day of the concert came, the children performed, butchered it as usual, and once again, I thought they did an excellent job. I was wrong. Boy was I wrong. Two weeks later our little kindergarten closed. The Korean teacher, the same one who weeks before, with panic stricken eyes, told me that the kids weren't good enough, was forced to say goodbye to a job she had held for 8 years, the same amount of time that our kindergarten had been open.
Korea, a country of limited natural resources, considers their children to be their greatest resource. This mindset, though in some ways is maybe really sweet way to value your kids, places a huge amount of pressure on students. This is something I have noticed since arriving in Korea nearly two years ago, but I never thought the expectations extended all the way to kids this young. And while I would like to say that I am very open minded to all cultural differences, I can't help but question this practice and mindset. I love Korea, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to me and thousands of other Westerners to come here and help educate their natural resources, but I can't help but feeling sorry for these kids who are stuck in an educational system that all but robs them of a childhood.
Fast forward to today, I am still happily employed, my academy, though once heavily supported by Kindergarten tuition fees, still hosts around 200 elementary and middle school aged students. My schedule is much more like it was last year, I begin my day at 2 and finish around 7 or 8. I love my kids and couldn't be happier with my boss and the environment of the school. And I even got to hang on to two of my favorite Kindergarteners. David and Rosy, who you may remember as happy couple #1 from July's Kindergarten wedding, still attend the school an hour a day for private lessons. This means I get to spend a lot of time with two of my favorite people under the age of 5. We do really fun educational things such as shuffling around the room making peace signs and pretending to be lobsters (I don't really see the connection either, but David gets it, and that is the most important thing). David* has even started calling me father. We have also had lots of fun bonding moments like that time I made him pee a little bit when I popped out from behind a table on Halloween dressed as Shrek, and that time I watched, in what felt like slow motion, as he picked a giant little something from his nose, extended his hand, and then stuck said something in my own nose. As scarring as this may be, if I had to choose a single person in the world to put their own booger in my nose, it would be David, hands down.
What else is there to say? Life really hasn't changed that much. When I am not saying "Listen and repeat, 'film!' 'pillim!' 'No, FFFFFilm' 'pillim!' 'FFFFFIllllllmmmmmm!' 'PILLIM!' 'good job guys! moving on!'," I spend my time watching every reality show with 'New Jersey' in the title, hanging out with my few, but high quality friends, and talking about how we really need to buckle down and start saving money. I miss blogging, I miss talking about my life in Korea, but the more time passes, the more this place begins to feel like home. The things that stood once out as being really crazy culture shocks are now, at most, small differences in day to day life in a home that is surprisingly comfortable and welcoming. I miss my friends and family (who will be visiting in less than two months!) an insane amount, but I am not quite ready to say goodbye to this great little country. It really scares me how fast this six months has passed, and I am yet prepared to let go of my life here and strap on a name tag as one of the countless, unemployed twenty somethings in the United states. The American job market is not one I feel a strong desire to claw my way into, and I am having a hard time justifying leaving a well paying job that I love just because it is in a country that doesn't match my passport. I have decided to extend my contract for an indefinite amount of time, with an end goal of being home for Christmas in 2012.
In closing, I must admit that my comfort in Korea has made writing in a Korean Culture Shock themed blog harder than it was in the past, but I have realized that I still have a lot to say. I am working on a concept for a new online magazine/online community with a great friend from college, a project which I will keep you updated on in future posts. Love to you all, even those who I have never met, and I wish you all the best.
Until Next Time,
Which Will Hopefully Be Sooner Than It Was Last Time,
Ohhhh Time,
Peter Teacher
* Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly introduce you to David, as he wishes my brother a happy birthday...
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=669490209221&saved
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
2-4-6-8 Err'body Immigrate
In December of 2009, I landed at Incheon International Airport for the very first time. Eyes wide and full of innocence, I made my way to customs, pretty unsure of what to expect. I looked over the different signs indicating which group of people should go where, and had a difficult time figuring out in which line I belonged. I was certain that I did not belong in the returning Korean citizens line, was pretty sure that the big fancy Visa in my passport disqualified me from the tourist line... this left the immigrant group, but that couldn't possibly be it, I am not an immigrant, I am an American... where was the American line? Hamburger? Anyone?
