Home and Hair

When I returned home last week, it took a few days for everyone to get used to me, because I looked quite different from the last time they'd seen me. In particular, comments were made about my hair, which I'd had bleached to a sandy blond color. While I was expecting some adverse reactions, I didn't think my family's responses would make me laugh so much:

Said my grandfather, in Taiwanese, "Your hair is whiter than mine!"
Said my grandmother, "Andrew wants to look like a famous Korean singer!"
Said my mom's younger sister, "Wow, so cooool!" When she speaks in English, I can't tell if she is being sarcastic or not.
Said my 11-year-old cousin, visiting from overseas, in Chinese, "At first, I thought you were wearing a towel on your head. I thought you were grandma!"

My brother and sister-and-law and their dog are temporarily staying in the house, too, and Hoagie the 3-year-old beagle-basset hound mix wouldn't stop growling and barking at me when we met for the first time.

Said my father, "He doesn't like your hair."
Said my mother, "Why is your hair that color?"
Said my uncle, to my mother, in Chinese, "Wow, you have a 外國人 (foreigner) in your house now!"

Well, all I had to say to all of them was, essentially, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Or, "입향순속(入鄉隨俗)."

I then went off to a family wedding in Southern California, where the rest of my extended family commented on my hair, then greeted me, then wondered if I would be mistaken for a member of my cousin's fiance's family, who are Korean. As it turns out, while I had plenty of opportunity to practice Korean with the Kim family, I stuck to my own for the evening. It was a wonderful family reunion, the first time that everyone had been together at the same time since our grandfather's funeral last September (and probably the last time for another year or longer).

All nine cousins, plus spouses, plus A-ma! Such a happy reunion! :) Congratulations to Johanna and the newest family addition, Daniel! Photo taken by Jen Lee.

Now, I'm home and apartment-hunting full-time until school begins in a week and a half. It's lovely being back in California. I get to enjoy home-cooked meals, sunny, dry weather every day (although there is a drought...), and the freedom of having no plans and no responsibilities. But it won't be long before this awesome vacation ends...

Parents in Pusan!

Or, in Korean, 우리 부모님들께서 부산에 오셨다! In either language you get some neat alliteration; my first-year students will appreciate that since I've been teaching them poetry.

Anyway, my parents came to visit Korea! They're in Busan for the weekend. We visited Haeundae, Haedong Yongkung Temple, Centum City, Jagalchi Fish Market, and Busan Tower. Later today we'll go to Changwon, where my Korean homestay parents will meet my actual parents. It will be joyous and very awkward!

Here are some photos from my phone: my parents and Gwangan Bridge at night (Busan's 야경 is beautiful), a selfie at the temple by the sea (this photo has 135 likes on FB and counting... 헐), and my dad flipping through the physical photo album I got him for his sixtieth birthday. (Happy birthday, Dad! )

What I'm Thankful For

It's Thanksgiving once again! Last year, I was thankful for friends, family, Fulbright, food, faith, and a lot of other things, not all of which begin with the letter F.

This year, I didn't think about Thanksgiving very much, in part due to being so busy these past few weeks. I don't get to work this little tidbit of American culture into any of my lessons, since most of my students are doing their speech tests now, and I spend every extra minute of every day correcting drafts or journals.

But it's only appropriate that I take some time now and list at least a few of the very many things for which I am grateful this year.

1. A healthy and active body. I'm thankful that I'm surviving (so far) a winter in Korea without unlimited heating. (On that note, it snowed in Changwon today! But it didn't stick.) I'm happy to be doing taekgyeon to keep myself fit even though I bake cookies and eat them all by myself every weekend... Here's a photo of my taekgyeon performance in Seoul during Fulbright Thanksgiving the weekend before last.

I'm performing with 장봉, but it's moving too fast for you to really see ;) Photo taken by Vinnie Flores.

