We feel so guilty that we haven’t been posting as much as usual. We want to document so much more of our time here in Korea, but sometimes life is just so crazy! :)
We’ve had a exciting past few weeks here! Tyler’s mom and brother came all the way to Korea to visit us! This was wonderful for us as we have been missing our families very much lately!
They arrived in Incheon Saturday evening November 22nd. We tracked their flight the whole way and gained excitement by the hour! Once they landed, we were able to communicate through wifi using Kakoa talk and they texted us again when the were going through customs. But, that was the last we heard of them for a long time. They had proceeded to figure out (by themselves!) how to catch an express bus to Gwangju bus terminal. This is about a 4-4.5 hour bus ride from the airport, however, Tyler and I didn’t know that...we thought it was 3.5 max! So we were in Gwangju pretty early ready to welcome them. We took some time to shop at E-mart for some essentials and then around 8:30 we got some ice cream and sat down at the arrivals gate at the bus terminal! At that point, we thought we had about an hour till they arrived, so we sat and watched many busses arrive and people come through the doors. We were getting really excited at about 9:30, thinking they were going to step through the door anytime now. With no communication since about 6pm, we assumed they had got on a bus and didn’t have wifi anymore, but that they should be there anytime! So we waited...and waited... but after 9:30 came and went, we started to get worried! What if they couldn’t find the bus? What if they got held up in customs? How are we ever going to find them?! Well an hour later, a bus pulled into the station with the words Incheon Airport-->Gwangju on it and we saw them hop off the bus! We were so relieved and so happy to see them!
Tracking their flight!
Got ice cream while we waited!
We got their bags and headed up to Burger King to have some food before going back to Hwasun. Tyler and I had just ate there that evening, so the workers probably thought it was funny that we were back again! They enjoyed their food and we heard all about their flight! They both were in first class, just like we were coming to Korea, so it was fun to compare experiences! We then went out to the street to find a taxi. We found one easily, but we weren’t so sure it was going to work with all 4 of us and luggage! The luggage barely fit in the trunk (the trunk was wide open the whole time!) and we even had a suitcase sitting on our laps in the back! Not to mention our shopping bags from E-mart and their carry-ons! It was a very cramped taxi ride but, this is Korea!! We were worried the whole time that the luggage might just fly out the back, especially on the highway! But thankfully, it was all safe!
We found them! :)
When we arrived in Hwasun, we gave them the grand tour of our apartment and they unloaded about a whole suitcase of goodies for us! We were given bags of chocolate chips, some cookie dough mix, christmas candy, marshmallows, my new Taylor Swift C.D, shoes, clothes, ranch and italian salad dressing and lots more! It was like Christmas in November! We then lead them to our spare apartment a few blocks away. So we helped them lug their luggage down the streets of Hwasun and showed them their new home for the next week! It was about 12:30am by that time and we all were exhausted, so it was time for bed!
Look at all those wonderful things! So happy!
The next morning they came over and we ate rice pancakes, bacon, and eggs! We also got to start watching some of our wedding video together (which they brought to us as well!). After breakfast it was time to head downtown Gwangju! We chose to go downtown that day since they needed to learn how to get around by themselves and it’s a fun place to go, of course!
Had to take them to our favorite Churro place..."BIG Churro"
Snacks anyone?
Downtown Gwagju!
As we walked around downtown they got to experience the busy crowded city of Gwangju! We saw the fun food carts selling everything from bowls of corn to dried octopus tentacles! We looked around the many fun little shops here and even convinced Tim to buy a selfie stick (which like we’ve said before, we think they are silly but so very helpful, therefore, no shame!).
For lunch we tried some “express” Korean food which included a pork cutlet stuffed with cheese, a fried fish fillet, and some mandu! We wouldn’t call this traditional Korean food, but it was good!
Korean food experience #1!
Later day we took a walk around Hwasun up to the reservoir! It was beautiful up there with the leaves all different colors. We got some pretty photos! That night we enjoyed pizza from our favorite pizza place and enjoyed watching an episode of The Amazing Race together! It felt like we were at home all together again doing the things we always used to do! Very fun! <3
Our cute little city!
The reservoir!