Then the realization began to dawn, I am an immigrant, and all of the stigmas and stereotypes, benefits, drawbacks and blatant racism that comes with being assigned this line at customs, suddenly belonged to me. Now that a year and a half has passed since the dawning of my identity at the customs counter, I have found myself frequently examining my role as an immigrant. Is everything I am doing now reflecting not only on myself, but foreigners as a whole, or more specifically, foreign teachers in Korea? Should I be taking offense to the mass numbers of people who come here thinking of it as nothing but a year long vacation, and never acknowledging the fact that Korean families are paying a lot of money for their kids to be educated by foreign teachers?
I will rewind a moment and make the honest statement that in my year and 2 months in South Korea I have felt incredibly welcomed. Almost all of the people I have met here are very hospitable, and any different treatment I have received because I am a foreigner has mostly been embarrassingly in my favor. That being said, the demographic of Korean people who are less than thrilled about the invasion of the foreign English teacher on their homogeneous nation is small, but not insignificant.
When Korean school owners hire foreign teachers, the only contact they have with said teacher before their arrival in Korea is often a simple phone call and a photo. And while many of the foreign teachers here are very qualified for their jobs and their bosses are happy they made the hiring choice they did, it isn't uncommon to come across someone who is, how do I put this nicely... a massive weirdo. The incidence of the weirdo population amongst us immigrants has led to the invention of our technological replacement. I have to imagine that grocery store clerks feel about self checkout lanes the way I feel about this little gadget, designed specifically to replace the foreign weirdo in the Korean classroom. Blog readers (mom)... allow me to introduce you to the aptly named, English Teaching Robot.
According to an article on i09.com, $45 million will be spent by the South Korean government to bring the English Teaching Robot to 500 preschools and Kindergartens by 2011, and 8,000 schools by 2013. The plan is in motion, if the robot is as successful as tests have indicated it will be, to bring the robot to Elementary schools by 2015. And in all fairness, with how technologically advanced this country is, this robot is maybe not a terrible idea. Honestly, it probably does a much better job than some of my previous coworkers...
The robot is a peaceful solution to the discrimination against the foreign teacher, but some people have taken it a step further. Check out this article from the LA Times entitled "Korean Activists Target Foreign Teachers." (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/31/world/la-fg-korea-english31-2010jan31) The article shines a light on a middle-aged Korean man named Yie Eun-woong, who spends his free time heading an anti foreign teacher organization which specializes in researching (pronounced stalking) foreign teachers with hopes of catching them in an 'immoral act' which they can then report to schools, parents of students, and, when appropriate, Korean authorities. The article says, "Then he follows them, often for weeks at a time, staking out their apartments, taking notes on their contacts and habits." Fun!
A simple Naver (Korea's Google) search of 'Anti English Teacher' brought me to this image, depicting the different sections of an English Teacher's Brain.
Again, in all fairness, this is a not entirely an unfair stereotype when looking at a small percentage of English teachers in Korea. But, on a larger scale, is this stereotype not applicable to a decent sized demographic in any population? And, to go back to my original question, are all immigrants expected to conduct a personal lifestyle under the assumption that every action will reflect the morals of their parent nation and or immigrant status as a whole?
An article in The Global Post attributes a big uprising of anti-English teacher sentiments to a Halloween party at a club in Seoul in 2008, where several foreign teachers were photographed with scantily clad Korean women. Though these women were dressed in Halloween costumes (which, if you have seen Mean Girls, you understand is synonymous with scantily clad) and were at the party based on their own choosing, the publication of these photos, in the eyes of many Korean traditionalists, reflected negatively on the English teaching population. These photos, mixed with a few highly publicized drug arrests of English teachers, inspired the formation of the activist group "Citizens of Right Education." The group, which currently has over 17,000 members, has a mission of eliminating foreign teachers from South Korea.
Though those who support the presence of foreign teachers in Korea far outnumber those who oppose it, the activists' statements have not been entirely ignored by the government. The activist inspired fear that the spread of HIV was due to the new influx of foreigners has resulted in the mandatory HIV testing of all Visa holders upon entering the country.
This blog post has gone in a different direction than originally intended, and I will leave the examples of anti-immigrant feelings in Korea here. I again feel that I strongly need to emphasize that I do not feel unwelcome in Korea. For every 1 person who dislikes the presence of foreign teachers, there are 100 smiling students and parents thanking us for moving across the world to help educate Korean children.
