It's finally February and I have to say I'm happy about that. The city is pretty miserable in the winter. January had its fun times and everything but this last month of the cold season is something that everyone has been looking forward to. It has snowed here a few times and usually that's something to celebrate but here it only makes things a little more bleak. Earlier in this blog I talked about how dingy and confining this city seems at times. At that time I was writing in the early summer and early fall. Now it is cold and wet so we no longer hike because the mountain tops are covered in ice and snow, I've already hurt myself once this trip and I don't want to again, so you can only imagine how restricted I feel without that release.
It's an odd winter around here though. As I believe I mentioned, Seoul has gotten more snow this winter than it has in the last 100 years. This is strange because Seoul usually has pretty dry winters because of very cold North Asian winds which make their way down the land mass to our little peninsula. These winds are cold enough to keep the air very dry almost all the time, but for some reason this winter has been filled with precipitation. Snow falls once a week or so and when it doesn't snow it rains on the warmer days and then freezes the very next day as the temperature drops below zero again. This really isn't very fun at all. I'm not a huge fan of cold weather as it is, and I've experienced a deeper chill here than I ever have before, so the snow and ice makes the winter all the more uncomfortable. I bought my first scarf here, an article of clothing I don't believe I had worn before coming to Korea, and a cheap pair of fake leather gloves because the thin cloth ones I usually go for just don't cut it. On the whole I found myself pretty unprepared for the cold here and have repeatedly regretted not bringing warmer clothes. I wish I had some long johns or something, in fact I think that I've even had wonderful dreams about the joy and warmth that would come with a nice pair of long underwear, mmmm, they would be so nice. It occurs to me now that I should have just asked my mom and dad to send me some in the beginning of the winter but I never did and now it's too late. I wouldn't even get them until the temperature began it's slow climb back to ninety. Oh well, live and learn.So I've found myself constantly chilled to the core for the last two months and it's interesting how fast the cold came. We were told that the weather would surprise us with it's swift changes but even still I thought mother nature would give me a little more warning. Early December went from decently cold to well below freezing in the span of maybe 3 days. I remember a week playing soccer where I wore shorts to practice, then sweats the next day and then needing an additional pair of sweats the next day to stand the biting cold. The next thing I knew it was the heart of winter, I only have one pair of (thin) sweatpants, one coat which upon winter's descent I immediately spilled soup all over. Luckily a coworker had an extra winter jacket so I borrowed his but you get the point, I'm ill-equipped for the cold, both physically and raimentally, made up a new word.
Walking to work is something of a trial, after it snows, or rains, we inevitably have ice and then I have to pick where I walk wisely. I do not want to fall on my bum arm again so I've been extra careful. I venture into the cold wearing my shamu jacket, a hat, my new scarf and gloves and then the thin pants I own. While stepping gingerly over the numerous ice patches the wind cuts through my clothes like a hot knife through butter and the only consolation is the music in my ears, and of course my job.
Oddly enough one of the few things that makes this winter bearable is my work. So many of my friends are working their first jobs right out of school, and they hate it. I guess I'm lucky in that the walk to work, while very cold, is not a soul-sucking effort. Of course there are days where I have to convince myself to get out of bed, I think that comes with any job, but I think that I'm one of the few people that genuinely loves what they're doing. That's been a nice realization for me in this miserable season. My job is the exact opposite of the weather, it's exciting, heartening, full of successes and generally warm, if it's not I now have the power to turn on the heater if I want so that's really nice. We're nearing the end of the term for our students and most of the classes are graduating. Korean children start attending daily school when they turn eight (I think) so the older kids will start in their new schools come March, that's about half of our kindergarten students right there. Fortunately none of the classes I teach are graduating. I will have Venus and Mars class until I leave in July and both classes are improving rapidly. I gave both classes their second test last week and the week before, both classes did great. I had two perfects, one in either class, and I think 4 or 5 kids who only got 1-4 wrong which is really good considering it's a 50 question test. I was so proud of them and it's made me really happy to see them making progress like this. I've found my groove and it's been really nice for me and I think for the students too.
