ASHLEY ANNYEONG: life

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A night with my Japanese friends

When I was taking a Korean class at Yonsei University, most of my classmates were Japanese. A few weeks into the semester we were playing a game where we had to translate expressions from Chinese, Japanese, and English into Korean. I answered one of the Japanese expressions and everyone responded "애슐리 씨 어떻게 알았어요? (How do you know that?)" Then I told them I was an exchange student in Japan and we grew closer together talking about green tea, Japanese soft ice cream, and Hokkaido food. They all think I am some trilingual American - HAHAHAHA I have them fooled!!

My friend Kanako messaged me on Facebook last week wanting to get together. During our entire semester at Yonsei, I was under the impression that she didn't speak ANY English so I was a little surprised to see long English messages from her pop up in my inbox. She later admitted that she had a dictionary in front of her and was translating everything. I don't know why she didn't just write in Korean....

So cute^^

Kanako has a Korean husband who lived in Japan for 10 years and is fluent in Japanese. These days she is working from home translating Korean restaurant menus into Japanese for tourists. She studied abroad in New Zealand for a year when she was in her early 20s and can still understand quite a bit of English. Kanako is a true trilingual individual!!

We met at 이대역 at 6 for dinner. Kanako always prepares Korean and Japanese food for her husband so she wanted to eat Western-style food with me. I am always down for pasta.. While we were walking around, I heard some girls screaming "OMG ASHLEY!" and it turns out they were some students from the middle school I worked at last year. I believe they are 7th graders now and what they were doing so far away from school at that hour, I'm not sure.. But they were some of my best students and are very proficient in English. They were very surprised about my recent haircut and we talked for about 2 minutes on the streets about what teachers are still at the school and I told them I was leaving Korea next month. Kanako was really impressed and said she thought the students were really respectful towards me and that I was a "real teacher."

I'm not sure giving your teacher bunny ears is considered respectful..

Kanako treated me to a nice Italian dinner. 카나코씨 정말 감사합니다!

Then we walked around for a bit window shopping and decided to head to a Hello Kitty Cafe.

The bathroom entrance was so cute. Hello Kitty + a violin - OH MY GOSH!!

We ordered cute lattes. Normally when you order they just give you a random latte art design but I told the cashier I really loved HK so she let me pick. Score!! On our way out of the cafe, Kanako bought me a Hello Kitty cake. :) We took it to go to meet up with our other Japanese friends, who are still studying at Yonsei and had class until 9.

We met up with Hideyuki and Takuko at the Paris Baguette near the back gate of Yonsei. Hideyuki is a Japanese diplomat and Takuko is also married to a Korean man. Takuko spent 3 years in Virginia for her husband's job so she understands my American identity and sense of humor. It's so rare to find a Japanese person familiar with Western culture. Takuko is an awesome older Japanese woman!

Kanako - Hideyuki - me - Takuko

We ate and enjoyed the cute cake together and sat around talking about Japanese food, the Asiana plane crash, and how the heck am I going to adapt to American culture when I get home.

Kanako was so sweet to organize this little get-together for me. Walking out of the HK cafe last night, we commiserated on how emotional it is to be leaving a country. Being neither super sad to leave Korea or super happy to be heading back to the States, "emotional" sums it up pretty well.

I promised my friends I would contact them if I ever return to Japan for travel one day (let's face it, I will!). I hope we meet again some day. <3

どうもありがとうございます！私はいつかまた会えることを願って！

D-50

Eeeep! I have less than 50 days left in the Hermit Kingdom (otherwise known as South Korea) not including my 9-day trip to Cambodia. I have lots of fun stuff coming up to wrap up my time here and then I will be meeting up with my sister and Mom in Minneapolis for a fun couple of days in the city. As I am writing this, it is POURING outside and it was pouring all throughout the night - yay for monsoon season.

I've got a few fun/exciting things in the works for the rest of July

Meeting my Japanese friends from Yonsei's Korean class for a farewell party
Taking the final exam I need to quality to sit for the CPA exam and mailing off my CPA exam application this week
Narumi, my best friend from Japan, is flying out to Seoul on Sunday
the English department at my school is going on an overnight mountain trip next weekend
Going to a book club meeting with Andrei Lankov, a really famous Russian North Korean scholar
Going to go see my first 4D movie with my Korean tutor Eunha
Taking an intensive coffee roasting & hand-dripping class at a cafe in Bucheon (a suburb of Seoul)
Teaching a 2-week globalization camp during which I don't have to be into work until noon. Total +++++
Buying an iPad mini and getting my name engraved in Korean {애슐리}

Already bought this vintage mint iPad case/clutch^^

Wanna buy cool Korean tech products from the States? - here's a good website.

My flight schedule for August: Seoul --- Phnom Penh --- Seoul --- Toronto --- Minneapolis

VIVA LA ADVENTURE!

Mixed Signals

This past month it's seemed like the universe is trying to really make my question my move home.

The first thing is I cannot for the life of me find a proctor for an exam I have to take. I've called over 20 people and no one can help me. Waiting to take this exam until I get back to the States means I have to wait an additional 3 months to take my first CPA exam section, something I don't want to do. Korea is seems to be against me becoming an accountant.

