What do CHristmas and CHuseok have in common?

So, for those of you who don't know, Chuseok is Korean Thanksgiving.  Like American Thansgiving, they seem to eat a lot and most people look at it as time to travel around the country and visit their families.

A huge difference, though, is that when you go to someone's house, you are supposed to bring a gift.  Being a foreigner here, and knowing practically no one, I am fortunate enough to have three invitations for Chuseok. 

Which means, of course, I have to buy three gifts.  The most traditional gifts are fruit and meat (but I know one teacher who bought her mother-in-law a refrigerator).  There are beautiful boxes EVERYWHERE of fruit and meat, some costing hundreds of dollars or thousands of Korean Won.  It seems, though, that because everyone buys those things as gifts, that people might have enough fruit and meat, so I wanted to get something a little more unique.

For my first gift, I am going to buy a cake.  The first time I spent time in this household, the very kind mother took me to the store and told me that they were no diets that evening and that she would buy me everything I wanted to eat.  We proceeded to fill up a cart, but the  adult daughter wanted a cake.  Her mother told her that she couldn't have one becuase it would be too much food to eat, but since it's Chuseok, I'm bringing one over.  I still have not bought it, because I want it to be fresh for the day we are going to eat it.  I promise to put up a picture though, after the fact.

For my second invitation, I will be going to visit the family of a friend whose daugther is visitng Korea from California.  I had stayed with this family once before, so I know that this particular family likes to party.  So we bought him this Absolut Vodka set.  Please notice the beautiful bag (which you have to pay extra for).  Also notice the way it is decoratively boxed (think: gift sets at Walmart, but more expensive). 

We also bought the matriarch of the family some crunchy rice cake treats, which, because they were on the less expensive side, didn't come with the beautiful basket or table display that the more expenisve ones did.  They did, however, come wrapped in this beautiful pink cloth, which I think is also very nice.

For my third invitation, I am going to the house of one of the Head Techers at my school.  She is a very warm, kind, "Christian" lady.  When I was at her house last Friday, a huge box of Asian Pears arrived at her house and I could tell she had PLENTY of fruit, becaue she INSISTED that I take some home.  So, I wanted to get her something different.  I got her this AMAZING gift set:

Just for your own information.  I LOVE Spam with rice and seaweed, so I didn't get this to be mean, I think it is a nice gift and many Korean people would like it, especially since SPAM costs about $4 a can.  Having said that, this IS funny.  Check out how it says, "For Your Smile -- SPAM."  I could have gotten that knock-off Spam for less money, but I opted for the original; afterall, you get waht you pay for.  This gift, also in a bag that costs a little bit more, contains 3 cans of spam, a bottle of grapeseed oil, and a bottle of olive oil (which was "for your health").  At least I know it will keep until she finishes all those other Chuseok gifts.  

So there you have it.  CHristmas and CHuseok have more in common than the "CH."

One last comment: My friend's adult daughter and I are both of Korean descent and we will both be sharing our first Chuseok this year.  We agree that we oficially feel like "Koreans" now that we have purchased our first Chuseok gifts.  It's amazing how celebrating holidays makes you feel like you might fit in, finally.

Namsan Tower -- Seoul

If you have ever been to Seoul, you have seen the Namsan Tower.  It is on a mountain and sticks up so high that you can't miss it.  It's as if the tower were reigning over Seoul.

This picture is only taken from the base of the tower, to really see its height, you should see it from afar.

To get to the top of the mountain, where the tower and a Teddy Bear Museum are, you could walk, drive, or take a cable car.



The cable car was great becuase you could see all of Seoul if you weren't afraid like I was.

Here's a picture from our view on the way.





One thing that Namsan Tower is VERY famous for are the "couple locks."  Many couples go up to the tower for a romanitc evening.  They bring a lock, write their names on it, and lock it to the fence.  The old tradition was to then throw the keys over the fence as a sign of the fortitude of your love.  However, there were many complaints about the safety of throwing the keys onto the heads of the people who are walking to or from the Tower.  So the Tower put up these signs that say, "Please do not throw your keys away."  Many pessimists say that the sign is meant for couples who later break up, but I was assurred that it was for safety reasons and that it was just an interesting translation. 