I guess the biggest thing I have learned from my immigrant status, beside the understanding that my actions do not only reflect myself, but my demographic as a whole, is that we all have to have a bit of understanding for immigrants in own countries. When I returned home last December, I felt aggressively defensive when I heard comments along the lines of, "and my gardener doesn't speak a damn word of English, you are in our country, learn our language." Moving to a new country is a huge life step, one that comes with many challenges you wouldn't expect. Your gardener, waiter, taxi driver, English teacher... they are all working a full time job, and are trying to support themselves and maybe an entire family with probably not a very high paying job. (And not everyone is as lucky as I am to be an immigrant in a country with such great health care...)Learning a language is hard, and you have no right to assume that they are not doing, to the best of their abilities, what they can to learn the native language. The most important thing to remember is that we are all people, and with that human title, you will find a lot of really great individuals, and some massive weirdos in the mix, but you should not judge someone based on their immigrant stamp in a passport.
Much love to you all, unless of course you are Yie Eun-woong...
Peter Teacher
Then the realization began to dawn, I am an immigrant, and all of the stigmas and stereotypes, benefits, drawbacks and blatant racism that comes with being assigned this line at customs, suddenly belonged to me. Now that a year and a half has passed since the dawning of my identity at the customs counter, I have found myself frequently examining my role as an immigrant. Is everything I am doing now reflecting not only on myself, but foreigners as a whole, or more specifically, foreign teachers in Korea? Should I be taking offense to the mass numbers of people who come here thinking of it as nothing but a year long vacation, and never acknowledging the fact that Korean families are paying a lot of money for their kids to be educated by foreign teachers?
I will rewind a moment and make the honest statement that in my year and 2 months in South Korea I have felt incredibly welcomed. Almost all of the people I have met here are very hospitable, and any different treatment I have received because I am a foreigner has mostly been embarrassingly in my favor. That being said, the demographic of Korean people who are less than thrilled about the invasion of the foreign English teacher on their homogeneous nation is small, but not insignificant.
When Korean school owners hire foreign teachers, the only contact they have with said teacher before their arrival in Korea is often a simple phone call and a photo. And while many of the foreign teachers here are very qualified for their jobs and their bosses are happy they made the hiring choice they did, it isn't uncommon to come across someone who is, how do I put this nicely... a massive weirdo. The incidence of the weirdo population amongst us immigrants has led to the invention of our technological replacement. I have to imagine that grocery store clerks feel about self checkout lanes the way I feel about this little gadget, designed specifically to replace the foreign weirdo in the Korean classroom. Blog readers (mom)... allow me to introduce you to the aptly named, English Teaching Robot.
According to an article on i09.com, $45 million will be spent by the South Korean government to bring the English Teaching Robot to 500 preschools and Kindergartens by 2011, and 8,000 schools by 2013. The plan is in motion, if the robot is as successful as tests have indicated it will be, to bring the robot to Elementary schools by 2015. And in all fairness, with how technologically advanced this country is, this robot is maybe not a terrible idea. Honestly, it probably does a much better job than some of my previous coworkers...
The robot is a peaceful solution to the discrimination against the foreign teacher, but some people have taken it a step further. Check out this article from the LA Times entitled "Korean Activists Target Foreign Teachers." (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/31/world/la-fg-korea-english31-2010jan31) The article shines a light on a middle-aged Korean man named Yie Eun-woong, who spends his free time heading an anti foreign teacher organization which specializes in researching (pronounced stalking) foreign teachers with hopes of catching them in an 'immoral act' which they can then report to schools, parents of students, and, when appropriate, Korean authorities. The article says, "Then he follows them, often for weeks at a time, staking out their apartments, taking notes on their contacts and habits." Fun!
A simple Naver (Korea's Google) search of 'Anti English Teacher' brought me to this image, depicting the different sections of an English Teacher's Brain.
Again, in all fairness, this is a not entirely an unfair stereotype when looking at a small percentage of English teachers in Korea. But, on a larger scale, is this stereotype not applicable to a decent sized demographic in any population? And, to go back to my original question, are all immigrants expected to conduct a personal lifestyle under the assumption that every action will reflect the morals of their parent nation and or immigrant status as a whole?
An article in The Global Post attributes a big uprising of anti-English teacher sentiments to a Halloween party at a club in Seoul in 2008, where several foreign teachers were photographed with scantily clad Korean women. Though these women were dressed in Halloween costumes (which, if you have seen Mean Girls, you understand is synonymous with scantily clad) and were at the party based on their own choosing, the publication of these photos, in the eyes of many Korean traditionalists, reflected negatively on the English teaching population. These photos, mixed with a few highly publicized drug arrests of English teachers, inspired the formation of the activist group "Citizens of Right Education." The group, which currently has over 17,000 members, has a mission of eliminating foreign teachers from South Korea.
