A Week of Celebrations

Happy last few days of November, everyone. It's really feeling like winter here in Goheung, marked by temperatures that hover around freezing, and dry sunny days. Many friends living farther north have even posted live videos of the snow coming down in Seoul. As for Jeonnam, though, we're just enjoying our 온돌 (floor heater) and that super sweet Korean coffee.

It was great to message and Skype so many people this week for Thanksgiving. We have had a lot to celebrate in the last few days, not the least of which was my friend 혜란's decision to close her bakery. While I'll miss having such a cozy space to study Korean and enjoy her sweet treats, it is definitely the best move for her, and we celebrated the best way we knew how, by putting that shop to work in it's last days. We made bulk 유자 (citron) tea, preserved in a number of jars to give to friends and stock up our homes for the winter. The best part was knowing that the 유자 fruit came fresh from our friend 성미's garden. I then used the oven at the bakery to make biscuits for the first time since arriving in Korea. It was so nice to have a taste of home and treat the girls to some American pastries. Cooking together has easily become one of the simplest and most fun ways to bond, and, the look on our faces when we sink our teeth into something delicious breaks the language barrier for that moment in such a sweet way. The girls took some pictures while my hands were all sticky, so you can see the process.

Then, of course, there was Thanksgiving day itself. Jamie had to work of course, since the holiday isn't observed in Korea, but we made the most of it when he got home. For dinner we had mashed potatoes, rosemary chicken, mozzarella, and dried cranberries on toast, and what is essentially a Little Debbie snack that was called "Fresh Baked Apple Pie." We washed it all down with a bottle of wine, and set the mood with a candle to really get that Thanksgiving feel. All in all, the meal was delicious, and it felt good to mark the occasion, even wasn't the traditional style we are used to.

Then this weekend, we gathered with the rest of the foreign teachers for a party at  성미's house. Though I have been to a few family's homes here in Korea, they have all either been condos, apartments, or modern style homes downtown. 성미's house was the first traditional style Korean home I have ever been to, and a few things are of note from that experience. First of all, Koreans are, by and large, shorter than Westerners (especially older generations). As such, doorways in traditional homes are mostly too short for even me to walk through without bending over. The ceilings inside are tall enough for me, but notably shorter than the standard 8ft. ceiling of a modern western home. Old wood beams frame the structure of the house, including several across the roof which was a traditional, curved Asian shape of roof. The feature that added the most character to the style of the house indoors was that the doors between rooms are made of many small wood frames, and backed in paper. They hold in no heat, and are simply meant as a visual block, rather than a sound or temperature seal. I didn't take photos, as it seemed rude in the context, but I would suggest googling traditional Korean home interiors to get a better idea of what I am describing here. It was very different than I am used to, and seemed both beautiful and difficult to live in for various reasons. The party itself, was held in a separate 2-room building on the property, one with heating and more modern features, including higher ceilings. We had a traditional Korean meal, and celebrated at the end of the night with Scotch and chocolate cake "for thanksgiving" according to the Koreans that hosted us. It was a really sweet gesture, a fantastic cultural experience, and a great opportunity to be surrounded with people on a holiday weekend that many of us weren't prepared to be alone.

p.s. in the photo above, 혜란 is the one lighting the cake, and is also the one who made that beautiful, delicious, polka-dotted creation there! And the lovely lady beside her in the striped sweater is our wonderful host, 성미. 💓

Last but not least, was the celebration of the end of the semester for many students in Korea. A performance at the cultural center let them showcase all sorts of dances, songs, and stories they've been working on. It was a treat for me to see a traditional drum number, and traditional song in particular. Check it out!

As the week of celebrations wraps up, I'm looking forward to the next holidays on our agenda, the Solstice, and Christmas! I've even started crafting decorations (can you guess what these few supplies will turn into?)!

Have a great end of November, stay warm, and as always, you can post comments here on the blog with any questions you have and we will get back to you.
Cheers,
K

Being Social

Katy, here. I'll start off by acknowledging that I'm a day late this week. But with good reason! There was a Harvest festival event at church that kept me later than usual yesterday, so I didn't have time to post. Here we are though, less that 24 hours later, to update everyone on the going's on.

It's been a great week here in Goheung. We've been feeling more and more at home and settled, between the people we know and the places we frequent. This week in particular was extra home-y, as we participated in the community more than we have previously.

First, last Saturday I made a home-cooked Korean meal for our fellow expats. As full-time workers, they've had significantly less time to play with the cuisine and explore the city, and I feel a bit like the resident housewife for all of us. So I introduced everyone to the fortress park up by the temple where we enjoyed 비빔국수 (mixed noodles), persimmons, grapes, and barley water. Barley water is often served in place of plain water here in both restaurants and homes. It is made by boiling barley bags with water and chilling it to room temperature. It is supposed to be more hydrating than water (somehow) and has a bit of a grain-y flavor that appeals those whose diet is mostly based on rice. It was a fun project for me to cook for everyone, and gave me a lot of satisfaction to see everyone enjoying the food. In addition it was a nice way to sit around and get to know the newest member of the community, Neng, who is a recently arrived ESL teacher. Here's a picture, after we'd polished off most of the meal.

 

Then Wednesday, Jamie's co-workers at Podu middle school (not the school he was teaching at that day) came to pick him up early. They planned an excursion and spent the next three hours on a long, winding, a beautiful hike. Tired and hungry, they then went out to eat downtown Goheung, which was good new for Jamie, as usually he would've had to take the bus home. While the whole adventure tired him, it has become increasingly clear that the work culture in Korea requires a certain friendship between co-workers, built on shared experiences. Days like this help him bond and be seen as one of the team at Podu middle school. This is particularly important as it is his main school, the one that signed his contract, and the one we'll need on our side if we want to stay another year. Below are the pictures Jamie sent me of the trek.

