Yesterday was the first day of class, and it was immersive. We walked in, insa-ed the teacher as we had been taught (i.e. by stopping in the doorway, performing a full 90-degree bow, and saying, *an-nyeong-ha-se-yo*), and she began to speak to us in Korean. Since she is our written language teacher, occassionally she would speak a word of English here or there, but for the most part, she just spoke Korean at us and used hand gestures to get across meaning. This was sometimes frustrating, especially for some of the Fulbrighters who didn't realize that this IS an imersion program, but we managed, mostly because we were just reviewing the alphabet (hanguel) yesterday.
For those who don't know, Hanguel is a phonetic written language system consisting of 24 characters (10 vowels, or mo-eum, and 14 consonants, ja-eum). These are arranged in ideographic boxes that are read left to right, top to bottom. For instance, my name in Hanguel is 제레미 (Jeremy), and ㅈis a consonant and ㅔ acts as a vowel (it is actually a double vowel) in the first character box. This gets more complicated in a word like 안녕하세요 (an-nyeong-ha-se-yo), where ideographs can have 3 characters in them, and I have already seen up to four characters in a single box, though I think that's the max. Not that I really expect you to learn Hanguel from this paragraph, but I just wanted you to know how different it was.
So that was two hours of class. Repetition of the vowel and consonant sounds, trying our best to distinguish between the very similar "o" sounds in the language, etc. (My Greek has actually helped a tremendous amount in distinguishing between these, because often the sounds are very similar to the difference between the omicron and the omega. Thank you, Professor K.!) For homework? More repetition (very Kierkegaardian of us) in the form of a workbook in which we were to rewrite all the vowels and consonants several times. The workbook, incidentally, was a gift from the teacher. It is a gift giving culture, but I guess that doesn't mean that the gifts can't come with some responsibility.
Our second two hours were spent on learning basic Korean conversation. Yesterday's lesson specifically dealt with a full insa, which I suppose can include all of the introductory conversation one might have (i.e. Hello, my name is _____. I am an American from St. Louis. Pleasure to meet you.). This teacher *never* spoke English, and we were expected to parrot back whatever she said to us. Perhaps it is because I have an undiscerning ear for the language at this point, but I swear the careful pronunciation we had practiced in the previous class went out the window in the second class! Ah, well. I suppose there will be exceptions to the rule. Homework for this class (as I understand it, she was speaking Korean after all) is to be able to introduce ourselves in Korean to the class today. I will butcher the Korean, but I'm sure I'll survive.
(As I write, a pack of wild dogs has started a cacophany outside my window. My guidebook Fulbright supplied me with says, "KOREA - Where Old Meets New". I certainly sounds like it right now.)
After lunch, it was more class, this time a cultural primer. We learned many of the customs and etiquette we will need to know to not make the situation awkward for our host country (e.g. how to work withing the social hierarchy politely--still very Confucian here, when to pay, when to "fake" refuse, when to really refuse, when to give gifts, how to give gifts), and I imagine I'll hit on the specific of these when those events come up during my homestay. We also learned a bit about Korean history (though it would only amount to an unsatisfying paragraph, at most a page, in a history textbook) and how that effects current culture. For instance, within living memory, people were starving to death in Korea, so a common way to say, "Hello," in Korea is to say, "Have you eaten?" Everything in Korea revolves around eating now, and we are to insist that we are full half way through the meal so that when we are actually full, they will let us go from the table. If we insist too late, i.e. when we are already full, then we will have to eat twice our capacity.
A more interesting cultural facet, however, was the idea of *nunchi* (눈치) and *kibun* (기분). Nunchi is the knack one has (or conceivably doesn't have, probably in my case) for understanding the implicit undertones of a situation and following them. For example, if everyone in the house takes off their shoes before they enter, then the American guest with good nunchi will observe this and follow suit. This creates good kibun, or the atmosphere of good feeling that is shared by the group. Group mentality in Korea is VERY important to understand. Even if one doesn't follow it, they have to know how to not interfere with it. For instance, it's ok for me not to bow in some situations, to wave instead, but I have to know when it won't interfere with the kibun. If I interfere with this, I stand the chance of making everyone uncomfortable.
That's it for today. 안녕히 계세요.