Though those who support the presence of foreign teachers in Korea far outnumber those who oppose it, the activists' statements have not been entirely ignored by the government. The activist inspired fear that the spread of HIV was due to the new influx of foreigners has resulted in the mandatory HIV testing of all Visa holders upon entering the country.
This blog post has gone in a different direction than originally intended, and I will leave the examples of anti-immigrant feelings in Korea here. I again feel that I strongly need to emphasize that I do not feel unwelcome in Korea. For every 1 person who dislikes the presence of foreign teachers, there are 100 smiling students and parents thanking us for moving across the world to help educate Korean children.
I guess the biggest thing I have learned from my immigrant status, beside the understanding that my actions do not only reflect myself, but my demographic as a whole, is that we all have to have a bit of understanding for immigrants in own countries. When I returned home last December, I felt aggressively defensive when I heard comments along the lines of, "and my gardener doesn't speak a damn word of English, you are in our country, learn our language." Moving to a new country is a huge life step, one that comes with many challenges you wouldn't expect. Your gardener, waiter, taxi driver, English teacher... they are all working a full time job, and are trying to support themselves and maybe an entire family with probably not a very high paying job. (And not everyone is as lucky as I am to be an immigrant in a country with such great health care...)Learning a language is hard, and you have no right to assume that they are not doing, to the best of their abilities, what they can to learn the native language. The most important thing to remember is that we are all people, and with that human title, you will find a lot of really great individuals, and some massive weirdos in the mix, but you should not judge someone based on their immigrant stamp in a passport.
Much love to you all, unless of course you are Yie Eun-woong...
Peter Teacher
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Eating My Way to South Korea
Today, I would like to invite you to try some of the food I have been missing/craving since I left Korea in early December.
I have made this recipe a few times, and it is nothing short of really, really great. I replaced white sugar with brown sugar, and added slices of Kiwi to tenderize the meat. For vegetarians, or those who don't eat red meat, this recipe works well with portabella mushrooms, tofu, salmon and chicken.
Beef Bulgogi Ingredients
1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1.Place the beef in a shallow dish. Combine soy sauce, sugar, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and ground black pepper in a small bowl. (If you prefer your food spicy, add Chili Powder to taste. Pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
3.Quickly grill beef on hot grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Beef Bulgogi is really good over rice, or with lettuce to make Korean lettuce wraps, but I am a big fan of serving it over the Korean noodle dish called Japchae.
Japchae
12 Ounces Korean Vermicelli (Sweet Potato Noodles)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn off the flame, and add noodles. Allow the noodles to soak for 5 to 10 minutes until they are pliable. Strain the noodles and set them aside.
1/2 Cup Shitake Mushrooms
1/2 Cup Regular Mushrooms
1 Cup Onion
1 Cup Carrots
3 Cups Red Bell Pepper
Slice all vegetables into thin strips and mix together in a bowl. Add to the bowl 3 cloves of minced garlic, 4 Teaspoons Soy Sauce, 4 Teaspoons Sugar and 4 Teaspoons Sesame Oil. Allow the vegetables to marinate for a few minutes, before sauteing them in vegetable oil for 3 to 5 minutes. Set the vegetables aside.
To make the sauce for the noodles, called Yangnyumjang Sauce, you will need...
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chopped Green Onion
1 Teaspoon Grated Fresh Ginger
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro (Cilantro is not used in Korean food, but, let's face it, this is not Korea, and cilantro is damn good)
Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Directions
Heat 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil in a pan over medium-high flame. When it begins to sizzle, add half of the Yangnyumjang Sauce and 1/4 Cup Water. Add the noodles, stir-frying for 5 ish minutes.
Combine the noodles, the vegetables and the remaining sauce in a large bowl. Serve chilled or room temperature.
On a side, somewhat related note, check out my friend's blog, My Vagabond Kitchen, featuring delicious recipes and stories of her travels. Check it out at http://myvagabondkitchen.blogspot.com/
I have made this recipe a few times, and it is nothing short of really, really great. I replaced white sugar with brown sugar, and added slices of Kiwi to tenderize the meat. For vegetarians, or those who don't eat red meat, this recipe works well with portabella mushrooms, tofu, salmon and chicken.
