As I was walking home from work Friday night at 9:30 pm, one hour later than normal due to my increased work load, I stopped to look at this tree. It appears to be an evergreen tree covered in ornaments outside of a 24 hour Korean BBQ. Upon closer inspection I discovered that it was,in fact, Charlie Browns Christmas tree. But what the hell is it doing here? Then it hit me, its Christmas time in Korea.
When one becomes so disconnected from all things Western it is quite easy to be caught off guard when such a clear reminder of home springs up in your neighborhood.Only 25 percent of South Korea is Christian, 25 percent Buddhist, and the other 50 percent is "nothing" according to my friend Mr. Google. Although the only reminder that you have that Christianity exists in this country is the glowing red crosses on the tops of certain buildings that you can see with the right view, and the occasional mention of Jesus from one of my students. There are ,of course, Christmas commercials from Lotte ( the Macy's of Korea), but thats just mere consumerist promotion. Where are the icicle lights and the Nativity scenes? Where are the trees in the windows with families drinking egg nog, decorating them in stringed pop corn? What about the carolers and the train at Monroeville Mall?
I stood in front of this restaurant and this tree for about 8 minutes thinking about all of these things when SPLAT! Out of the front door comes 3 drunken, stumbling Korean business men who knock over the tree,but do not stop to pick it up, instead step over it and keep going on down the street. Yelling loudly in Korean- arms around each others shoulders.
This weekend it was -7 degrees in Seoul. My Grandfather warned me that it gets cold in this country, I should have listened. I plan to spend this winter staying in my apartment and keeping as warm as possible, skiing, reading, and drinking a lot of red wine. Not necessarily in that order.
The first half of my winter agenda will be made possible by the fact that I finally moved out of my apartment above the 7 lane highway, not including his friend the 4 lane over pass.
My studio apartment is now twice the size, far removed from the main road, and resembles a home rather than an office. I sleep full nights and the sun only shines in if I want it to.I also have a small "porch" area with many windows for fresh air ( in the summer time of course). One thing that has really been bothering me ,though ,is the luke warm showers. In the heat of the summer I had no qualms because I rarely turned the shower hot water on fully, however in these cold, cold time I would give up my first born for a shower so steamy that the paint peels from the wall. For those of you who aren't in the know about the general Korean hot water situation, hot water MUST be turned off and on. It is part of the national recycling laws here that include conserving energy. Also since hot water is used to heat the floors, you only turn it on when needed, ie, before bed and before a shower. One time I turned on the hot water 4 hours before my shower was to commence and it was still only a few shades shy of being down right cold. This has happened to me in both apartments, and I have even found from my coworker that his shower situation is the same. Is it me? Do I just like my water to be murderously hot? Do the Koreans prefer their showers to be cold? One of the great mysteries to add to the list, I suppose. Although this cant go on for long, at some point in my time here in Korea, everything will be as it should. It will probably occur when I am sunning on the beaches of Thailand.
One of the things that I do here besides spreading the good word of English to small children is; spreading the good word of English to adults. Friend of friends whom do a lot of traveling and also own a cafe in a western-frequented posh Apuejong, Seoul have asked me to visit them on Saturday afternoons to help them fine tune their ESL. ALthough I am being paid it hardly feels like work. I am smothered in muffins, cappuccino's and free accessories. ( one of my students works in the fashion industry and send samples my way)
Afterwards we all sit down to a home cooked meal, that usually varies from my Korean favorites to my favorites from home. We talk about our week, and I ask questions about Korean history. Sometimes have heated conversations about the Japanese negligence to apologize for the past, and the real reason why the Americans have been stationed here for 30 years. All of the years that I spent studying American history pale in comparison to what the Koreans know about theirs. You could spend hours listening to one person discuss old Korea, new Korea and compare and contrast their nation to other Asian nations, while I cant even tell you the capital of Minnesota. I don't say this to downplay my own intelligence, American geography has never been an interest of mine, but listening to someone speak so passionately about the place that they come from can really leave an impression on you. As a matter of fact you come to find that the foreign( non-American) POV can be quite interesting when discussing matters that Americans think they know and understand. Take for example the bombing of Japan during WWII, pretty cut and dry right? Whenever there is a class, a documentary or a book released in America it always tells the story of how the Japanese refused to surrender so the Americans HAD to drop not one but two bombs to end the war. It was to prevent thousands of American soldiers from dying, and it helped to keep the Japanese from occupying the US. Well just yesterday I watched a documentary on this same event, except catered toward the Asian POV, and I can assure that it was quite different.
As an educated woman in this world I understand that those that write the books always use a persuasive technique to sway the reader. Although I am also enjoying seeing, and learning about the same Histories that I grew up learning about, but only through the eyes of the rest of the world and not those of MY forefathers.
And so my real experiences in Korea begin. Not at the bottom of a bottle of Soju or at the hottest new club in Hongdae, but through the time spent and the conversations had with the people of this country. Through the eyes of the North Korean refugees that have joined my tutoring class on Sundays, and through the many charades that I use to communicate with Mrs Kim; the Pastors wife that helps me with the children at the church- who does not speak ANY English but has many beautiful things to say.