Unfortunately, the next day we had to go back to work! But Tim and Donna had fun exploring on their own! They were very adventurous and didn’t waste time getting out there and doing things! They explored Unjusa Temple, a unique temple in the county of Hwasun. What they didn’t know is that it was going to rain that day, and they got soaked by the sudden rainstorm that occurred! So, they bought an extra umbrella after that experience! After their morning of exploring they bravely got on the bus we had showed them the day before and headed out to Tyler’s school in Iyang (I-young). I remember how nerve wracking it was the first day taking Tyler to his school, not really knowing where we were going or where to get off, so I give major props to them for doing it! At Tyler’s school they met the middle school staff, and had tea with them, met the high school staff, and drank tea with them, and then finally met the principal of the school, and enjoyed some more tea with him as well! Haha! They got to tour the school with Ty before they all got separated into different teachers cars and transported to our next stop, dinner! One of Tyler’s co-teachers came to get me at my school and then we drove to the restaurant. Tyler’s English co-teachers wanted to treat us all to dinner, which was very kind of them, so we were treated to a wonderful meal! Dinner was a very beautiful and extensive combination of dishes! It was very traditional food with a modern twist. We really didn’t know much of what we were eating, but we each found some things we enjoyed! The food just kept coming! After one session was done, the waitresses would clear the table and re-set it again with more! There were definitely a few dishes we weren’t so keen on, like whole cooked fish (with eyes!), but I even got Tim to try a bite! ;) After dinner we went to the upstairs room where there were pretty couches and tables and we enjoyed some more* tea together. It was a nice time to chat with them and we thanked them again for their generosity!
Brothers!
This is his "your making me do eat this" face. ;)
The next day Tim and Donna had planned to come to my travel school with me! They were just supposed to come for a few hours and be back in Hwasun for lunch! This little adventure turned out to be a much longer time commitment than expected...here’s the story! We left for the bus at 7:05 and got to school at 8:05! We had a long time to prep as my first class doesn’t start until 9am. So they helped me cut out some activities and I taught them the games we were playing for the day. Around 9:45 we went downstairs to “Take a bow,” which is my normal daily routine here. We went to the teachers room, bowed and said good morning and then went to the principal’s office. He wasn’t there at the time, but we were told to sit down anyways and wait (because that’s not awkward). Lol. But a few minutes later he came in all happy and slightly surprised to see us sitting there. The principal at this school is so nice and can speak a little english! He was so excited that they came to the school with me and wanted to visit more so we were all brought tea from the secretary and had a little conversation with him. At this point, we only had 10 min until class begin but we continued to talk. Then, 5 min until class begin, my co-teacher, Hye-Ji, came in to take a bow, and she saw us sitting there! So she sat down as well and we continued talking. This would probably never happen in the US, as teachers would need to be in the classroom preparing for the students, but, this is Korea! At the end, the principal asked to take Tim and Donna on a tour of the school (by themselves!) so they came up to see the first 10 minutes of my 3rd grade class and then were pulled out to go on the tour! They got to meet all 40 of the students the the school (including kindergarten!) and walked all around! They were also informed that the computer room was being remodeled to be the English room (since I teach in the library!). They knew before I did! Haha! They came back just in time for 4th grade and were able to stay the whole time for that class! They did a great job playing the game with the students (there are only four 4th graders, so we each had 1 as our partner!) and my students had fun with them there! After class it was time to see them off to the bus stop. Though I wasn’t sure when the bus would come, I was pretty confident that I’ve seen/heard my bus pass through the town a few times a day, so I figured maybe a half out max and it would be there. They walked down the street and there they stood for THREE HOURS! I had taught 2 periods of 6th grade and ate lunch in the time they had been standing there! My co-teacher and I had no idea they were there for that long! We were just chatting in the staff room when a teacher told my co-teacher (in Korean) that she saw them at the bus stop. We both were confused and asked “You mean you saw them this morning?” and they said no, right now! Hye-ji (my co-teacher) and I about had a panic attack and ran down the street to discover them still standing there! We couldn’t believe it! I felt so terrible! They hadn’t ate any lunch and had been standing out in the cold for so long! We brought them back inside and the teachers there quickly cut up a persimmon for them and gave them some sweet snacks to eat along with some tea (since lunch was over and there was no more food to serve). We finally found out that the bus wouldn’t come again until after 2pm! So in the meantime, they came up to my class again and watched/helped out with 5th grade until they needed to leave again. It was quite the adventure for them and I definitely know it wasn’t the most fun, but their positive attitudes and ability to find humor in the situation was amazing! I’m happy to say that they finally did catch the bus and go home safely!