Success like this at work has really helped sustain me. People talk about the winter doldrums a lot and I've become a believer in the phenomenon, people really are more inclined to depression in the winter months but I've found that trying to be positive about things is really the way to go in the face of all this. That of course is easier said then done, but if you look it's easy to see the good things around you. For me they're everywhere; I'm in a foreign country for one, I have a great job, great friends, a family that cares about me back home, a soccer team that cares about me here, and a blog that helps me realize how lucky I am. Just writing all of this down is a great reminder for me too. Yes winter sucks, but I'm incredibly lucky to be doing what I'm doing, to be in the situation I'm in, to be alive and just today to have a blog entry that started out as a complaint about winter turn into a reflection on how unfounded that complaint is, what a great life.
The other main thing making the weather easy to deal with (sort of) is my soccer team. I wake up every morning to play for an hour with the guys on a dirt field at Taeguk Elementary School. It is bitter cold in the morning, but that only really bothers me for the first five minutes, after that my blood is pumping, I'm running all over the place and loving it. I still can't talk to most of the guys but have struck up what I think are genuine friendships with quite a few of them. Ho Jin, one of the best players on the team, has become a good friend in addition to Sung Nam. My strike partner has also become a friend along with the man who took me to get my arm looked at, Kim Dae Nam. The Coach (I'm not sure if anyone knows his name, at least Sung Nam doesn't) and I also have an understanding, he's something of a soccer mentor for almost everyone on the team and has taken me under his wing. He doesn't speak very much English but we manage to communicate quite well despite that. He recently taught me the proper way to bow to him which I'm always sure to remember when I see him at practice and the games. Under the tutelage of the Coach and Ho Jin I'm becoming a lot better at playing within the team's system. My passing is improvement and I'm working well with the other strikers, I'm learning how to be a better, more efficient player and I'm really loving it.
My coworker Pete just started playing also so I've got one more person to talk to at the practices and games. He's enjoying and I think it's been good for him to get out of his apartment. He lives with his girlfriend of two years and they are very happy but it was apparent to all of us that they needed to get out more, everybody needs their space. He plays a more defensive role than I do so he hasn't taken any of my playing time thankfully and has done real well in the first few games we've played.
Walking to work is something of a trial, after it snows, or rains, we inevitably have ice and then I have to pick where I walk wisely. I do not want to fall on my bum arm again so I've been extra careful. I venture into the cold wearing my shamu jacket, a hat, my new scarf and gloves and then the thin pants I own. While stepping gingerly over the numerous ice patches the wind cuts through my clothes like a hot knife through butter and the only consolation is the music in my ears, and of course my job.
Oddly enough one of the few things that makes this winter bearable is my work. So many of my friends are working their first jobs right out of school, and they hate it. I guess I'm lucky in that the walk to work, while very cold, is not a soul-sucking effort. Of course there are days where I have to convince myself to get out of bed, I think that comes with any job, but I think that I'm one of the few people that genuinely loves what they're doing. That's been a nice realization for me in this miserable season. My job is the exact opposite of the weather, it's exciting, heartening, full of successes and generally warm, if it's not I now have the power to turn on the heater if I want so that's really nice. We're nearing the end of the term for our students and most of the classes are graduating. Korean children start attending daily school when they turn eight (I think) so the older kids will start in their new schools come March, that's about half of our kindergarten students right there. Fortunately none of the classes I teach are graduating. I will have Venus and Mars class until I leave in July and both classes are improving rapidly. I gave both classes their second test last week and the week before, both classes did great. I had two perfects, one in either class, and I think 4 or 5 kids who only got 1-4 wrong which is really good considering it's a 50 question test. I was so proud of them and it's made me really happy to see them making progress like this. I've found my groove and it's been really nice for me and I think for the students too.
Success like this at work has really helped sustain me. People talk about the winter doldrums a lot and I've become a believer in the phenomenon, people really are more inclined to depression in the winter months but I've found that trying to be positive about things is really the way to go in the face of all this. That of course is easier said then done, but if you look it's easy to see the good things around you. For me they're everywhere; I'm in a foreign country for one, I have a great job, great friends, a family that cares about me back home, a soccer team that cares about me here, and a blog that helps me realize how lucky I am. Just writing all of this down is a great reminder for me too. Yes winter sucks, but I'm incredibly lucky to be doing what I'm doing, to be in the situation I'm in, to be alive and just today to have a blog entry that started out as a complaint about winter turn into a reflection on how unfounded that complaint is, what a great life.
