Korean Foodie Diary: Korean Drinks

In Korea, I expected to eat a lot of weird things and I certainly have - soondae, chicken gizzards, octopus just to name a few.  But I have to say that the variety of drinks I've had are the strangest.  One of my one on one students often brings me a cold drink during class so I've gotten to try all sorts of things.  Here are some of the most unique drinks I've gotten to try....who knew Korean people would make drinks out of these things??

1. 식혜 (Pronounced like "Shik-hye) - Korean Rice Punch


What's in it? : malt powder (barley)white rice, ginger, pine nuts, sugar, water
Health benefits: digestion, blood circulatin
Caitlin's rating: What don't Korean people make out of rice, seriously?? Although the rice cake wins as my favorite thing made out of rice, this drink is decent.  It's sweet and nice to drink after spicy food but super awkward to drink.  I feel like I'll choke on the rice in the liquid.

2. Ginseng drink



What's in it: Ginseng (sometimes an actual root in it), water, honey
Health Benefits: Similar to caffiene benefits - improving the digestion, Aiding in respiration, Rejuvenating the body, Lessening physical and mental stress, Counteracting, Strengthening the immune system
Caitlin's rating: I don't care how good ginseng is for you and how scientifically proven it has been.  This drink is really disgusting.  Reviewers call the taste like "dirt" and I don't disagree. It's like something trying to be sweet but is bitter and dry with a funky after taste.  If you want to try something delicious with ginseng, I highly suggest Samgyetung (Chicken ginseng soup).

3. Aloe Juice



What's in it: Water, aloe vera gel powder, aloe vera gel, honey, ructose, sugar, citric acid
Health Benefits: natural detox, digestion, anti-oxidants, Collagen and Elastin repair for healthy skin, Nautral Immune support
Caitlin's rating: When my student brought me this, I gave him the weirdest look and asked if Korean people really drink this...in America, we use Aloe for sunburn.  It just seemed creepy but I tried it.  The texture is a bit strange, rather thick and there are bits of aloe floating in the drink. BUT this actually tastes good.  It's sweet, like a less mild lime flavor. 

5. Corn tea

What's in it: tea made from dried and roasted corn kernals
Health benefits: relief from tiredness, reliever for abdominal swelling, vitamin E for the skin, good source of Iron, reducing high blood pressure, relieves tiredness and stress. Corn tea is also promoted to give the face the "V-line" ...mmm yeah, I don't buy it.  Bone structure isn't something you can change by drinking.



Caitlin's rating: Also tried not to give my student a weird face when he brought me this. The taste is not bad.. a good mild flavor for tea. But I just cannot get over the "liquid butter popcorn" smell.

5. Pine bud drink


What's in it: I couldn't find it...but yes, boiled pine is one of the ingrediants
Health benefits: again, couldn't find...but Koreans will definitely say "It's good for your health..."
Caitlin's rating: I was discussing Chuseok with my student and I asked him if there were any special foods for this Korean holiday.  He told me yes, rice cakes made from pine.  What?? I was sure he was pronouncing this incorrectly.  Nope, pine trees.  And not only rice cakes, but there was a beverage too. This drink got the biggest "Are you freaking crazy you crazy Korean people make a drink out of this??!!" look out of all the weird drinks.  But I'm keeping to my word and advice from my friend, "Try everyone involving food at least once."  To sum up the taste: Smells like household cleaner.  Tastes a little better than it sounds. Flavor is similar to Aloe juice?? But ohhhhhhh the smell...

And I am still awaiting to be presented with a drink made from beans because Koreans make everything out of beans... a yummy spicy sauce, an icy dessert, and yes, even popsicles...So bean soda, I'm waiting...but not excited.

Korean foodie diary: blowfish

One of my favorite new foods.
I'm not a seafood fan but blowfish is a really fresh tasting white fish with a mild but flavorful taste. My favorite way of eating it is tempura style, shown in the second picture.

