Warmer Winds

This place is so interesting. You hate it one day, you like it the next, then you're indifferent after that. Actually, that's kind of how I felt about Portland too. I've never been to a place where I felt like I was home. I've never lived in a place that I wanted to stay in for years and years. I envy people who have sometimes. Korea is getting warmer with each passing day and with each passing day of warmth I feel like I can tolerate more and more of the things I don't particularly like. Nature is starting it annual fashion show and I think this seasons designs are going to something else. I'm surrounded by hills where I live so in the winter it's very ugly. There is no color and the trees are barren exposing all the army bunkers nestled near by. I can hear gun fire in the distance most days. The army seems to constantly be running exercises in case they are attacked by their brothers from the North. After finishing up my first winter in Korea I can honestly say I will only see one more of these in my life time. I'll still be here next winter but after that I'm outta here. Even if the spring and summer turn out to be as beautiful as I have a feeling they are going to be, I didn't enjoy what Korea had to offer me this winter. The barren hill side is being painted with dots of pink cherry blossoms and brushed with a think green coat. Each day I wake up to a work of art in progress. It is beautiful.

I've been taking the bus more often and seeing more of the country with each trip. Korea is made of cities inside of cities. They build right on top of each other and if you don't like crowds you should stay away. As the weather gets warmer the sewers emit stronger and stronger smells. I don't think there is any such thing as conservation in this country. I have seen people dumping oil, trash, and other filth directly into the streams near by. Trash piles up when I walk through the city streets and that smell seems to follow me around. The person who figures out that there is money to be made by setting up recycling centers will make a lot of money in this country. Getting services in Korea is, to steal a line from Sally Fields in "Forrest Gump", like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. They will charge you or not charge you according to how they feel at the time. They will not tell you the truth about how much something is going to cost if you make payments. They will reduce the price of items by over %50 percent one minute and overcharge for the same item a day later. I go to the grocery store one week and fruit is in one section. I go back the next and they have moved where the fruit can be found in the store. Customer service is not all that important over here. After realizing this I've also realized something about myself....I'm willing to pay more for good customer service. Korea is a country that is in the process of learning how to deal with non Koreans. I am part of this process. I guess all countries learn how to deal with people who are not nationals. However, where the United States is full of different kinds of people the same can not be said of Korea. There are not different kinds of people here. Not in large numbers anyways. When I say this I am not trying to be funny but am simply trying to illustrate what it is like here. Everybody dresses the same. They get the same hair cuts. They try to look like everybody else. I am beginning to understand more and more why people have such a strong reaction to me when they see me. They are not learning about different cultures or people in school here. They learn most of what they know about non Koreans from the television. I am a big, black reminder to them that Korea is not the world and some Koreans truly FREAK OUT when they see me. What worries me about this "sameness" here is that creativity is suffering. In some of my classes I will ask kids to "invent" something and draw a picture of their invention. They sit 5 or 6 kids to a table and 90% of the time they have trouble. These are middle school and high school kids who can not imagine something new. They have no limits, no boundaries and most of them sit there staring at their page. And, if one kid starts to draw something the rest of the kids will look over his/her shoulder and copy what he/she is doing. It's very telling. I know I've talked about this before but those of you who think the education system of the United States should be more like Asian countries that have have Math and Science scores should come and visit Korea. You might change your mind. But, one thing these kids are not is lazy....at least not lazy in the class room. Physically.....hell yeah they are lazy. These kids get winded walking up stairs. It's sad. And now that the U.S. and other countries are pumping their fast foods, candy bars, soda drinks, etc. into the country I predict Korea will see a sharp rise in obesity and other health related problems in the next decade maybe sooner.

This week I am a homeroom teacher and I have a group of 14 boys. These guys have low English (which is still higher than my Korean) but they have amazing attitudes. These guys are awesome and I'm going to be sad to see them go on Friday. I like each and every one of them. They want to learn English and they have good hearts. They ask questions and they are not afraid. Sometimes I get Korean kids who are flat out afraid of me. This can be annoying at times. Usually it's girls. Korean girls do this thing I have coined the "Korean Shuffle" they see me and they quickly shuffle away. I shouldn't say all Korean girls but it's over 50% of the time. I'm kind of curious what they think I'm going to do to them that they react that way. The funny thing is once I have these girls in a class they can't wait to see me the next time. They yell my name, give me high fives, follow me around sometimes. It's like they have a class with me and realize that I'm not going to eat them alive or do whatever they thought I was going to do. Patience truly is a tool one should develop in their life time. I am learning to use this tool with quite some skill since I've been here.

With all that said, I can't really picture myself any where else at the moment. I'm supposed to be where I'm supposed to be and I accept this. Sometimes I picture myself sitting on some deck in Portland playing cribbage with Danielle drinking a Chimay. Sometimes I am having a dinner party with old and new friends pretending like I don't want to be the center of events...I do, I really do! Is that bad?

I'm trying to write...I'm not sure what, but this little voice inside my head keeps whispering "write fool, write". So I think I'm going to have to listen to it sooner than later. What should I write? I'm not sure yet. My ideas and my thoughts? I do that in a blog. I think there's a story somewhere inside of me. I know there is actually. And, I think I am growing closer to writing that story down and seeing what happens from there.