Coat culture, Kakao, and my new Korean host family

Dear readers,

I know, I know. It's been too long. And I am so sorry! But don't worry - I'll make it up to you. 
For a 100% limited-time warranty this post will...

1) Make you grin.

2) Teach you something new about Korea.

3) Catch you up to speed on what I've been up to over here.
...or your money back.

So what are you waiting for? Get reading! 

1. What happens when I try to get 
Gyuhwan to practice his English on camera

2. Kids say the darndest things

One day I get home from work to find Gyuhwan sulking around the house. So I ask him, "Did you miss me today?" With a sigh, he turns to me and says... 

"Emily, I've been missing you since you walked out that door."

Well, shucks.

3. How I expected to spend my 23rd Birthday

Let's be honest. No one gets excited to turn 23. It's the beginning of the descent from your prime. And you're not a kid anymore. This means that telling other people about your birthday just so they'll plan something is now just a little tacky. But despite trying to suppress my childish desire to have the Happy Birthday song sung to me on my special day, I came up with some ways to subtly communicate the date of my upcoming celebration without looking (too) desperate for affection:

Step #1: Slip on a birthday hat...

 Step #2: Give a look.

 Step #3: Say it just loud enough.

 Step #4 (perhaps the most important): 
Set the stage.

The result?
- Vietnamese dining with my host family. ☑
- A rich, cheesy, don't-count-the-calories Italian dinner with my colleagues ☑ 
- A traditional Korean lunch with my adult English class ☑
- Got serenaded by 500 lovely students ☑ 
- Got a birthday cake ☑
- Got another birthday cake ☑

I remember walking in from my dinner with my colleagues, explaining that I had returned with left-over cake that we could all share. Gyuhwan quickly goes to the refrigerator to tell me that's where my surprise birthday cake is hiding. I'll tell him this story again for a good laugh once he's mastered the concept of a surprise.

My cake's got a Transformer Robot cake topper. I wonder who picked it out...

Che-Dun got me a present all on her own. 
#OMG #youshouldn'thave #i'mgladyoudid

4. Tally marks in Korea

Part A is of course how we use tally marks in the U.S. and Part B is how they do it in Korea. It turns out they're not just arbitrary lines. It's actually a Chinese symbol for the word that means right, true, or correct. In Korean, this word is pronounced정 (jeong).

In conversation with Bryan, I discovered Ecuador does their tallies in a way that's different from both our style and the Korean style. It's a square with a diagonal slash to represent a quantity of 5. If you know other ways of tallying, please comment below. I'd be interested to see what they are. Who knows, it might come in handy should I or any of you ever get on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.

5. Are you a Bear, a Rabbit or a Fox? 

 

In Korean culture, there's a kind of a categorical system when if comes to female personas. You can be labeled either a bear (slow moving, not easily excited, calm, not particularly clever or cunning) a fox (fast moving, easily excited, clever, cunning, willing to take advantage of others to get what they want) or a rabbit (somewere in between those two extremes). Which one are you?

6. Hey good looking, what's your sign?

Scorpio...Gemini? Doesn't matter. As far as Kakao Talk users are concerned, horoscopes are a thing of the past. So, jump on the bandwagon and take The 4 Minute Quiz to find out which Kakao Talk character you are.
(Cherry and I are both Con - Muzi's dependable but sometimes overly-motherly friend).

Click here to discover YOUR Kakao Talk persona

7. Can I take your jacket?
Let's say you invite your friend over to your house. Upon entering, you offer to take her coat, to hang it in on the coat rack. She politely refuses, preferring to keep it on. The entire night - through dinner, coffee, conversation...etc.
What's your immediate reaction?

If you're me, you're first confused. Why won't she take her coat off? We do have the heat on. I guess she's trying to tell me she won't be staying long. 
Then a little offended. 
But she's having dinner here. Ah, I know I shouldn't make it a big deal. #ButWtf? #Awkward #Whatishappening 

I don't have the research to back this up, but my travels over the last few years seem to indicate that this is something "USA-American" of me to think and feel. In Ecuador, for example, if you are cold in someone else's house - you keep your coat on. In Korea as well. As my homestay situations in both countries have affirmed, it's not unusual to sit around a heated house fully clad in your puffy winter coat if it's a chilly day. Of course, this makes sense. If you're cold, you should keep the coat on - no social norms counted against you. 