BFS Part V: An Open Door

On Friday, I got a Kakao Talk message from my student.  He’s coming back to Daegu from his business trip.  He asked me if he could see me on Sunday night when he comes back to Gumi.
Whenever my student asks if he can see me, I know he has news.
And I’ve trained my heart, since age 18, to always anticipate bad news.  Not necessarily bad news.  Just news that I expect.
My student picks me up and suggests we go get a cup of tea so we head to Cafe Bene.  We get tea, chat about his business trip, our English class, things that have been going on for the past three weeks.  And then we finally get to that point in the conversation.
“I have news.  But I’m sorry, it’s not good news.”
My students hands are shaking, his eyes look a little teary, he sometimes covers his mouth with his hands as if he can’t breathe as he tells me the news.
The police called him.  They finished the search.
The police said my birth mother was shocked.  She couldn’t speak for several minutes.  They said she felt sorry but because of her situation, she couldn’t meet me.
My student searched my face for a look of disappointment, sadness.  I just sat there with a blank expression.
I’m just hearing what I expected to hear.  It hurt me more when my grandmother changed her mind about meeting me because I felt like some unwanted annoyance.  But deep in my heart, I can really trust that my birthmother wants to meet me but she just can’t.
I ask my student more questions about the police’s visit with my birthmother - did they say where she lived, did she say anything else, did they give her any information about me?  But the Korea police are strict and follow the rules.  They can’t tell us anything else.
From my student’s face, I can tell he’s hurting for me.  Someone who only has a connection with me for just 5 months, who only has the need to be in a student-teacher kind of relationship, is truly hurting for me.  Although it’s my biased opinion - this kind of love and compassion can only come from someone who truly knows God’s love.  I never asked my student to help me.  He voluntarily did it.  He took the initiative to call and call people, to e-mail, to go to the police after our first attempt failed.  I could tell he truly just wanted to see a girl reunite with her biological family members.
Really, the only thing I truly wanted out of this birth family search is for my birth mother to know I was alive and well and at best, to see a picture of her.  I think I’ve gotten so much more.  I’ll get to meet my Wae-halmauni and ask her any questions about my birthmother that I want.  I found out I have a sister and two more brothers.  My birthmother knows I’m alive, I’m in Korea and I want to meet her.
I used to think that when I would hear my birthmother give me her straight answer, be it yes or no, that I would find complacency in hearing her answer, that it would give some sense of closure.  I thought I’d just be satisfied to be done with the search and know the outcome.
Instead, it’s opened up a door.  My birthmother knows I want to meet her.  Just because she says no, doesn’t mean her answer will always be no.  Who knows - one year, five, ten, 50 years down the road, her answer could change.  I really think I, with the help of my student, accomplished so much.  We opened up this door that my birthmother can choose to go through at any point. She knows that I’m there, waiting...

BFS Part III: Love it Letting Go

I was so excited for this week.  The social worker that was assigned to my case was done with vacation.  At any time, I should be getting an e-mail arranging my visit with my biological grandma.  It was going to be the best week ever.

Then I got to my afternoon class and the student that has been helping was the only one who showed up that day so we decided to call the social worker.  She was going on lunch break and said she would call my student after 1pm.  After my class, I went to use the computer during my break and got a call from my student.  He told me that because of privacy issues, I would only be able to meet my grandma at the agency with my social worker and he was really sorry that he couldn't come with me.  I said it was okay, as long as I could meet my grandma in any way, I was happy.  Then a bit later, my student called again and asked to see me.  I said I was at Hamaum Plaza so he met me there.  And it was really sweet because he just wanted to make sure I was okay because his heart was hurting for me and felt so bad he couldn't help me much further than making phone calls.  I told him he has already done so much and I was really thankful for all of his help.

My next class was cancelled so I decided I had time to send Hyunwoo my letter to my birthmom to translate, just in case my grandma would agree to deliver it to her.  As I was typing, my student texted me again, asking to call when I'm done with class.  I told him my class was cancelled so call anytime.  He asked to meet me in our classroom.

And I got the worst feeling.  Because something simple wouldn't require my student to take time out of his work time to tell me something.  But still, maybe it was easier to explain the meeting time with my grandma in person.  When I met my student, he asked if he could buy me something to drink (a soda FYI!!) and again, I had a bad feeling.

We sat down, my student asked how my day was, made some jokes, some small talk...and then he said he had bad news.  I knew what he was going to say without him even saying it so I just focused "Caitlin, do not cry at work.  Do not cry in front of your student.  You've already had good fortune to hear your birthmom is a real person.  You don't even have any need to cry." And I listened to his words with an empty heart.  And I saw my happy visions of meeting my grandma, seeing my birthmother's pictures, hearing about her life and my siblings go out the window.  And my memory of being 18 years old, reading the letter from the adoption travel agency with my mom about how Korean birthmothers can face serious social and marital issues when they have a baby out of wedlock and realizing how selfish it could be for me to search for her came flooding back. 

In the week, my grandma changed her mind.  She was afraid for her daughter's privacy and family.  Because the only two people in my biological family who know I exist is just my birthmother and grandma. My birthmother has already gone through a divorce and there is no reason for her to risk another one because of meeting me. And my student said most of all, they may feel sorry to me because they could not raise me.

How did I feel?  I was frustrated because there are so many privacy precautions the agency takes that meeting my grandma would really not be a problem.  I was sad that I had raised my expectations so much that I anticipated reuniting with my grandma.  My heart really hurt because all I really want is to see a picture of my birthmother and it's not even possible.  And I felt really sorry to my mom, that she is not in a marriage where she cannot share something that she had no fault in with her husband.  And I was so, so thankful that I am surrounded by family, friends and a boyfriend who I am able to share intimate things about my life and know they will never judge or condemn me for them. And lastly, I just felt empty.  I didn't want to teach and pretend to be happy and funny and entertaining.  I just wanted to zone out.  And I wanted to hug my parents.

But at that moment, I felt so lucky that I was a teacher to students and other students who care so much about their teacher to go out of their way and help them like my student was doing for me.  And when I had no one else to hug, he was there for me.  I could just tell from the empathy and care on my student's face that he genuinely hurt with me too.  This emotion from another person is so rare and I felt a little less alone because of my student.  How awesome is my job that I am surrounded by people like this?  I am so, so blessed.