Culinary note: I had a delightful dish called dakgalbi (닥갈비). This was a chicken dish served with cabbage and spicy paste (as most Korean food is), the spiciest I'd had. It also had ddok (떡) in it or rice cakes, which do not look like rice cake at all, really. They were small and cylindrical and had a smooth texture, as if the rice had been ground into paste before cooking. All of this was thrown into a large skillet that sat on the table, and the cook would occassionally come by and stir it until done, at which point we all ate from the skillet with metal chopsticks. (One of my friends in the states commented upon his discovering this that this must be the most uncomfortable experience in the world. I can assure him, it is not. The chopsticks never got hot.) The chicken and vegetables can be wrapped in a lettuce or spearmint leaf, and this is the only time when it is appropriate to eat with one's hands. Chuncheon, where I am living, is famous for its dakgalbi apparently, and I can tell why. The chicken was tender, the vegetables crunchy, and flavor had sufficient kick to get a slight exclamation from me. Dakgalbi is often referred to as Korean BBQ, and it's more common form is made with beef, called simply galbi (갈비). The meal was accompanied by a couple of bottles of soju, full stomachs and good conversation.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Concerning the real day one, or The Longest Thursday of My Life
In the previous post, I talked about the day before the day I discussed as if that were the real day one. This day was Saturday.
It's hard to call this an actual day, as it involved me landing in Inchon at that wee hours of the morning having already lost a day from crossing the international dateline. We then drove the two and a half hours to Chuncheon, passing through Seoul and some marvelous country side. The whole day was a blur for the most part as I had only slept for a few hours on the plane (which means only about 3-4 hours of sleep over a period of two days by the time I was finished on Saturday. Really, it felt like it was a part of Thursday, the day I left St. Louis on a delayed flight to LAX. It was all very surreal. So, this post will concern the longest Thursday of my life.
As I said, we arrived in the wee hours of the morning (around 4:30 am) and it took us a couple of hours to get our bags, get through customs, and make sure everyone had arrived. We were given a little time to mill around the airport and get some breakfast if we wanted (our first meal would be lunch in about 6 hours, and our last meal had been 3 hours before on the plane) and exchange some currency. I skipped the breakfast, opting for the snack they promised on the ride over, which turned out to include some Nutrigrain bars and those Salty Penut bars from Nature's Valley. American food to ease our transition? Probably not, as we had also had shrimp flavored chips.
Upon arriving, we got our room assignments, packets of information with insurance cards, nametags, our weekly spending allowance (35,000 won. I'm rolling in the dough!) and our very own number for the sake of ease in taking attendance. (We shout our numbers in order whereever we assemble, as campers sometimes do at camp, though I usually avoided this as a counselor if possible because, as is happening here, no one pays close enough attention to make it a smooth process.) As I said in a previous entry, I have a roommate, Ray, who wants to find a church in the area as well and knows how to survive in Korea using actual Korean instead of speaking English with a plethora of hand gestures as I do, which by all accounts may be offensive. (I really have no idea, though I'm trying to avoid pointing with my finger. Apparently this is always offensive.)
We were then given instruction on what Fulbright would be like, which was basically a three hour lecture on schedules and extracurricular activities, etc. so we could get through Sunday easily enough. One of the more interesting points on the lecture, though, was that we can't flush toilet paper here. The toilets don't have enough pressure apparently, or wide enough pipes, and can easily be clogged. Instead, we are to place our used t.p. in a little bucket beside the toilet. This is cleaned out eventually, though I'm not sure exactly on what kind of regular basis. As one of the presenters yesterday said, it messes up your rhythm, and I've already had to pull a piece out of the bowl for rhythm's sake. We were also instructed on how to do the most formal bows (insa, in Korean) so we could perform these for our language instructers. We were also told that it would be appropriate for us to do this in the halls as well as a sign of respect (they live in the dorms with us), though we are to refrain from performing full insa in the bathrooms as they would feel obliged to return the curtosy (though not bowing as deep as we are), and it could be awkward if they are brushing their teeth (it requires both hands at the side), or, I imagine, during other bathroom occassions, though these were not mentioned by the orientation team leaders.
I had dinner and turned in around 7:00. This was not necessarily good jet lag wise, but I couldn't stay up any longer. It was, after all, the longest Thursday of my life.
It's hard to call this an actual day, as it involved me landing in Inchon at that wee hours of the morning having already lost a day from crossing the international dateline. We then drove the two and a half hours to Chuncheon, passing through Seoul and some marvelous country side. The whole day was a blur for the most part as I had only slept for a few hours on the plane (which means only about 3-4 hours of sleep over a period of two days by the time I was finished on Saturday. Really, it felt like it was a part of Thursday, the day I left St. Louis on a delayed flight to LAX. It was all very surreal. So, this post will concern the longest Thursday of my life.
