Alien in the World

Entering an alien land for the first time carries mixed feelings of excitement and unease. The cultural differences seem to blaze bright enough to blot out the overwhelming similarities. As my first week here is coming to a close, though, the brilliant flash from first impressions has subsided enough to let in feelings of comfort alongside the excitement. I first walked in like a puppy, jerking my head around at any little flashing light or sudden movement (which are both in copious quantity in Seoul), barely keeping my tongue in my mouth. I'm still like a dog after a week, but I'm at least behaving like I've had some training.

My coworker and fellow native teacher Gina showed Corinne and I how Saturday nights are done in Korea. We started at a bombin' restaurant where the succulent bite-sized slices of steak are cooked in the center of your table over hot coals (which feel superb on frozen toes and noses). Little leaves of cabbage serve as the wrap which begins with a thin slice of radish followed by a piece (or two) of bite-sized steak dipped in a delectable seasoning salt accompanied by a tiny honey glazed chunk of onion and an even tinier piece of grilled garlic clove topped with a touch of kimchi. Enfold, engulf, enjoy. We saluted the meal with occassional toasts to travel, friends and Korea with soju, a common Korean liquor made from rice wine.

The delicious meal was followed directly by a VIP karaoke party. You rent the room, select some songs, then belt your heart out for an hour without any of the social pressure a normal karaoke bar presents. Corinne put us to shame, of course, but Gina trumped us both by demonstrating her superior bilingual powers by earning a score of 100 on three separate Korean songs.

After we had our fill of amateur entertainment, we met some friends of Gina's at a different restaurant to have some soju smoothie, whose defining fruit was kiwi. Her friends, like us, are native English teachers who are lovin' the life in Korea. We got some helpful tips and advice and shared some excellent company for the rest of the night before succumbing to our bodies' urge to sleep.

Anticipatory Post

Today is the eighteenth of October in the year two-thousand nine. Thirty-one days from now I will walk into my first Korean class of somewhere around forty high-school students in Suwon near Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

I speak a total of three words in Korean, probably mispronouncing at least two of them.

I have never to my knowledge eaten authentic Korean food. Or inauthentic for that matter.

I have only traveled outside the United States one time in my entire life...two months ago. I am twenty-three years of age.

North Korea withdrew from the armistice created in 1953 on May 27 of this year. Last week, the North Korean military fired five short-range missiles off the east coast and declared a "no sail" zone that is still in effect. North Korea reputedly possesses hundreds of these short-range missiles that could easily reach Seoul.

Scared? Naahh.
Nervous? A little.
Excited? Hell yes.