Some of you are thinking, well duh. Of course won is real money, you purchase things with it. But already I have fallen into the trap ignoring the fact that spending won is equivalent to spending dollars. In the States my money is shaped a certain way. It has a certain size and weight and color depending on how much it is worth. Though the dollar bills are not all different sizes, numbers, usually 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20 but sometimes 50, or 100, inform me of how much it is worth. The faces are recognizable.
But in Korea, the bills are all different sizes and colors. The number are ones I rarely or never deal with at home. Numbers like 10,000 or 50,000! They are the kind of numbers I would see on scratch-its and think "yea right" before revealing I had won two dollars! The faces are people I would have never recognized, and even after museums and tours I recognize only Admiral Yi Sun-Sin (on the 100 won coin) and King Sejong (10,000 won note). All of these aspects separate the Korean won from the US dollar in my mind.
Instead of turning my nose up at a difference of two or three thousand won, as I would were it two or three dollars, I simply hand over my colorful money and go about my day. Though I understand I only have a finite amount of money, won has become much easier to part with.
I have set a strict budget, 150,000 won per week, everything included. Doing this I am able to write down each of my purchases and keep in perspective how much I have been spending through the week. Though it is a bummer at the end of the day to write down each and every purchase with a descriptions, I feel that it has helped begin to realize that won is real money. Though that didn't keep me from handing my money over the the makgeolli guy. Stupid, friedly makegeolli guy...
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Not An Evergreen In Sight (First Couple of Days)
This is a messy, crazy, unorganized account of my time here thus far.
The first day you will arrive and you won't have much free time. You have to figure out your way to the school. For me this was a shuttle bus from Incheon Airport to Ehwa. Yes, I am studying at Yonsei, but if you take the Ehwa exit you can easily enter through the West Gate which is so much closer to the dorms! There is a bit of a hill, but it is nothing compared to the trip through the Main Gate with all your bags (don't do it!).
When they announce your stop (which they will do first in Korean and then in English) there is a button above your seat to press to stop the bus. After that it's two blocks and then one huge hill to get to SK Global (or, if you are less fortunate, International House). If you are most people you likely go out and explore! If you are a sane person you sleep after 2 straight days without!
The next day is full of orientations. No really. It was full. We started at 10am, broke between 12 and 2pm for lunch (where I ordered in Korean not once, but twice. The woman laughed at me, but I guess it was good enough because I got my correct order). Afterwards you return to orientation.
At this part of the program they discussed the different tours you can go on. MAKE SURE YOU BRING MONEY TO ORIENTATION!!! You have to pay right away for the tours that range from 5,000-30,000 won each and there is only space for about 50 people per tour and there were about 700 study abroad students. This orientation goes until 5pm! Afterwards, you are given the opportunity to buy your spots on the trips (this will be done in a mob, not in a line, and those from parts of the world who are good at pushing will be before you no matter how early you are! I am from the Pacific Northwest and we lack this skill. I couldn't, but if you can stomach it, be pushy because everyone else will) followed by an optional campus tour. I recommend the tour. Our tour guide did not speak English, but read something I couldn't understand from a piece of paper. Bring your mini map they give you at orientation and just keep on eye on which building is which so that you will be more familiar.
But oh wait, there is Mentor's Club afterwards.
Note: Mentor's club will keep you out until at the very least 2am this day. However, it is very, VERY worth it!
They talk to you about Mentor's club, break you up into groups, teach you how to cheer at Yon-Ko Jeon (which deserves more space than a paragraph and I will speak on later). At 7 they take you to food. Nervous to order? Fear not! They have already done so for you! Need something specific? Too bad! Sit down, shut up, and stare awkwardly at the chicken that they have placed in front of you.
After this there is "Welcome Night" or "Buddy Night". The choice of names is based on whether or not you were in the Mentor's club (hundreds of us were), which makes you not just an exchange student, but a buddy!
This is not your everyday orientation. The mentors at my other schools had a strict code of conduct that would not have allowed for this night to happen. We went to Barfly (a bar that plays American music) and for 5,000 won got a shot and a cocktail, though for 10,000 you could have gotten a shot and three cocktails. This will likely not be necessary, and I will explain why momentarily
Kabang is bag in Korean. When they yell that at you it means you can't go to the dance floor with your backpack and you will be forced to check it. It turns out that it was free that night to do the bag check, but that wasn't my only deterrent. Being paranoid, I had brought about 100,000 won with me that day. Though I had been bleed pretty dry by the events of the day (10,000 for a t-shirt, 30,000 for a tour, 3,000 for lunch, 10,000 for chicken I didn't eat, and 5,000 to get into barfly), I still didn't want to check my money. I don't trust people in the States to check my coat, so why I am expected to trust someone with my backpack which held all of my money, my SK Global cardkey, my new student ID, important paperwork, and my passport?
But I did. And everything was fine.
Next was 4 hours of dancing. "No way!" you may say, "There's no way these people from all different time zones were energetic enough to dance for 4 hours. Apparently we were. After the first hour or so, our mentors took the mics and announced there would be a dancing contest. A pole-dancing contest. The winners would be awarded a bottle of jager. My group looked at each other. They must have misspoke. That's fine, English isn't their first language.