Even when I felt like crawling into a hole, crying, listening to sappy music, I still have to teach and move on.  Thank God for technology that allowed me to call my boyfriend right away in America who is so awesomely optimistic that all I can do is smile and laugh.  Thank God for Skype and being able to see my parents' faces and talk with them.  Thank God for free texting via Wi-fi so my best friends are just a send button away.

In my mind, I know there is still 10 months for my grandma to change her mind.  There is still a chance that she will read my letter.  There is some chance my birthmother senses I am looking for her.  But even though I will send a letter and pray so earnestly that they might change their mind, my heart knows I need to let it go.  I know my birthmother is alive.  They know I am living well.  It's enough.  I can't hope for any other result.  I can only hope that we live our separate lives happily.

For those of you who I didn't contact outside of this blog, I'm truly sorry.  I love being able to openly talk about my adoption story but this whole situation really, really hurts.  I honestly don't like talking about losing the chance to meet my birth family...but the more I can raise awareness about adoption issues, the more I hope the stigma of adoption decreases.

To adoptees, birth parents, family and friends of these people - even though this situation is so painful, I don't regret it at all.  I know many adoptees are happy to never search.  But if you were once a little girl or boy who had a dream to know what parent they look like or an adult who simply wants to thank the people who gave you birth, I encourage you to pursue your search.  Even if the way you find closure is painful, it is still closure.  I would have regretted forever if I was in Korea this whole year and never searched.  Every tear I'm crying, every hurt I'm experiencing far, far outweighs the regret and remorse of living forever with the question, "What if?"

Jenga!

I've started going to a language exchange in Daegu at Buy the Book Cafe and I met some really great friends.  This week, we played Jenga but it was truth or dare Jenga!! ooohhh!  My friend Allen got the block that said "Kiss the person on your left" - which luckily for me, it was the left because I was on his right side.  But Youngmo...he was on Allen's left...

Koreans also play Jenga a little differently....crazy stacking techniques, I tell ya.

My Korean Adoptee Story

My Korean adoptee story, child version:
Your mom was really young when she had you.  She loved you very much but couldn't take care of you so she decided the best thing for you was to give you up for adoption.

My Korean adoptee story, sugar coated adoption record version:
According to bio-mother, bio-father was born in Inchon as the eldest of 2 boys and both of his parents are alive.  His father ran a sales agent for electrical goods.  Bio-father is now a student of university, 178cm tall with the weight of 72 kg and looks handsome with fair complexion.  He is introversive.  Bio-mother was born in Incheon as the second of 2 boys and 1 girl and both of her parents are alive.  She is 168 cm tall of 60 kg weight, slim and looks lovely.  She is outgoing, cheerful, and friendly and has A blood type.
Bio mother got to know bio-father by chance and had dates.  But they were troubled by the gap of the way of thinking and difference in life style while having dates.  After all they were separated and bio-mother found out her pregnancy after separation.  She worried much about her unborn baby's future and gave birth at Kil hospital in Inchon on Oct 5, 1988.
She thought that it was more desirable for the baby to be adopted to a good home which could provide sufficient support and parental love because she was unmarried that it was impossible for her to bring up the baby normally by herself.  So she decided to refer her baby to our Inchon branch for adoption on Oct. 6, 1988.

My Korean adoption story, the letter version:
 It was January of 1988. Although the situation isn't clear. Two cousins, one male, one female.  The male cousin is 22, a university student.  The female cousin is just 14, in middle school.  Because of a random happening, things just happened.  My birthmom went on living her life but something strange was going on. Her body feels different and she is sick.  Months pass and her stomach is growing.  After 5 months, she realized her pregnancy.  She's scared, so scared that she can't tell anyone.  In September of 1988, my grandmother noticed me.  My grandmother had many serious discussions with my birthmother and ultimately decided adoption was the best option.

My Korean adoption story, My version:
Thanks to God, it was too late for abortion to be considered and my birthmother had a family to support the adoption .  Thanks to God, my parents already started filing adoption paperwork a long time before I even came into existence.
Because my birthmother was so young...because Korean society does not accept children born in the way that I was...because economically, it is impossible to raise a baby at a young age...because three sets of people loved me - God first loved me to give his life for me even before I was born, my birthmother first loved me to carry me until I could come into the world and give me a life, my parents first loved me that my mother had a dream about having another baby after having three boys 13 years earlier...That is how I came to be adopted.
Because of love, I am adopted.

Seoul Vacation Part II

Sunday, 7/31

After church and dinner, I found my way to my hostel in Hongdae.  Here's a link: http://bebop-guesthouse.com/ .  I paid $22/night to stay in a 4 person room.  It was the college dorm type atmosphere and the owners are really nice.  I HIGHLY recommend this place!

Anyhow...thank GOD for iPhone/pod apps and wifi - and bartenders with cell phones.  My friend Alex who I went elementary school-college with and was roommates for a year was in Korea with 5 other WI people on their layover from China.  I was able to get ahold of Alex through the Textfree app (if you have an apple product, this lets you get a local number from the area code you want and you can text people for free on their cell.  Thank you Lauren Arendt for the suggestion ^ ^ ) and he called me from the bartender's phone and told me to meet them at a bar.  After needing to ask for a lot more directions, I finally got there.  I was sooo happy to see my friend!! We spent the night exploring Hongdae, talking, discussing interesting China stories, and getting rejected from entry to a club because the guys had sandals on : /

Me and Alex

Monday, 8/1

The next day my group headed to the Insadong area to visit a traditional market.  We all found some souvenirs and good Korean food but the most interesting find.....

you can laugh. yes, Koreans eat dog.

