Doug Stars in Lost in Translation

Doug came to visit me last week and took off again this past Monday evening. It had been just over 6 months since I had seen him last (with g-video chat not counting). I dragged him all around Korea, having him meet my host family in Gumi, coteachers in Daegu, my biological family in Cheongju and ETA friends in Seoul. All in the span of a week.

When he first got to Korea, we took a bus from the Incheon Airport to Gumi. We stayed at a motel down the street from my host family's apartment. We ended up at a motel that was next to not one, not two, but three business clubs. And the name of the motel was "Motel Crystal." How could we not? It was 30,000W for the night (roughly 26USD), huge, and had this bizarre orange chair. Needless to say, we took one look at the chair and decided against even touching it.

The bed also had a giant mirror (dis)tastefully placed next to the bed...

The next day after breakfast with my host family, we met up with two coteachers in Daegu, where they brought us to a temple on a mountain in the rain, and then after ate a giant traditional Korean meal. Then we returned to Gumi, only to have a giant home-cooked meal made by my host mom. She admitted to me that when I first told her about Doug she was skeptical of the relationship due to our age gap, but after meeting him in person understood the relationship and approved. It's like I have gained 2 more mothers since coming to Korea.

Then we left for Cheongju the day after to meet up with my biological family. It was a little awkward at first, b/c it was just Doug, me, my mom, and grandparents. Doug doesn't speak much Korean, my mom is super reserved, and my family definitely does not speak English. We ended up watching Sumo wrestling together while we waited for other family members to arrive for dinner. Luckily my uncle brought his wife, who had more English ability. We drank ginseng soju after dinner and the mood was more comfortable. My uncle said he liked Doug (though both he and my aunt let out a surprised "ohhhhhhhhhh" when they found out his age), and tried to tell him that he had an asian face, which neither Doug nor I quite understood. The next morning it was just us and my grandparents. My grandmother told me that she thought well of Doug and that b/c he loved me she liked him. It was very sweet. She also patted him hard on the stomach when he said he was full. And he agrees, she's one strong one-armed lady.

We stayed in the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, which was a nice change from the usual love motels and hostels I'm used to staying in. No scary chairs, no giant mirrors, and the bathroom soap was even made by L'occitane. We spent our 3 1/2 days in Seoul doing touristy things, eating tons, and of course cuddling.

Doug even humored me by taking sticker pictures with me. Though he didn't play very nice and refused to look at the camera. Ah well. I love him for who he is, that is being difficult. But I have to give him credit for cramming Korean in his head before arriving (he learned how to read hanguel), sitting on the floor for hours at a time, and even trying fish dishes (he hates fish). And the impression he left with the Koreans in my life was overall very good. Everyone agreed, he's a keeper and that he can use chopsticks well.

Some Random Photos from Japan

This rabbit-headed mannequin was the display for the clothing store, Wonder Rocket, located in Harajuku and whose clothes I absolutely adored.

The vending machines were much like those in Korea, but more expensive. However they did have the addition of hot corn soup in a can. All I can say is delicious!!!

These mini statues were present at the cemetery where Steph's grandfather is buried. They are designated for children who have passed away.

Squid balls! Er, I mean takoyaki!!! Also, delicious!!!!

This was an amazing art show that we saw at the Mori Art Museum called "Medicine and Art." It had everything from Francis Crick's pencil drawing of DNA's structure to Matsui Fuyuko's haunting work on silk, Damien Hirst, Leonardo da Vinci, and Charles Grignon's engravings; with both past and contemporary artists' interpretation of the human body displayed side-by-side. It was definitely a show worth seeing.

On top of great art, the museum is also placed on the 53rd floor of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, so one could get a fantastic view of Tokyo.

Lucky poop. I mean, what could be more lucky than golden poop?

Cousins, Ears, and My Sister

So with my mom being one of 8 children, that means that I have a lot of cousins. Below is a photo of me with 3 of them, 2 girls in middle school and a boy who is in kindergarten. Their names continue to elude me (as with most Korean names), though the boy's English name is Paul.

While I was hanging out with my family, my uncle pointed to my ears and said something along the lines of, "unbalanced." My hair was pulled back, and so of course I immediately knew that he was talking about my asymmetrical ears (something which my doctor many years ago said I could get "fixed" if I so desired). They had definitely been a point of extreme sensitivity when I was younger, and so at first was a little offended. But then, he grabbed Paul's head, pointed to his ears and said, "Same." And much to my delight, apparently all of my cousins' ears are like that. It was the first time I could enjoy a biological defect as a stamp of belonging.

Now as a side note, my cousin, Paul, I must admit is adorable. At first he was very shy around me, like all Korean children who have to speak English to me, but he eventually warmed up. I discovered his English vocabulary is probably better than my Korean vocabulary. He wouldn't sit still for the camera, so I have many a blurry pictures of him, as seen below.

These pictures were taken the same weekend that I met my sister. The first meeting was a little hard to describe. I didn't actually get to chat with her very much. She appeared a little overwhelmed and our interactions were somewhat awkward. I asked what she thought when she found out, and her answer was "nothing." Her Korean answer is a little difficult to translate into English, but essentially my impression was that she was so surprised she didn't know what to think. I saw her occasionally wipe her eyes as she retreated from the many family members that were present to regain composer. My mom still hasn't told her husband, and I don't think she will for awhile.

My Club Class Students

So during the normal school year, I have an after school club class that I meet with a couple times a week. Usually all of them (but the girl on the left-most side in the photo below) come every week. They have made teaching all the more rewarding because they have so much zeal for learning and have continuously and successfully (though at times reluctantly) met the challenges that I give them.

A lot of times I hear them say, "Teacher, too hard," to which I reply, "That's why you're here." I've thrown questions at them like, "What is creativity? Why is it important?" I've gone over the script for one of The Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" episodes and then made them watch the show without Korean subtitles (and to my delight, they even laughed at the appropriate times, an almost full-proof way to determine if they understand the language). We've played "Apples to Apples." They teach me Korean. The three students in the middle of the picture below have been attending my 2-week winter English Camp (of which I will write about later). They're only in what would translate to 7th grade by American standards, and so I'm always impressed by their hard work and ability to communicate in what is for them a foreign language. I have a feeling that someday, maybe in 10 years from now, I will be receiving a phone call informing me that they're in the USA visiting... I hope so at least.^^

Pics of Family

So below is a pic of my grandparents. And below them is a picture of my aunt (on the left), me, and my mom (on the right). That was taken after we had our first dinner together after the initial meeting.

I'll be going back to Cheongju this weekend to meet my sister, which means I have to cram in lots of Korean in the next 48 hours, gahhhhhh....