Live from BOBO COUNTY Officetel #408 ...

Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/megshep09

Because I Grew Up in America ...

(Family Photo, December 2006)

Cultural Tidbits…

1. I giggle whenever I see a couple in public dressed in the same outfits

2. I try hard not to make fun of my brother (and other men) for carrying a purse

3. I think that wearing socks with sandals was so 10 years ago

4. I am amused when I see 5 people (high schoolers) on park steps playing an intense game of “rock-paper-scissors” (this game is huge here)

5. I am not used to sitting on the floor when I go out for dinner – my legs fall asleep quite often

6. My will power is keeping me from eating the Kraft Velveeta Mac and Cheese in my cupboard … since I only have 4 packages left! ( I ate one already due to an unsuccessful 1st time journey to the grocery store)

7. I threw a t-shirt over my pillow because for the life of me, I cannot find a pillow case in this city

In All Seriousness …

1. I am frustrated that I cannot speak the language and it’s such a task to attempt to learn even the basics … but I’m trying…

2. If I see a minority – a white, black, Indian person here – I am tempted to say something just to catch them off guard and try to meet people but I don’t since I feel like I blend in and am probably just one of the majority to them

3. I get less slack for not following etiquette since I am still Korean. True foreigners are forgiven if they forget to bow or be politically correct. So I need to learn as much as I can so I don’t offend anybody.

4. It is driving me nuts being parented the Korean – “old generation” way… by basically complete strangers ... and after 26 years!! It is very over-protective, always worrying, overly affectionate (public displays of affection especially), and invasive. I am trying to be accepting and wondering if it’s worth it to try and express my feelings or not…

what would YOU do?

(Family Photo, August 2007)

More blogs to come after my mini-vacations to Andong, South Korea and Beijing, China …. Thanks for reading and HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY :)

Immediate Family Tree...

Rainy day, limited funds, recovering from Strep ... I got bored :)

(click on pic for "readable" view)

If I Grew Up in Korea ...

**** There’s a chance I would be saving up or already had plastic surgery on my eyes. My birth mother did it to have “double eyelids” like Americans and apparently about 50% of Koreans have plastic surgery on something

*** I wouldn’t be obsessed with being tan b/c here… Pale is popular. You can go to a beauty shop and find cosmetics to make you actually look whiter!

*** I wouldn’t be shocked for only paying $8.00 to go to a doctor AND get a prescription of great drugs. I paid W3,500 for the doctor visit which took about 3 minutes then paid W3,800 for a prescription (I had strep throat and a 100.5 temp... dang those kids and their germs!)

*** I would care much more about my outward appearance since most Koreans (men and women) are very concerned with looking good all the time

*** I might have a t-shirt with random American words that make no sense (or with a bizarre saying) but that I feel cool in… my favorite so far, “I left on Vacation and came back on Probation” in big letters on a long baby-t

*** I wouldn’t think it is weird to drink “Aloe” vs. putting it on sunburn

*** I might get the “magic perm” – aka – perm for straight hair once a year to go along with my pale skin

*** I’d probably be living at home still since I’m not married (w/ my brother who’s 25)

MORE PICS: http://community.webshots.com/user/megshep09

Wicked Funny

(it's not as easy as it looks ... and according to the photo, I am not squatting correctly)

Signs I saw for the public restrooms...

Word of the Day: “gun-bae” means “cheers” when drinking and Koreans like to “gun-bae” a lot in an evening’s time

Boryeong Mud Festival 2008 at Daecheon beach (3hrs south of Seoul) was wicked awesome. The mud is apparently good for your skin so the more mud, the better. You can paint it on, go in a giant mud bath, or just go around hugging everyone to get mudded up. It was foreigner central but that was ok. We got muddy, saw some mud wrestling and people go down the mud slides, chilled by the beach, drank, swam, etc. It was a great weekend to get away, kick back and relax, and go pee in the ocean instead of the squatters. If I went to this Festival a few years ago, I’d probably have some wild and crazy stories… but since I feel like an old lady, I got nothing :)

Chicken Foot & Beer Coolers

(photo left to right: Joon Suh, Min Hwan, and me at the Garter Bier)

So my buddy Min, who I met on the plane, his friend Joon Suh, and I met for a drink tonight. We met at Starbucks and then I grabbed Burger King. I know it’s against my goals but I had a bulgolgi burger which is unique to Korea so that’s my justification! Anyway, then we went to a bar called the "Garter Bier" where on each table, there are BEER COOLERS that are chilled and keep the beer in a vase shaped glass at a chilled 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit)… dang us Koreans are smart!

Oh … and I ate a CHICKEN FOOT … that was smothered in a tangy/spicy red sauce. I asked if I had to eat it whole since all I could taste were the bones I was crunching on and thinking of the fact that I’m probably gnawing on the ankle almost made me throw up but I washed everything down as quick as I could with some Hite Beer.

