Korean Kind

It’s been quite the last few days. I became virtually adopted by a lovely Korean family, I started teaching English to little and big kids, I went to the super grocery store of South Korea, Sarah and I had a dinner at our place with the other teachers, and I got sick. Sweet!

Well, I feel a lot better now and I don’t want to highlight having a sick tummy. Aside from the radical change in diet, I’m pretty surprised at how well my stomach has been holding up, but yesterday it cried uncle. Like I said though, I feel a lot better now and keep getting better.

Before Sarah and I left California, Sarah was told by one of her students to get in touch with one of his friends. She sent an email and on Sunday his mom, his brothers, and his best friend picked us up. His mother had three sons and no daughters, so she was especially happy to show us her South Korea. I still don’t know her name as she insisted we call her Mommy.

The four of them took us by car to the local subway station where we rode a train for an hour and a half to Seoul. We walked up from the subway to a city as enormous as they say. We were walked down the street to Seoul’s famous “ old town” called Insa-dong. Cobblestone streets, old wooden buildings, maze-like alleyways, mouth-watering food-stalls, handi-crafts and arts make up the area of Seoul known as Insa-dong. Now, this is South Korea and apparently one of the first things you do when you finish or begin anything is eat. So, the first thing we did (after taking a few pictures) was walk down a little beautiful alley full of restaurants until we came to the end and were taken to a truly sweet and wonderful restaurant smelling of fish and sesame oil. (Apparently, if a restaurant smells like fish and sesame oil, this is a good thing, I guess.) We had a traditional Korean lunch of many, many, plates of spicy, fishy, ricey, fermented things, finished off with a warm persimmon juice sweetened with cinnamon and a little sugar.



After lunch, we walked around Insa-dong, checking out the many sights. I bought a cute warm hat for about nine dollars. We walked into antique shops and art galleries. We walked up the ramp of a four-story building that went from first floor to top like a ribbon. We delighted in street sweets like freshly made rice cake and some famous fried doughnut thing that was devilishly good with a line of people that wrapped all the way around the food stall.


Sarah and I were even stopped by a girl with a microphone who apparently worked for EBS radio. EBS is an English learning radio station in South Korea, I guess, and this girl was looking for a couple of English speakers to read off of a script for a show. We obliged and now, for all I know, we are being broadcast along the Korean airwaves for learners everywhere.


After Insa-dong, we walked a short way to a quaint stream that ran through the city like an insolent child. Families flocked there and seemed to be taking their Sunday evening stroll. There were stepping stones that acted like bridges to cross the little stream. We later found out the stream used to run through the poorest part of the city once and was even filled for a time. But now, it runs through a very affluential part of town indeed.


After a fun-filled day in Seoul we were bound for the subway to head back to Incheon. But of course, once we got there, apparently we had to eat again. So we were taken, once again to an amazing meal. This time it was the Korean barbecue most westerners are aware of. It was a real family place, two stories of it, filled with families and flowing the meat, kimchee, and soju.


I was exhausted by the time we got home especially since I knew I was starting work the next day.

The camp has been crazy.

It’s fun and flies by for the most part. The schedule is great. We have the same kids for the same classes come through Monday, Wednesday, and Friday then different kids for the same classes on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The camp is twenty-four days total; so essentially, I only have to plan for twelve days. Sweet!

I teach kids from about seven to fourteen. But, it’s not the age that matters as much as the fluency. Most of them seem to know barely a lick of English, but they’re pretty brilliant at the grammar. That makes sense since most of them have to study English from the beginning of their education, but never speak it… ever… until this camp that I’m at (at least that’s what it feels like so far. The whole thing is really quite amusing. From the insanely noisy little kids class to the morbidly silent junior high age class to the bizarre lunches to super cute hugs to the “TEACHER TEACHER TEACHER” to the funny guys with chosen English names like Boom and Dragon.


Overall, I had been given a picture of Korean people, from I don’t know where, that was unfriendly, sullen, and distant and that just hasn’t been the case so far. In fact, the folks that I have met have been some of the most friendly, generous, proud people that I have ever met. I mean there are barkers in the Safeway-style spotless supermarket telling you to try their meat or bread sample and how good it is (I think) and then they smile and bow when you buy some. Imagine this at Safeway!

One of the really neat things is that there are really hardly any foreigners and those that are live or work here so that, unlike a tourist travel destination, you are really one in their country. It’s really special. Sarah and I are especially fortunate to have essentially been taken in by a Korean family (so we really get the inside scoop) who now wants to take us out again next Sunday. We also have two other terrific teachers living in the same building as us and we have cooked and shared meals together with plans of more meals and evenings of fun. If I didn’t have a little unforgiving cough and a somewhat sensitive tummy, I don’t think it could get much better.