  Later we headed to Itaewon which is known as the foreigner area of Seoul.  What we also didn't know (well I think Alex did) is that Itaewon is also the SKETCHY area of Seoul.  Example A - if you walk down the wrong street...good thing I was with 4 big WI guys.

transgender hookers. yup. SCARY!!!

Anyhow, we found some decent normal places to drink in Itaewon and had a good time.  I also got to say good-bye to my friend Jess who I met at Mudfest.  It was so great to meet her and I wish her the best of luck as she starts grad school in London. Hmm, I have an excuse to go to Europe now!!!

Jessica and Me

Tuesday, 8/2

We were all pretty tired out the next morning but started the day off with screen golfing.  These things are all over Korea.  The guys had fun hitting balls and even convinced me and my Malaysian roommate to try it out.  The guys were also to see Gatorade in a can...but I guess it looked better than it tasted.

screen golfing group

happy men to have an american sports drink

check out our golf swings!

Later we all wanted to go somewhere but more relaxing so I took my friend Don's advice and suggested that we go to Cheonggyecheon River walk.  It was really peaceful and beautiful there and we finally got some good pictures there.

Cheonggyecheon River

Me and the UW Madison Med/Pharm students

Just two Port people in Korea : )

Alex really wanted a city view of Seoul to get a picture so I asked a friend living in Seoul and she suggested the Namsan (North Seoul) Tower.  It was such a gorgeous view.

Seoul Skyline

Namsan Tower=Korea's Space Needle??

Wednesday, 8/3

The next morning, the group had to leave really early to go back to WI so I got up before 6:30 to say good-bye.  It was sooooo hard!  I had so much fun with these guys and wished they could have stayed longer.  They really made my vacation amazing!

Later I met Hyunwoo in the Sincheon area and we visited a palace and this really pretty area called Samcheon that had many cute cafes, restaurants, shops and traditional Korean houses called hanoks.  It was good to catch up with Hyunwoo since even though we live close to each other, we are both so busy!

me and hyunwoo at Gyeongbokgong Palace

Thursday-Friday, 8/4-5

I made my way back to Gumi and I was definitely ready for some sleep and just bumming around and relaxing and skyping.  And that is what I have been doing since then.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING...and it is wonderful.

Saturday, 8/6 [happy birthday mom!]

Ok, I lied.  The last 4 days of my vacation have been spent skyping. And figuring out scary, confusing, risky situations.  And coming to the realization that it's best to seize the moment while you can, stop overthinking things and just do what makes you happy. I was right all along...after 2.5 years of being single, I would finally meet someone right before leaving for Korea.  But it was worth the wait and it's worth the long distance.  I've had some really beautiful examples of making long distance relationships work in my life thanks to family and friends....so if they can do it, I may as well give it a try too.

So as of Saturday, I can officially say that this lady is off the market and has a boyfriend...I am one happy girl and it was the best way to end my summer vacation : )

me & bob - i think after spending the rest of my $1000 bar tab @ A house..

Seoul Vacation Part I

Most of Samsung (and the rest of Korea) goes on vacation for the summer during one time and this applies to teachers as well so lucky me got to end a long work month with a nice paid vacation : ) I got to do lots of fun things so here's a recap:

Thursday, 7/28

Korean Pizza Hut

I still had to teach my GLA class for 3 hours but it was so nice to sleep in until 7am.  I never thought 7 am would be sleeping in but really, it is a luxury.  Then after class, I decided to take myself on a date for pizza and a movie.  Korean Dominoes was pretty good so I decided to give Korean Pizza Hut a try.  It was okay...but at least there was no corn on this pizza.  Then I went to Lotte Cinema to finally see Harry Potter. I do have to say Korea definitely has a one up on American movies theaters because they have the best, fresh kettle corn in addition to the buttery kind.

Friday, 7/29

It was the last day of GLA camp and I had to be at work almost the whole day.  I was definitely a little sad that I wouldn't get to see these guys everyday but gosh, I was a pretty darn proud teacher seeing these guys give their speeches.

Me and the top 4: Joshua, Andrew, Jason & Peter

M1104 in Gumi

After work, I decided to hunt down a burger joint another Samsung teacher told me about and it was really easy to find called M1104. 

I have to say, this place gives American burgers a run for their money. I had an amazing Bacon, Egg and Cheese burger and will be visiting this place a lot when I have a burger craving.
Then I did my usual and went to a coffee house to relax and have my new favorite, affogato - ice cream and espresso.

affogato

Saturday, 7/30

It was finally time to leave for Seoul.  I was really nervous to book the bus ticket and manage to find my way to the hotel in a city of 10 million but I did just fine.  I stayed in the Gangnam area which is the business district of Seoul and the most expensive area...thank God for discount websites because I got a room for less than half price!  My hotel was really close to Coex, a cool underground shopping mall so I headed there. My best finds there?? English novels, Mexican food and (sadly) a new purse since my favorite purse my mom got me has finally ripped and died : (

Sunday, 7/31

Sunday I met my Korean pastor from Lax, Pastor John and went to church in Incheon.  He brought along another pastor from the US, Pastor Holley.  I also met a girl named Onnori who helped translate for me when I gave my testimony at church.  It reminded me a lot of being at church in WI.

to be continued...