If you want to go to the top of the Tower, you have to eat dinner there.  We went to a pricey Korean buffet, which also serves you a main dish which you choose from a menu with four options.  I chose the Kalbi, I think.  What I am sure of, though, is that it was beef and it was delicious.  The buffet was good, and was worth the splurge, especially because you get this awesome view from the restroom: 

As usual pictures don't do it justice.  I guess you'll just have to see it for yourself.

My Image (Or Giving Credit Where Credit is Due)

Is it wrong to "grab" pictures off of the Internet?

I was going to ask the author permission to use it, but I couldn't figure out how to do it from the half Korean, half English blog where I found it.

So, here's where I got it from:

http://www.google.co.kr/imglanding?imgurl=http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2897/koreausaflagmashupob5.gif&imgrefurl=http://woot.tistory.com/archive/20080208&h=685&w=879&sz=32&tbnid=z7Tusj1vCEMVKM:&tbnh=114&tbnw=146&prev=/images%3Fq%3DKorean%2BAmerican%2Bimages&usg=__A6bvSiO6kwmOSPbcPkWoh4O7XjA%3D&ei=R7_ASrWJFpGQkAWlmdE2&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=3&ct=image&q=Korean+American+images&start=0#start=2&imgurl=http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/2897/koreausaflagmashupob5.gif

If anyone knows who this person is and would tell me, I would ask permission.

If he or she is upset about me using it, I will take it down.

Until then, it pretty much represents me and is great, so I'm using it as my pic.

Hope you enjoy it.

A Random Parade

As I was leaving church, I passed Deoksugung Palace.  Deoksugang palace is the smallest of all the palaces in Seoul, but it also the Palace that was used in most recent times.  Near the back of the palace, you can see a very modern mansion (that looks a little like the White House).  The tour map says, "The site keeps many tragic historical events at the end of the Joseon Dynasty."  (I don't know what they are though.)

It also has a really nice Royal Changing of the Guards Ceremony every Monday.

But since I was leaving church, it was NOT Monday, and there were TONS of people in costume.  I thought seomthing was happening inside so I paid my 1000 won (which is less than a dollar)entrance fee and went in.  I saw HUNDREDS of people standing around in costume and I was SO excited.  But everyone was just standing around, so I toured the palace.

  Here's a big statute of someone who I'm sure is a King, but I am not sure which one, but this is a HUGE statue.  (I found out later that this is a statue of King Sejong the Great.)

As I was touring the rest of the palace, I realized, the people in costumes were going to do something IN the palace, that they were making a parade!

I love a parade, so I ran out and caught up with them.  Good thing I have a digital camera, becuase in the mile or so that I followed them, I took over 30 pictures.  Here are two of the best:

Hope you like them as much as I did. 

I think I'm an Endangered Species

Okay, so there are about 200,000 Korean adoptees around the world, but the news is that by 2012, Korea will close off its international adoptions.  (I found out this information in this August 2009 article: http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=664)

Just for fun, I checked out this definition of endangered species on my favorite website, Wikipedia, (or is that Craigslist?) and came up with this:

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. (Check.  This is me.)  Only a few of the many species at risk of extinction actually make it to the lists and obtain legal protection. Many more species become extinct, or potentially will become extinct, without gaining public notice. (OH, you have to make it to a list.)

I guess I am not an "Endangered Species" afterall.

But I still could become extinct without gaining public notice.  Great.

As if it weren't already hard enough to fit in. Most adoptess know, you can't totally fit in among Koreans and you can't totally fit in among Americans.  The only place you do really fit in, is with other Korean adoptees.  So, I am happy for all those Korean kids who won't have to wonder if they are white, but I'm sad for me. 


For more information on Korean adoptees please visit this rather accurate (from my point of view) Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_adoptee

How do they stay SO skinny?

When I first came to Seoul 10 years ago, EVERYONE was super thin. Now people are more diverse in body size, But many people, especially older people and really young people, are still really thin. This amazes me because they eat so much! Not only does everyone have a pretty tasty all-you-can-eat Korean lunch, but people are constantly giving you food and drink snacks.

