A Week of Many Firsts...(etc), Part 3; Field Day, Shopping Illiterate, Crazy Cab Ride

Yes, this post is continued from the previous two.

Thursday was 운동회 (Field Day!) at Allak. It...was...awesome. The whole school was out in the school yard for 4 hours playing sports and games and doing dances. The field days here are a bit different than the ones in the States but also quite similar. For example, there were a lot of running activities, and tug of war, and some very interesting miscellaneous activities such as ajump rope contest and kids pulling each other in sleds-type-things in circles. However, there were also many things that I had never seen before. For example, there was a dance portion where the younger grades - I'm thinking first and second, dressed up in fancy Korean clothing (very interesting clothing) and did traditional Korean dance...it was SO CUTE. Oh man. They also had a hula-hooping contest - at the time of watching I didn't know they had been practicing for two weeks, and I was thinking...HOLY CRAP Koreans are amazing at hula-hooping!!!! They were so crazy awesome good. I can't even explain. They were doing a routine type thing too, like watching a teacher who was leading them, and one of the things they had to do was jump in the air and continue to spin the hoop. They played in teams, and after a certain amount of minutes they had everyone stop who was still standing and counted the number of people on each team to see who won (very different from American individualistic culture - not making a comment of preference, just speculation and interest). But even with weeks of practice...still - they were amazing. Another game that was a bit different was similar to our "Capture the Flag", but instead it was like ""Capture the Captain", and instead of flags, each person (well, team - because they traveled in groups of three people - two people carrying one person on top) had a balloon around his head. So instead of trying to take the flag out of one's belt, you had to pop the balloon (I really like that idea!). So the object of the game was to pop the balloon of the Captain. It was awesome. There were kids on the sides waving huge flags with their team's color while the game was going on. So cool!

Also, the parents came, which I thought was very cool. Many of the games involved the parents (mostly relays)! How cool is that! So there would be family teams. :) And some games were just parents. I thought that was fabulous. There was also one game that involved teachers - the kids had to run up to a clipboard, and on the board it had a teacher's name written, and the kid had to run to get the teacher, and took the teacher's hand while running together to the finish line. That was so much fun! Aww :) Good times. Great times. :)

After that, the teacher's played volleyball at around 2:45p. They normally play every Wednesday but I haven't yet participated. It was so much fun! I am not good at volleyball though. Especially since I can't control the ball much when I hit it (when I bump it). Which I felt awkward about because I know Korea society is much more group centered than American society (one cool linguistic thing related to this is that they use the pronoun "we" and "our" much more often than "my/mine" - like for example one would never say "my mother", but "our mother", or "my car", but rather "our car." It is really really interesting!) so when I would bump the ball in direct reception from the other side and my bump hit it over the net I felt kind of embarrassed...oof...but they seemed to think I was pretty good anyways...haha. There are some really good volleyball players at my school! That was a really fun time. My co workers are very fun. :)

After volleyball we all went into the courtyard and had some sushi (I forget what kind - but it was just raw fish in a foam container, no rice or anything - I actually liked it!) and rice cakes and soju and makali (I'm not sure if I am spelling that right, but it is like a milk-rice-wine I believe). Good times :)

After that I rush to the bus to get to practice. We actually did an easy run on Thursday. It felt so refreshing!! I love running. I need to make sure I don't get hurt because I am getting into kind of decent running shape now and I can't wait to be able to do 2 hour runs!!!!! Ahhh!! Sooo excited. After that we went to get some Bibimbap - awesome korean food which is like rice with lots of vegetables and chili pepper sauce, normally accompanied by an egg on top or some meat (today it was an egg...I LOVE that. mmmm). Anyway, the woman came over to give us the Bibimbap, and she had only given me a small amount of the chili pepper sauce. Before I knew what was going on, Coach pointed to mine and said something. Apparently he told her to go get me some more sauce. :) :) I love how he knew that I would want some more!!! Ah. I love that when people know you that well so that they can do things like that for you that they know you will like. Even my best friends at home, when they make comments about "I thought of you when this happened" or "I saw this and knew you would like it" - that makes me so happy, because it makes me feel like people care enough about me to a) notice those things and b) make an effort to actively do something about it. Aww :) And he tells me, "Many times the restaurants will only give foreigners a small amount of the sauce because normally the foreigners don't like it. But you aren't a foreigner. You are Korean." :) :) :) LOVE ITTT