Two cultures, one relationship.

Woo hooo!!! I am finally on vacation!  I'm leaving for Seoul later today and will meet my Korean church pastor from La Crosse Sunday morning for church and fellowship.  He asked me to give a short testimony.  My true testimony is probably pages and pages long so I just selected a part of it to share on Sunday - about how being a Korean adoptee has led me to Christ.  I want to use ESL as a ministry someday so I thought I'd share it on my blog too:

my angel nephew and niece

    God has certainly brought together the two cultures of America and Korea in forming my relationship with Him.  I was so fortunate to grow up with a loving family but when I began college in 2007, my life seemed to change.  I experienced many hardships my first year in college but the worst was the death of my prematurely born twin baby niece and nephew.  I couldn’t understand why God was putting all of these horrible things in my life and I doubted His existence and power.  While I sat in the church pew at my niece and nephew’s funeral, I prayed earnestly to God for the first time in my life and told Him that if He existed, He needed to reveal himself to me.
    God slowly but surely answered my prayers through bringing me to live with my Christian aunts and cousins, hearing the testimonies of others, joining Campus Crusade for Christ, and learning that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship.

Cru - at TCX conference in MN

    During my third year of college in 2009, just when I thought everything in my life was going right -I was studying God’s word, enjoying school, making new friends, and dating a wonderful Christian, Korean-American man, my life fell apart once again when my boyfriend suddenly rejected me because of spiritual and cultural differences.  For the first time in my life, someone caused me to be ashamed of my Korean adoptee background and feel as though I was not a worthy person.  I then turned to a lifestyle of drinking and partying to try and fill the emptiness in my life but deep down I knew that God was the only way.

    In my sadness, it caused me to pray again faithfully for Christian sisters, people who would make me feel accepted as a Korean adoptee, and a church home in La Crosse.  After starting a new semester in January 2010, God brought a new transfer student into one of my classes named Rachel.  She was a Christian Korean woman who recently moved to La Crosse and we quickly became friends.  She was someone who was strong in her faith and openly accepted my willingness to learn about Korean culture and language.  Shortly after meeting Rachel, I also I discovered New Hope Church and met Pastor John.  Just like Rachel, New Hope Church showed me the love and acceptance I needed and I was finally able to call this place my church home.  Still, I felt sadness from my ex boyfriend’s rejection.
    At the end of the semester, Rachel wrote me a beautiful good-bye letter after she transferred to a school in Chicago and it brought tears to my eyes. Reading her letter helped me realize what great blessings God brought into my life - Christian fellowship, a church home and a link to Korean culture.  These things far exceeded a relationship with someone who didn’t accept my faith or Korean and American culture.  I could not deny how lovingly God answered my prayers and everything good in my life was a gift from Him. Three years after my first prayer to God about His existence, I finally, with all my heart, gave my life to God.

me and Rachel-unni

  
   

Happy 4th of July!

Comments from my family to me:

"I don't think you can go to the bank on Monday because it will be closed for the holiday."
"Do you have off from work on the 4th of July?"

My response: Well you see, they don't celebrate the America's Independence Day in Korea....

In light of the holiday and my amusement at this thing you can "like" on Facebook, I thought I would name my reasons why I like being American, in no particular order. And noooo, I am not trying to diss Korea because it really is great.  But being in a foreign country really helps you see the good things you love about your country.

1. Drinking the tap water
Who would have thought a girl could miss turning on the sink faucet and drinking water without being afraid of getting sick?

2. Clearance racks
My version of heaven on earth is a clearance rack with an addition percentage off.  And this does not exist in Korea.  Cheap clothes period don't really exist in Korea.

What is wrong with this picture? Koreans will tell you!!

3. Wearing tanks tops and looking normal
It's pretty inappropriate to show any shoulders or chest area in Korea.  Some girls wear tank tops but it's pretty rare.  I just don't get it...it's crazy hot and humid here...how could girls not want to wear tanks tops???

I'm a survivor!!

4. Decent drivers
America, I know we're not perfect and we have too many auto accidents but I now see where Asians get their bad rap for being sucky drivers.  Red lights, tailgating within inches, staying in your lane, the safety of your employee because you're an old Korean guy who can't figure out his new smart phone but still use it while driving....all that means nothing in Korea.   I have evaded death from automobile accidents many times but hey, in America we can blame the snow.  Korea...I just do not know.

Hines Ward=Half Korean=WIN for Korea

5. Football

Korea may have helped to breed the gorgeous, talented, Dancing with the Stars champion, killer smile, Steeler Hines Ward but they have not totally jumped on the football bandwagon.  So no Football Sundays for me : (  Then again with the lockout, maybe there will be no Sunday NFL for anyone.

