Treewoodnews

I am currently at a health club and they are playing Milkshake by Kelis. Best. Health. Club. Ever.

Before I went on exchange (and until very recently) I didn’t quite know what it meant to be a “good ambassador for your country”. I knew that it requires you to generally be a good person and not make large cultural mistakes (assuming that you know what the mistake is before you make it), but I didn’t fully understand the concept. Now I know, but not necessarily because I am being a good ambassador. I know because of all the terrible Americans (yes, specifically Americans) that I have seen here. They made me realize exactly why I want to try my absolute hardest to give America the greatest image possible in Korea; because they aren’t. Being a good ambassador doesn’t require you to be the nicest or happiest person ever, but it does require you to not be a bad one and to at least have some regard for the culture. Americans are such bad ambassadors in Korea that there are some stores specifically banning Americans from entering. I want to be a good ambassador not simply because I want the Koreans that I know to have a good impression of America, but because if something happens that gives America a bad image, I want my friends to be able to know that there is good in America too, and hopefully realize that the bad parts are mostly the minority.

Last night I had my first dream in Korean (at least that I remember). Granted, it wasn’t full Korean, but I was speaking Korean while the people I was speaking with attempted to speak in English and then switched to Korean when they inevitably failed (which is how people here communicate with foreigners). I still had to think about what I was saying but I did manage to say more complex things than I normally can and I didn’t have to try as hard to speak. All that happened was me telling some guy at a movie theater why I came to Korea, but it was still a dream and in Korean so I’m counting it.

Now that school has started up again I have more things to write about, although admittedly much less time to actually write than I thought I would. One of the many interesting things that has happened to me in school is when my classmates ask me if they would be attractive in America. They also ask me if certain things like perms (on guys) and skinny jeans are gay in America, which is funny because most fashionable things in Korea would generally be attributed to gays in America, which isn’t a bad thing, Koreans just tend to view it that way.

The past few days I’ve been feeling kind of down. School started on Friday and it seemed like none of the Koreans were very keen on interacting with me. That all changed today.

The first interesting interaction I had today was with the biology teacher. He started using America as an example in a hypothetical situation and then my classmates told him there was an American exchange student. He glanced over the classroom, both puzzled and surprised, and still couldn’t tell. I raised my hand and told him that I was the American exchange student, and he was still confused until I eventually explained what seemed like my entire family history. As I was explaining, my classmates synchronously ooo’d and aah’d in a way that was so perfectly coordinated you’d think they’d been practicing from birth specifically for that moment. Then the biology teacher decided to switch his example from using America to Britain.

After he finished his example he asked me what my name was.

“Name?”

“Dustin”

“Like this?” He wrote it on the board.

“Yes”

“Family name?”

“Chan”

“Like this?” He wrote Cheun

“No, Chan,” with a little extra emphasis on the “a”

“Uuhhhh” He erased the “u” and added an “a”

“No, Chaaaaaaaaan, with an A”

He replaced the “e” with an “a”

“Only one A”

“Ahah! Chahn!!! (The Korean vowel for “a” sounds like “ah”)”

“No, Chan”

“No, Chahn. This is Konglish. You say Chahn. Chahn Dustin, not Dustin Chan. Chahn Dustin.”

“… Ok.”

Then he went on to call DNA “deuna” instead of “D.N.A.” and he marveled at my pronunciation of deoxyribonucleic acid (which apparently they just call deoxynucleic acid here). He also explained that in Korea saying F*** you (in English) isn’t really that insulting and mostly for fun, as is the middle finger. He also explained to the whole class that girls do not have penises, but guys do.

After that class period all my classmates gathered around me to ask me questions and it was pretty interesting. One group of guys asked me to join their soccer group. A request they will soon regret. I think all that it took for my class to start talking to me was for them to acknowledge that I was there. Before that teacher called on me multiple times within a period, I don’t think they really knew who I was, or even fully recognized my existence. There seems to be a great four months ahead of me.

Ever since I arrived in Korea I’ve been eating more and more. At first, I could generally get full from one normal person meal. After many, many buffets and long feedings, I need at least three normal meals to get full, and if I eat any less than that I get hungry again in about half an hour. Also, if I eat at a slow enough pace (like in Korean barbecue restaurants where you cook your own meat) I can literally eat forever, and I only stop when I get bored. I decided to check if I’ve gained any weight since many of the other exchange students are reporting very unhealthy weight gains. I am proud to report that I have not gained any weight despite my crazy eating habits. This can only mean one thing; that the Korean belief is true and the more you eat the more beautiful you are.

Just talked with my host mom, and apparently my face got smaller so she thinks I’m on a diet. Apparently that can happen here. Also, I found a really cool store with Eleonore today. Kind of like Hot Topic (a store that caters to subcultures and the nontypical American) but bigger, better quality, and Asian.

Today I saw a very famous Korean musical called “Cookin’ Nanta!” and I was pleasantly surprised. I went in with fairly high expectations but I didn’t quite know what to expect. I am pleased to say that it at least met my expectations if not exceeded them. It uses quirky Korean humour (go Britain!) along with traditional Korean drum beats in a kitchen setting. It is a fast-paced and fun musical that is an entertaining and unexpected find in Korea. Nanta is also geared towards an international audience as it is a “nonverbal” show. I use quotation marks as there are a few words here and there, mostly in English but when the actors are supposed to be speaking gibberish you can catch a few mumbled Korean words here and there. Ultimately, I would definitely recommend this musical to anyone visiting Korea.