greetings!

Hello to all my beautiful family and friends...
As it's Christmas time, now is the chance to say that I have neither forgotten you nor fallen off the face of the earth. I am alive and well, and I'm still in Korea! I've been lucky enough to have gone far too many places at my age for this to be my first letter of this sort. I know Eamonn was far better at keeping family and friends posted during his time in China, and Colin has already sent many a newsy update from his station in Iraq. So, here goes.

My typical day begins not-too-early and ends not-too-late, in Pyeongtaek, South Korea (pop. 400,000, 50 min. train south of Seoul). I teach English to some of the cutest, a few of the slowest, and a couple of the most diabolical students alive. But don't worry, the rest are incredibly brilliant and kind! Education is the single most important thing in Korean society. After the regular school day ends, parents send their children to another school called a "hagwon" for the afternoon. There are hagwons for math, music, art, Chinese, Korean.... you name it. I teach in an English hagwon called Sullivan School. On my ten-minute walk to and from Sullivan, I pass the public elementary. It's impossible to complete the walk without being greeted by Korean children as they filter in and out of the school yard. Some attend my school as well, but most I don't know at all. It definitely makes the day a bit brighter when every other kid you pass shouts 'Hello Teacher!' It's also quite the opposite reaction from what I get from many elderly Koreans. I suppose the older in age, the less used they are to seeing blonde hair. So, I get a good amount of blatant stares from the old crowd. Depending on my mood, or how blatant the stare, I either let it slide or stare back (which is apparently a rude gesture from my end, but whatever, they went first).

For those of you wondering why I decided to come here, especially since I had zero teaching or Korean language experience, you probably don't know me very well ^^ (that's the Asian version of a smiley face, if you couldn't tell ^^ oops, there's another one). I crave movement and the unfamiliar, perhaps to my parent's chagrin when I was spending my scant post-graduation barista wages on plane tickets out of Seattle instead of saving. I needed a job that paid well enough to put a dent in my college loans and also allowed for a brand new challenge in a new place. Basically I had no clear idea of what to do next, sooo Korea seemed like a pretty good choice. Plane ticket and apartment paid for, I'd never tried teaching, and I'd heard only good things about the country. I got what I came for and so much more. The job is challenging, whether I'm trying to be diplomatic with kindergarteners or attempting to explain/engrain some concept of the English language.
There is newness every day, whether I'm learning another Korean word or changing books or getting a new student, all of which happen pretty often. At times it can be frustrating, but most of the time, the kids amaze me with their intelligence. The better I get to know them and the curriculum, the more manageable and enjoyable it all is. And the job comes with great benefits. On days we have teacher meetings, our director and principal (a married couple who own the school) treat the whole staff to a meal, and if we're lucky, a trip to the karaoke bar. As for healthcare--which is universal here--the two times I've been to the doctor, combined (visit and prescriptions), cost less than $35, which is my insurance co-pay for just one doctor visit (prescription not included) in the U.S.

I could go on for days, literally, about the culture here, but I don't want to bore you too much, so I'll try to keep my snippets brief.
--Language: The Korean alphabet, Hangul, is phonetic, like the English alphabet, just with different symbols and a few different sounds. You can learn the Hangul alphabet in a couple hours if you sit down and concentrate. Knowing the alphabet makes for some hilarious realizations when you discover that the word you are trying to read is actually just a Hangul spelling of an English word. For example, the word 'sandwich' in Hangul is 샌드위치, pronounced sain-duh-wee-chee. The difficult part about Korean is not the reading or writing, it's trying to figure out formal from informal (i.e. trying not to sound like a disrespectful fool in front of older people, vs. trying not to sound too proper around friends).
--People: I've never seen people with better style, except maybe in Spain. But even then, there's the risk of the Euro mullet. Koreans just look sooo cool. They're all educated-- over 80% of high school graduates go on to university. And they love to party, no matter what age.
--Gestures: Everyone bows to show respect. Everyone does the peace sign in pictures. When my coworker got married she was throwin' up the deuce in her wedding photos. Only in Asia I think. Also, never pour your own drink, and hold your glass with two hands if you are accepting a pour!
--Social Hierarchy: The concept of the upperclassman applies to life here. For Koreans, the first matter of business when meeting a new person is to find out who's older, so you can know how to address them (more vs. less formally). If you are younger, you must call your older friends by special titles and vice versa. After age ranking comes job, then what university you went to, etc.
--Food: There are so many deeeelicious dishes. My favorites are the various sorts of spicy noodles, but the most unique is Korean BBQ. This involves a hot coal grill built into the center of your table where you are in charge of cooking pieces of marinated beef or slices of pork belly. The meat comes with a limitless array of side dishes, including kimchi (as with every meal), fresh garlic, lettuce for wrapping, sauces, egg, soup, the list goes on. And of course, ice-cold beer and soju. The Irish have their whiskey, Japan has sake, and Korea has soju. It's a ghastly liquor but it's dirt cheap, so naturally, it grows on you.

As for my favorite part of Korea, that has to be the city of Seoul. It's huge and sprawling and never sleeps. The subway is complex and efficient. Despite the miles and miles of concrete high-rise apartment and office buildings, it's also beautiful. The wide Han river that runs through it reminds me of the Columbia, the sky is blue more often than not, and there are lush, green hills popping up all over the place. I'm lucky to be living close, and have friends there, so I go practically every weekend. I've seen something new every time. Last weekend I went with my friend Chelsea (she went to Seattle U with me) and our Korean friend to an area of Seoul called Dongdaemun, which is the center of the Korean fashion and textile industry. They have a couple of shopping malls that stay open all night, which was perfect, because I hadn't arrived in town til 9 PM and we still needed to find wedding attire for the following day. We shopped til 3.00 in the morning.

The next afternoon, we made our way to the Express Bus Terminal, where my co-worker/roommate, Lisa's wedding ceremony was held. She had asked me and the other foreign teachers from our school to sing "Moon River" during her ceremony. That went fine, considering the fact that we didn't participate in a rehearsal of any kind, but the ceremony was like nothing I've seen before. I guess you could describe it as a combination of ceremony and reception rolled into one. Everyone was talking and milling around the room during the vows, which were projected onto a big screen. The ceremony was followed by a series of photo shoots----immediate family, extended family, friends and colleagues. Then everyone filtered into the buffet hall, giving envelopes of money as gifts on the way in, for the most elaborate post-wedding meal I've ever had. My favorites were the fresh sushi and salmon sashimi, the most interesting were the various forms of octopus-- whole, live, and sashimi. After dinner, everyone left. No music, no dancing. On one hand it made me long to be with the family at Dom's wedding, which was happening just a few hours later in the U.S., but on the other hand, I'm really happy to have seen what a Korean wedding was like. And I made it out dancing at our favorite club later on anyway, so it wasn't so bad. :)

As strange as it may seem sometimes, Korea's an incredible place with a great balance between tradition and absorbing new ideas and trends. It never ceases to amaze me and I'm really lucky to be here. Feel free to look at sonjainaisia.blogspot.com (yes, there is an extra 'i' in asia). Though I haven't updated it in a while, there is a bit more to read about my life here. And I will definitely update in the future, hopefully after the new year. On Wednesday, I'm off on a six-day vacation to Hong Kong, thanks to Aunt Liz and Uncle Ed and their rad pad. It'll be my second New Year's Eve there and I have no doubt it'll blow NYE 2008 out of the water. Love to everyone this Christmas-- stay warm, hug your families, and be well!

Sonja