2. I'm thankful for all of my friends, new and old. I love Skyping home to chat with people after going months or even years without seeing them. I'm also lucky that folks in Changwon are really friendly, so even though I'm basically a hermit, I have friends here in my city. Last Sunday, I ran into Nadia, a friend I met at church but hadn't seen in a few months. Ever the hospitable host, Nadia promptly invited me to dinner at her place that night, where she and some of her friends were celebrating an early Thanksgiving. She had gone to the army base in Jinhae to get all the proper food: an enormous turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, and even candied yams with marshmallows, roasted in a 된장찌개 pot! My second Thanksgiving this year was very spontaneous and simply fantastic.

Romi and part of our Thanksgiving feast, prepared by Nadia. Look at that turkey! I helped carve it. :)

New friends who live in Jangyu/Gimhae, which means I don't know how often I'll get to see them, but they're awesome all the same!

3. I'm thankful for my family, even though I haven't seen them for a while and won't for an even longer while. My parents went on a vacation to New Zealand recently, so that put them in the same hemisphere as me, but they were actually 600 miles farther away from Seoul than the Bay Area is. Also, my cousin Johanna got engaged last weekend! Congratulations, Johanna! I know you're reading this. I love my family and I love that it keeps getting bigger literally every year.

As many of you know, my grandfather passed away a few months ago. I miss him, but I'm also thankful that this event was able to bring my large family and my even larger church family together in September. I could clearly see how God used him to bless hundreds, of not thousands, of people in his long and well-lived life.

My grandparents, with A-kong sporting some killer snorkel gear, in a video hangout last year.

4. I'm thankful for my job and for the excellent Fulbright community. I'm lucky to be a part of it! My fellow teachers inspire me; they make me laugh; they keep me sane; they take my money to fund amazing progressive educational initiatives. I would be a lost and lonely 외국인 in Korea if it weren't for them.

Fulbright at the 2013 Thanksgiving dinner with the US Embassy in Seoul. I'm the one in the shirt. Taken by Vinnie Flores.

5. Last, but not least (maybe even most), I'm thankful for my students. I love 'em, and though sometimes they bring me grief, most of the time they make my life complete. I don't spend twelve hours at school every day because I like my desk, folks.

And sometimes, I find out that my students are thankful for me, too, and that just makes me melt.

A student's answer to the last journal question of the semester: What have you learned in my class?

So, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy your turducken and your parade, while I enjoy an endless feast of blessings from above. 추수감사절 축하합니다!

An Unexpected Homecoming

I'm home. I'm in California, and I'm sitting on my bed next to my stuffed animals and an emptied suitcase, and it feels very odd.

Only one month into my second year teaching, I couldn't have predicted this little break coming so soon. One sunny Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago, I was just beginning plans for winter holiday travel when my brother called and broke the news to me: A-kong, my grandfather, had passed away.

It was expected for me to attend the funeral. All nine of my grandfather's grandchildren had to come back from the far corners of the country (and the world, in my case). So, I asked for some time off from my school, booked the cheapest ticket I could find, and rearranged my plans to make room for an emergency trip home.

One thing I'm really thankful for and impressed by is the outpouring of sympathy from the Koreans in my circles. I wasn't planning on telling too many people what my plans were for the weekend, but obviously, I had to inform my co-teachers, since they have to cover seven classes for me. I also told my taekgyeon master and fellow trainees, and the night before I left, I paid a visit to my host parents from last year and broke the news to them, as well. The response was touching. My host parents asked me again and again if I was okay and if my family was holding together. My taekgyeon master gave me a gift of rice wine to take home to my parents. My co-teachers even collected some money for my family. It's a tradition to collect some funds for a 유족 (grieving family) to help cover funeral costs; there's even a special envelope you can buy for this very purpose. Although I don't think my family really needs the money they gave, it was such a strong manifestation of their kindness -- the same selflessness and helpfulness they have shown to me all year, which I have learned is called 정, that I was momentarily speechless when they gave it to me. I don't think I could bow low enough to show my gratitude!