Within an hour of arriving at this desk on the first day, I had my first treat. As I was trying to clean up my area, one of the teachers brought me a 1 1/2-inch piece of corn on the cob. Since I was cleaning and my hands were dirty, I didn't want to grab it, so she put it on a Kleenex. Corn in Korea tastes very different than corn in the States. It is chewy and a little sweeter. I love it!

The next day, one of the teachers brought in cookies she made. She took her basket to every desk in the teacher's office and gave one to everyone, on a Kleenex. I actually hated it because it wasn't sweet at all, But didn't know it until I had popped the whole thing in my mouth. Since she had made them by hand, I smiled and told her it was delicious.

Another favorite of the office seems to be Korean grapes. I think they are muscrat grapes, but I am not sure. These grapes however, take some work to eat. The skin is pretty bitter, so you pop the inside out of the skin by squeezing it. You can pop the insides into your mouth, but then you still have to deal with the seeds. The grapesare sweet, but a little bitter too. I have received at least 4 bunches of grapes since I started 3 weeks ago.

I have also received: more pieces of corn (1 dipped in sugar), free cups of coffee, yogurt drinks, vitamin drinks, grape juice and Moon Pies. I usually eat everything.

My biggest surprise came when I found this on my desk last Monday:

From my class, I had gone directly to the lunch room. While I was there, I saw the cafeteria women carrying 20-30 of these golden boxes, but I still didn't know what they were. They looked so shiny, I really wanted one. I assumed that I wasn 't going to receive one though because I had been at my desk all morning when they were giving them out, and I hadn't received one.

After lunch, though, when I went back to my desk, there it was. So gold, so beautiful!

I carefully opened the plastic to see what was inside.

Inside the pretty box, I found ddok, which are rice cakes.  Not that crunchy, dry rice cake from the states.  It's more like Japanese mochi.  I haven't eaten them all, but some of them are pretty tasty.

I asked around, because I wanted to thank someone, but no one knew who had given them out.

To me, that is the nicest type of gift.  It is one where the giver expects nothing in return, not even your gratitude.  In fact, most of the food and drinks are left like that: on your desk, on a Kleenex, anonymously.

And people eat them, just like I do. 

Which leaves me to wonder, once again...

How DO they stay so skinny?

Am I in Mexico?

Am I in Mexico?

Look at this truck...  it's selling vegetables.  When it drives down the street, it honks and everyone is supposed to run out and buy their vegetables.  I would run from 4th floor studio, where this picture is taken from, but I just can't imagine needing that many sweet potatoes.



When I was at the immigration office, there was a woman who had a cart and she was selling coffee.  To be more correct, she was selling hot water and instant coffee.  I like to think of it as coffee a la Nescafe.  Korean people make it simplier though, they premix a bunch of non-dairy creamer and sugar into their little bit of instant coffee.  (It is is good, but it's not coffee.)

I'm sure many subway stations have vendors around them, but the way people just spread everything out on a blanket on the floor, or sit on a box, reminds me distinctly of Mexico.  (I think this is Ginseng in the picture.)  Speaking of the subway, when I am riding it, trying to decipher the stops in Korean, I am often interrupted by a man trying to sell me something like CD's, somthing similar to crazy glue, or bug spray.  Admittedly, the people who sell things on Seoul's subway are often wearing suits and they usually are rather polite in their interruption.  Yesterday, though, I think there was a deaf man who was asking for donations.  He walked up and down the subway car and threw a leaflet on every person's lap.  I saw two people across from me try to discreetly thow their papers on the floor.  The man across from me went as far as shoving his paper under the seat, but the woman left it on the floor by her feet.  To our surprise, upon receiving nothing, the donations seeker briskly walked up and down the subway car and collected all of the papers.  He even picked up the papers that had "fallen" to the floor.  (Good thing I didn't take one; I'm sure I would have received one that had fallen on the floor of a previous car.)  In Mexico, this type of thing happens all the time, except no one goes back to pick up all the fliers, which just adds to the trash.