Beef Bulgogi Ingredients
1 pound flank steak, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
1.Place the beef in a shallow dish. Combine soy sauce, sugar, green onion, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and ground black pepper in a small bowl. (If you prefer your food spicy, add Chili Powder to taste. Pour over beef. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2.Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
3.Quickly grill beef on hot grill until slightly charred and cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Beef Bulgogi is really good over rice, or with lettuce to make Korean lettuce wraps, but I am a big fan of serving it over the Korean noodle dish called Japchae.
Japchae
12 Ounces Korean Vermicelli (Sweet Potato Noodles)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn off the flame, and add noodles. Allow the noodles to soak for 5 to 10 minutes until they are pliable. Strain the noodles and set them aside.
1/2 Cup Shitake Mushrooms
1/2 Cup Regular Mushrooms
1 Cup Onion
1 Cup Carrots
3 Cups Red Bell Pepper
Slice all vegetables into thin strips and mix together in a bowl. Add to the bowl 3 cloves of minced garlic, 4 Teaspoons Soy Sauce, 4 Teaspoons Sugar and 4 Teaspoons Sesame Oil. Allow the vegetables to marinate for a few minutes, before sauteing them in vegetable oil for 3 to 5 minutes. Set the vegetables aside.
To make the sauce for the noodles, called Yangnyumjang Sauce, you will need...
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon Rice Wine
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Chopped Green Onion
1 Teaspoon Grated Fresh Ginger
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro (Cilantro is not used in Korean food, but, let's face it, this is not Korea, and cilantro is damn good)
Mix all of the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
Directions
Heat 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil in a pan over medium-high flame. When it begins to sizzle, add half of the Yangnyumjang Sauce and 1/4 Cup Water. Add the noodles, stir-frying for 5 ish minutes.
Combine the noodles, the vegetables and the remaining sauce in a large bowl. Serve chilled or room temperature.
On a side, somewhat related note, check out my friend's blog, My Vagabond Kitchen, featuring delicious recipes and stories of her travels. Check it out at http://myvagabondkitchen.blogspot.com/
Thursday, March 3, 2011
West meets East Coast, a final bow, a somewhat large decision, and the puppy named Pube
I looked at the calender today and had a moment. (For legal purposes I must now say that this is a lie. I did not look at a calendar today. I do not, in fact, own a calendar. But, the need for an introduction for my first attempt at revisiting the writing self of my recent past outweighs my moral stance on total honesty in blogging.) As I looked at the calendar and let the date, March 3, 2011, really sink in, I realized that it has nearly been 3 months since I said goodbye to Peter Teacher and embraced a return life as an ex-expat back in the US of A.
Readjusting to life back home has not been an entirely easy process, though I do feel like more of a natural with each passing day. No longer do large groups of white people speaking in English entirely intimidate/irritate me. I have all but kicked my subconscious habit of bowing at the end of every transaction, I have even stopped mentally converting prices to Won. I have drastically reduced the number of Korean pop songs on my average playlist. I have also made a conscious effort to not talk about Korea too often after realizing that the average person really isn't biting at the bit to listen to me as I lengthily describe, in detail, my year as a teacher in South Korea.
While the memories of Korea are still very present in my mind, as time continues to hurtle forward, the whole experience begins to feel like more and more of a very pleasant, kimchi scented dream. And now that the dream of being a foreigner with hair of gold*, frolicking around the Korean peninsula without a financial worry has abruptly come to an end, I have found myself rudely awakened to the real world of post college life, no health insurance, and really expensive phone bills.
I left Colorado in early January, and have spent the past few months traveling the East Coast, in pursuit of a happy, or at least somewhat enjoyable life. I figure, what better way to build somewhat enjoyable life than applying for every job on Craigslist and trying to sink into a natural feeling lifestyle with a schedule, a paycheck, and a social circle that mirrored my experiences in Boston and in Suwon, South Korea. It took a trip back to Boston to realize that, while it holds countless memories and is still home to many people I wish I could see on a daily basis, my time in Boston has come to a close. I kept moving down the East Coast and am currently in Philadelphia, where I have been living with some really great friends for a month now. After spending days on end trying in vain to get any sort of employment, I have found myself in the exact same place I was before I left for Korea. Whenever my phone vibrates there is that moment of excited anticipation before I realize that it is just another email from facebook, could it possibly be a job, finally calling me in for an interview?
