Intro to Korea 1a: "I think these girls are tryng to party me!!"

So...I'm adjusting quickly and rather easily to Korea. When I chose the city that I was going to live in, I decided on a smaller city, instead of Seoul. My goal was to have an "authentic" Korean experience. I knew that living in a smaller city, I wouldn't have access to many foreigners thereby limiting my English exposure and be forced to learn some Korean. Essentially, I wanted everything Korean without any true hardship, like being the only foreigner w/in a 50 mile radius.

Anyways--as the weeks went by, Janet was very kind in exposing me to a lot of Korean experiences w/ explanation. She often told me where I could find vegetarian food or showed me how to order a veg. meal in Korean.

One thing that Korea is known for is its bathhouses (jimjibang)--similar to Japan. All that I knew about them was pretty much their name and equated them to spas like back home. So when Janet invited me to her bi-weekly bathhouse outing, I eagerly accepted! Shortly afterwards she explained that Korean bath houses are rather different from American spas. The primary difference is that the men and women are kept separated (minus the communal areas) due to the fact that you are expected to shower publicly and chill in jacuzzi's communally. Essentially, you were to be all kinds of naked w/ several other strange women. You could also get a "nice" scrub down from an old woman---exfoliating your skin.

When she first explained this, I was a little uncomfortable, which was a little strange for me. I'm all about nudity! At home, I'm always practically naked--walking around all day at home. I've gone topless at beaches, I enjoy showing my lovely body to my friends (hahahahhaha), so....nudity is not so much a big deal for me. But!! something was making me uncomfortable...It may have been the idea of sharing a "bath," aka jacuzzi w/ other women---while naked--that just sounded non-hygienic to me! As the days before the "event" approached, Janet made little comments joking about my attending n such. I asked her who else was going to be there and she indicated that about 5 of her other friends would be there--describing them all...1 was a married Korean-American, another a single Canadian, one a gay Canadian and--I DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING ELSE AFTER THAT!!!

Everything made sense at that point!! I knew that I was uncomfortable and knew it wasn't the nudity idea that was making me feel that way---it was Janet's enthusiasm that bordered WAY TOO HYPE TO SEE ME NAKED IN THIS FAKE ASS SPA!! So when she indicated that one of her homegirls was gay---I figured it out! I had noticed Janet's enthusiasm for having another sis around and thought that explained why she was giving me sooooooo much attention (aka--all in my world like a dude might be...), but naw...that wasn't it. I felt the "maybe gay vibe" from her!

So...dealing with my new found awareness, I started to have 2nd thoughts. But I didn't want to give in to my discomfort, as I felt pressure to try something new and I also felt pressure of Janet's "teasing" about being a scared American. I called my girlfriends back home to see what they thought and they were feeling some of the same concerns... But!!, I went ahead and attended her bathhouse outing!

Luckily for me, bathing/showering was an option. When you enter the facility you put your shoes in a locker and then change from your clothes into a uniform that they give you. If you are going to shower/bathe...you do that first and then when you're finished you put their uniform on. Afterwards, there are many other things that you can do including getting a manicure/pedicure, massage, watch tv, chill on one of many sauna rooms, do that dead skin removal from the bottom of your feet by fish thing, have a meal at their eatery, go on the internet, sleep and etc...

Ol girls gay friend didn't show up, which wasn't so much a big deal, cause I knew now that I had questions about Janet's own sexuality. She made a comment about one of the other girls body, which would have been normal had it not been her tone or just........something about the way she said it! I mean---I love looking at women's bodies, as I think mines is quite banging, but.......it just didn't seem the same. :)

But....whatevs--I made it through and felt proud of myself for doing something soooo Korean and uncomfortable for me! Check out one of my homegirls who was brave enough to let the gross fishy eat her feet! hahaha! :)

1st Quarter of my 1st Year in Korea (Daejeon); Part 1

I felt like I would be able to fairly easily adjust to Korea. For one thing...I'm accustomed to change...when I was in h.s I spent a summer away at Governors school (bout 4 hours from home) and then after graduation, I immediately went away to uni. in Raleigh and then Atlanta. Both cities in the south were really challenging, as the south is soooooo different from the north--it was complete culture shock, but I rolled with it!