Speaking of trash, here, just like in Mexico, people just throw their trash on the streets.  In Korea, though, you have to buy these special bags which are particular to the district you live in.  You have to buy the right bag or the garbage people, who come like magic trash fairies, will not pick up your trash.  (I'm not sure how anyone knows that it is YOU using the improper bag, but anyway.)  There are three bags.  One is for food wastes; it is yellow.  One is white and that is for the main trash, but you have to separate the recyclables.  I know there is another color for recycleables, but you don't really have to buy that bag, because there are people constantly pushing these wooden wheelbarrow things up and down the streets to collect all the recycleables, including paper and cardboard.  So if you just set out the paper, cardboard, metals, and plastics in a bag separate from the food waste and trash, someone will come by in an hour or two with a wheelbarrow and pick it up. 

The last thing that just kills me (with laughter) is the way when the traffic gets bad, people walk up and down between the cars and sell refreshments.  Last time I saw that, I was certain I was on the TJ border. 

Of course, that all brings me to the last way Koreans are like Mexicans... both cultures really know how to hustle.  They will sell you anything.  And to make you really want to buy it, they will bring whatever it is they want to sell right to you.  You gotta love that, or at least I do.  I have to respect people who work SO hard.

I love Mexico, but Korea is cleaner.  So, despite all the similarities, I guess I am NOT in Mexico.

Following the Signs (Pt. 1 of the Immigration Office Trip)

I decided that Thursday would be the day I would go for my Alien Registration Card.  My co-teacher was worried about who would teach her classes, so I told her I would go by myself (because I am so tough!).  I had seen this Alien Registration Card mentioned many times in the plethora of handbooks we were given.  I read chapters from about 7 different books, searched the Internet for information about the Alien Registrantion Card process here in Seoul, and talked it over extensively with a couple of Guest English teachers who had, that day, just gone through the process. 

I made my list of required documents and memorized (and wrote down) my way on the subway.  Green Line to Purple line, exit Omokgyu.  Walk straight for ten minutes and you run right into it.  But then, becuase I had studied the maps for so long, I saw that a leg of the green line, also takes you really close to the Seoul Immigration Center.  The center looked like it was situated directly in the middle of the two places.  Because I get lost so easily though, I decided to go green to purple like everyone else did. 

Thursaday morning, I dutifully grabbed all my prepared documents and my subway map, exit circled in black sharpie, and set out on my way.  I have not actualy been on the subway since I arrived at this place, so my first adventure was just to walk to the subway station.  My neighborly English teachers, who use the subway every day, assured me that it was just a straight walk up the main street and there it would be.  So I set out and immediately felt worried.  As I was walking tentatively toward the station with an air of fake self-confidence, I spotted a man wheeling a rather large suitcase, wearing a heavy-looking backpack, and carrying a bag of stuff.  I knew in my gut that man was headed for the subway and decided to follow him.  He was wheeling that suitacase so carefully through the messed up sidewalks that characterize this part of Seoul, I was certain that I could keep up with him easily.  However, I was wrong.  I had to walk pretty fast and he was still ahead of me and getting further ( I might have broken a sweat).  Fortunately, the street lights were long, so every block or so, I had the chance to catch up.  After about 7 minutes, we arrived at the Subway entrance.  First mission complete.

I read the signs and figure out which direction to go on the green line.  I am now safely on the subway and I am going the correct direction.  Second mission complete.  I know this subway goes all the way to the purple line, where I am going to switch and then get off on Omogkyo.  I am so good.  But then there is this announcement that this is the last stop on the line (what?).  Everyone gets off, and I get off too (and I panic).  I am at a big station, but its the blue line connection.  I follow the mass of people and then realize that it isn't going to work.  And here is where I make my mistake, rather than get back on another green line going the same direction, I get on the green line that I think will take me on the other side of the Seoul Immigration Office.  I get on the green subway, going the right direction, and feel better.  I take the proper exit, and am a little worried, but I follow the crowd and exit just fine.  Third obstacle overcome. 

As I exit the station, I refer to my map.  I see the station and see the general direction of the Seoul Immigration Center and then I see a sign, in English!  I love how they are not hiding the ball here in Seoul.  So, even though I see that this arrow is pointing the opposite way from where the office is on the map, I go left.  (The map was free anyway and don't they always say, you get what you pay for?)  I am a little nervous about this decision, but then I see another sign with another arrow.  I see some other people who look like immigrants, also confused, follow the signs and I am feeling better and better about my decision. 