So, as I gazed at said fictionalized calendar and let the month of March really sink in, some new realizations began to emerge. If that call did finally come through and I found myself in a mind-numbing 40 hour a week data entry job, even under the guise of a 'just to pay the bills as I search for a job I really want' kind of job, I wouldn't be living a somewhat enjoyable life. I am only 23 years old, why should I settle for a job that makes this great life anything less than enjoyable? This is why I, Peter Unemployed, have made a decision. I will be returning to Korea, this time as a kindergarten teacher in Seoul, for another go as Peter Teacher this upcoming May. I have a lot of changes in how I want to approach a second year in Korea, and am really happy that I will once again be in a country where wearing Spiderman socks with sandals is not only accepted, but damn fashionable, in just a few months.
I have had an amazing time catching up with everyone out East these past several weeks and would like to thank you all for your friendship and hospitality. I have much more to say to you all, especially those I didn't get this time around, at a later time. For now, I will leave you with an email I got earlier this week from a former student.
"Hello teacher I am Emily. Are you remember me? My brother is Allen. How are you? I am fine. And my dog lay the puppy. Puppy name is Pube. Goodbye ~~"
Until Soon,
Peter
*
"Teecha! You must be very rich. You have gold hair!" from The Dodgy End of Haiti, a Knocked Up Snow White and Chicken from Kentucky, Monday, March 15, 2010
Readjusting to life back home has not been an entirely easy process, though I do feel like more of a natural with each passing day. No longer do large groups of white people speaking in English entirely intimidate/irritate me. I have all but kicked my subconscious habit of bowing at the end of every transaction, I have even stopped mentally converting prices to Won. I have drastically reduced the number of Korean pop songs on my average playlist. I have also made a conscious effort to not talk about Korea too often after realizing that the average person really isn't biting at the bit to listen to me as I lengthily describe, in detail, my year as a teacher in South Korea.
While the memories of Korea are still very present in my mind, as time continues to hurtle forward, the whole experience begins to feel like more and more of a very pleasant, kimchi scented dream. And now that the dream of being a foreigner with hair of gold*, frolicking around the Korean peninsula without a financial worry has abruptly come to an end, I have found myself rudely awakened to the real world of post college life, no health insurance, and really expensive phone bills.
I left Colorado in early January, and have spent the past few months traveling the East Coast, in pursuit of a happy, or at least somewhat enjoyable life. I figure, what better way to build somewhat enjoyable life than applying for every job on Craigslist and trying to sink into a natural feeling lifestyle with a schedule, a paycheck, and a social circle that mirrored my experiences in Boston and in Suwon, South Korea. It took a trip back to Boston to realize that, while it holds countless memories and is still home to many people I wish I could see on a daily basis, my time in Boston has come to a close. I kept moving down the East Coast and am currently in Philadelphia, where I have been living with some really great friends for a month now. After spending days on end trying in vain to get any sort of employment, I have found myself in the exact same place I was before I left for Korea. Whenever my phone vibrates there is that moment of excited anticipation before I realize that it is just another email from facebook, could it possibly be a job, finally calling me in for an interview?
So, as I gazed at said fictionalized calendar and let the month of March really sink in, some new realizations began to emerge. If that call did finally come through and I found myself in a mind-numbing 40 hour a week data entry job, even under the guise of a 'just to pay the bills as I search for a job I really want' kind of job, I wouldn't be living a somewhat enjoyable life. I am only 23 years old, why should I settle for a job that makes this great life anything less than enjoyable? This is why I, Peter Unemployed, have made a decision. I will be returning to Korea, this time as a kindergarten teacher in Seoul, for another go as Peter Teacher this upcoming May. I have a lot of changes in how I want to approach a second year in Korea, and am really happy that I will once again be in a country where wearing Spiderman socks with sandals is not only accepted, but damn fashionable, in just a few months.
I have had an amazing time catching up with everyone out East these past several weeks and would like to thank you all for your friendship and hospitality. I have much more to say to you all, especially those I didn't get this time around, at a later time. For now, I will leave you with an email I got earlier this week from a former student.
"Hello teacher I am Emily. Are you remember me? My brother is Allen. How are you? I am fine. And my dog lay the puppy. Puppy name is Pube. Goodbye ~~"
Until Soon,
Peter
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"Teecha! You must be very rich. You have gold hair!" from The Dodgy End of Haiti, a Knocked Up Snow White and Chicken from Kentucky, Monday, March 15, 2010
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