How I Know I Live in a Homogeneous Society

I still remember...4th grade...Mrs. Headstream's class. She was teaching us about homogeneous societies. And while my little small town in Texas didn't offer too much diversity, I couldn't quite understand when she showed us pictures of everyone looking the same...same hair color, similar builds, similar eyes, similar skin color.

Fast forward about 15 years, when I first came to Korea...at that moment, I understood what Mrs. Headstream was teaching us about. Even though it was about 4 years ago, I remember that exact moment I realized...Wow, this IS a homogeneous place. I had gone to a graduation ceremony for several of my students at the hagwon, and as I was standing there, I looked out across the crowds of students and parents. At that moment, I clearly remember thinking, 'Whoa, this place really does lack diversity.'

And in the years that I've lived in Korea, things happen every now and again (some more often than others) that remind me just how homogeneous this place really is.

So, I've compiled a small list of reason why I'd say that Korea is still a homogeneous society. Please consider these are my own opinions and I can't speak for every foreigner that lives in Korea. So here we go...in no particular order:

1. People stare...and not just a little...A LOT! It's like I'm an alien...which to them I am! I think if I had spent the last 40 years of my life never seeing someone like me in person, I'd probably stare out of curiosity too.

2. People get really excited when I use Korea, even if it's only to say 'hello'. I mean, can you imagine if every time a foreigner said "Hello" in English back home, us saying, "Oh wow, your English is so good,"? Yea, I can't either. And, I've traveled to other countries before and used their language for greetings, but I've never had someone say to me that I spoke their language well, after merely a small greeting.

3. I get invited to events, such as weddings, in order to be the 'token foreigner'. I've been to a few weddings this past year, and there have definitely been a few times when I've thought I only got invited to show that the bride had foreign friends.

4. Koreans can identify foreigners in about 0.0001 seconds. I'm just thinking about people I see in America...if I assumed everyone non-white was a foreigner, I'd be in for a real treat. There is so much diversity in the States that it's impossible to assume that someone is a foreigner strictly based on their appearance.

5. Outsiders can never 'really' be apart of the culture. I think even if you've lived in Korea, speak Korea fluently, follow all of the traditions, and so on, as a non-Korean, you would never be accepted fully into the society. Koreans would still call them 'foreigners' and treat them as such.


All of this is not to say that Koreans are not friendly or welcoming to foreigners, actually it's quite the opposite. Most of the people that I encounter are very happy to see foreigners in their country and kind to lend a helping hand if they can. There have been a few situations that have been unpleasant, but mostly, those are with people from the older generations.

Overall, I can see a shift in the Korean culture, but I'd still consider it one of the homogeneous societies of the world!

Tokyo - Days 2 & 3

The second day of my vacation in Tokyo involved a lot of wandering around and a lot of relaxing! 

Since the Skytree was so close to my hotel, I headed there first. Little did I know that it would be packed with people!! I didn't realize that it had just opened a few months before, so it was swarming with people. That being said, I didn't go up to the top, but I did enjoy walking around the area and looking up at the giant beast! 

Then, I headed towards to the river, where I got a nice picture of lanterns hanging along the river. 

From the other side of the river, I was able to get a nice view of the Skytree and the Asahi buildings. Asahi is a Japanese beer that had headquarters in Tokyo. From my understanding, the gold building is supposed to look like a mug of beer. 

Next, I hopped on a boat and headed up the river to the other side of Tokyo. It was about a 40 minute ride and the views were really spectacular!

My final stop on the second day was an onsen, otherwise known as a bathhouse. The bathhouse I went to, Oodeo Onsen Monogatari, was amazing!! It is definitely set up for tourists and people to spend hours there. I actually ended up spending 4 hours there! For a big part of the bathhouse, you are wearing a kimino looking gown and it's coed. In the coed areas, there are foot baths, eating areas, and shopping stalls. The gender separated areas include the bath areas and relaxation rooms. It was incredible! I definitely recommend it!

Day two started with a trip to Shibuya, which was made popular in the movie "Lost in Translation". My first stop was the Sony Building. There, I played with all sorts of gadgets. I mostly stuck with the cameras, but it was fun seeing all the different things!

Outside the subway station, I said hello to Hachiko. If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it. It's such an amazing story of loyalty.

And I walked through Shibuya Crossing, which is said to be the Times Square of Tokyo. There were loads of people!

Later, I headed to the market and caught a picture of some ladies in kimonos...so pretty!

