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| This is Yeongdo, an island district of Busan, the second largest city in South Korea! |
I can't believe I'm finally out here in "real" Korea!
WHAT I EXPECTED MY HOST FAMILY TO BE LIKE
Meeting my host family last night assured me that prayers have been answered. During the car ride to Yeongdo, my Fulbright co-teacher asked me if I was nervous to meet them. Uncharacteristically, I wasn't, so I said:
Me: No
Co-teacher: [smiles] Really?!
Me: Yeah. I'm not nervous! But maybe later I will be?
[after a pause]
Me: You said they were very pious earlier.
Co-teacher: Right
Me: So, I know that they're Christian, but what exactly do you mean by "very pious"?
Co-teacher: Ah! Ahm, hmmm...maybe a little more strict? I don't know. They are very good Christian family
Me: Ah!
[after another pause]
Me: How much English do they know?
Co-teacher: Hm, I don't think they speak very well
Me: Ah...
[and I sat back in my seat, thinking, worrying]
WHAT MY HOST FAMILY IS ACTUALLY LIKE
I need not have worried. My family welcomed me with so much warmth that all anxieties I had over x and y melted away within the first night we spent together.
My host parents have already taken to calling me their "first daughter." Due to some interpretation errors, I initially thought that my host father was a farmer, but it turns out he's a businessman who works with agricultural products. My host mother is a housewife/homemaker just like I was informed.
I have two younger host sisters - a 17-year-old first-grade high school student in the school where I will be teaching, and a 14-year-old first-grade middle school student. Both were shy at first, but have quickly taken to translating for both sides, putting every English word they have ever learned and retained into good use. This took considerable effort on their part. After a few sentences of successful translating, they would groan deeply and slump back into their chairs complaining of a headache. Oh, poor girls...
EATING HEALTHY WILL BE EASY HERE
I slept well last night, and woke up to a day that looked like this:
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| My host mom prepared these delicious sandwiches for breakfast. I was already too-happy to eat these, but then she also brought up a plateful of cherries and corn. There was also a glass of banana milk involved (basically milk with a whole banana blended into it). |
HOW MY FULBRIGHT CO-TEACHER FOUND MY HOST FAMILY
Me: Wow, how did you find them?
Co-teacher: I posted flyers about...hmmm...a month ago. Nobody answered so I started to get worried. Luckily, before you got here, a student responded to the flyer and said her family could host an ETA.
Me: Oh, wow! Close call. Thank you for arranging all this for me.
Co-teacher: No problem. It's my job.
So, it appears that the Fulbright office does not handle the homestay (like they had said during Orientation). I understand now why the OC Team had stressed the "It Depends" mantra so much, for everything.
It really does depend! On your co-teacher (whether they are going to put in the work reading and trying to meet your preferences), and on your potential, future homestay family (whether they are interested in hosting and actually step up to the plate).
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| Scriptures and the cross displayed quite prominently in the living room. |
Things have aligned so well that I consider myself truly blessed to have this family!
I found out by talking to one of my host sisters that their family had just moved into this apartment - guess when? - a month ago.
A month ago right around the time my co-teacher posted flyers. A month ago when I had just barely arrived in Korea. Less than a month ago, my now-host sister saw the flyer at school and brought it home with her.
Host sister: [Laughing] My Dad say we moved to apartment for you. This apartment is for you!
If there ever was a truer statement...
After my very-healthy breakfast, I got up and walked around the apartment a bit.
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| The welcome bouquet my school had presented to me during yesterday's Departure Ceremony. Those blue hydrangeas... |
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| View of the apartment complex |
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| On the back of the city bus with them. Host mom gave me her bus key to use |
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| The department store we went to |
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| The man who convinced my co-teacher, who then convinced me, to get a smartphone. |
According to them, my iPhone 4S would not work in Korea. I had attended a workshop with a former ETA who said iPhone 4S AT&Ts should work with [device I couldn't remember]. I mentioned this to my co-teacher, and she then relayed the information to the clerk, but the clerk said that it was not possible. It did not help that I couldn't remember what the device was called.
Since there is wi-fi everywhere (my homestay has wi-fi galore!), I asked the clerk for the cheapest plan and most basic phone they had, intending to only have it at hand for emergencies. After nearly three hours of communicating and calculating various projected costs, he convinced me that getting the smartphone would actually ultimately be better for reasons x, y, z.