Four winners were chosen! Four bottles of jager were passed out. This spurred the idea of people buying their own bottles. If I won a bottle of liquor, that would simply ensure my friends and I would drink A LOT! But these people used it as an opportunity to become incredibly popular, passing their bottles around whenever they entered a new dancing group. I certainly did not need more than my 5,000 won's worth of drinks.
Eventually we dragged ourselves back to the dorms. We left "early" around 2am, and three of us found our way back to the dorms, using Severance Hospital as our north star!
The first two days were a stark contrast to my third. My agenda was empty. I had a ton of time to miss home and my wonderful family and friends. I missed people smiling and making small talk. All of the gawking on the streets bore into me, but I would turn and expertly the Koreans would have already looked away. I embarrassed myself at the vegan restaurant by coming in early as I didn't have a watch and had to clue what time it was. When I tried to leave I pulled desperately on the door for a good ten seconds before I was informed that it was a button. "Kamsahabnida..." I said as I ducked out.
I spent the rest of the day nursing my pride and too scared to leave the dorm building.
If you are studying abroad, keep yourself busy. There is too much opportunity to start getting homesick, yes this early. I spent most of my second day feeling bad for myself, wondering why I had come. I didn't speak the language. I could have easily traversed the same scenario had I been in Japan! It wasn't until the end of the day that I started my list of "Phrases to make tomorrow better!" and made a list of things I wanted to accomplish for the next couple days.
I miss home already, but I know that this will get better, and it will get easier.
The first day you will arrive and you won't have much free time. You have to figure out your way to the school. For me this was a shuttle bus from Incheon Airport to Ehwa. Yes, I am studying at Yonsei, but if you take the Ehwa exit you can easily enter through the West Gate which is so much closer to the dorms! There is a bit of a hill, but it is nothing compared to the trip through the Main Gate with all your bags (don't do it!).
When they announce your stop (which they will do first in Korean and then in English) there is a button above your seat to press to stop the bus. After that it's two blocks and then one huge hill to get to SK Global (or, if you are less fortunate, International House). If you are most people you likely go out and explore! If you are a sane person you sleep after 2 straight days without!
The next day is full of orientations. No really. It was full. We started at 10am, broke between 12 and 2pm for lunch (where I ordered in Korean not once, but twice. The woman laughed at me, but I guess it was good enough because I got my correct order). Afterwards you return to orientation.
At this part of the program they discussed the different tours you can go on. MAKE SURE YOU BRING MONEY TO ORIENTATION!!! You have to pay right away for the tours that range from 5,000-30,000 won each and there is only space for about 50 people per tour and there were about 700 study abroad students. This orientation goes until 5pm! Afterwards, you are given the opportunity to buy your spots on the trips (this will be done in a mob, not in a line, and those from parts of the world who are good at pushing will be before you no matter how early you are! I am from the Pacific Northwest and we lack this skill. I couldn't, but if you can stomach it, be pushy because everyone else will) followed by an optional campus tour. I recommend the tour. Our tour guide did not speak English, but read something I couldn't understand from a piece of paper. Bring your mini map they give you at orientation and just keep on eye on which building is which so that you will be more familiar.
But oh wait, there is Mentor's Club afterwards.
Note: Mentor's club will keep you out until at the very least 2am this day. However, it is very, VERY worth it!
They talk to you about Mentor's club, break you up into groups, teach you how to cheer at Yon-Ko Jeon (which deserves more space than a paragraph and I will speak on later). At 7 they take you to food. Nervous to order? Fear not! They have already done so for you! Need something specific? Too bad! Sit down, shut up, and stare awkwardly at the chicken that they have placed in front of you.
After this there is "Welcome Night" or "Buddy Night". The choice of names is based on whether or not you were in the Mentor's club (hundreds of us were), which makes you not just an exchange student, but a buddy!
This is not your everyday orientation. The mentors at my other schools had a strict code of conduct that would not have allowed for this night to happen. We went to Barfly (a bar that plays American music) and for 5,000 won got a shot and a cocktail, though for 10,000 you could have gotten a shot and three cocktails. This will likely not be necessary, and I will explain why momentarily
Kabang is bag in Korean. When they yell that at you it means you can't go to the dance floor with your backpack and you will be forced to check it. It turns out that it was free that night to do the bag check, but that wasn't my only deterrent. Being paranoid, I had brought about 100,000 won with me that day. Though I had been bleed pretty dry by the events of the day (10,000 for a t-shirt, 30,000 for a tour, 3,000 for lunch, 10,000 for chicken I didn't eat, and 5,000 to get into barfly), I still didn't want to check my money. I don't trust people in the States to check my coat, so why I am expected to trust someone with my backpack which held all of my money, my SK Global cardkey, my new student ID, important paperwork, and my passport?
But I did. And everything was fine.