On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at a cat cafe. The owner spoke English really well and was really friendly. In the cafe, she had 17 cats that were waiting to be adopted. I really admired her commitment to the cats. Apparently, Japan has a big problem with strays, but she was helping as best she could. It was a nice stop!

These guys were everywhere around the tourist ares. The pull the carts with 1-2 people around the city. I was mesmorized! I can't imagine doing that....especially in the awful heat!

This street art caught my eye!

And finally, a nice sunset from my hotel window...a lovely day to end the day!

Tokyo - Day 1

For my first week of summer vacation (out of two weeks), I headed to Tokyo for 5 days. Since coming to Korea, I've always wanted to go to Tokyo, and I thought it was finally the time. This was my last vacation period before I return home in October, so I figured I better go before it was too late!

Let me tell you about my first day through pictures!

 When booking my flight, I chose to go with Air Busan. This is a budget carrier in Korea that only flies to a few selected locations, and lucky, Tokyo is one of them. The total price for my flight was about $250 USD. Of course, at check-in, I asked for an exit aisle seat. I was given one and happily entered the aircraft. To my surprise, no one was sitting next to me (you know, in America, the exit rows are like gold!). On my two hour flight, we were given a nice lunch. I was really pleased with the service and flight, and I definitely recommend anyone to fly with them!

From there airport, there are tons of ways to go, but I decided to use the cheapest option (surprise!) which was the 'slow' train from Narita airport to Ueno station. Since my hotel was near Ueno station, it was quite convienent for me! The price for a one-way ticket was 1000 Yen, which is around $14 USD. The train stopped at a lot of stations on the way, but the ride was fine and I was kept cool by the fans on the ceiling!

My hotel (Palace Japan) was near the Minami-Senju train/subway stop, so it was really easy to get around. There was also a nice view of the Tokyo Sky Tree from the hotel, which you can see in the picture. I didn't get any pictures of the actual hotel, but it was really nice and new! I enjoyed my stay there!

After checking in, I went for a walk around the hotel's area. It was dusk and there was a really nice view of the Tokyo Sky Tree. The Sky Tree is huge...and it really sticks out in the city. It's definitely very noticable.

The following pictures are from Senso-ji Temple, which was about a 30-minute walk from my hotel. It is a really nice temple with a really beautiful pagoda, which I love!

On the way back to the hotel, I took a picture of the Sky Tree from the same spot as before. My camera isn't too good for night pictures, but you can get the jist!

The rest of the night I spent looking over the mountain of material that I got from the Tourist Information center at the airport. My tip for anyone that is traveling...ALWAYS stop by the tourist information center. The book I had was about 2 years old, but the information center always has up-to-date information. The lady there was able to tell me so many things that I could NOT have learned in my book, so it was well worth the 10 minutes it took when I landed! Remember that next time you travel! :)

More to come!

Island Camp - Saryang Island

A few weeks ago, I headed to a nearby island, Saryang-do, for a 3-day island camp. I worked a similar camp last year, so this year I was much more prepared and knew what to expect. One thing about teaching in Korea is definitely having flexibility. And if you've known me long, you know I am not usually the most flexible person. This job has definitely taught me to be more flexible and go with the flow more!

I was in charge of teaching the fifth and sixth graders at Saryang Elementary School, and they were wonderful! Because of some renovations at the elementary school, our class was held in the middle school English classroom. 

I tried to make the camp more project-based than the normal class times. The kids came to camp for 7-8 hours a day, so it was my mission to ensure they had a fun time and enjoyed studying English with a foreign teacher (which they normally don't have). 

My favorite project that I do at all of my camps is the egg drop project. It's such a fun time for the kids and lets them incorporate English and science together. 

First, the students got into group and planned their 'egg capsule' for about 10 minutes. 

Then I gave them about 35-40 minutes to build their egg capsule. Each group had the exact same materials, which included a piece of cardboard, a meter of tape, a meter of toilet paper, 2 balloons, a meter of yarn, and of course, an egg. 

After the time was up, each group showed off their egg capsule and we prepared for the drop!

Then, we headed outside with half of the student two-stories above and the other students on the ground to retrieve the eggs. 

Shockingly, NONE of the eggs survived! I couldn't believe it! I've done this project numerous times and about half of the eggs survive, but this time, none of them survived! It was disappointing, but the student still had a really fun time and enjoyed the project!