As I said, we arrived in the wee hours of the morning (around 4:30 am) and it took us a couple of hours to get our bags, get through customs, and make sure everyone had arrived. We were given a little time to mill around the airport and get some breakfast if we wanted (our first meal would be lunch in about 6 hours, and our last meal had been 3 hours before on the plane) and exchange some currency. I skipped the breakfast, opting for the snack they promised on the ride over, which turned out to include some Nutrigrain bars and those Salty Penut bars from Nature's Valley. American food to ease our transition? Probably not, as we had also had shrimp flavored chips.
Upon arriving, we got our room assignments, packets of information with insurance cards, nametags, our weekly spending allowance (35,000 won. I'm rolling in the dough!) and our very own number for the sake of ease in taking attendance. (We shout our numbers in order whereever we assemble, as campers sometimes do at camp, though I usually avoided this as a counselor if possible because, as is happening here, no one pays close enough attention to make it a smooth process.) As I said in a previous entry, I have a roommate, Ray, who wants to find a church in the area as well and knows how to survive in Korea using actual Korean instead of speaking English with a plethora of hand gestures as I do, which by all accounts may be offensive. (I really have no idea, though I'm trying to avoid pointing with my finger. Apparently this is always offensive.)
We were then given instruction on what Fulbright would be like, which was basically a three hour lecture on schedules and extracurricular activities, etc. so we could get through Sunday easily enough. One of the more interesting points on the lecture, though, was that we can't flush toilet paper here. The toilets don't have enough pressure apparently, or wide enough pipes, and can easily be clogged. Instead, we are to place our used t.p. in a little bucket beside the toilet. This is cleaned out eventually, though I'm not sure exactly on what kind of regular basis. As one of the presenters yesterday said, it messes up your rhythm, and I've already had to pull a piece out of the bowl for rhythm's sake. We were also instructed on how to do the most formal bows (insa, in Korean) so we could perform these for our language instructers. We were also told that it would be appropriate for us to do this in the halls as well as a sign of respect (they live in the dorms with us), though we are to refrain from performing full insa in the bathrooms as they would feel obliged to return the curtosy (though not bowing as deep as we are), and it could be awkward if they are brushing their teeth (it requires both hands at the side), or, I imagine, during other bathroom occassions, though these were not mentioned by the orientation team leaders.
I had dinner and turned in around 7:00. This was not necessarily good jet lag wise, but I couldn't stay up any longer. It was, after all, the longest Thursday of my life.
A letter to Mom
The first full day was good. The Koreans really do have kimchi and rice with every meal, but I'm surviving. I went to play soccer with my roommate, Ray, in the morning, but we couldn't find anyone to play with. He said that there are usually Korean students playing in the early morning to avoid the heat, but we figured no one was out because of the summer session.
They kept us busy schedule wise, so I didn't get to go to Church, although Ray is apparently a pretty devoted Christian, so we're looking into going to a church next weekend when we'll have some free time. I did a devotion this weekend instead and translated some Romans.
We had our language placement exam yesterday. I placed into the beginning level (obviously). We also got our textbooks, which are almost completely in Hanguel (which doubles to mean both the Korean alphabet and Korean itself). It will certainly be an intense immersion course. During the exam we also signed up for extracurricular activities. I signed up for Taekwondo, which will apparently be taught by one of the best masters in Korea (he really likes Fulbright, so he's buying all of our outfits for us), and cooking class.
We also went out to lunch instead of eating in the cafeteria (which serves rather bland food). Ray took us to a place that is fairly common in Korea and safe and cheap, so if we were ever starving in a different city, we would have a familiar place to go. I ordered the bibimbop, which is a rice dish served with meat and vegetables and spicey paste. It all comes out separate, so the customer has to mix it him or herself to their own particular taste. It also comes out on a very hot dish, so if you don't mix fast, your rice burns. It was a fantastic meal (including a side of soup and kimchi) for only 3,500 won (about $3.80).
