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 : )