The other main thing making the weather easy to deal with (sort of) is my soccer team. I wake up every morning to play for an hour with the guys on a dirt field at Taeguk Elementary School. It is bitter cold in the morning, but that only really bothers me for the first five minutes, after that my blood is pumping, I'm running all over the place and loving it. I still can't talk to most of the guys but have struck up what I think are genuine friendships with quite a few of them. Ho Jin, one of the best players on the team, has become a good friend in addition to Sung Nam. My strike partner has also become a friend along with the man who took me to get my arm looked at, Kim Dae Nam. The Coach (I'm not sure if anyone knows his name, at least Sung Nam doesn't) and I also have an understanding, he's something of a soccer mentor for almost everyone on the team and has taken me under his wing. He doesn't speak very much English but we manage to communicate quite well despite that. He recently taught me the proper way to bow to him which I'm always sure to remember when I see him at practice and the games. Under the tutelage of the Coach and Ho Jin I'm becoming a lot better at playing within the team's system. My passing is improvement and I'm working well with the other strikers, I'm learning how to be a better, more efficient player and I'm really loving it.
My coworker Pete just started playing also so I've got one more person to talk to at the practices and games. He's enjoying and I think it's been good for him to get out of his apartment. He lives with his girlfriend of two years and they are very happy but it was apparent to all of us that they needed to get out more, everybody needs their space. He plays a more defensive role than I do so he hasn't taken any of my playing time thankfully and has done real well in the first few games we've played.
One of the many reasons I love the team is because it's been pretty interesting to play with them. I've learned quite a bit about the cultural dynamics between men of different ages. The age range of players on our team is pretty wide. Pete and I are the youngest at 22 and I think the oldest man may be in his sixties. The deferential treatment that the older players get is almost immediately apparent. They play whenever they want and do whatever they want just about. Respect for elders is an integral part of the culture here and in an earlier entry I detailed how that has it's negative aspects. I thought in playing on a team with such a wide age range I'd see more of the bad things that entails, in fact it's been quite the opposite. Though everyone defers to the older men they are fair and helpful. They are very aware of the limitations that age has brought and have proved to be equally deferential to the advantages of youth. While the older players do get their time the majority of the players on the field in any match are the younger ones. The older men assume the role of teacher with ease and aplomb and have helped me at least quite a bit. They are not afraid to speak their mind to anyone on the field but it has never been in a derogatory way as far as I can tell through their body language and their tone of voice. Everyone takes the time to listen when they have something to say. I can gather some of it but it's easy to see that the other men learn from it a good bit. All this is usually done in a really light-hearted manner culminating in a small joke, sometimes I think at my expense but I don't really mind, and I think the guys on the team respect that. They know I can tell when they talk about me a lot of the time and I think that the understanding that they can talk about me if they want without bothering me has led to me being accepted pretty easily, because of course everyone is going to make fun of the foreign guy, that's just normal. They have all been only helpful, I've never felt like I wasn't a part of the team or scorned at all, even when I perform poorly.
I'm getting distracted, the point is the older men don't take advantage of the respect they're accorded, they give it back to us by letting us play and helping us become better players, they joke around with us and laugh with us, and it's really nice to know that I'm 22 years old and I have the respect of a 63 year old. I've found that the general idea is that you give respect to them and they will return it to you which I think is what makes this team work. I have to respect the fact that the older men can't run as fast on the field and tailor my passes for them, they in turn will cater to my style of play as it can fit into the system of passing and control of the ball. I enjoy running on the field and at first I had to quell my nearly uncontrollable urge to sprint for ever because if I'm doing that the rest of the team can't keep up with me. I'm the fastest person on the team and while that is good I have to remember that the other players need the build up of passes to move as a unit up the field otherwise I'm stranded in the final third with the ball and six defenders around me. This has really helped me be more aware of the players on my team, my position on the field and I think has made me a better player. By respecting the talents and limitations of my teammates I'm becoming a more involved distributor and a more prolific scorer as well. Today I scored 2 goals, had five assists, that's obscene but shelving my preconceptions of the game and adopting a more well rounded approach is obviously paying off.
That's soccer for the most part, any new developments? Ben's girlfriend Kelsey just got into town tonight and Ellie will be here next weekend so we're pretty excited to have the company. We've had a few birthday's (Holly, Natalie) go by without to much drama, some but not to much, and have found a really good Italian restaurant right near our work. I'm starting to think more and more about next year but have nothing concrete in mind yet, we'll see when July rolls around what I have figured out.
That's all for today folks. It may be a while 'til my next entry, probably after Ellie leaves, but I'll be sure to stick to this afterwards. Hope your enjoying it!
Pat
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