6. Normal work schedules

Korean people work late hours.  A lot get done around 6pm but a lot of my students work Saturdays and sometimes until 10 or 11pm!!  And on

e of the biggest surprises here was the fact that many of my students do not live with their wives and families during the week.  For this, don't ever worry about me staying in Korea because of falling in love with some guy.  Not living with my husband Monday-Friday or having as little family time as they do here does not cut it for me.

Best Bloody Award goes to Ardie's in Lax

7. Wine and Bloodys
Wine is semi-hard to find and pretty darn expensive and the Bloody is even more rare, if not non-existent.  Seriously, anyone who can mail me some Ocean Spray Bloody mix I will be forever in debt to.

8. Cheese
Parmesan, Muenster, Baby Swiss, Colby, Cheddar, American, Brie....Mozzarella sticks, Cheese curds, Cheese Bread, Grilled Cheese, Beer Cheese soup........this is why America is fat but it's soo delicious.

9. Halloween
Best excuse for going hunting at Goodwill and wearing your old dance costumes ever.

10. Farms
You wouldn't expect this to be on my list but despite their nasty smell, nothing was prettier than the times I was riding with Ben on his motorcycle through farmland in the Lax area.  Rice paddys just don't have the same effect.

11. Tomboys
Korea is the land of girly-girls who don't play sports, sweat, have big groups of guy friends, or enjoy shows like Family Guy and Robot Chicken.  Ok, I'm overgeneralizing.... but still accurate.  Don't get me wrong, I love wearing dresses, doing my hair, shopping whatever...but seriously, my students are pretty surprised when I tell them I know the rules of baseball and played sports in high school.

12. Unlimited texting and free nights and weekends cell phone plans
Korea has Kakao Talk for texting purposes but you need a smart phone....but free nights and weekends is unheard of in Korea.

Don't worry....come Korean Independence Day, I'll do another blog post about why I like being Korean too.  But it's crazy how the little things we have in America are easy to take advantage of and you miss soooo much when you don't have them.

Happy 4th of July~~

explaining the coincidence

A quick backblog that I never got to explain since I was extremely busy/frustrated/confused/"preoccupied" in May and early June.  I will eventually do a blog about using a recruiter to get a job in Korea but here's the short and sweet version:

Recruiting companies act as the go-between from you to the Korean schools.  They interview you and once they accept you, they help find you a job, set up the interview with the school and "in theory" help you through the visa process and everything else you need to do to get to Korea.  Again, this is a much wider issue I'll cover later. Anyhow, when I got the original job description for Samsung from my recruiter on a Monday or Tuesday, I had to send in some pictures and then my interview would be set up with the school.  I sent one batch in the next day and then another set shortly afterwards and my recruiter said an interview would be set up for next week.

Then I woke up Saturday, April 30th, checked my iPhone for facebook and e-mail and I see something odd in-between the class emails and spam.  The sender is Tamara Bolk and the subject line is Greeting from a current Samsung teacher... 

"...AND a UW-L Alum!!! (Crazy small world!)

Hey there,

I'm one of the English teachers at Samsung in Gumi, and I just found out that you will be coming to Korea to teach at Samsung! I was shocked when I heard you were also from La Crosse (I graduated last year)! You'll actually be taking over all my classes, and considering it looks like we'll only have a day together before I head home, I thought it would be great if we could get in touch before you came out! I didn't have any contact with any of the other teachers before I came out, and I really wish I would have....so feel free to ask any and as many questions as you'd like! I'd be happy to answer them :) "

At this point, I am extremely confused as I have not had an interview yet but after some e-mails from Tami, phone calls with my recruiting company and my parents, and extensions on homework to allow me to think and make this life-changing decision, I got the job.

The honest God-send in this whole situation was being able to contact Tami throughout the whole process.  I didn't plan on going to Korea until August and wasn't prepared to make such a quick decision but it was so helpful that she could answer my million questions.  I knew exactly what I was getting into...my new boss, the living situation, dress code, Samsung facility, everything. Another thing that helped was getting to read Tami's blog (Link on the right!).  I saw what a great relationship she developed with her students and the places she got to see in Korea.  I knew that although this job wasn't perfect (aka the 6:30am class time : /  ), getting to teach friendly, caring, and fun students is what really matters at the end of the day.

And after my whole passport fiasco and it barely getting to me before my proposed departure date, it came in the mail, I hopped on 3 airplanes and ended up in Korea.  I was fortunate to arrive 5 days before Tami left and she was able to show me around Samsung, introduce me to the classes and I got to partake in her good-bye dinners.  I noticed that actual pictures of me in Korea are minimal so I got to steal some from Tami.  So here is me, Tami, and some of my current students:

Good-bye party w/ Power English + Ajay

The guy on the far right(Jim)=proof that not all Asians are short : P

As long as you're Asian, you're never to old to flash the peace sign ^ ^

So here's my thank you to Tami - we had so many crazy coincidences both being UW-L students, Korean adoptees and sociologists...but I really believe God knew that I needed that extra-reassurance for my move to Korea and it was in His plan all along for us to connect.  Best of luck in grad school and we shall meet again!