Is this just my own weird idiosyncrasy or does our country does have an unwritten rule that it's not socially acceptable to keep your winter coat on when you're inside someone's house.

8. Culture + Language

Time is money.

Argument is war.

These are conceptual metaphors. A conceptual metaphor uses one idea (e.g. War) to better understand/explain the one at hand (e.g. Arguments). It's an ideological association that gets embedded into language. 

In English we've got a bunch. Take Time = Money for example. In this case, we use the idea of money to better understand/explain our perception of time. So then, in our culture, we view time as having worth. As a result of this conceptualization, we're left with idioms such as 'He's wasting my time. I spend most of my time at the golf course. The traffic cost me 2 hours.' 

So what does this have to do with Korea or this blog?

Respect is fear.

If the teacher's lounge has taught me anything in terms of conceptual metaphors in Korean, it's that A Respectful Student = A Fearful Student. In fact, I'd bet I've heard the phrase 무서운 학생 (fearful student) more than Ebloa Virus these last few months. This begs the question whether or not there is actually a word for"respect" in Korean. There is. However, when talking about students' respect for teachers, the word "fearful" is used. 

Middle School Syndrome is real.

중이병. It means "Middle School Syndrome." 
This is one of my favorite phrases I've learned to date. 

Do the Terrible Twos exist in Korea?

No. But they have Ugly Fours (미운네살)  and Wanna-kill-em Sevens (죽이고싶은일곱살).

9. Korea has yet to discover the snow scraper. 

The following is a list of 5 things, 4 of which I have seen used to scrape ice and snow. I'll let you mull it over.

10. Meet my new homestay family!

So as many of you know, I have moved. I miss my previous family dearly - especially my little host siblings. But I'm now living 20 minutes away in a neighborhood called 백석동, pronounced Pek-seok-dong. I live with my friend and colleague Cherry (who I may refer to as Chan-mi or Cham Cham throughout the blog), her 21 y. old sister Chan-song (we more often use her nickname, Sop Sop) who's taking a gap year from college to teach at an English academy, and their parents (who have quite an amazing answer to the question of how they met - but more on that in the next blog). 

Fast facts:

1. Around the house, my host parents sing around the clock. Some has roosters, we have gospel. One time, Cherry went to church and her parents were headed to a funeral, so I was going to be in the house alone. My host mom worried I would be lonely and bored. But my host dad just said, "Ah, she'll be fine," then he turns to me and says, "Now Emily, if you get lonely, all you have to do is sing." I whistle a happy tune...
2. They have a brother named Chan-yang. He's a  busy university student living in Seoul so I actually haven't met him yet. I remember that when we called him the day I moved in, I told him I was looking forward to meeting him. His response was, "Yeah, see you next year." At first I took this the wrong way. But then I realized it was December after all.
   
3. My host parents know a few English words and phrases, enough for us to get by using Konglish. Last week I believe it was, my host dad was watching me carefully as I ate. Finally he said, "Emily, your...chopstick play...is very good." :)
4. So, Sop Sop gives AMAZING massages. She even took massage arts as an elective in high school.
   
5. Cherry - now she is the ideal older sister. Any time Sop Sop needs something, she helps her. If she needs to borrow money, she pays for her. If she doesn't like her clothes, she'll give Sop Sop her own. She's really selfless and really loves her family. I think that's why her Kakao Persona is Con. hehe
6. Sop Sop is one big explosion of light and funny. She makes everyone around her smile. And she's fearless - ready to try anything. I rewrote the lyrics to a song in Spanish to record for Valentine's Day, and she offered to sing it with me. She sang in Spanish! 
   