So when I was preparing for Korea, I assumed that I'd be one of MAYBE 2 brown people. I expected to be stared at and to to be challenged by the language and food. What I found was about what I expected with some lovely surprises!

At the university that I worked, there were 2 other sistas!! One American and the other, Canadian!! I found the food to be "suspicious" ( u know they're stereotyped to put cat, dog n etc..in their food) and....the language, son!! Yowsa!! The shit sounded like straight gibberish!! Nonetheless, I adjusted and had great help doing so!!

The American sis reached out to me through email as one of the other foreign new professors mentioned that I was new staff. We'll call her Miss Jackson. Iwas extremely appreciative. When I first met her she was quite kind and open. She remarked quite a few times how similar we seemed as her name was similar to mine, she just started going natural and she was around the same height and age as me. Additionally, we were now working at the same uni in Korea of all places--and we both had Masters in a related field! I, too found the similarities to be quite pecuilar! I could tell that she was quite excited to meet me, as was I her. Miss Jackson had a lot of useful information to share, as she had been in Korea for about 2 years.


That weekend she invited me to lunch w/ her and 2 of her friends. The one friend was a caucasian Canadian and the other was a sis Canadian (via Jamaica). The sis, (we'll call her TT) seemed really nice and quite eager to meet me. In retrospect, aside from being drawn to my aura, I think these sistas had been color deprived, as there weren't that many brown ppl in Daejeon, especially. At lunch TT also remarked about my hair expressing how much she loved it and really wanted to go natural. She asked for help in maintaining it, of which I gladly offered.

As the days and weeks went on, I spent quite a deal of time w/ Miss Jackson--having lunch and chatting online. She invited me to everything and I gladly accepted. I liked Miss Jackson quite a bit, but realized that I would have to limit how much time I spent with her just because my spirit is a calm, excited, easy-going one and I found her to be a lil loud and rather attention-seeking, as well as bossy. I also realized that my perception was not off as I noticed that every time that we were in public and amongst others, people would attempt to avoid her or have an uncomfortable forced laugh. Despite all of that, I was still grateful for her! I chalked it up to her having some insecurities and that's how she masked it--nothing different from most other ppl. (did i mention that i was a therapist back home? haha)

During that same time period, TT and I started spending a bit of time together as well. I soon was introduced to a few other sistas, too. 2 were South African and one was another Canadian (via Jamaica)! They seemed soooo cool!!


So far,...things are going well!!! Sure, I'm still missing my love, but I'm extremely distracted w/ this new adventure ahead of me and extremely thankful that I have some sistas in my life!

Intro to Korea: Daejeon!

So, my first couple of days were mad crazy n hectic. Thank God my flight was rather enjoyable! I flew from San Francisco to Seoul in 10 hours. I flew on Singapore Airlines, which to date is the most comfortable international flight that I have experienced! The seats were comfy, food was good, area was roomy, had a private tv in the headrest in front of me laced w/ all up to date music n movies. This was such an awesome flight, I literally did not want to get off it!

But...all things must come to an end. Once I deplaned and got through customs I went to baggage claims only to realize that all of my luggage hadn't arrived! I of course was mildly devastaed, but couldn't be too upset as I did miss my flight the day before due to foolishness! Anywho...after an hour or so of dealing w/ that nonesene, I get outside the airport my next step is my 3 hour bus ride to get me to my final destination--Daejeon. Daejeon is the 5th largest city in Korea. My uni. had sent me instructions via email about how to get to Daejeon. I had some already converted money thanks to d-wil, so I easily bought a bus ticket. I then had to borrow someones phone to ring the assistant that was expected to meet me, which I did w/ little difficult.y 3 hours later, I was there!

