Korea in the Rain

I have a confession to make...I hate Korea when it rains.  Ok, hate is a strong word....I thoroughly dislike it.

I mean, I LOVE Korea and I love the rain...and I don’t mind that I don’t have a car and have to walk around in the rain (in fact, walking in the rain is one of life’s little pleasures...to me anyway).  And in all honesty, here in the country, it’s not so bad, but I decided to take a little trip to the city on my day off...never mind a little rain.  

Oh. Dear. Lord.  

Koreans apparently hate the rain.

Everyone, and I mean just short of LITERALLY everyone, has an umbrella and when you are walking down the street they are not shy about smacking you in the face with the edge of the thing.  And heaven help you if you want to wait on the bus.  People will cram up under the pavilion like sardines in a can...like they are afraid they will all melt a la Wicked Witch of the West.  Should you survive that experience, board the bus, grab your “oh shit” handle and hold on because, well, just hold on.  Bus rides are usually “eventful” on a normal day, but thrown in a little rain and who needs to go to an amusement park.

But the city adventure wasn’t all bad.  It was my first “solo” trip in Korea, and I managed to get there and back with minimal trauma.  Didn’t actually buy the things I went to the city for (shoes and a purse, and let’s face it, I’m picky) but did get a few things that I wanted/needed...like a full sized towel!

So, here’s the kicker...ever since I got here, particularly to Jincheon, I have had a slight crisis in my “Korean-ness.”  So, I get that I came there “Ugly American”-style, little language/cultural knowledge, but part of that was intentional...I didn’t want to come with any “expectations” about my “motherland.”  I wanted to learn to “be” Korean while I am here.

I am comfortable, and even proud, that I am a Korean adoptee.  It is something that makes me unique.  But since coming to Korean, I have been asked if I am Chinese or Mongolian.  To be fair, some have asked if I am Korean, but usually those are other Korean-Americans.  So, all of this has lead to a small crisis in my “Korean-ness”...I mean, being a Korean-American adoptee was such a large part of my identity...what if it has all been a horrible lie?  I was really starting to question my being Korean since none of the native Koreans seem to think I “look Korean.”  (Which the truly tragic part of that was that my Kdrama fantasy of finding out I am a long-lost Korean princess was starting to look bleak...cause, you know, that was so realistic anyway.)

So, today, my first trip out without other “foreigners”, not one, but two people stopped and tried to speak to me in Korean.  I felt so flattered!  They think I am a real Korean!  Yay!  Makes me want to fly solo more often...I have never had that “part of the majority” feeling. Now just to work on my language skills..I can more or less read things (some take me a while), but I have no idea what it means when I do read them unless there happens to be random English or one of the few Chinese characters that I know there as well.  But baby steps, right?

Which brings me to another point.  Everyone else’s students say hello to them in public and I can barely get my kids to say hello to me in school.  I have a few good kids that always speak, but largely, most of them do not.  I am not ashamed to say that it hurts my feelings...just a little bit.  I mean, I know that I am new and that they are shy, but, especially the ones that shrink up and walk faster when they see me in town, kinda hurt my feelings.

This is not a complete tangent.  So, this whole “I just may look Korean after all” comes into major play here.  Another teacher pointed out that because I “look” Korean, this may keep my students from talking to me...they wouldn’t talk to actual Korean teachers in public, so it may be difficult to break down the mental barrier.  Time and patience, right?  That being said, I love my kids...some of them really have a “spark” and I really want to nurture that.  See?  Not a complete tangent.