7. When my host mom met my boyfriend Bryan on Skype for the first time, she got really close to the camera, told him in fast, fierce Korean to stand up and start studying. Then she thought to ask, "What time is it there?" I told her it was 9pm. Then she affirmed her previous statement, repeating, "Stand up. Go study!" As she left the room, she look back with a smile, shrugged her shoulders and said, "I'm a Korean mom."
   
   Delete 'cool' and add 'Korean' and it's perfect.
8. My host mom is a DIY person through and through. She's made homemade toothpaste, UGG boots, cell phone cases, carpets. You name it, she's tried it.
9. My host family is Christian. They do worship every night, which for them means singing a church song together, reading a passage from the bible and discussing its meaning, and then communal praying. This, I think, is my host dad's absolute favorite part of the day. His face shines so bright when it's worship time. He really enjoys teaching about the word of the bible. I'm not Christian, but it's a great way to practice my Korean while also learning about one of the world's most dominant religions. It's been interesting to finally read the book that has fans everywhere raving. That was, until, I read the one about how women should be submissive to their husbands. But it does have a really nice side benefit in that it brings the whole family together every night. We usually just end up sitting after together talking about ours days.

Random dance parties

The first day I moved in to my new homestay, my host father remarked how much I reminded him of my host mom. Over the next few weeks, I understood what he meant. For anyone who knows me well, it's common knowledge that I'm always in the mood to stretch, workout, dance, or do yoga wherever whenever. (Shakira cameo for all those 90s kids and Shakira fans out there).

But my host mom is exactly the same. She is known to teach spontaneous dance aerobics classes to her favorite sped-up version of the tune It's Raining Men. Cherry, her dad, and I just try our best to keep up with her. I've even had the honor of leading some yoga classes with them. They are really troopers. I remember saying once 'Whoa, this stretch feels good doesn't it?' And my host dad just squints his eyes and responds, "Mmm I don't know about all that."

11. If teaching the moonwalk isn't cultural ambassadorship I don't know what is.

12. Yut Nori (윷놀이) 

Fast facts:  

1)They don't all have a Go to Hell space. That was Cherry's own original twist. 

2) This game is usually played during Korean New Year festivities, but my host family plays it all the time. This year's Lunar New Year is going to be on February 19. 

3) We play for small money or to decide who's washing the dishes. Serious stuff.
4) Basically you throw four wooden stick into the air and the way they land indicates how many spaces you can move or whether or not you're granted another "roll." The goal is simply to get all four of your pieces to the end. But as with any board game, there are some catches and a lot of strategy along the way.

13. Korean Food 

This is called OmRice (오므라이스).

Just a simple Pork Cutlet Sauce and Ketchup mix.

Assorted veggies, onions, and chicken/beer inside a fried egg

My sisters! (This is 솝솝!). She's a university student, so I only get to see her once in a while. But when we all get together it's a LOT of laughing, singing, and more singing. Did I mention that Cherry can hear a song and immediately know how to play it on the piano? Very good skill for a sister to have.

A typical dinner

Shameless close-up

Everyone's happy when we have homemade kimbap.

Rice burger!

14. Live Bee Sting Acupuncture

Got pimples? Get pricked. Homestay mom's renowned home remedy.

15. Got a stuffy nose or phlegm? Use the salt water nose bidet.

Another famous homestay mom home remedy.

17. "Stuffing" our faces U.S.-style on Thanksgiving

18. So that time that I went to take a shower and found...

I wouldn't be alone in the tub.
Turns out we have a pet turtle. Hello, Bobo.

19.  Aren't those...?

Nothing beats the time I came home to find my host mom sporting the very pajamas she had bought for me. I was very confused as to why she was wearing my clothes. But after peeking into my room and seeing mine were safely tucked away in my drawer, it clicked. She got us matching pajamas. And if only that were the end of it. Then my host dad comes out with the same set, only in baby blue! 

20. Stories from Yongso Elementary

Teacher, look. Teacher, watch this. 

For this activity, I had students think of an person, place, or thing and then create several clever clues that describe the noun. Below are some of my favorite picks! 

What the chicken?

Way to throw a brother under the bus (refer to #1, "Heum" is their classmate's name)

6th Grade rebels 

Do worms really like digging around in...nevermind.