Caitlin in Korea Q&A

I was going to do all of these big blog posts on my apartment, my job, the food, etc. but I got lazy and busy... I started my online class on Monday so free time is spent studying and I'm exhausted by the time I get home from work around 7pm.  So I thought it would be best to do a simple Q&A blog post so I don't have to keep answering the same questions over and over...not that I don't love talking to all of you back in the States.  But skype and facebook time is limited until the end of July due to my class : (

1. What was your first impression of Korea?
All of my students ask me this.  I wrote this before.  I bawled my eyes out.  Seeing the place I was born for the first time was extremely emotional.  I really really wanted my parents to be here with me or another adoptee for this momentand I felt like a complete idiot crying alone on the airplane.  So first impression - emotional.  Other first impressions... There's a gazillion neon lights.  The air smells weird, almost like fish.  It's odd to be surrounded by Asians.  The weather is way too hot.  I could never drive here.  The landscaping for the most part is absolutely gorgeous.  And overall...it's scary and surreal.

2. How is your apartment?
I am, for the most part, happy. I've experienced living in a crappy college house and I expected a lot worse than what I got.  I'm not in a tiny one room studio like most teachers.  The apartment is pretty big - a 3 bedroom with 1.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, big living room, and my room is bigger than the average college apt bedroom. It was furnished with everything but bedding and cable but using other people's blankets are kinda creepy and I don't watch TV anyway.  The weirdest things are that I don't have an oven and they don't use shower curtains here very often. My favorite part is the rooftop with a view of the whole city.  I also have a roommate named Liz who is the other English teacher at Samsung. I've never lived with a complete stranger but it has been working out great and it is good to have someone to hang out with.

3. How do you like your job?
I LOVE IT.  Plain and simple.  I am no longer an Applebee's bitch working for 8% tips in a dirty and stressful environment.  The worst part of my job is waking up at 5am to be to work for my 6:30 class and don't get home until almost 7pm but ehhh, I can make the most of my day by waking up early.  I teach strictly conversational English to adults.  My youngest student is 22 and my oldest...maybe in his 50's?  My students are very helpful and kind and make me laugh everday.  I can talk about anything and have real conversations.  I can follow a book, develop my own lessons, whatever I want.  No grading papers,exams.  Best ESL job EVER.

The campus is gorgeous.  Picture a really nice college campus with coffee shops, convienince store, bookstore, cafeteria, library, and big buildings.  Add in a super high tech gym for $40/3 months, water fountains, exquistite landscaping, airport-like security, really really good food and a ton of Koreans and you've got Samsung.

4. Wait, you work for Samsung?
Yes...Samsung as in the electronics companies that make your TV's, cell phones, cameras, etc.  Samsung as in Korea's #1 corporation.  Yes, it's fricken sweet.

5. Did you get jet lag?
Nope....stay up 24+ hours straight and sleep when it's night at your destination and you can successfully avoid jet lag.  Well, at least I did.

6. How is the food?
As many of you know, I have developed my love for Korean food a long time ago when I started going to Korean churches.  Is it weird eating rice at every meal?  Yes.  Do I crave American food?  Definitely.  But it's nice not eating greasy fried food and Korean food has tons of veggies which I love too. I made it to try (almost) every food thrown at me with the exception of live things and so far I only spit one thing out.  Fermented raw fish.  Just. Don't. Do. It.  But sighhhh, I just want some cheese and Downtown Brown.

7.  Do people try to speak to you in Korean?
Conversations normally go something like this:
Real Korean Person (RKP): blah blah blah blah Korean stuff I don't understand...
Me: Hangook mal mo tayo (butchering of "I don't speak Korean" in Korean)
RKP: look of confusion and not understanding
Me:  I'm sorry but I can't speak Korean.
RKP: But you looks Korean???!!?
Me: Uhhhh ...adopted.
RKP:  Indonesia?? Phillipine??
Me: Uhh...Miguk saram. (American) mm...gyopo (Korean who doesn't live in Korea)
RKP: ahhh ha ha ha

8. Have you met any cute guys?
I've adopted the American view point.  All us Asians look the same.  Kidding kidding...of course there are cute guys but do I have the A.Ability, B. Time, C. Balls to talk to them?  Heck no.

9.  Are you going to search for you birthfamily while you're there?
This is answered in-depth in a previous post.  Short answer: Maybe.  I'll try but it's not my biggest priority for multiple reasons.  Again, if you are bored enough to go back and read...I think it's in a blog post about the movie Tangled.

10. What's the weirdest thing about Korea?
Almost all of the guys carry some version of the man purse, which are often nicer than the purses I own, and I look like a freak of nature carrying around my Northface backpack at work because it looks "heavy and big."  Really people...what else am I supossed to carry textbooks in??

11. What are some things you want to do while you're in Korea?
-Hang out with Hyunwoo lots
-Volunteer at an orphanage
-Mud Festival (tickets already booked ^ ^ )
-See a Korean drumming performance
-Korean fan dancing lesson
-Beach!!!!
-Explore my birthplace, Incheon
-See a K-pop concert
-Watch a pro Korean baseball game
-Learn Korean
-Get my hair permed again
-Apply for grad schools
and the list goes on...

