In the beginning...

Well, it's my second day at school, but I haven't been teaching at all. Tomorrow will be my first day in the classroom with my students. So far I just feel like David Hasselhoff in Germany (i.e. someone who is not famous in the USA but for some unknow reason is loved by a foreign community.) I am constantly being followed by little groups of Korean high schoolers who say "hello" the minute my back is turned, but are too shy to actually stick around when I return fire. I am dressed up in a way that makes me feel like an ultra conservative; black pants, pearls, and no skin exposed (the red flag went up yesterday when a teacher asked if I was Miss America! I mean really!) Today I spent 5 hours at the bank and with the cell phone people (with my co-teacher translating everything of course). I don't know if it's because I'm an American or because I'm Me that I have so many questions about EVERYTHING. My co-teacher probably thinks I'm neurotic with all the questions I was asking, but to me it seemed very reasonable that I would want to know how much I get charged for withdrawals from the ATM (I mean, I never would've guessed that only withdrawals between the hours of 6pm and 9pm are free!). Afterwards, he seemed to be rethinking his own cell phone plan and bank account...Anyways, now my co-teacher and I have new cell phones, which is really nice (he hadn't intended to buy one, but there was such a good deal, he just couldn't resist.) Last night I met up with 3 other female ETAs who live in and around Jeju City... as I hear more and more ETA tales from the ROK, I am convinced that we could write a book. The random things that have happened range from mortifying to scary to downright bizarre. One ETA wrote an e.mail realaying her story about how her host mother took her around the entire village to meet various relatives (she's in a rural town on Jeju Island). When they knocked on the mother-in-law's house, she came to the door topless. The mother-in-law slammed the door in their face when she saw the ETA's white face staring back at her and preceeded to yell at the ETA's homestay mom, who yelled right back in Korean. (it is assumed they were arguing about the situation, but the ETA has no proof, because she couldn't understand a word of it.) Another ETA had an interesting encounter with a young boy on her first day when he raised his hand and asked her to help him decipher a letter he had received from his penpal in Texas. The ETA found herself looking down on a letter full of cuss words mainly aimed at the American boys' parents, complaining that his mom was a #$*)#()@ because she wouldn't #*^$#$@# let him *&%^$#*@ go to the *@&$#(?!#$% movies, etc... (apparently the Americans were supposed to be telling the Koreans about their families.) When the little boy asked if those were Enlish words, the ETA responded honestly: "Yes, that is "real" English, but it's English that noone should EVER, EVER use." The stories go on and on... another ETA told us about how she got lost on her way back from the beach (she is also on Jeju Island.) After about 45 minutes of trying to find her way on unlit, windy streets, she finally stopped and asked a little girl if she spoke english. The girl shook her head and started to walk away. The ETA then broke down hysterically, crying and saying, "Please, please help me..." and the little girl looked at her like she was insane and went and got her sister. The sisters then led the ETA the four blocks to her homestay's house on their bikes. Later the ETA was delighted to find out that the first girl she approached would be a student in her class! I just think it is so very funny how we are all trying to relate what Fulbright taught us to the unique homestays and schools that we have been thrown into. At the moment it seems like whatever we do, we're going to look like idiots, feel like aliens, bow way too much, say the wrong greeting at the wrong time, etc. I have never felt like such an outsider; however, I don't mean that in a negative way. This is exactly why I came to Korea... I wanted a cultural experience that was so opposite my own that it would make no sense in the context of what I already know... and that is definitely what I am getting.