My first impression was..."ok, this looks like a city---there r bright ass lights everywhere!" I later found out that those bright ass lights are literally...everywhere...small towns, large cities, countrysides n everything in btwn. That's just the unanimous decor of Korea. Anyways, the assistant, a young Korean man took me to may apartment, which was in a womans dorm. I didn't have all of my luggage so I immediately had to buy some toiletries n etc... from this bootleg looking n smelling store. After doing so, I used the nice man's cell to call my mom--had her call my friends to let them know that I made it safely.

At this point I'm feeling all kinds of things....slight intimidation, excitement n what I later realized was a jet-lagged shock--hahaha! So, I was informed that I would attend my first class which was at 8 a.m. w/ another professor who would assist as I got settled n such. The professor met me at the dorm n we walked up this ridiculously steep mountain to get to class! And!! once we reached the top we had to climb about literally 75 steps!!! AND!!!did I mention that it's winter time---so its fn cold?!!

Anywho...got through the class w/ good energy--finished and was taken to the market to get food, bottled water n etc...by that same prof. The market was soooooooooo foreign (obviously)! Everything was in Korean and there weren't a lot of foods that I recognized or ate. At this point I had decided to have a vegetarian diet and prior to this I didnt eat pork or beef anyhow...so my options were quite limited. Additionally, I wasn't eatn any kind of chicken from the continent where bird flu originated! lol! but for reals!!


So, anyways....did some shopping, went to 1 or 2 other classses and by that nite, I CRASHED!! I mean my body wouldn't even let me run if my building was on fire! That jet-lag kicked in! I ended my first week w/ finally getting my luggage, being able to call home, eating pasta every day and settling in! Hello, Korea!

Philly/Korea recap...

So...hey, family!! I realized of late that I NEED TO BLOG!!!!!! I have too many crazy things happening that just can't be communicated daily and multiple times, so...here it is!

I did start a blog last year, but I wasn't good w/ it and quite frankly can't even find it! Oh well!

As most of you know I'm from Brenizer, which is 45 mins outside of Pittsburgh, PA. I've been living in Philly for the last decade. Last year I moved to South Korea, which is whereI've been for the past year and change. I work as a professor teaching English to underagraduate students in Seoul.

Most of u know my story, but for the new ones...I'm sure that you're wondering what in the world would bring my ass to Ko-Rea. Well, I was planning on leaving Philly to move to L.A. or N.Y. and the thought of moving to Africa later surfaced. My then boyfriend and I were planning to get married and then move. Short of the long is that during our 6th premarital counseling session, we...or I peaced out, as he started getting "cold feet" wanting to indefinately postpone shit.

So! I went to my moms for a week or so during the Christmas/New Years holiday and while there I decided that I was still going to move (as our lease expired in February). One of the main reasons that we were moving is just for the sake of living elsewhere, but also, I didn't really want to work fulltime anymore. I just wanted a break from workn the fields, even tho I really enjoyed my job. While at home, I talked to my cousin who had been living abroad, teaching English for the past 7 yrs or so. She had called my mom while I was home and I spoke w/ her about the idea. She told me that "now" is the time to try n get a gig for February in particular as thats when the semesters start in Asia--Korea specifically. She hooked me up w/ mad leads--I set up a few interviews and voila!!

Things worked as they were meant to: I had requirements that needed to be met including: Only was willing to work at a university, as I have no patience for kids...2--needed to have housing n flight paid for n 3-needed to have atleast a month of vacation. I knew when this all happened so easily and "on time, " that all signs were pointing to Korea.

I went back home to Philly and my guy. Told him I was moving to Korea--he obviously wasn't happy bout that. He made his own plans to leave Philly, left a few days before my departure...3 days later, I'm on the plane to Asia!

I was sad, happy, nervous and...maybe in shock a lil. I missed my guy like crazy, hurt for my moms sadness (she thought I was gonna be like my cousin and never visit home again....plus my decision was so impromptu), sad that I was leaving my friends and happy that I was "doing me," starting a new adventure and chapter..and shock that I had just left everything that I knew and loved continents away....

But!!! I made it to Korea safely.