After that, I met up with some English-speaking friends! (I would say from Miguk - America - but two of them were from Canada so I can't say that) Anyway, that was a lot of fun. I needed to go shopping for a lot of things and rally wanted some moral support...I hate shoppinggg, especially for clothes, unless I mentally prep myself. And even so, I then like to go to a store where I know the clothes will fit (like at home, at Express or Banana Republic) so I don't have an anxiety attack trying to find clothes to fit my misshapen body. And it is especially difficult here because a) Koreans are smaller than me in general (even shoe sizes! Hard to find shoes. I'm buying open toed, and scrunching my toes into others), but also they don't really let you try on clothes in stores here. Many items are "one size fits all" - which is...sometimes true...
Anyway. I met a few friends and we hit up the stores. I first hit up Nike. For the third time since I've been in Korea. Nike can never let me down, I will always fit into things there. And I know the materials. And I can look at a shirt and make a good guess as to whether it will fit (with the style and all). So I go to buy a monkey load of things there (not really a monkey load but the amount to reflect one), and I'm at the register...and I see a soccer ball, and remember...crap! That was on my list of things to buy! (It actually was - I need one to strengthen the inside of my quads so I don't get hurt running my heart out), but I'm not prepared to speak about it in Korean...and I am with English speaking friends and some of them get by by speaking English so I'm thinking...I'm in a Nike store, the chances that they speak English are better than if it were a privately owned store...maybe I should just speak English and save them pain of listening to my broken Korean (I was clearly confused because normally I would have thought, sweet, opportunity to use my new verbs)...so I start pointing and speaking broken English (I'm a mess) and say, that - soccer ball? Are you selling that? It was on display so I didn't want to just grab it - but I didn't know the verb for sell and I forgot the verb "to be able to" and those were the ones that I wanted at the moment. So I'm thinking of the 12 verbs I know...and 'need' pops into my head. (Well first, 'have' - but then I would be saying, "I have that?" Haha. And I don't know how to put the direct object marker on the word "that", strangely enough. Of course I could try, but it is a little different from most nouns.) So I summon my vocab from the Rosetta Stone for "ball" and prepare my conjugated form of "need", and I say - in what I believe was correct grammatical construction - "I need ball." Hahahaha. Hahaha. Oh man. I was so nervous! But the guy who was trying to understand me when I was speaking broken English seemed impressed - so I'm thinking I used the grammar right...but he was probably thinking...what a weird sentence...hahaha. So I got my soccer ball!! Yayyy. Haha. That was a fun trip. I was laughing about that periodically for the rest of the night. And still right now.

After Nike, we walked around, I got a few other things I needed, and then I decided I was ready to go into a clothing store. My rule is I won't buy anything unless I can find AT LEAST two things that I like, because I don't want to have to make multiple transactions having to deal with people talking to me in Korean and me not understanding and them getting mad - I want to wait until I know more vocabulary. So we went in a small shop and started looking around. I so desperately needed clothes that I was looking at some things that I might have to drink before wearing and convincing myself that they weren't that bad...but then I started to find a few things. This store ended up being my savior...I spent another, but smaller, monkey load here - and I had just taken out a papa monkey load of cash from my Korean account so I wouldn't have to charge my life on my credit card - so I buy all of these things and pay in my huge wad of cash...it was an experience. Also, I don't think the women liked us very much in there - people tend to not treat me as nicely when I am with other Americans, actually. I mean, obviously I will be treated better (I guess obvious is not a fair word here, but in general) when I am with Koreans who can speak the language and all, but when I am alone I am treated pretty good too - I mean, I am quiet, and try to speak mostly in Korean...and it works out. But we were talking...laughing...I felt uncomfortable actually by talking and laughing but I'm thinking - I never go out with English speaking people, chill Catie - I mean, I got my clothes. It's all good.
It's about time to go home, and the buses are no longer running. So I had to take a cab home. It took me a few tries to get one because I was on the wrong side of the road (aka the driver would have had to turn around to take me to my location) and apparently they don't want to turn you around...or they are being extra considerate as to saving you money...) so I finally got a cabbie who knew Myung-Jang 2 Dong. I said the name of the Mansion that I like by, and he looked confused, so I said, "Allak Chodup Hakkyo?) (Allak Elementary School, a 20 min walk from my house but whatever) and he is like, ok. So I get in. Then he starts mentioning the mansion again, talking in the speed as he would talk to someone who understands Korean. I'm saying lots of "uhms" and "ne"'s (ne = yes in Korean)...and then he starts to mention Allak...I'm trying to tell him that I want to go to the mansion...but I didn't know how to grammatically create that sentence - two verbs at once (need to go, want to go), so I am just saying Mansion, mansion is good. But then he keeps saying "Allak, Myung-Jang 1 Dong" and I'm like...yes...but Mansion, Myung Jang 2 Dong...it was a mess. I'm thinking once I get to somewhere I recognize that is close I will just say "yogi choayo" - meaning, "here is good". And we did get to a place that was very close - we actually drove past the mansion! And I said, ooh, here is good, here is good! And he pointed and said, "Hyub-Jin-Tae-Yeong Mansion" and I"m like, yogi, yogi! But he didn't stop! So I'm like, crap. I'm going to have to walk 20 min back home, and I am tired. But whatever. He seems like he is going to do what he wants to do. But once we get to Allak, he points to Allak Elementary School and says "Allak Chodup Hakkyo" and keeps driving...! He turns left and says "left"...I'm like...uhmmmmm (out loud)..and he makes a few more turns and stops at an apartment building up a hill. I say, "aniyo, aniyo" (no, no). Allak is ok. I said that because he didn't seem to want to take me to the Mansion. But then he mentions the mansion and I said...yes, Mansion, please. So we drive past Allak and he points it out again...I'm kind of nervous...and thinking I'm going to have to be really forceful at some point to make him let me get out. But once we got near the mansion, I started giving him directions, and then he stops at the Mansion. He starts to say things and I'm like, no, here is good, here is good. Finally, he dropped me off. Thank goodness I wasn't in Boston or New York because that cab ride probably would have been $25 or $30. But since I was in Korea it was 5,200 won. :) Haha. That was kind of crazy though. I really really need to learn this language, and fast!

More happened today at school but I am too tired to talk about it now. :) And this entry is very long. So peace out. ;)