My Korean is getting better! I can officially read, albeit slow, but hey, it's more than most can say. At my lesson on Friday we started working on basic conversation pieces like, "What's your name, where are you from, and what do you do?" I'm hoping to be pretty good by the time I leave here.
I ran a lot this week and my race is a week from today. I'm so excited to run a half in another country. Check that off the bucket list! Hopefully I've trained enough. I'm really interested to see what this race is like. I have no clue what the course looks like, how many people are doing it, etc. Should be interesting to see how a Korean race works.
Yesterday my boss and her "friend" as she calls him (aka her low-key boyfriend), Mr. Yu, took me to the Gyeongbok Palace and Insadong. Mr. Yu was so nice. He only spoke a little English so it was hard to talk to him. Mrs. Kim acted as our translator, but I wish I could have spoken to him more - my biggest reason for wanting to learn the language. But he was very kind and bought us tea and dinner. The palace was so cool! Except for the chilly, foggy weather, we had a great time. This palace was built 700 years ago for one of the king's concubines. Each building had a different purpose including the king's sleeping quarters, an entertainment "house" on its on little pond, and a beautiful library. When it was built, there was a lot of Chinese influence, so all the architecture, statues, and paintings were modeled after traditional Chinese buildings and traditions. After walking around, we headed into the museum to learn more about Korean history. I got to see traditional clothes, manuscripts, jewelry, etc. It was all so interesting. After that, we went to Insadong, a really cool market that sells a lot of traditional Korean artifacts like pottery, teas, tea sets, clothing, and other touristy trinkets. We jostled our way through the crowd and were able to go into some interesting stores. Mrs. Kim is way too nice to me. She bought me some tea that cost $23! And, when we were walking down the street I saw a cart that was selling what I later found out was figs. I had never seen one before so I asked her what they were. On our way out, she bought me six of them. Earlier in the week, she had given me six bunches of grapes and a bag full of clementines from her parents' farm. I had to give some of the food away because there was so much of it! She totally spoils me and I feel bad, but I think likes being able to take care of me and enjoys the role of my Korean mother. We went to a traditional Korean restaurant for dinner and this was definitely not one of my favorite meals I've ever had. We were served a ton of kimchi which I politely passed on, some fried fish (also not a favorite of mine), and these NASTY sea something or other that I had to force myself to swallow. It tasted like some sort of slimy oyster or something that had been drenched in sea water. It was so salty and rubbery I wanted to spit it back up. I chewed it for about 2 seconds and then swallowed it because I didn't want it in my mouth anymore. It was disgusting, but the salt was the worst part. They did have some good vegetables and soup that I liked, though.
I feel like I'm learning a lot about Korean culture which has been really interesting. Peter has taught me a lot and I'm constantly asking him and Mrs. Kim questions. Korea has advanced so quickly, but socially I think they are still way behind. Women's rights are pretty close to non-existent and abuse is common in many households. Suicide is common, especially among students who have so much pressure put upon them to succeed and do well in school. Kids here go to school M-F, every other Saturday, plus their parents stick them in hagwons (after school programs) for English, math, and whatever else they think necessary. A majority of high schoolers are in school from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. They have no time to be kids and it's really sad. Koreans aren't allowed to be "friends" with people who aren't their same age, which is why the first thing they ask is "How old are you?" They rarely call people by their first names, unless they are the same age, because it's disrespectful. This is one of the main reasons why students aren't allowed to be held back in school (even if they have a disability of any kind). All students are expected to move through the education system at the same pace as everyone else. Failure is not an option. If a student were to be held back, it would extremely uncomfortable for the students because the older child would not be allowed to be friends and socialize with his/her new classmates and vice-versa.
Definitely makes you think and appreciate the flexibility of the American school system and the many options there are for all types of students.
Here are some pictures from the week:
King's Sleeping Quarters
Entertainment House
Library
Mrs. Kim (not sure where she's looking but it's the only picture I have of her)
Palace Guards
No comments:
Post a Comment