Cultural Difference - Child Abuse / Child Neglect

Last week, I was talking with a Korean friend of mine. She told me a story like this:

"Sara, did you hear about the news last week? In America, there was a man that was a preacher at a church. One morning, he had to go to a meeting very early and his young child was still sleeping. So he left his child at home sleeping while he went to the meeting. Later, while the man was at the meeting, the child woke up and was crying and couldn't find his parents. So the child went outside and was crying and looking around for his parents, then a neighbor saw him and called the police. Isn't that surprising?"

Let me pause my story to reference the story she was talking about.

After she told me the story, I was feeling a bit shocked as well...but as I thought about further discussion with her, I knew we would have different reasons for being surprised at this story.

So I asked her, "Which part of the story is surprising to you? That the man left his child home alone, or that the neighbor called the police when they found the child?"

And this is where the cultural difference comes into this story. For me, an American with Western beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the man left his young child at home alone while he went to church. For her, a Korean with Eastern beliefs, the shocking part of the story was that the neighbor called the police and ultimately, the parents were arrested.

I tried to explain to her that in America, there are many different reason we might call the police in this situation, i.e. someone could have snatched the kid, the parents could have been neglecting the kid, etc. Still she was quite in shock that this story even happened and that it made it's way all that way to CNN in Korea. (I'm pretty sure it aired because the couple in the story is Korean.)

All of this being said, I thought it was a good time to discuss the cultural difference regarding child abuse/neglect in Korea and America. I first learned about this a few months ago when I was talking with a co-worker of mine. I asked her if there is such a thing as child abuse in Korea. She looked at me a little funny and told me that isn't a matter that is dealt with by officials in Korea. From my understanding after our conversation, Korea views child abuse and likes as a private home matter and they won't intervene on issues like that. To me, of course, I was completely shocked...especially after having a friend that works for CPS in Texas and knowing how often officials must intervene with this stuff at home.

Do I still think Korea is a much safer place that America? Definitely! Do I think abuse happens in Korea even though it isn't reported? Of course! Will I continue to find cultural differences in Korea and America no matter how long I'm here? For sure!

Home for the Holidays

This holiday season, I was so lucky to get to return home for two weeks to spend time with my family and friends (another plus for working at public school in Korea)! I had just been home two months prior for my nephew's birth, but even still, I was super excited to get a 'real' Christmas this year.

Of course, I was so happy to see Landon and all of his amazingness (is that a word?)! He had grown so much in two months, and it only makes me realize when I see him in 10 months from now, he's going to be a completely different baby! I took so many pictures of me with my wonderful nephew, so here are a few:

Isn't he just adorable??! I sure do think so!!

Besides visiting with Landon, I also did my usual trip to Abilene to see my aunt and cousin there! My cousin Alichia's daughters are growing up so much too! It feels like yesterday when Abby was born, and now she's already three!! I can't believe it! I expectedly got to help Alichia paint both of the girls' rooms...it was hard work, but the end result was worth it! So because we were so busy, I didn't get to see the girls much, but I did get a minute with them! Here are the pictures I was able to snap:

Along with seeing family, I got to catch up with two of my besties! I hadn't seen Jennifer since she was pregnant with Judson, and he celebrated his first birthday a couple weeks before I saw him. He is such a sweet baby and I was so glad to finally meet him!

I also met up with Kami in Oklahoma City for some quality girl time and a basketball game. It was my first NBA game in a while, and it was Kami's first ever NBA game! The Thunder lost the game, but it was still a nice time! 

And one of the most exciting things was getting my new Mac!! I had been waiting to long to get a new computer and it was such a happy day for me to go to the Apple Store and get the MacBook Pro!!! Hopefully that'll help with updating my blogs!

That pretty much wraps up my trip at home! It was a wonderful time! I'll leave you with a few more pictures of Landon! :)

Meet My Nephew!!

I returned home in October between my contracts in order to be home for a very important event...the birth of my nephew! It was quite an exciting time, and since I'd been away for the entirety of my sister's pregnancy, I was excited to get home for the main event!!

The whole trip was kept a secret for everyone except my mom and dad...so it was super fun getting to surprise everyone! I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off with Facebook and a mother that lets things slip at times, but it all happened as planned! So because it was a surprise, I was just hoping that my nephew would decide to grace us with his presence while I was home. I knew my sister would be induced, but the date was still up in the air...leaving me feeling quite anxious...and her, too, I'm sure!

After all was said and done, Mr. Landon Pesi joined our world on Friday, October 21, 2011, around 3pm. He was welcomed through C-section (not originally planned) into the arms of my older sister, Stephanie, and her husband, Shahveer. It was quite a happy day for our family as we met the first grandchild for our parents. A glorious moment, indeed!

The first thing that was definitely noticeable was that dark head of hair...so cute! I'm pretty sure I was bald until about the age of five! Haha! While others did the 'his nose, her mouth...' stuff, I opted out since I am not good at all of that! As he grows, I'm sure I'll be able to point out some similarities!

With the birth being in my first week home, I was able to spend another week with the little man before I had to head back to Texas. It was incredible watching the teamwork between my sister and brother-in-law, along with the sleep deprivation! I'm not sure there's anything better in the world than holding an itty-bitty baby!

I can't wait to watch this little man grow up and have lots of super fun aunt-nephew moments with him!

A Year Already??!!

Can you believe it??! It's already been a year since I returned to Korea for my second stint. Today officially ended my first contract at Tongyeong Elementary School and tomorrow officially starts my second one! I really can't get a grip on the fact that it's already been a year! The year has flown by with lots of wonderful memories and amazing friends.

Last week, I met with the principal to sign my contract for October 2011-2012! Later in the week, I went to the immigration office to renew my visa. And today, I got some songpyeong (filled rice cakes) to celebrate my one year anniversary at the school with my fellow teachers. All of these things are indicating to me that it's been a year, but my mind hasn't quite wrapped itself around that idea yet!

So here I am...starting my new contract tomorrow with an end date of October 14, 2012. The process of deciding whether to stay or not was a really long and stressful one, but today, it feels like I made the right decision. I can't imagine saying goodbye today, instead of saying "Whoo-hoo, one more year!"

So here's too another year...may it be as full of blessings as the first!! ^^

Jinju Lantern Festival

This past Saturday was the first day of the Jinju Namgang Yuneung Festival...commonly refered to as the Jinju Lantern Festival. I remember this happening or having just ended when I got here last year, so I was super excited to make my way to the festival this year! Jinju has a beautiful river front that made a great backdrop for the event!

I headed up to Jinju a little earlier than most of the foreigners in Tongyeong, because I had food on my mind!! My first stop in Jinju was Starbucks!! I don't mind, and actually love the coffee shops in Tongyeong, but there's something about Starbucks that makes me happy!! After that, I walked a bit down the street to Valance Burgers...a legit burger place in Jinju! I was full and happy, and then I headed down to the festival!

Since I got there before the peak time (which is at night for this festival), I had the pleasure of walking around without hoards of people all around me! It was nice to do some shopping and picture taking before the place got packed! Here are a few pictures I took during the day:

Most people actually showed up to this festival at night...which makes sense because the lanterns are all lit and they're much prettier to see in the dark. I don't have a very good night camera, so I just took a few pictures of the displays. Here's a pretty one that I liked:

There was also a wonderful fireworks show at night, which is actually the main reason I went. I love fireworks!! They have two showing of fireworks during the festival...the night I saw and next Saturday. I might have to see about going again...but we'll see!

It was a wonderful day and I really enjoyed seeing all the sights!