After lunch, we had a presentation from two current Fulbrighters about what it means to be an "other" in Korean society. The first presentation was focused on what Koreans think about us, which was funny, but mostly because he said some fairly uncomfortable things about race, so he got nervous laughter out of most of us. Some people found it inappropriate, but given what I know about extremely homogenous nations, it fit the bill. Mostly he talked about how Koreans aren't really racist the way we're racist. They don't see distinctions amongst foreigners, just that there are Koreans and there are foreigners. The other presentation was on how to live in Korea as an "other". This presenter was Pakistani-American and gay, so he came at it from an interesting perspective.
We also had a scavenger hunt yesterday to introduce us to some of the area of Chuncheon we live in. Luckily, we had a girl who speaks some Korean in our group, so she was very helpful with ordering a taxi and the like. One of the objectives on the list was to go to EMart, which is the Korean version of a place like Walmart or Target, but it is MUCH bigger. I wanted to get some hangers, but we couldn't find any except for these small Barbie hangers, so I just picked those up and showed them to one of the women working at the store, saying, "I want this, but bigger," making appropriate hand gestures. After a split second of confusion, "Oh!" she said and indicated that we should follow her to the appropriate section. So, I know that I can get by on hand gestures apparently if I really need to.
Finally, we met the KEY club (I forget what it stands for, but that's the English club at the university), and shared snacks with them and soju, a Korean drink that has about the consistency and taste of Vodka, which just a little more alcohol content than wine. Of course, the way we shared involved drinking games (don't worry, there wasn't enough there for anyone to get drunk), but there was some good conversation as well and we have made some Korean friends here on campus.
So, that was "the first full day", although the day before was probably even more full. Today we start language classes, and I have my first cooking class in the evening. Should be a good time!
They kept us busy schedule wise, so I didn't get to go to Church, although Ray is apparently a pretty devoted Christian, so we're looking into going to a church next weekend when we'll have some free time. I did a devotion this weekend instead and translated some Romans.
We had our language placement exam yesterday. I placed into the beginning level (obviously). We also got our textbooks, which are almost completely in Hanguel (which doubles to mean both the Korean alphabet and Korean itself). It will certainly be an intense immersion course. During the exam we also signed up for extracurricular activities. I signed up for Taekwondo, which will apparently be taught by one of the best masters in Korea (he really likes Fulbright, so he's buying all of our outfits for us), and cooking class.
We also went out to lunch instead of eating in the cafeteria (which serves rather bland food). Ray took us to a place that is fairly common in Korea and safe and cheap, so if we were ever starving in a different city, we would have a familiar place to go. I ordered the bibimbop, which is a rice dish served with meat and vegetables and spicey paste. It all comes out separate, so the customer has to mix it him or herself to their own particular taste. It also comes out on a very hot dish, so if you don't mix fast, your rice burns. It was a fantastic meal (including a side of soup and kimchi) for only 3,500 won (about $3.80).
After lunch, we had a presentation from two current Fulbrighters about what it means to be an "other" in Korean society. The first presentation was focused on what Koreans think about us, which was funny, but mostly because he said some fairly uncomfortable things about race, so he got nervous laughter out of most of us. Some people found it inappropriate, but given what I know about extremely homogenous nations, it fit the bill. Mostly he talked about how Koreans aren't really racist the way we're racist. They don't see distinctions amongst foreigners, just that there are Koreans and there are foreigners. The other presentation was on how to live in Korea as an "other". This presenter was Pakistani-American and gay, so he came at it from an interesting perspective.
We also had a scavenger hunt yesterday to introduce us to some of the area of Chuncheon we live in. Luckily, we had a girl who speaks some Korean in our group, so she was very helpful with ordering a taxi and the like. One of the objectives on the list was to go to EMart, which is the Korean version of a place like Walmart or Target, but it is MUCH bigger. I wanted to get some hangers, but we couldn't find any except for these small Barbie hangers, so I just picked those up and showed them to one of the women working at the store, saying, "I want this, but bigger," making appropriate hand gestures. After a split second of confusion, "Oh!" she said and indicated that we should follow her to the appropriate section. So, I know that I can get by on hand gestures apparently if I really need to.
Finally, we met the KEY club (I forget what it stands for, but that's the English club at the university), and shared snacks with them and soju, a Korean drink that has about the consistency and taste of Vodka, which just a little more alcohol content than wine. Of course, the way we shared involved drinking games (don't worry, there wasn't enough there for anyone to get drunk), but there was some good conversation as well and we have made some Korean friends here on campus.
So, that was "the first full day", although the day before was probably even more full. Today we start language classes, and I have my first cooking class in the evening. Should be a good time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)