SEOUL - February 10, 2000
Started this week at the language school with alot of anxiety about it.. wasn't too sure if i did the right thing or not.. basically, i mean, by signing a working contract.. a year seems like such a long time.. and i have alot of interest in getting to Indonesia.. but i don't have any money.. so.. essentially i need to work..
Anyone, I moved into my apartment this week. Its huge! I haven't lived in anything that big in years and years.. i have three windows and can walk around fairly easily... between three rooms.. although one is a very small room... but still... very happy to be there for the next year...
I also started at the language school.. and that seems to be a really fun place to work.. i'm teaching all adults.. and while the pay isn't that great.. the students and the working environment are really good.. there are 10 foreign teachers in total.. and nearly all of them seem to be pretty interesting.. several of them are actually married to koreans.. and been here a long time.. over five years...
Also, I'm going to JAPAN for three days.. leaving on Friday.. i'll try to post the next journal entry specifically about that experience... I'll be flying into Osaka on Friday to process my work visa.. then that evening I plan to go to Kyoto for the next two nights.. then back to Osaka on Sunday to fly out that night. Thats the plan anyhow.. it will be nice to be back in Japan to make some comparitive thoughts about the two places once again...
I've been to Japan twice in the past.. and both times was quite impressed.. the first time was on a boat from Pusan to Shimonoseki, where I also visited Hiroshima. The second time was a flight from Pusan to Tokyo and back. Both were quite interesting, and I was extremely amazed by the technology and the completely different attitude, appearance, and thought of the Japanese compared to Koreans.
I haven't been in Japan since 1997 though, so I'm quite curious if its changed as drastically as Korea has the last four years. There are few things that have really been surprising me since I came back to Korea. For one, Korean society is changing at a rapid rate. For example, one of my female students this week told the class that she doesn't plan to ever get married, she would prefer to just live with her boyfriend. This kind of thought was unheard of four years ago when I was in Pusan.
I also asked a Korean man if he could only have a son or daughter, which would be prefer. He told me a daughter, which equally shocked me. I had never heard a Korean man say that before in Korea. The ancestor linkage is so strong, that a male to carry on the family name, and continue the ancestor worship link during holidays was essential, and never to be questioned in the past. So to hear a Korean man say he'd prefer a daughter was quite shocking. Korea has definetely changed. Its interesting to be here at a time of such great social change in this once extremely conservative society. Everything is different than it once was.
Next Journal Entry in Kyoto, Japan:
February 20, 2001
You can email me at:
Wintermoon2@yahoo.com