Now that I'm actually home, though, everything feels kind of strange. I could attribute the feeling to 시차 (jetlag), but really, a part of me keeps telling me, "You're not supposed to be here right now. You should be teaching! You're supposed to be in Korea; why are you in California?" Obviously, this voice is delusional. What's most important right now is my family and the support I can give them for these five short days. I'm especially worried about my A-ma, whom I visited as soon as I got home. As far back as I can remember, I have never seen her cry, so I was shocked to see that she was sobbing when she opened the door to greet me this morning. It was partly joy to see me (despite having come from the farthest away, I was one of the first of the nine back for the weekend) and partly her utter sorrow that A-kong couldn't also be there to say hi to his youngest grandchild.

My last words to my grandfather, spoken before I left for Korea one month ago, were that I would see him again at Christmastime. I guess I got the timing wrong.

When most of the family gathered tonight for dinner and rehearsal for some of the songs we will sing at tomorrow's memorial service, I knew then that I was indeed in the right place. And at the right time. I will probably feel odd all weekend -- after all, death, though as common to the human experience as life, is never an easy thing to face for the first time -- but I know that everything will be okay. My family and I trust in God, who leads us into tough times and then back out of them, stronger or wiser or closer than ever before.

阿公, 我想你! 在主耶穌的懷裡安息.

Summer Vacation

안녕하세요? 오랜만입니다. Hello readers, it's been a while, at least by my own standards. Going from posting every other day to a two-week silence might have been odd, but hey -- 지금 여름 방학인다. It's summer vacation now.

My Taiwanese students and me! We're Team 5, the "Butter-fives".

I spent four days in Taiwan TA-ing at a summer camp that I also did two years ago. Teaching at this camp was actually not so different from the games and lectures I've grown accustomed to doing this past year in Korea. The students were tons of fun, too. I wish I had gotten to stay for the entire week! Although I was sad to have to leave early, I truly enjoyed seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and making the most of my now-habitual yearly stint in Taiwan (including eating lots of delicious fruits and fried things). I've really left a part of my heart in that country.

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota

The reason I left the camp early was to attend the wedding of two of my best friends from college, Wes and Hana. I flew from Taipei to San Francisco, and then in less than twelve hours, I went back to SFO to fly to Rapid City, South Dakota, home of Mount Rushmore and acres of random Native American culture tourist traps. (It was at the Denver airport, where I transferred, that I got my first and only case of reverse culture shock: seeing tons and tons of white and/or overweight people as I walked through the terminal. Just... not something I was used to seeing after a year in Korea.)

The newlyweds and some groomsmen. (photo by Christina Vivit)

The wedding was fantastic, spiritually and emotionally rejuvenating. I fell in love with the gorgeousness of the Black Hills, not to mention the beauty of the bride and groom themselves! Seriously, they are two of the most beautiful people I've met, both inside and out. I am so, so happy and excited about the new life they are starting together. The wedding was also a really great opportunity to catch up with old college friends, most of whom I hadn't seen in over a year. It only dawns on me during reunions like these how much I miss by being on the other side of the world while everyone else is getting on with their adult lives.

My cousins, grandparents, and me.

Since the wedding, I've been back in Fremont, being a bum. Every day I visit my 92-year-old grandfather and help with preparations for my cousin's wedding (yup, second one this summer). Then, I fill up the rest of the hours playing board games, hiking, catching up with FB and blogs, and, in general, making a real vacation out of this vacation. This is almost exactly what I had hoped for, and I'm thankful to God for the blessings of a loving family, friends with free time, and this amazing Californian weather.

I miss my students, though. Is that strange? It's been only two weeks, but it seems like I have not seen them in a very long time. We parted ways in July on an abrupt and tragic note, and I think that that influenced the strange disconnect I feel right now. In all honesty, I'm yearning to go back, not even to begin teaching again, but just to see everyone and make sure they're doing all right. Just two and a half weeks more!