 

Last but not least (for this week at least) I had the opportunity to accompany a friend of mine to see her son's school recital. He is in the local elementary school and as such, I ran into many other parents and neighbors that I've grown to know well. Many of which were thrilled to show off their kid's part in the performances, which took up about three hours in total. There were dances, songs, the band played, and theater performances. It was fun as well to see the numbers that my friends, other expat teachers, had helped put together for their students. One was entirely in Chinese, thanks to Yu Jou, a Chinese foreigner we often go bowling with. It was a lot of fun to support everyone, the kids, friends, and parents alike and I feel like it helped me present myself as part of the community. Aren't they cute?!

 

Relationships are incredibly important to social culture here, and these kinds of activities help people see past our poor Korean skills, western faces, and awkward behavior. Instead recognizing us as part of the network of people that make up Goheung. It is extra important in a place like this one, a rural, smaller city, to put effort into these relationships, since we don't have the benefit of getting lost in the crowd. In general, the language and behavior all revolves around preserving the social hierarchy and prioritizing loyalty. These guidelines make it extra exciting when you not only successfully establish yourself in a network, but follow the social expectations well enough to be part of local's perceived community. 

 

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving next week with a party, co-hosted by my two closest friends (Koreans), and myself for the other foreigners in town, Americans and otherwise. We won't have a turkey, but we will certainly enjoy the company. Pictures to come!

 

-K

Autumn in Korea

Hi, everyone! Katy, here. It's solidly autumn here in Goheung and we've got the brisk temperatures, colorful mountainsides, and selfies to prove it. As I promised last week, I'll share this week about our trip to Haenam that we took about two weeks ago, as well as a few pictures and updates from our day-to-day lives here in Goheung.

Haenam is the southernmost county of Korea's mainland. As I've mentioned, there are always islands further south, but this is as far as you can go without hopping in a boat or crossing a bridge. The county also boasts the 4th highest peak in Korea, and beautiful 360 degree views from the top. To get there, as we were not up for the rather strenuous hike, we took a 10 minute cable car ride from the base of the mountain. As a side note, Korean's enthusiasm is easily encouraged, and, at each tower that the cable car passed, a slight swing would set the passengers oohing and aahing which we found adorably amusing. From the top of the cable car, there was about a 15 minute climb up a pretty impressive and steep staircase to reach the platform at the highest point of the mountain. The temperature difference between the base and the peak was pretty drastic. We were really cold at first, but the climb up the stairs to the lookout warmed us up quickly. And what a view!

 

Aside from the amazing view, the circular platform at the top also had a couple neat features, such as a directional arrow approximately every 15 degrees around the circle that showed what countries were in that direction. There was also a measuring stick that let you know just how tall you were at this height. I was about 642.5 meters tall that day. Pretty nifty!

 

There were multiple lookout points, each offering what I assume were inspirational quotes or phrases in Korean, made out of rebar. When we finally cooled off again and headed back down to the cable car, we were pretty windblown and tired.

 

At this point I should backtrack a little. I believe I forgot to mention that this whole trip was with a church I have been attending for the past month or so. It is an English speaking service in Suncheon that draws a crowd from the US, South Africa, and the Philippines mostly. Every season, this group of about 30, rents a bus and travels around for a day. So our next, and final stop on the tour with this church group was Mihwangsa Temple. Mihwangsa is an absolutely beautiful and incredibly expansive temple grounds that is open now as a tourist attraction. We didn't have long to spend there, though I would have happily speant a few hours at least.

 

There were also a number of really interesting memorial (maybe grave?) sites on the temple grounds. I apologize for the rough quality of the pictures, but it was starting to get dark at that point in the day and my phone's camera doesn't handle low light well.

 

So that was our trip to Haenam. The fall colors hadn't really broken out yet since the weather wasn't being all that cold regularly yet. Recently however, the temperatures have dropped quite a bit and the colors, especially here in Goheung have really popped. This is a picture I took just today as Jamie and I went for a walk up the mountain to get a little exercise.

 

In general, fall here is beautiful. The weather has cooled off and we do have to use the heat at home sometimes. But autumn here is crisp and cloudless for the most part, so it's been hard to lament the chill. A note on heating in Korean homes - most places use 온돌 which is a style of heating that uses the same heater that heats your water for a shower. This heater then pumps the heat beneath the flooring such that the floors heat up in this really cozy, luxurious way. I've been known to get a bit chilly sitting on the bed, and crawl down onto the floor to lay down and warm up. It's very different, but we really like it. We're definitely making a note of it for any potential future homes back stateside.

 

That's all for this post. I hope everyone back home is having a nice autumn (though I hear there are some bad fires out east). Stay safe and have a great upcoming week.

-K




Technical Dificulties

Katy, here.
I'm sorry to say that it has been a rough week for computers in the Biesanz household. My laptop (the one we use for blogging) got a big crack in the touchscreen and was so glitchy that I could not so much as open the control panel. Unfortunately this means that I couldn't prepare my usual post this week, since the computer has just now (late on Sunday night Korea-time) been fixed. I apologize for the lack of an update, but I assure you all, next week's will have lots of pictures and a fun story from an autumn trip, strange heating systems in Korea, and more.
Sneak peak picture from the trip!...

We are, of course, still well and enjoying the beautiful fall weather here.
Have a great week everyone!
-Katy