I am now the extremely reluctant owner of a second smartphone.
It's a pretty good deal, and my phone is a beautiful piece of technology, but I felt rushed and guilted into signing the contract on the spot, which is an awful feeling that's still sitting in the pit of my stomach.
PRO TIPS FOR FUTURE ETAs:
- Go to the store having researched different phones and plans. Preferably not the day after arriving at the homestay.
- Talk to past and present ETAs about what phone arrangements/plans they had/are getting
- Do not sign a year-long contract if you have any reservations. It is okay! You can always return to a/the store another day, and you can always make it up to your co-teacher who will have traveled with you by buying them lunch.
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| The top of the mall had an amazing view of the ocean and Busan and Yeongdo connected by the bridge. They also had this neat cafe that ran out of ice so we couldn't order our patbingsu. |
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| Very relaxing atmosphere |
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| Bridge of Busan. I'm still a bit disoriented from basically everything so I have been taking pictures of even the most boring of maps and signage to help me visualize the space I'm at now. |
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| Love locks. |
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| Love notes? |
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| Some serious lockage going on here. |
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| All the keys are thrown in here |
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| More signage |
My co-teacher chilled with my host sisters and me until early evening - even treating us for lunch. I had the check in my hand and was about to wave the waiter over when she very deftly stole the bill from me and paid for everyone's meals. I was going to put up a fight, but I remembered that this might be a cultural point with her being the oldest in our group.
Later that night, my host family very eagerly introduced me to my host mother's side of the family over a delicious dinner.
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| During every meal, they remember that I prefer not to eat pork (for health reasons), and have taken special care to provide me with alternative dishes. |
I met a couple of host mom's nephews, both of whom were extremely shy around me. Host mom's older brothers, however, were not shy at all.
Host cousins and host sisters enjoyed the game I played with them over dinner, which was the "How Many of the 50 U.S. States Can You Name?" game. Collectively (including the adults), they named 15 states. Not bad!
After dinner, we went back to my host parents' apartment and had generous helpings of home-made patbingsu. I am in wonderland.
One of them asked me how old I thought he was. When I guessed 45, he burst out laughing and was clearly tickled that I thought he was much younger than his actual 60 years of age. And I wasn't even trying to flatter him...He really did just look that young!
After dinner, we went back to my host parents' apartment and had generous helpings of home-made patbingsu. I am in wonderland.
I agree it's truly divine appointed for you and those family. It's like match made in heaven. I'm very happy for your experience here in Korea Mi. God truly has engineered your seatuation where ever you go. For that I can't stop thanking Him for showing you favor and grace. It seemed like your been enjoying your great experience here in Korea. So far, would you consider living in Korea in the future?
ReplyDeleteMa, I'm glad that my situation here gives you peace. I can't ask for anything more, especially with this geographic distance! I am liking Korea more and more as I interact more with my host family and my co-teachers and students at school. I have already met a lot of kind Korean people here, so I am increasingly impressed by Korea in general. I still don't know if I would want to live here in the future, but it is an option with the Fulbright program. May ETAs renew for a second and third year. We will see!
DeleteDo you think it is absolutely mandatory for a Fulbright ETA or any English teacher to have a smartphone in South Korea? I've been successfully avoiding getting one here in the USA for various reasons, but I wonder if would just be problematic to not have one in Korean culture as a teacher A friend of mine from Incheon says that SOME people have flip phones like mine, but I wonder if I would need one in the position of a Fulbright ETA...
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel, Fulbright Korea says ETAs are required to have a phone (for the office and your school and homestay, etc. to be able to contact you). However, there is nothing/no one that would prohibit you from using a flip phone here, too! I think Korea is actually reviving the flip phone for older and younger demographics. For me, using a smart phone has been super convenient because of the ever-present wifi. However, I am still quite resentful at having been pressured to buy this phone at the beginning of my grant year, so I will reiterate my advice: do not be pressured into anything, especially by sales people, who will convince you that you need to buy one of their phones to open a line. False. A simple online research will reveal many different options. TLDR; it would not be "problematic" to have a flip phone in South Korea!
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