Appreciating Art in Many Forms

Aaron outside of the Busan Modern Art Museum.

So even after a year in a city, you can still find plenty of new and exciting things tucked away in back alleys or just right off the subway line. We'd always meant to check out the Busan Modern Art Museum but never did...until now. We really were incredibly impressed by the quality and thought provoking exhibits it contained. The main exhibit was entitled "Living in Evolution" and explored human evolution over time as well as what the future may hold. Some of the exhibits certainly touched on the question Aaron and I always pose, "Is our human evolution going in the 'right' direction?"

This was amazing! All of these are cut from thin sheets of metal and set on top of a perfectly smooth layer of sand. It is part of the main exhibit entitled "Living in Evolution.

My new friend...well, at least half of her.

Aaron has been enjoying the architectural art outside of our apartment window. There was a HUGE crane there for about one week and his goal was to see it actually doing something (for some reason it never moved when we were awake). Then, just yesterday morning, he was doing his morning "crane check" and with no luck, was off to take a shower. But when he came back from the shower, the crane was down and being dismantled. He was sincerely disappointed. ha.

The sunset outside of our apartment window. We're continually in awe of the beauty as well as how quickly they are getting the bridge done!

In other news, we're ANXIOUSLY awaiting the arrival of Mama and Papa Runestad in 2 days! They will arrive on the 19th and we'll spend 2 weeks frolicking around Korea (including to the DMZ) together. We can't wait!

Quirky Korea--Konglish

Yum.  I LOVE rice creakers!

A new car

This morning I came to my desk to find a small bottle of apple yogurt on my desk. I looked around and realized every teacher had one of these on their desks.  I am usually the last to know why these random snacks appear, so I decided to take the initiative and ask my teacher where it came from.  It turns out one of my colleagues bought a new car this weekend so he brought in yogurt for everyone.  This type of thing used to surprise/perplex me, but now I simply smile and enjoy my yogurt.

You see in Korea joy is not something to be kept, it is something to ALWAYS be shared.  If someone gets a new car, has a son/daughter who performs well on a test, or even gets a new haircut, he or she will bring in something that will bring joy to everyone else around them (usually food of course!).  It's not considered selfish or bragging--it's simply what you do when you are part of a community.  You're never alone in anything. You share, you love, and you feel together.

I love it.

Sulsa vs. Salsa

So today in class I was showing a picture of my father and me eating salsa, and every time I said "salsa" my students would giggle and just be silly. After class I asked my teacher what was so funny and she said that in korean the word for diarrha is "sulsa" and is pronounced very similarly. Who knew that all day I was saying that my dad and I were eating diarrhea!! AWESOME

Here's to a New Year

Well, it’s been a while.

What a fantastic summer Aaron and I have had so far.  Since June, we’ve had the opportunity to be Korean tour guides for Aaron’s best friend Reid, swim in the ocean, climb the beautiful mountains around Busan, and take a trip to visit our family and friends in the USA.  It has been full but only of the best things in life.

Reid’s Visit  (best explained through pictures)

Aaron and Reid in front of the Gwangali Bridge.

Of course we had to take him to a Lotte Giants baseball game.  And you can see him sporting his new Korean glasses.  He was Koreatized. :)

Reid was also here for our final book club meeting (he even read the short story!) as well as our farewell dinner to many friends who were leaving.  Such a good lookin' crew.   

Home

Our time home was nothing short of fantastic. Before I came home, my dad asked me what I wanted him to have ready for me when I walked in the door.  My requests were sharp cheddar cheese, a sampler pack of New Belgium beer, and dill pickles.  In true dad style, all was ready for me in the fridge as well as my favorite cereal in the cupboard.  And, although I came home to a NEW house, I have to say I didn’t miss the old one at all.  Everything from the big oaks, the din of frogs and cicadas, Jake’s piano playing, and the smell of pancakes frying in the morning uttered home.  

Like mother, like daughter.

But I did experience a bit of culture shock as expected.  Perhaps the thing I enjoyed the MOST as well as the most shocking was being able to eavesdrop on conversations.  In Korea I’ve gotten used to being surrounded by “white noise” as I usually do not understand what is said around me.  But, when I finally got on the plane from Detroit to Chicago it was English overload!  I felt like a kid in a candy store.  Which conversation should I choose—a high school boy who just got back from Germany who’s telling a girl about how he drank beer for the first time or a family of four with a little girl asking her mommy how to draw a horse.  I know they weren’t incredibly enlightening conversations, but at that point, anything seemed entertaining. 

And then there were times during my stay at home when I wondered why I was leaving again.  Whether it was hiking through the woods with Toby, eating ridiculous amounts of cheese, catching up with old friends over coffee and swedish pancakes, outdoor concerts, family game nights, and having a big kitchen to cook in!  Saying goodbye to my family and friends was surprisingly more difficult than it was when Aaron and I first left for Korea.  But, that being said, I'm learning more and more everyday that my heart likes to multitask and it's getting really good at being in 100 places at once.  In other words, thank goodness for the internet.

A New Year

A new contract year is upon us and for Aaron this means a new school.  He is now the Native English teacher in one of the highest scoring and wealthiest middle schools in our area AND has only a 5-minute walk to work everyday.  This is in stark contrast to his last school, which was the lowest scoring high school in Busan and took an hour bus ride to get there.  He will greatly miss his beloved male teacher friends at his old school and their Monday soccer games, but he’s excited to be teaching students he can actually converse with and are eager to learn.  I’m absolutely thrilled he’s so jolly about this coming year.  His teachers have already pointed out how happy he seems everyday.