 Just wow.

What - you didn't think Emily Teacher knew how to block? 

In this lesson, we were covering how to express professions and careers in English. To inspire some student-led creativity, I put together a simple little activity that I call "Fortune Tellers." To begin, I had each student write on a slip of paper the most unusual or funniest job title they could imagine. Then one by one we had the students draw a slip of paper from the hat to discover their future professions. This is a picture of all the students that were pleased to receive the job they had picked.

This is a very specific and very unusual desire to possess at the young age of 12. I might be going out on a limb here, but I would put money on the claim that this exact sentence has never been written or uttered in the history of the world.

Upon offering me a ride back to my apartment, this family sent me home with a huge box of mandarin oranges, a generous helping of homemade kimchi, mini walnut pies, and this box of specially-made cupcakes. The kind of cupcakes you almost feel guilty eating because they're too fabulous.

Honestly, this video is cute enough that you can enjoy it just the same even if you don't know the back story. However, if it's peaked your interest, read on. Last year, one of Korea's biggest phone server companies (Olleh) came out with a commercial that made waves all across the nation. Ask almost any Korean and they should know. The Original Commercial. However, since its instant fame Olleh has come up with a whole host of spin-off commercials. An example of one of the spin-off commercials. Or, if you're interested in mastering the art of the Giga Dance, watch this Tutorial Version. Learn the Giga Dance.

Don't let her petrified stare deceive you - these girls are some of the sweetest I know. Just take a look at what they've written if you don't believe me. "I'm glad you're born." "Teacher is very very very beautiful! I happy to meet you!"

Firstly, read the yellow feather on the right hand side. hehe But the other feathers are so sweet: "I want every day can be happy. I hope every day can be fun. Have chicken." To me these sound less like a statement of thanks but rather good and gravy (..err..I mean groovy) New Year's Resolutions. 

My sixth grade students had a creative cooking competition in their classrooms and they thought to bring me a sample. Not only that but they provided me with emergency chocolate to combat the spiciness. You know what they say - "The way to a teacher's heart is through her stomach."

Long overdue, I officially gave my colleagues their English names. Meet Riley and Jake! ^.^

This work of art is posted on the wall of a hallway I walk by every morning. Had to share the joy.

I made Superlative Awards for each of my students in the Morning Show Club. However, for those who got extra awards (i.e. Best Newscaster, Team with Best Attendence...etc.) I had them come up and pop a balloon of their choice. Inside each balloon, I put a different amount of candy. The popping scare never got old. And the groan when only one piece flew out was ever funnier for everyone. For those of you who are teachers or work with kids, I recommend adapting this activity to a lesson.

That's the Faculty Coordinator (assistant to the Vice Principal) right there. Papa paparazzi...

Here's one of my favorite experiences from the Traveling Dinner program. The boy immediately to the left of me as well as the one of the furthest left end are brothers whose family hosted a Traveling Dinner for me. Little did I know they had planned the whole event to be a belated birthday party for me, they invited all the boys' friends, and we even went to Karaoke Bar together. 
Oh what a night. Late December back in '14...

An hour of singing karaoke and these boys were wiped.

The best part about the Traveling Dinner program is that I get to spend the night getting to know my students outside of the classroom. And that usually means lots of selfies.

Finally broke down and invaded the all boys recess soccer game. At first the boys looked at me with surprise, like they'd never had expected a female teacher would jump in.  But after scoring two goals, my team seemed rather happy to have me. What's more is one student pulled me aside and told me, "Teacher, maybe next time...you could...you know...just watch. No play." To that I responded, "Or I could play on your team." He grinned and gave me a nod of approval. I had made it to the No Girls Allowed Soccer Game Club. Mission check.

I include this in particular because it's perhaps the most stylish turkey I've seen this holiday season.

 It's hard to read, but underneath the turkey's beak  it reads "It's tobaco." 

That's all for now. Get ready for the next few installments, which will cover my month living in the exciting city of Seoul and my two weeks of travel through Southeast Asia. 

Oh, and just a few extra videos to contribute to your procrastination today. You'll thank me later.