Enter Jenny Kim 김정윤

This is without a doubt the most scandalous, tabloid worthy piece that has crossed this desk. So you may want to be seated before starting to read. If you're in the habit of standing while reading, you can't say I didn't warn you. I wanted to write about this a long time ago, but I hadn't even told my family so, I mean, writing blogs about it before telling them would be kinda lame. Anyway, that's my way of saying sorry for the lack of updates recently. 

So, yea, the rumours are true, I have a girlfriend now here in Wonju...and she's awesome. But like I said, it's quite a story, so sit down. Where to start, where to start....

Um, she's Korean yea she is......I met her first the day before I went home to Canada for Christmas at our ELC day combined performance. She teaches at the other ELC, maybe ten minutes from ours. When I met her I thought she was gorgeous....I remember turning to Amy and saying "woooow". We all went out after the performance and nothing particularly noteworthy happened, apart from finding out she went to church. 

Then I went home and had Christmas, and forgot about her for a long time...sure she was cute, but for all I knew she was married, or 35 or something (my guess was like 26, but I've been wrong by 7,8 years before....all us foreigners really don't do well with Korean women's ages) 

But I guess, the end of January, I was bored and sent her an email just for kicks. Practice Korean or whatever. Can't hurt. One of my friends told me that day that she was 25, which was good news. Better than 35 :).  She was shocked that I could write in Korean, and she wanted to meet up. (if you've been cheating and looking at the pictures, you know what's coming next maybe) 

And then she told me, she has a kid, and an ex-husband in Seoul. I guess if you haven't lived here, you don't know how weird that is. Women DO NOT get married young in Korea...like 30 or later. So to be 25, with a three year old is just, quite frankly unbelievable. Men get custody of kids in Korea by the way, so her daugher lives in Seoul too. Her husband is quite the story and um, I guess it's not really blog-fodder, but suffice it to say I'm stunned that he is allowed custody of the kid.

Call me crazy, but her past didn't really bother me....I mean, I guess I just thought to myself, if I like her, than the kid is part of who she is....and if I don't like her, then who cares. (Carefree/simplistic as that may sound, I am not blessed with the ability not to think things to death....so I'm pretty sure my next blog will be reflections on having a cross-cultural girlfriend with a kid)

Anyway, so, after work one day we went to eat and go to a movie. And I mean, dates with pretty girls are a bit nerveracking at the best of times, but for the first while on this one, at the restaurant, she kept speaking Korean to me (even though her English is really really good). So yea, I was quite nervous...try talking to a pretty girl in like your 4th best language and see how YOU do. And you have to use chopsticks too by the way. Just for extra stress. :)

Anyway, at the movie, a classic story... we were walking into the wrong theatre, so it was dark, and she walked right into a wall. Full out....I couldn't see either, so just imagine, first date with someone, some nervousness of course...walking into the theatre, it's dark, and you hear *thud* thud*yelp!* I could not surpress the giggles. 

What else to say? She's surprised me at every turn. We really thought she was kind of a Korean princess girl. Most of them are....and she dresses really nice, like heels all the time etc. But turns out she likes sports and hiking, and playing drums, and she lives on -get this - a farm. A farm? You've gotta be kidding me. I was shocked. But yea, her Mom runs a cow farm. And her Dad is a pastor actually. In a different city. 

Anyways, I met the daughter actually on our second date, and I was nervous. I mean, kids here are scared of foreigners, and she certainly doesn't speak english. But, anyway, only took like five minutes for me to fall in love with her......once she held my hand and counted to three in her cute korean voice so I would make her 'fly', I was a goner. There's a couple pictures of her below as well. And no, there aren't twins...it's called photoshop.

That's basically my tabloid-worthy scandalous story. So for a few weeks now, we've been hanging out all the time. It's been a blur....Lots of movies and eating. Studying Korean...went to the Korean version of Disneyland....scariest, steepest wooden roller coaster in the world....

Can't wait for this -15 front to dissapear so we can start doing some things outside. 

Later........

Orts

One of my favourite things about myself is my sense of drama, and occasion....I mean....marking my six month in Korea milestone with a blogpost about Korean animal sounds was a move just dripping with a flair for the dramatic....

Or not so much. Anyway, last week I've been here six months. So far so good. Moving on - some random tidbits and photos from my classes for today: 

Weirdest things I've eaten in Korea so far, and no I haven't had dog yet: 

Raw oysters (gool),  Ferns and Sesame Plant leaves.....I may have eaten weirder things that I didn't recognize....not sure....

Weirdest drink has got to go to the traditional Korean drink that tasted like grass crossed with listerine. Minus the mint. So basically grass and alcohol then. 