Although it was hard to leave home, we’re now back in the swing of things and trying to figure out what we need/want to do during our last year in Korea.  The few things on our list thus far are: save money, buy more food from the outdoor market/eat locally and seasonally (I’ve become kind of a stickler about this since Koreans are SO good about it and after reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver---I recommend it!), find more volunteer opportunities, learn how to really make Korean food, and explore more of this beautiful country. 

We are looking forward to my parents’ visit coming up in a little over 2 weeks as well as fall weather.  Here’s to another year!

War?

When Aaron and I first came to Korea, we were told three things never to talk about with Koreans: the war/North Korea, politics and religion.  Well, needless to say, lately it seems that’s all we’ve been talking about with each other, other foreigners, and Koreans. So after talking with my concerned family and friends, I thought I should share some of the dialogue Aaron and I have been having with Korean colleagues, friends, and students about what’s going on here (or at least what we think is going on).

First of all, let me start with something that happened to Aaron about a few weeks ago.  As a high school teacher, most of Aaron’s oldest male students will be doing their required 2-year military service next March after they graduate.  Therefore, they’re quite concerned about the possibility of war.  However, sticking to what we were told at orientation, Aaron never brought up the topic in class.  Until one day he was doing his normal, “how are you?” routine at the beginning of class and one student raised his hand and said, “bad.”  Now, when any students stray from the programmed, “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” answer there’s clearly something important they want to say.

So, Aaron asked the student why he was feeling so bad.  The student responded with somewhat helpful hand gestures and said, “South Korea, North Korea, war!”  Now, we were never told if a Korean brings up the topic if it’s okay to talk about.  But, in this case, because his students never want to talk and were actually showing concern about something, Aaron decided to ask more questions.  He continued with a lead up question, “So, what do you think about the possibility of war?”  Now, as many know, his students are quite low so they all looked to the Korean teacher to translate.  But, Aaron’s male Korean teacher refused to translate.  Aaron tried to reword the question in a different way in hopes that the students would understand, but it was no use—the students didn’t understand and the Korean teacher just stood there.  Then, the Korean teacher told Aaron, “You don’t want to talk about this with students.  Start your lesson.” 

After the class, Aaron and his teacher talked about what happened.  Essentially his teacher (an older gentleman) said he never wanted to talk about North Korea with a foreigner ever again.  

Now, we’ve told this story to some of our closer friends here in Korea (old and young) and received a few explanations: 

• About half of the older generation, specifically teachers, believe Kim Jong-Il is the answer for reunification, therefore, he is not a bad man.   This is the reason why even students and teachers are not allowed to talk about politics or North Korea in schools.
• Another teacher explained that Aaron’s teacher simply doesn’t want to talk about it because the country is quite divided on the subject.  Apparently a large number of young Koreans believe that the Cheonan sinking was a conspiracy.  They believe it was posed by the conservative party in hopes of handling the situation in positive way and, therefore, receiving votes in the upcoming election. But, the older generation truly believes it was North Korea and so there is rising amount of conflict concerning the subject. 
• Still, another teacher told me that in elementary school she was taught North Koreans were devils and that they were inferior to South Koreans. She knows better than thinking they are “devils” now, but she said that most people just hate North Korea and its people.

So, this was certainly a wake up call to Aaron (and me).  In American schools it would be unheard of NOT to use a situation like the Korean conflict as a learning tool and mode of discussion while in South Korea the discussion is banned from schools.  But one thing we’ve come to know is that there is NO room for conflict in Korean culture.  I suppose the lack of opportunities for discussion, free thinking, and tackling difficult/conflicting issues is what is a bit frustrating about education in South Korea from an American’s perspective.

Although it is difficult to get any type of clarity in regards to this situation, I do have to say that when it comes down to it most of the teachers, students, and friends we talk to are really not concerned about the possibility of war.  Now, frankly, I’m not sure if this is a result of the eroding connection each generation seems to have to the Korean War or their acknowledgment but just sheer annoyance with North Korea’s tactics (it seems they find them more annoying than threatening). 

Anywho, I will assure you that Aaron and I are registered with our embassy and if anything were to occur, we are in the safest place in South Korea.  Busan is about as far from Seoul as you can get and we would be on a boat to Japan as soon as possible.   But here’s to hoping we can stay on this beautiful, mountainous land for another year.

Election Fever

Election fever is wild in Busan.  Tomorrow citizens will vote for regional leaders (mayors, governors, etc).  However, unlike in the United States, campaigning only began about 3 weeks ago and the election is tomorrow!  Although most of the campaigning is centered around dancing 아줌마 (older Korean women) with matching straw hats, trucks strewn with banners of the candidates' awkward senior picture poses, and singing supporters on every corner, their shortened campaigns do make sense.  Now, I've been reading that some of the campaigning has been lessened because of the sinking of the Cheonan, but still, it is not as ludicrous as the campaigning in America (even if there are dancing women in straw hats). 

I suppose this got me thinking...imagine if the elections in the US were like this: campaigns only a few weeks long and more money spent on things that really matter than negative TV ads, years worth of buttons and countless yard signs. Now don't get me wrong, I think our debates and town meetings are important, but when did the length and spending get so out of hand?  I suppose campaigning years in advance seems a little more necessary when you think about lesser known candidates wanting to rise from the unknown (ie Paul Wellstone and even Barack Obama), but still, as I said earlier, the amount of money spent is selfish and wasteful. Like many things I'm realizing about the US, we've taken it wayyy too far.

On another note, many of my teachers explained that the younger Korean generation is going to step up and vote in this election for the first time.  Apparently this has not happened in the past but with the tensions between North and South Korea high, they are deciding it is time for them to lend their voice to the situation--my teacher included. 

All of that being said, here is a video of some tough campaigning Aaron and I saw through a bus window the other day. :)