All of a sudden I am faced with this huge flight of stairs.  I thought I was in pretty good shape, but being in hilly, stair-filled Korea has taught me that I am not in good shape.  I know that I have to go, so I just do it.  (For scale, see how small the people are?)  At about halfway, I think, "Why didn't my neighbors mention this huge stairway."  She talked about how it takes her 15 minutes, instead of 10, to walk from the subway because she doesn't want to sweat and she fails to mention the Mt.Everest of stairs?  I figured she just didn't want to scare me off and keep climbing.  I finally get to the top, and I see another sign.  I am SO on the right path.

I walk for another 5 minutes, following the signs and then arrive at the Immigration Office.  But it's the WRONG Seoul Immigration Office.  I have to go to this other one.  I receive some directions, which I don't understand, from a very nice copy clerk.   So I backtrack and do those crazy stairs again.  As I was just about to finish walking down (which is WAY better than going up) ALL those stairs and I looked to me left and saw...                                                  the little Louvre of Seoul. 

I also had the opportunity to take this amazing picture of the (above ground) subway tracks.  I guess I never would have seen either of these interesting things, had I not followed the wrong Seoul Immigration sign.

By the way, when I finally follwed my original map and got back on the correct path, here is the sign I saw:

 It's SO different from the other one, huh?                                           Ultimately, though, I guess it's just part of the "joy" of getting to know another country.

So, I'm not an Alien? (Seoul Immigration Office pt. 2)

(Let me warn you, before you sit down to read something fun or cute like I normally post, this is not fun nor cute.  There are no pictures.  I wanted to make it funny, which is why I waited so long to post it, but I finally realized that I am not always funny or cute or even happy.  This is a long, boring story, but it is from my heart and reflects the real issues I have as an adoptee, the ones I always hide.  It doesn't have a good ending, because there is none.  -- 6 Oct. 09)

As far as Americans are concerned, I consider myself to be rather wordly.  I speak English, French, and Spanish (almost fluently) and have been to several foreign countries.  I have many friends who are immigrants and I feel that I have always been interested in everyone's culture and want to learn as much as I can about their worlds. However, going through the immigration process here in Korea has taught me that I know nothing. 

To the defense of the Korean government, at least it attempts to welcome people from other countries and grants many visas for them to work and study.  In the US, I know many people who are left without the legal means to even go through the arduous process that I am about to recount.

I guess it started back in the States when I applied for this teaching job.  To get an E2 Visa to work in Korea as an English teacher, you must already have a job.  To get a job here teaching English for the Government while residing in the States, you must not only submit a rather lenghty 11 page application with an essay and lesson plan, but you must also send sealed transcripts, sealed letters of recommendation, a copy of your diploma, and a background check from the police, the latter of the two which must be notarized, authenticated, and apostilized.  If you don't know what those things are, neither did I.  It took me weeks to get all that stuff together and then months for the government to interview me, accept me, and finally send me a signed contract.  At which point, I could go down to the Korean Consulate and receive an E2 Visa.

However, I am "special."  Having been born in Korea, even though I was adopted, I can receive an F4 visa.  This is a better visa because I did not actually have to have all that paperwork to receive my visa, my visa is good for 2 years instead of 1, and I can enter and leave the country as many times as I want within those two years without having to purchase a mulit-entry visa.  (I did still need all that paperwork to receive my job though, so it was not as if I was getting out of any of the hard work.)  I could just bring my adoption papers, naturalization papers, and my family registry to the consualte and they would give it to me.  I did that all and I thought I was on the fast track to getting my visa and that I was good to go.

When I got to Korea, though, I found out that I have to get an Alien Registration Card.  To get this card, you have to have a clean bill of health, a job contract, and some other papers, all of which were irrelavant, becuase I am supposed to get the purple card.  The A.R.C. card, as people loveingly refer to it, is for E2 Visa holders.  I get a purple card becasue I am an F4 Visa holder.

So I grab the ticket out of the correct machine, you know the one NOT for E2 Visa holders, and I sit down to wait.  I waited about an hour, which is rumored to be relatively short and I went to sit down.  He immigration officer, for lack of a more appropriate name, looked at all my paperwork and then started talking to me in Korean.  I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I had so much documentation that I was sure that I had whatever he needed.  I handed him paper after paper, and yet he still was asking for soemthing else. 