The next few days we spent the evenings preparing for Thanksgiving! Donna and I made homemade pumpkin pie together and Tyler and Tim picked up the last few items for our dinner!
Didn't have a pastry cutter, so we used a fork! We REALLY made this homemade!
The Pie Makers!
We even took them out to traditional Korean BBQ!
And our favorite pasta place of course!
Mmm...pasta!
On Thursday, Tim and Donna went to downtown Gwangju again to go to the First Alleyway Restaurant to pick up our Turkey dinner! This restaurant is a foreigner restaurant downtown that serves the most authentic western food in the area! They had an amazing thanksgiving special that allowed us to purchase a turkey and they would stuff and cook it for us! They even carved the turkey, made us gravy, and packed everything up for us in a very nice way for us to take home! Unfortunately, it all came a giant cooler that Tim had to carry through downtown Gwangju and onto the bus! Thank you Tim! :D When we all got home from work/Gwangju the fun began! Tyler peeled and cooked the potatoes, Donna and I made green bean casserole, we all helped decorate and set the table. Brad and Maranda even joined us and brought a delicious salad, stuffing, fruit, and punch! We had a wonderful time eating a traditional thanksgiving dinner together and sharing lots of stories! We are so thankful for such great friends and family and the ability to celebrate our holiday even in another country! Everything turned out wonderfully, even our homemade pumpkin pies! :)
We borrowed Brad and Maranda's table to make sure we all fit! Dinner was in the living room/bedroom!
Pretty fall flowers Tim and Donna picked up on their hike!
Thanksgiving in Korea!
Yay for delicious food!
Everyone! :)
Our homemade pies! One pie was made with homemade pumpkin puree and the other with canned/pre-spiced puree.
So good! :)
The next day, Friday began the last part of their trip, which was a visit to Seoul! Tyler is working on writing that so stay tuned for part 2! :) In the meantime, if you haven't seen our latest YouTube videos, check them out! :)
Well it’s been almost a month since we’ve last posted
(woops!). After our Seoul trip we quickly got back into our normal school
schedule and have kept very busy since!
A few fun and not so fun things have happened in the last
month:
1~We baked sugar cookies with our Saturday middle
school class. They enjoyed baking and were shocked at how much butter and sugar
were in the cookies. It was a struggle to bake with the butter because it was
so cold the butter was very hard! So they had a challenge measuring and creaming the butter but it was funny
to watch! They really enjoyed using the cookie cutters and knives to
create their own shapes. We had them try our favorite canned vanilla frosting
and they hated it! I’m not sure why, maybe it was too sweet? But they enjoyed
eating the cookies fresh from the oven! Most Koreans have never baked before so it was fun giving them this experience!
Baking in sweatshirts because it's so cold!
Attempting to measuring the butter!
It took teamwork to cream the butter and sugar, but they did it!
This girl was creating the letters "EXO" as a dedication to her favorite K-Pop band.
Pretty cookies! They chose the colors....
It was a fun experience!
2~ We went to our towns “Mum Festival” where they
had many types of mum flowers in different arrangements. It was a free festival
and we enjoyed walking around the little park area looking at the different
flowers!
Our apartment building in the distance!
Pretty flowers!
It's definitely fall!
Beautiful tree!
The "Hwasun" mascot.
3~ We got sick. This was a not so fun thing. Tyler
came down with a pretty bad cold and a few days later I got a few of those
symptoms (not a bad cold though thankfully!). We were grateful for our stash of
cold medicine and throat drops! We even got to go to the Korean pharmacy to get
cough medicine. It was easy as we just role-played fake coughing and the
Pharmacist knew just what to give us! It worked really well too and was very
cheap!
4~ We attended our church’s worship night and
really enjoyed that time! It was on a Saturday night and they even fed us a
pizza dinner before hand. We met some new people and really liked the speakers
and songs that were sung.
5~ We got an oven! This was a wonderful addition to
our kitchen! It has been so fun (and comforting) to be able to bake again.
We’ve baked cookies and banana bread for our schools so far and have had a lot
of fun with it! We bought this oven from another English teacher whose contract
was up and was leaving Korea. We are so grateful she sold it to us for a low
price and even gave us a bunch of her extra baking supplies!
Isn't it cute? I call it my "Easy Bake Oven"
Banana Bread! It was a hit at my travel school!