I don't mind seafood as much anymore....I mean, don't panic Rebecca and Bethany....I'm never going to be like "what do you want for lunch? OOOH OOOH SEAFOOD!" But I don't mind it...I guess I'm more polite here and eat whatever they give me....at home I might be more inclined to decline if you know what I mean....

Um....back to the race issue for a minute...this blog http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2009/01/ask-korean-news-racism-starts-early.html

Is a really interesting read....some main points: 

-A full quarter of Korean children surveyed said looking different was reason enough not to be friends with a "mixed race/multicultural" kid

-Almost 60% didn't think these kids (even though they'd lived here their whole lives) were Korean

-For 16% "I would be embarrassed" was the reason they couldn't be friends with such kids...

Yikes. 

AND THIS IS IN SEOUL (and surrounding area) Korea's 'beacon' (cough*) of multiculturalism....I shudder to think of Wonju's survey #'s.....

And in closing some of my cute kids.....

An Act of Kindness

So yesterday was 정월대보름....cheongweol daebo reum....everyone knew that right? Of course you did. It's the first full moon of the Lunar New Year.....who doesn't know that? 

Actually, half of the Koreans I talked to didn't know that yesterday was the day...so it's obviously not THAT big a deal. 

Anyway, there's a cafe that I go to occasionally, that opened last month, and the lady there is really sweet and speaks English....one day last week she randomly told me that her mother and her had been talking and thought it must be hard for foreigners in Korea so far away from home (no kidding). So they wanted to do something nice for us, and I was supposed to bring a couple friends by at lunch time. (Enter Kyle and Amy) 

Her/her mom made a whole bunch of traditional Cheongweol Daebo Reum food....mostly vegetables, but also soup, rice,  seafood pancake type things, it was really good. And desert....hmmm....It was really sweet of them. And I can now add sesame plant leaves and ferns to the list of things that I have ingested. Haha. But Really.  

Surprisingly, Kimchi is actually contraband that day....and I am supposed to be itch free for the rest of the year because I successfully bit through a peanut shell. I think my head just itched actually, oops, there goes that. Dang. 

 

Korean Animals

I heartily enjoyed learning Dutch Animal sounds back in the day.....so I thought I would share some of the sounds that Korean animals make as well, for kicks....and they are amazing. I selflessly donated another hour to handcrafting a pictoral companion to this post...aren't I great.....without further adieu:

Chick: Bee-yuk Bee-yuk

Dog: Mung-mung or wol-wol

Cow: O-meeeh

Pig: Gul Gul

Horse: Hi-hing

Tiger and Lion: Ohung

Frog: gagel gagel

Cat: Yowng yowng

Rooster: Gokee-o

Bird: Jack Jack

Old Macdonald will never be the same

A winner weekend

I just realized it has been a while since I posted an embarassing story, or one involving misfortune befalling me, so he goes....I was typing on my computer sitting on my exercise ball (as I'm apt to do) and apparently there was a little stone on my floor. Said ball rolled over said stone and KABAM! My overpriced, poorly reinforced, made in China, exercise ball of questionable quality breathed it's last. My kids enjoyed that story and the accompanying illustration, so I thought I would reproduce it for you here (exact replica)  There you go. Laugh away.  

On a different note, I went skiing this weekend with Phil and some random others that I had not met before and it was great. We went to a different place that's only like an hour from here on a free bus, and I am actually good at skiing now....like I can sidestop and do the hardest runs on the hills and all that. Anyways, that wasn't the point.....

I went with a couple Americans, a Taiwanese/American girl from California.....her boyfriend (Korean), Kate from my School (Korean), Phil (England) and one girl from Canada who went to a similar sort of school to Providence in Nova Scotia.  And she has family in Truro..Nova Scotia. And plays soccer. It was weird. They're starting a music/coffee house/church-like thing on Sunday nights. So I might have met a really good connection to some cool people by accident this weekend. 

Not that church-type friends are the end all and be-all.....I have plenty of friends who are not into church at all...and truth be told, sometimes I think I have more in common with them than some of the crazies of the church persuasion out there. But, it will certainly be nice to have more english speakers who are not the binge-drinking, constant clubbing types in Wonju. The surprises kept on coming when I got back....there's a brand new theatre and TGIF restaurant by my house. Go Musil-Dong!

Though I haven't slept much, it was really a refreshing weekend....spring has arrived, the birds are singing, it is warm and I am going out to enjoy it.....

I will ignore the nagging voice/rumours/M*A*S*H TV shows that say this will be the only good week of weather in Korea all year. The hot stickiness will strike again soon....ugh. But,  be gone depressing thoughts..... I banish thee to Monday.