The Officer looks at all my paperwork, and especially at my adoption papers, and then types some stuff in the computer and up pops my file.  I am in the Korean computer.  I really exist!  I'm really Korean!  I am personally so excited and I can't believe that I am a Korean and that maybe I haven't been forgotten by this country afterall.  By now, I have given him everything, including my health report, a copy of my contract, and my original diplomas, but the Immigration Officer still wants more papers.

Then this random man cuts in front of me.  I was sitting down in the booth, so I'm not sure how that happened, but all of a sudden the Immigration Officer is asking the stranger to translate for him.   The stranger tells me that the Immigration Officer is saying that I have to go across the street and get something and that something I need is written at the bottom of MY family registry, which was still in the computer with my Korean name and birthdate.  I ask, "Which building?" (We are in the middle of Seoul, a huge metropolitan city, with tons of skyscrapers)  And the man tells ms, "Across the Street."  So I dutifully gather all my papers and walk across the street.

I see a police station, and I think I have to go there.  But it's closed.  I see an open door right next store, and there is free water, so I grab a paper envelope full and look around.  It looks like a health clinic, so I leave.  I am so frustrated by now and feel so stupid for thinking I could do this by myself.  (Don't forget that I had already gotten lost and walked up and down that HUGE flight of stairs.)  And so I go back.  As I was walkng out, I passed a Korean guy who I met at English Teacher Training, so I decided to ask him for help.

He was just finishing up, so I asked him where my family registry said I shoudl go.  He couldn't understand it, so he asked his co-teacher to help.  As she was reading it and trying to figure it out, she said that she would take me acrosss the street.  As we were entering the "health clinic," my friend translated what his co-teacher was telling me, and then I just started crying.

He said something about how this paper was removing me from the family registry or something like that, but I had just had enough.  I couldn't understand what he was saying, even though he was speaking English.  I was so worn out from the day, that I just couldn't take anymore.  But what?, I'm not Korean anymore? 

So there it was.  I'm just not Korean anymore.  I can't look American and I can't be Korean, and most people say I don't even look Korean anyway.  I guess I'm no one.  I mgiht as well be an Alien, but, according to the Korean government, I'm not an Alien either.

No Smoking

After 10 days (which I thought were supposed to be 5) of training, and then a weekend staying with my art teacher because my studio was not ready, my co-teacher and head teacher take me to my apartment. When i get there, it's small. However, by Korean standards, it's fine. I was not the least bit surprised regarding the amount of space. (That TV is about 13 inches, so you can imagine how tiny that microwave is!)

What you can't see, and which practically killed me, was the wall of smoke that we hit as we entered the room. The stench was unbearable. I assumed that the previous tenet, the predecessor to my job, was a smoker and that even the blankets reeked of smoke because he smoked a lot in my room. However, both the "Officetel" and the teachers said that they never saw him smoke. So, we put the blanket on the roof to air out and I opened the window to let the fresh air in. Suprisingly, when I came home from my first trip to the grocery store and having dinner with my co-teacher and head teacher, the smell was pretty much gone.

After about an hour, though, I could smell it again. I actually happen to know the people who live directly beneath me from the 10 day training, so I knew it wasn't them. I could only guess that it was the tenent above me. Since I had the window open wide, the smell eventually went away, but then it came back again a few hours later. This person was clearly a chain smoker! In a period of a few hours he smoked at least 4 cigarettes and the next morning, while I was getting ready, he smoked another two. I want the tenent to have the right to live the way in which he chooses in the privacy of his own studio, but the smell was really strong and I was definietely getting all of the second-hand smoke.

That morning, I complained again to my co-teacher and head teacher. The previous day, my co-teacher called to complain. That day, the head teacher called to complain and the manager sent me this reply:

It was an interesting response because, while I deeply believe in the power of prayer, I was certain that this was not going to stop the problem. I loved how she used for faith to deal with what should be a practical issue. However, that night, there was no smoke smell.

Tonight, as I went to get water from the water cooler, there was this sign:

This must be the power of prayer at work! : )