Any more questions? Comment, facebook me, skype me... but I think these are the most general questions I get asked the most.

let's wish on a sunrise

sunrise on the way to the dells

Want to know why being an ESL teacher is the coolest job in the world?  Because you have the chance to learn something new from your students everyday!

In one of my classes, we were discussing the rainy season (which is supposed to start tomorrow : /  ) and then got to other topics such as rainbows, shooting stars, and sunrises.  Doesn't my job just sound horrible?? ; )  Anyway...I learned three things about Korea today:

1. Rainbows are rare occurrences in Korea - my student who is probably in his 40s told me has only seen a rainbow 3-4 times in his entire life!!  As Americans, we can easily see rainbows but we get excited every time we see them.  Imagine how pumped the Koreans must get when one appears!

2. Koreans believe falling stars are bad luck - They don't wish on shooting stars because they say that when a star falls, a great man will die.

3. New Year's sunrises - My student told me that instead, Koreans like to go to the mountains on New Year's Day to see the sunrise and make a wish for the new year and the well-being of their family.

I've only been lucky enough to see a couple of sunrises because well, this lady likes her sleep!!  It got me to thinking...what will I wish for on the New Year's sunrise?  Many of my students have asked me, "Caitlin, what is your dream?" For so long, my dream has been to teach English in Korea and it has come true.  It feels somewhat false when I say that my dream is to get my master's degree in TESOL and teach ESL in a university.  Yes, this is what I want to do as my career because I want to make a difference in people's lives and be continually learning about other cultures and perspectives.  But really, it's not a dream - it's something I want to implement in my everyday life to make the most out of every day. 

To be honest, I have no idea what I will wish for on a sunrise but I think this year in Korea will help me figure that out.  Is it pursuing a future husband?  Doing research and getting a "scholarly article" published like a good little sociology student?  Visiting another country someday?  Again, I don't know...but that is the beauty of possibilities : )

Back to the Motherland

I woke up at 4am on Friday to get ready to leave for the airport.  When my parents and I arrived in Madison, I had my mind set to get to a bathroom and almost missed my surprise visitors, Sis and June!!  This is my first summer in 3 years that I haven't spent with them so I'm soooo happy I got to see them!

Sis, me and June...my awesome aunts!

It was hard to say good-bye to my parents at the gate...finally some tears but I held back as much as possible.  My plane was delayed so I began to panic a little bit because I had less than 1 hour between transfer times.  It finally arrived and I had a three hour ride to Denver.  The mountains were so gorgeous and I know I'll have to take a trip out west since besides going to Washington, the farthest west I've been is Minnesota.  When I got to the airport, I had to sprint across the airport and hop on my plane to Seattle right away.  Then I just have to say...the Seattle airport=UGHHH.  I had to get on three different shuttles before reaching my gate.  I have no idea how I figured out where to go but I managed.  It was slowly starting to hit me when I was surrounded by Asians...something I'm definitely not used to haha.  I got to call my mom one last time and then I got on my flight with Asiana for a lovely 12 hour plane ride to Incheon.

I have to say, this airline puts American ones to shame.  All of the flight attendants look like models.  They were constantly handing out things...slippers, warm towels, drinks, food, and really speedy too!  The coolest things were the food and personal TV screens. I was worried my iPhone was dying but no worries because I got to watch movies and listen to music and everything was very current.

my lunch - bibimbap

 

The flight didn't seem like it lasted 12 hours and before I knew it, I started getting ear aches and knew we were descending for land.  Unfortunately I wasn't by a window but I did my best to look.  As I started to see land, I started tearing up.  Ok, I lied, I was bawling... I couldn't believe that after 22 years, I was finally seeing my birthplace and Korea.  Seeing Korea from the airplane made me realize my dreams were coming true and there were so many exciting things waiting for me.

Once I got off the plane to Incheon Airport...yup, time to start freaking out.  There was English on signs but I had no idea where I was supposed to go and I was cursing my recruitment company for being so vague.  I figured that since I am a foreigner here, immigration seemed like the best place to be.  Luckily it was and I got through quickly, found my baggage claim area and easily found my luggage.  Again, no idea where to go next so I just followed the crowd.  After scanning the crowd, I found Hyunwoo who was holding a sign that said "Welcome to Korea Caitlin!"

For those of you who don't know, my family hosted a foreign exchange student from Korea when I was a sophomore.  Hyunwoo helped me gain interest in Korea and she's the reason I became interested in teaching ESL.  I haven't seen her since I was 17 and it is extremely fortunate she was able to meet me at the airport AND only lives an hour away from Gumi, the city I'm living in.

Hyunwoo and I bought bus tickets to Gumi.  Throughout the drive, even though I knew I was in Korea, I felt like I was just driving to a new city in the US even though there were signs in Korean and I was surrounded by Asians.  It just didn't seem real.  After a  until we reached our destination.  My boss and his wife picked us up from the station and headed to my apartment.  I will save that for my next post.

Again, thank you to everyone who helped get me to Korea.  I'm safe, I was okay traveling alone, and it was overall a very emotional experience that I hope every Korean adoptee gets to experience.