Anyways…by the title of this blog post your probably
thinking we’re about to rant about the terrible culture shock we’ve experienced
and are experiencing! But actually, we are writing to day to tell about the
fun, interesting, and yes, different things that make the Korean culture
unique. None of the things we are about to talk about are meant to be offensive
or rude. We are simply documenting our experiences so that we can inform everyone and
record them for the future! Each culture has aspects to it that do not make
sense to foreigners (you know how many time’s I’ve been asked by a Korean about
certain American customs?) and each culture does things differently. We came to
Korea knowing and understanding that things would be different and that has by
far been the best thing we could have done for ourselves. We try to have a open
mind and positive attitude towards new and different experiences and so far,
that has really helped. Here’s a list of some cultural differences!
Val Teacher and Tyler Teacher: This is
something we totally forgot to blog about in the first few posts. Instead of
calling teachers Mr. Mansour or Mrs. Mansour they call you by your first name +
teacher! So we are Val Teacher and Tyler Teacher.
At first it was hard to get used to calling ourselves by our
first names, since in our culture we call teachers by their last names, but we
got used to it eventually. Many of
Tyler’s students now just call him “teacher” or “Tyler” but my elementary
students are very keen on the “Val Teacher” name.
Bus culture: So
many people ride the bus in Korea. From kids to very (VERY) old people, the bus
is a main transportation system for all types of people. Early on we figured
out that middle school and high school kids ride the bus to get to school, so
sometimes the bus is so crowded and we are so squished. Other times, we can
have the bus all to ourselves for a period of time. In Korea, it is basically
mandatory that if a person who is older than you gets on the bus (and there are
no other seats available) you give us your seat. If someone else beats you to
it, then you don’t have to, but it is seen as respectful towards your elders.
This “respect” rule unfortunately doesn’t apply as a foreigner and/or a
teacher. As much as we are respected in the classroom, we definitely do not get
seat preference on the bus, nor do we get preference on getting on the bus!
It’s always a mad dash to get on the bus in the morning and everyday is interesting!
Something else we find interesting about busses is how many older people actually
use the bus. These people are generally very old, have the typical hunched over
back (and when we say hunch we mean sometimes we see 90 degree hunches!) and
are still getting around! It’s amazing to see them so active in the community.
Not only are they getting around, but they are carrying bags of produce to see
at the market. People hear are proud of their independence and we love seeing
that!
This was our Monday ride. Tyler estimated about 60 people on this bus. Thankfully that only lasts for the first 10 minutes or so.
No drinks at lunch:
Something we find funny is that there are no drinks served for lunch. Instead,
students have their milk as a snack in their classroom sometime during the
morning. All the students and teachers seem to be ok with this and they do not
need a drink during their meal. However, we are not ok with that. We both have
to bring our water bottles to lunch everyday for this reason. It’s not a big
deal at all, just interesting!
Open windows, open
doors: This is probably by far the most confusing cultural aspect to us. In
the summer the windows and doors were kept open all day to let air flow (since
schools do not have air-conditioning, or heating for that matter). This made
sense and was perfectly fine with me! Then it started to get much colder,
especially in the mornings, yet all the doors and windows in the school were
STILL open!I’ve asked why once,
and the answer I received was that Koreans believe that having the doors and
windows open let’s the sprits flow.So we deal with it. We now have to wear our jackets and long underwear during
the school day to keep warm. It may be time upgrade our jackets too! Winter is
definitely here! Thankfully, at my home school I have a personal heater I can
use at my desk (yay) and small blankets are also commonly used in the school.
My new best friend. This personal heater is a life saver!
No shoes at school:
We’ve talked a few times about how we wear slip on sandals at school instead of
shoes. This was really fun and interesting in the beginning when we arrived and
it was summer time. The weather was warm and it was nice to wear sandals around
during the day. However, now that is it cold, our feet are cold too! We have
been on the hunt for thicker socks so that we can keep warm! Now that it’s
“Boot season” I’ve really wanted to wear my boots to school, that would be much
warmer! I am now seeing some teachers wear more slipper like shoes (you know,
the ones with the fur inside?) and I’m thinking that might be a good idea!
Car Seats: In the
US, child car seat laws are widely agreed upon and basically universally
followed. In Korea, not so much. It is amazing to me to see so any children without
car seats! Not only that I have seen many children, including toddlers sitting
in the front seat of a car! This always makes me feel uneasy but it’s a
cultural thing that is out of my control!