Another day, I taught the students how to play 'frisbee soccer', so we headed outside to play. The boys really enjoyed the game, but the girls were a bit hot and bored. I guess you can't please everyone!

On the final day of the camp, I set up a 'prize store' to let the students 'cash in' the dollars they had earned during the camp. The students earned the 'dollars' by winning games or showing good effort and other various ways. The student could then use their 'dollars' to buy different supplies in the store. 

Finally, our last project was to give a presentation about their island. It was a bit difficult for some of them, but my co-teacher and I tried to help when needed. They ended up doing a nice job and showing really good effort. 

Overall, the camp was a great success, and I was really pleased with the outcome. I think the students had a nice time and had fun learning English, which was the goal!

LASIK in Korea

This post serves to remember/share my experience with getting LASIK eye surgery in Korea.

June 23 - I talked with a fellow Tongyeonger about her experience with LASIK in Korea. I knew she had gotten the surgery a few months prior, so I was really interested to know how it went. She told me about her clinic (Good Morning St. Mary's in Busan) and told me just how amazing it was. She let me know about the procedure, costs, and overall experience. After talking with her, I felt like I didn't need to wait until summer vacation (as I had previously thought) because the recovery time is only 2-3 days...meaning if I did it on a Friday afternoon, then I would be able to go back to work on Monday!

June 29 - I called Good Morning St. Mary's in Busan and made an appointment for a LASIK consultation. They let me know that it'd take about two hours for the whole process.

June 30 - I headed to Busan for my LASIK consultation. It was quite easy to get to the clinic...I was able to take the bus to Sasang station, then the subway directly to Seomyeon. The map made it really easy to find the place, especially since it was really close to the subway exit (#13). When I walked in, I was really surprised! The place was huge! It was so fancy! And there were lots of ladies at the front desk. They greeted me by name and were expecting me, which was quite comforting. I filled out a few forms (general information) and then started the examination process. It consisted of a large variety of eye tests...measuring and examining and checking out my eyes. In the final step, my eyes were dilated and then the doctor checked it all out to make sure my eyes would be ok for the surgery. After that, I talked with one of the ladies I had met in the beginning of the appointment and she went through the process with me. She spoke English well and was very helpful with any questions I had. I felt really comfortable about the whole process.

July 6 - Surgery day! My appointment was for 4pm, so I left school early and headed to Busan for the surgery. When I got to the center, the doctor checked my vision again to make sure it was the same as the week before. After that, I waited for a bit until I was ushered into the surgery area. The space was divided into three sections...a waiting area, the actual room with the surgery machines, and a 'recovery' room. The first step was getting a ton of different drops in my eyes. These drops helped numb the area around my eyes and prepare me for surgery. After that, I was led into a room for the actual procedure. I laid down on the first machine and the doctor positioned it over me and told me to look at the star stickers they had placed on the machine. He put some thing in my eye to keep it open so that I couldn't blink during the process. This machine was used to cut my cornea with a laser. (My cornea was too thin to be cut with a blade.) Each eye took about 15 second maybe...it was really fast. Then they led me to the second machine, which was the actual laser machine to correct my vision. I laid down and the doctor put another thing in my eye to keep it open. Then he used some tools to open the flap of my cornea. After it was ready, the laser machine was lowered and I was told to stare at the lights above me. Then they started the machine, and I swear it only lasted a few seconds! I couldn't believe it when they told me it was finished! After that, the doctor replaced the cornea and smoothed it out before going on to the other eye. It was SOOO fast! I couldn't believe it! I had read that it smells like burning hair when the laser is correcting your vision, which was true. It did smell like that! After that, I was escorted to the recovery room, full of recliners, and told to sit with my eyes closed and just wait. After about 30 minutes, one of the clinic workers took me to my motel to sleep! It was that easy! I could see after the surgery, but not clearly. It was quite blurry at first. At the motel, I just tried to keep my eyes closed as much as possible and rest my eyes. I found that I was pretty sensitive to the light on that first night...so I pretty much just listened to some podcasts with my eyes closed and tried to sleep.

July 7 - The day after my surgery, I had an appointment with the doctor at 10am, so I woke up after a comfortable night of sleep. I had to sleep with some eye protectors on my eyes so that I wouldn't touch my eyes, but they didn't hinder the sleeping process! My vision was still pretty blurry, but not so much that I couldn't get around. It kind of felt like I was walking around without my glasses, so my instinct was to put on my glasses, but that wouldn't work since the prescription was way too strong now. I was able to walk around and go have breakfast before my appointment. At the appointment, the doctor checked my eyes closely to make sure they were doing alright and then I was on my way! It was short and sweet! After that, I went to the store to do a little shopping and then headed back to Tongyeong on the bus. I tried to rest my eyes a bit, but they weren't hurting or anything. When I got back to Tongyeong, I came home and was able to watch TV and relax. I even met up with some friends for dinner, and there weren't any problems.