It’s 12:00am and I have a sick feeling in my stomach. Let’s pray I don’t throw up!

Meghan Teacher

(photo: One of my Kindergarten classes)

By night, I’m “Meghan” or “Min Jin”… but by day, I’m “Meghan Teacher.” I have taught for 4 days and here are some details of what it’s like:

*I teach 8 different classes (71 students total)

*I teach students from ages 6 years old to 12 years old (American Age)
***When a child is born in Korea, they are 1 years old. So I am 27 in Korean age and 26 American Age. If someone asks how old you are, you say I am a 1982.

*I teach different subjects (which I didn’t know I was going to do) - kindergarten phonics, reading/writing, science, TOEFL, Debate class

*Class size: ranges from 5-12

*There are Korean teachers and native English speaking teachers. We all teach our lessons in English. The children understand English for the most part and you’re expected to point, draw pictures, etc to help the learning process

*The curriculum is set so you just follow the syllabus and can add your own activities as long as you cover the overall content of the lesson.

*Some students only come to our school. Other students come to our school AFTER they go to Korean School and my latest class starts at 7:10pm!
***This creates some bad behavior since they’ve already had a long day

So… so far it’s going ok. I am struggling with classroom management and finding creative ways to teach a lesson that will keep their attention. I know it’ll get better and I am trying not to worry about things too much since this is not my career goal and it’s just a job to get me over here.

Lost in Translation

(photo: birth father and his wife, brother - in birth father's kitchen/dining room)

I spent quality time with my brother this weekend and found out some interesting information. It was to my understanding that I was ship to America because my birth parents got pregnant w/ me and were unmarried (which is a no-no in Korea) and then got married and had my brother a year later. However, I found out my birth parents got married when my brother was 3 or 6 years old!!! That caught me off guard and pissed me off a little since for the past 14 years I’ve had the wrong information. Guess my birth parents thought they matured in the three months between the birth of my to the conception of my brother and thought they were now ready to handle a child. What sucks is I don’t think I’m ever going to know the whole truth since things seem to get lost in translation ….

However, so far every time I see my family, I learn something new about the culture, their personality, or my family history so this year is starting off just as I hoped. I need to believe I’m getting the right translation as I continue to figure out why I am who I am.

My birth father said the first time he saw me (12yrs old) he could tell I was stubborn and that I get that from my birth mother. He likes to run and can play sports but isn’t good at one in particular. He likes to drink and has a good tolerance.

My birth mother likes to bike and seems to be kind of a “tomboy.” She doesn’t play any sports and she’s glad I didn’t get her teeth (and so am I). She’s good at writing.

My birth brother likes to help others more than himself. He doesn’t do sports but likes to swim. He’s never been in an airplane! He didn’t go to college because he didn’t think he needed to. One day he might go and study law but he said it’s really hard. He’s very organized and when he has to do something, he does it well.

My half-sister (who I haven’t met yet) apparently wants to learn how to play softball/baseball so I volunteered to help teach her. Apparently she’s going through “puberty” so she’s doing teenage behaviors.

The Squatter

Like I’ve said before, finding a public bathroom with a toilet seat is not always easy. On Saturday night, I needed to pee and found that this was my only option. The toilet paper role was ½ wet in the corner from what I pray to God was water and it took me time to analyze how I’m going to squat .. in heels.. and jeans. All in all, I was 90% successful but not going to lie, I ended up peeing on my jeans due to bad aim and lack of practice! Luckily there was a hose outside the stall by the urinal where I was able to wash it off a bit.

It sucks being a girl sometimes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Outback .. Korean Style

So my mother’s older sister and her family took me to dinner. They asked if I like “Outback Steakhouse” and I said yes. I should’ve said no but I figured trying to decide what to eat w/ a language barrier is frustrating so I just agreed. Despite it being western food, it was done Korean style which was kind of an interesting experience. It was my aunt, uncle, other uncle, cousin, and brother. Everyone looked lost on what to order, etc. Uncle said outback is “high class” in Korea. My cousin (Soehun, 22yrs old) ordered for us. We shared all the meals and it was pretty much the same except for a couple small differences: 1. A small bowl of kimchi was served 2. Alice Spring Chicken w/ Rice – the rice had onions in it 3. Some of the menu was different – I don’t remember seeing chicken and shrimp salad on the American menu.

Meeting them again was fun and tough at the same time since my uncle doesn’t speak very good English and obviously I don’t know Korean. However, I felt a little better since my deaf uncle didn’t know what they were saying either but then he trumped me when he would write on his hand back and forth with my brother (Mun Hyuk) to communicate.

So I am kinda breaking my goal of not eating western food. However, I have not gone on my own account and I don’t totally regret it because it’s an interesting experience mixing the cultures together.