The Ajumma culture:
The older women in the culture arecalled Ajumma’s and are highly respected, as they are our elders. They
are strong, independent workers of society.Most of them still farm and sell their crops on the busy
streets of Hwasun or the side of the country roads. It’s pretty amazing to see
as they are obviously old enough to be retired and relaxing at home, but
instead they are trying to make a living! We found out that one reason is
because they were in the generation that was not able to get social security
benefits or anything of the sort, mostly because they are generally farmers,
and because that system was not set up for them at the time. These older people are very strong and
independent. I’ve seen many older people carrying heavy bags, pulling heavy
carts, or even carrying heavy bags of produce on their heads! It’s incredible! It
can also be sad at times seeing these women selling things on the street from
their farm, knowing that they are not making a great living.
This woman is carrying a large bag of dried red peppers on her head. She is on the way to our towns "Traditional Market" to sell them.
It's very common for them to push carts around to transport their crops, but old baby strollers seem to work as well!
Garbage Cans: We
noticed early on that public garbage cans are a rarity in Korea. It is hard to
find someplace to throw your snack wrapper or drink cup away while walking on
the street. So instead of placing it in a garbage can, people actually create
garbage piles in certain spots. Sometimes there are full garbage bags sitting
on the side of the street that people also put their trash around. The streets can
get pretty bad and have lots of these piles all over yet sometimes trash is
non-existent. It’s very interesting. One cool thing we saw in Seoul was that
there was a big festival one day that went late into the night. As we were
walking back from our hotel we saw garbage and bottles every where. The next
morning we got up early to go to the bus station and saw many workers cleaning
up the street. We were glad someone was cleaning it up but surprised there were
actually people doing it!
Across the street from our apartment. I'm sure within 48 hours it was gone, but still interesting!
Volleyball: Every
Wednesday, most public school teachers around Korea play volleyball after
school. The main reason is for staff bonding time. At Tyler’s school, he has
the option to play or not to play depending on his schedule. At my school, I am
required to play. Tyler’s school is more for fun and has a relaxed environment,
but my school is a little more competitive. At my school we have only played
twice since I started due to many reasons such as principals on business trips,
holidays, testing, and so on. It’s an interesting cultural aspect, but really
goes along with how Koreans enjoy and feel it is important to spend time
together.
Neungju volleyball day.
Squat Toilets:
Although these are not as common as I’m sure they used to be, squat toilets
were somewhat of an actual culture shock for me. I knew about them, but in my
ignorant mind, I didn’t actually think I would encounter them. Nope! Day 1 of
being at my school I knew that I had bathrooms right next to my classroom. I
was so happy about that because that’s obviously very convenient! I walked into
the stall and there it was, a squat toilet! I checked every other stall just in
case there was another western style toilet, but there wasn’t. So that was an
experience, but thankfully I found out that there are western style toilets on
the first floor, and all is well now. I see squat toilets every once in a while now in certain places, but for the
most part, western toilets are more common.
Squat toilet at Neungju.
Toilet Paper:
Speaking of bathroom stuff…another difference in cultures is about toilet
paper. It is very common here not to flush your toilet paper. Instead, you throw it away in a small trash can next to the toilet. The reason for this is that the pipes and sewer systems were not strong enough for toilet paper to be flushed.
Also, squat toilets cannot handle toilet paper at all. So it became custom to just throw it away. Though this is very common, it is generally
safe to flush your toilet paper in new buildings if you’re using a western
style toilet. Tyler and I generally do not participate in this custom in public
or at home, but it is interesting difference.
There are so many more interesting things to write about but
we will have to collect another list later!
We can’t believe it’s the middle of November already and in
no time it will be December! Time is flying by! Tim and Donna (Tyler’s mom and
brother) will be arriving here in Hwasun this coming Saturday! We could not be more excited! Also, my sister is due with my new nephew Bennett Morgan in just about a week and I cannot wait for him to come into this world! :) We can't wait to blog about all of that later! For now we
are preparing our home for our guests, getting our thanksgiving ingredients together, and
enjoying our time here in Korea!
Here are a few videos from our Seoul trip, how we do laundry in Korea, and our surprise first dance from our wedding! :)
We hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy and warm! :)