July 8 - Still a little blurry vision, but it was getting better. I could watch TV and use the computer a little bit. I was able to walk my dog, Riley, and function normally.

July 9 - I went to work without any major problems. My vision was still a bit blurry, but nothing that hindered me from going back to work. I could still see just fine, but I just had to focus a bit more than before. The doctor said at my appointment that it would take some time for my eyes to adjust so I'm not worried!

July 14 - I went back to Busan for my one week checkup. The doctor said everything looks good and my cornea is very clear. He just said to keep using the medicated eyedrops until they run out and then I'm good! He also said to keep using the artificial tears pretty often to keep my eyes wet. Besides that, he said my vision should continue to sharpen and to come back for my 3-month check in October!

High School Camp (2nd Time Around)

Busy, busy, busy! That's all I can say to describe my life lately! It's almost JUNE!!!! Can you believe it!?! I know I can't! 

What's been keeping me busy, you might ask!? The main thing is a 6-week high school camp at a local private girls school in town. I worked this same type of camp about a year ago, and I was super excited to get the opportunity to do it again!!

A couple of weeks ago, we did a music lesson and listened to one of my favorite artists, Jack Johnson. We then drew pictures to go with the lyrics of the song, and I put it all together in a video for the girls. Check it out below!

More to come!

Lonely - The Irony

"Are you lonely?" It's a question I hear a lot from Koreans.

You see, Koreans aren't used to living alone. Most of them live with their parents until they're married, and then they live with their spouses.

So when they found out I live alone, they all ask the same thing, "Are you lonely?" But I always say the same thing, "No, not at all!" And it's the way I feel. Even before I got Riley, I didn't really think of myself as being lonely. I have always had someone that I can hang out with or call up if I needed. But also, I value my alone time. I grew up in a different house than my sisters, so I've always known how to handle myself when I'm not surrounded by others. It doesn't bother me...and actually, I quite like having 'me' time!

I've heard before that it's possible to feel completely alone even when you're surrounded by a crowd of people. I never knew that feeling until I came to Korea. And today it happened again, hence the reason for this blog entry.

Today I traveled to a small town outside of Tongyeong to watch our teachers compete against other local schools in a volleyball competition. I didn't have anyone to go with, so I took the bus alone (no problem) and when I arrived, I sat by some teachers that I'm pretty friendly with. Well, when it was time for them to go warm up for their volleyball match, the space around me freed up. Some other teachers (older women) came to sit down, but I could understand them saying in Korea how they didn't want to sit by me because they couldn't speak English.

In that moment, the 30 or so minutes that I was sitting there, I couldn't help but feel so lonely, even though I was in a gym full of people.

To me, it struck me as so ironic that Koreans are always so concerned about me being lonely and not having anyone with me, but in that moment, I was completely isolated from the group of teachers. The teachers that 'shut me out' are not ones that I'm close with, nor are they teachers that I've had any interaction with...so I'm not taking it personally. I know that if it were any foreigner sitting there, they would have done the same thing.

It's just ironic to me...that's all.

April Happenings

It's hard to believe that April is almost over. Time is quickly racing by and I don't quite know how to feel about that! I just really can't believe it's already about to by May in a couple of days!! Wow!! 

On that note, here is the last month for me in pictures...

Riley and I out for one of our many walk on the seaside.

Cherry blossoms in full bloom against the night sky.

Liz, Riley, and I at the Tongyeong Cherry Blossom Festival

 I couldn't get enough of these amazing trees!

Sunset at the pier...a great reminder of why I love Tongyeong so much!

A small bout of food poisoning is a way to damper anyone's free holiday off (April 11...Election day in Korea)

My wonderful friend, Eujin's, wedding

Jinju for the day to see Sara and Ruby

Riley and I experienced a new (to us) park in Tongyeong...WonMun Park.

 Beautiful spring flowers everywhere!!

 Riley got a haircut for the warmer temps outside...oh my little man!

Busan to see Eujin and Gon in their new apartment as a married couple!

Lotte Giants game with lots of Tongyeong friends.