Second, I was talking on Skype with my dad a couple of weeks ago about how I have to get a new iPhone when I get back and he said he thought I would change my mind and stay. So my own father thinks I should/will stay.

Third, when I was telling this to my mom later, she mentioned that she thinks I'm going to go back to Korea in a year or two to work again. So my mom doesn't think I'll last that long either!

Another thing was earlier this week I got a call from a expat recruiter about a position they are filling now for a client. The CEO of Hyundai welding needs a foreign executive assistant and the unnegotiated pay is the same as what I am making now. Even though being an executive assistant sounds super boring, it could have been a way to get my foot in the door and network with a bunch of people. Afterexchanging emails and talking on the phone with the recruiter, I declined the chance to interview.

Last, one of my favorite bakeries in Seoul just opened literally meters from my apartment. It's so cool and they have REAL bread and lots of vintage repurposed furniture to drink coffee and lounge on. I'm totally going there this morning for some coffee once they open. ^^

So universe, you seem to be really tempting me with some signs that Korea is my transient home. Unfortunately for you, I'm pretty stubborn and am committed to 1-2 years back in the States. I will book my flight within the next week. I already sent letters to all my family with my arrival date so I'm making it work!!

A cafe I went to earlier this week to work on writing some letters home

Cryptic cafe receipt.

May Recap

May started off on a pretty rough start due to some changes and just as things started to return to normal, the temperatures have soared. Ughh. I can't believe this is my 3rd summer in Asia, I feel old!

June is going to be a good month... My Canadian friend is marrying a Korean guy next weekend and they are doing a traditional ceremony. My Thai friend from Korean class wants to climb Mount Bukhansan soon. My Korean class finishes in a week and a half (phew). Six of my exchange-student friends from Japan who live in Korea are planning a road-trip around Daejeon later in the month.

I've decided to go backpacking through Thailand and Cambodia for two weeks before heading back stateside and have started to plan for that. Hello, elephant rides!!

May Recap:

Week 1: Work was incredibly boring with midterms. Other teachers are swamped with grading but I essentially had nothing to do. Grabbed street food before Korean class. Started feeling domestic and made Korean bulgogi!

Bulgogi

Took 3-hour lunches during midterms week..

This rice cake shop near my place has the cutest old guy. I always stop by to buy something on Friday afternoons. :)

Street food. Bought the red stuff - so spicy it burns!

Week 2: Packed up stuff to mail home and drop off at Beautiful Store. Wandered all around the city in search of the perfect Mother's Day presents. Began bubble tea binge.

Homeward bound~~

Waiting for the subway..

Mother's Day cards :)

Week 3: Teacher's Week in Korea. Went to the Seoul Lantern Festival with Justine. Went to Damyang and Boseong (see here) with Choi for Buddha's birthday. Had a Sunday night board game cafe/pizza date with the girls.

Present from a student.

Downtown.

Losing at Uno is a major bummer.

Road trip!

Weeks 4/5: Discovered an amazing snack at a convenience store - strawberry ice cream inside a rice cake and made excuses to eat them whenever possible. Finished my last accounting assignment (hurrah!) Met Lauren for Moroccan food and bubble tea in Myeongdong on Sunday night. Had a school dinner at a cool Indian restaurant. Stood next to a British journalist I have a fangirl crush on on the escalator at Itaewon station. Was interviewed for TBS eFM Prime Time about shopping in Korea. Went out for celebratory drinks with my Korean classmates to have some fun before our final exams. Attempted calligraphy - I suck.

SO GOOD.

Bubble tea lovers.

Teacher's dinner.

Got a picture with my Korean teacher for my Seoul bucket list!

Almost everyone..

Late night walks home with friends speaking intoxicated Korean - good times. :)

Free calligraphy for children and foreigners.. gee thanks!

It says my name and America.

The Beginning of the End

I've started telling some students that I won't be coming back next semester. Here are some of the responses:

"Oh my god!!"

"Really?!"

But the most common reply was "Why?"

I've had the following conversation a handful of times every day.

Student: Teacher, you go back America?

Me: Yes...

Student: Why?

Me: I miss my family.

Student: Go home during summer vacation

Me: Summer vacation is only one week... That's too short. I haven't seen my mom in over a year.

Student: Oh my gosh (in a manner indicating complete shock)!! But don't go!!!

In one class I told the students who had arrived before the bell rang and a boy ran outside to tell his friends. Haha^^ Often while I am analyzing the foreign language teacher and student relationships and interactions I have here, I think about what I probably would have done if my situation was reversed. If my high school had a native Spanish teacher, I don't think we really would have cared that much about be the teacher. It's nice to feel special sometimes here in Korea because I'm a foreigner and a language teacher and think I might have made a cultural impact on the kids.

Every day students spend 10 minutes in their homeroom before school starts and last Friday they had to write English letters to anybody at the school. Here's one funny one I got.. :)

April Latergrams

Can't believe it's already May! April was a month of cherry blossoms, lots of bubble tea, a new haircut, studying, a day at the spa, and lots of hustling {read: accounting homework and emails}.