Next was 4 hours of dancing. "No way!" you may say, "There's no way these people from all different time zones were energetic enough to dance for 4 hours. Apparently we were. After the first hour or so, our mentors took the mics and announced there would be a dancing contest. A pole-dancing contest. The winners would be awarded a bottle of jager. My group looked at each other. They must have misspoke. That's fine, English isn't their first language.
Four winners were chosen! Four bottles of jager were passed out. This spurred the idea of people buying their own bottles. If I won a bottle of liquor, that would simply ensure my friends and I would drink A LOT! But these people used it as an opportunity to become incredibly popular, passing their bottles around whenever they entered a new dancing group. I certainly did not need more than my 5,000 won's worth of drinks.
Eventually we dragged ourselves back to the dorms. We left "early" around 2am, and three of us found our way back to the dorms, using Severance Hospital as our north star!
The first two days were a stark contrast to my third. My agenda was empty. I had a ton of time to miss home and my wonderful family and friends. I missed people smiling and making small talk. All of the gawking on the streets bore into me, but I would turn and expertly the Koreans would have already looked away. I embarrassed myself at the vegan restaurant by coming in early as I didn't have a watch and had to clue what time it was. When I tried to leave I pulled desperately on the door for a good ten seconds before I was informed that it was a button. "Kamsahabnida..." I said as I ducked out.
I spent the rest of the day nursing my pride and too scared to leave the dorm building.
If you are studying abroad, keep yourself busy. There is too much opportunity to start getting homesick, yes this early. I spent most of my second day feeling bad for myself, wondering why I had come. I didn't speak the language. I could have easily traversed the same scenario had I been in Japan! It wasn't until the end of the day that I started my list of "Phrases to make tomorrow better!" and made a list of things I wanted to accomplish for the next couple days.
I miss home already, but I know that this will get better, and it will get easier.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
One Generation Too Far
My name sat in the same address book as all of the other names. In the most careful of handwriting, my address and phone number followed along with a description of who I was. "Teresa's daughter, Granyma's granddaughter."
I was seated directly next to my youngest aunts, who are only a few yearss older than I am. Next to my maternal grandmother, they always seemed to have the most appeal. "How do you like your job?" "Are you seeing anyone?" "Look how pretty you've gotten." They took the tiny address book and filled in their joint information before passing it on to me with a sweet smile. I returned the smile and followed their example with slightly less alluring handwriting.
My youngest brother sat next to me at the table. He wrinkled his nose as the sight of the book and passed it down without touching the pen. He had no interest in this extended family who asked our name and association to our grandmother each event. We hardly missed one and sat next to our mother who we looked just like. It was frustrating to watch everyone around us receive perhaps not a warm welcome, but at least a familiar one, while they would give us a look of confusion or no eye contact at all. At weddings, funerals, dinners, and reunions alike, my brothers and I were non-entities. We were a generation too far from Granyma for anyone to care if we came, or usually even who we were.
As I watched my brother pass down the book dismissive, I wished that I could be like him. I wished that I didn't care that these people who were barely even related to me couldn't or wouldn't remember who I was.
With my information separated by only a thin blue line from my aunts' information, they still managed to skip me. Boldly, one of my aunts announced today that she was headed to our family reunion. A reunion I had received no information regarding. I cannot blame my aunts, and I do not blame them. Having had this happen since I was young I couldn't help but always look and wonder what it was that made me so unappealing to all of those people.
Such snubbing normally would warrant a scoff and some shit-talk, but it is strange to think that these people will never know nor care that I leave the country in ten days. It is enough to make one feel very small indeed.
I was seated directly next to my youngest aunts, who are only a few yearss older than I am. Next to my maternal grandmother, they always seemed to have the most appeal. "How do you like your job?" "Are you seeing anyone?" "Look how pretty you've gotten." They took the tiny address book and filled in their joint information before passing it on to me with a sweet smile. I returned the smile and followed their example with slightly less alluring handwriting.
My youngest brother sat next to me at the table. He wrinkled his nose as the sight of the book and passed it down without touching the pen. He had no interest in this extended family who asked our name and association to our grandmother each event. We hardly missed one and sat next to our mother who we looked just like. It was frustrating to watch everyone around us receive perhaps not a warm welcome, but at least a familiar one, while they would give us a look of confusion or no eye contact at all. At weddings, funerals, dinners, and reunions alike, my brothers and I were non-entities. We were a generation too far from Granyma for anyone to care if we came, or usually even who we were.
As I watched my brother pass down the book dismissive, I wished that I could be like him. I wished that I didn't care that these people who were barely even related to me couldn't or wouldn't remember who I was.
With my information separated by only a thin blue line from my aunts' information, they still managed to skip me. Boldly, one of my aunts announced today that she was headed to our family reunion. A reunion I had received no information regarding. I cannot blame my aunts, and I do not blame them. Having had this happen since I was young I couldn't help but always look and wonder what it was that made me so unappealing to all of those people.
Such snubbing normally would warrant a scoff and some shit-talk, but it is strange to think that these people will never know nor care that I leave the country in ten days. It is enough to make one feel very small indeed.
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