Here's the lowdown on my situation. 2 days ago I went to the DMZ, stepped a little inside North Korea, kept my mouth shut when told to, put my camera down when asked, and kept my hands to myself.
There was a laundry list of rules, some ridiculous, but all for a reason. We had to walk single file to the border and not take any pictures. There was absolutely no pointing, as pointing can confuse North Korea into thinking that you're firing a weapon. I think it's a little strange that they would fire back before even hearing shots ring out, but I guess NK is so far behind that they don't even have sound waves yet... bad joke in all respects.
Anyway, so after the DMZ we had a little trip to the Ambassador's house where we went swimming and had a BBQ. No. 1 couldn't be there so he sent no. 2 and 8 from the Embassy. We did a little Hob-Nobbin, as Lauryn likes to call it, and I pretty much decided that I'd never make it in politics because I'm awkward at the initial hello, but I don't take "no" for an answer so maybe it evens out?
The next day was "Yonsei Day" and we met our Co-Teachers and Principals from the schools. Very awkward, and the formality of the whole day didn't help either. So my co-teacher for Seogwipo Girls High School is a woman of about 30 and has been driving me around all day to see things and run errands. I got a little acquainted with my office today, the computer is broken and they were scrubbing mold off the ceiling, but I have a HUGE office, bigger than my Dad's (HA!!) and have my own private bathroom which I get to keep under lock and key. The two classrooms I teach in have ocean views which only I face, and when I get done with school around 1 or 2, I can make my way to the beach about a 1/4 mile down the road.
Now to the homestay. If I could speak twice as much Korean as I do now, I might be able to communicate one thing to them. But no, I find myself telling them, "it's good" and "hot" all day long. A slight exaggeration yes, but seriously, I might be learning a lot of Korean while I'm here, which is a very good thing for me. There are three kids in the family. A 12 year old boy, 14 year old girl, and 17 year old girl. The mom runs a restaurant downstairs, but for some reason took me out to eat at the one across the street last night. I think the Korean ideals of capitalism are slightly different from ours. The dad, hmmm, I don't know what he does. He's a "business man" and already wants to take me to a bathhouse already, but we cannot communicate with each other at all. I think he just wants to see my penis.
1 comment:
now that's a neurotic element of your personality you never told us about. By the way word on the street you were voted most likely to star in a Korean soap opera...looks like you're well on your way. Jeju City cache cap shi da!
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