The Wizard Has Left The Building

Ferial and I are passionate about books. Both of us are avid readers. We have always loved reading. Since we were young, both were labeled "book worm" and bore the badge proudly.

I remember the day I learned to read. Yes, it happened in a day. Of course my mother had been teaching me to read for quite a long time, but what I remember was the day it all clicked. I had learned to read words, sentences, even short stories, and to comprehend what I read there. However, it was unique knowledge. It was monocontextual, if you will. I could only read, sitting at the table, or on the couch with my mother and the curriculum she had used to teach me. Then one day, it just clicked. I was sitting in the back seat of the car. We were on our way to visit my grandmother in a neighboring town. I looked up and out of the window, and there, full of words and life was a billboard. It was simple, even cheesy. It was advertising a large church, off the highway. It read "Word of Life Church." It took me a second to realize that I had read those words and that they had instantly communicated their intended meaning in my mind. In other words, I COULD READ! I read the next billboard, an ad for McDonalds, and the next, and the next. I spent the rest of the half hour trip with my face pressed against the glass, reading aloud every sign and billboard I could see, driving my parents crazy. I think the next week, my mother started teaching me to read silently...

Ferial is a bit of a speed reader. She reads very fast. She regularly finishes books in less than three days. She finished the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Omnibus Edition (the 5 book trilogy, plus one short story) in less than a week. She gobbled it up. Once or twice, I have known her to read an entire novel in a day. On a side note, she has read all eight Anne of Green Gables Novels more than a dozen times, the Chronicles of Narnia twice and The Harry Potter series, twice.

I am of a different sort. I possess the ability to read quickly. However, I choose not to. I read carefully and methodically. I look for hidden meaning, innuendo and inference. I give each character in a novel a voice, an accent, verbal ticks and stutters. I characterize, as I read. When I read the characters' lines, I attempt to become the characters, to get inside their heads, to glean even the unwritten emotions from their words. In addition to this, even when I read silently, I never read faster than I would, were I to read it out loud. I don't read any faster than I speak. On purpose.

Thus, we are different readers, but both are readers.

As you can imagine, bookstores present a nigh irresistible temptation before us. When we lived in the United States it was easier to resist the temptation that Barnes and Noble posed to us. We didn't go in. We rarely went into bookstores in California, knowing that we could not afford most of what would beckon to us from within. It was cheaper, easier and more convenient to simply order what we wanted off of Amazon, to have our books and afford to eat too. When we moved to South Korea, we brought thirty books, not including Bibles and journals. We've yet to read them all. However, we have bought many more since being here. There are some fabulous bookstores here, and most of them have sizeable English Sections. In addition to this, we have a couple of good friends and family members who, knowing our affinity for books, have bought and sent us still others. We recently had to purchase a second bookshelf, because the one we had was getting overstuffed.

Today, we went for lunch in our favorite area of Seoul, Samseung. After some rockin' fajitas, we walked around in the underground mall, which is part of the Coex Annex. During our walk, we found our favorite Korean bookstore to date. It's called Bandi & Luni's. They had some decently priced books, and some great finds. It wasn't all airport paperbacks, which is always nice, because my natural pretension wants to have fairly good editions on my shelves.

We bought three today:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. Ever since reading Wicked, I have wanted to read Baum's original Oz. He wrote dozens of Oz books, and I doubt I'll read them all, but I would very much like to read the first 2 or 3.
The Tales of Beedle The Bard, by J.K. Rowling. I've been excited about this one, ever since I saw the hand-drawn, hand-written copy Rowling did, and sold for charity auction as Sotheby's for 1.95 million pounds, on Amazon.com.
The Year of Living Biblically, One Man's Humble Quest to Follow The Bible as Literally as Possible, by A.J. Jacobs. We bought this one on instinct. It looks compelling. I am excited to read it. I assume it will end up being anti-fundamentalist / anti-evangellical-conservative propoganda, but it looks like a lot of fun, and I hope to be surprised, in the end.

I bought Ferial a Nintendo DS for Christmas. It was supposed to be a modest Christmas, since we're trying to pay off bills & the economy is a mess & and we believe there is more to the holiday than consumerism....but I couldn't resist. It's a lot of fun, but it's nice to see that, even with the DS and the Laptop in the house, we're still reading as much as ever.

Cheers.

Update!

So, I'm cheating a little bit. I'm not posting a completely-new blog today. This is an excerpt from an email that I just sent to a friend. But it's such a good update of us that I knew that I just had to blog it:



"Did you have a good time with all of your people for New Year's? John and I both got the cold that's going around here so we just stayed in and relaxed, which turned out to be really fun and just what we needed.

Christmas was also wonderful and simple. We had a Christmas brunch with our American friends (french toast and fresh fruit) and played games and such. We relaxed in the afternoon and then in the evening our "big boss" took us out for Christmas dinner with some of the other Center staff. It was great! We had bulgogi at this fancy place and I loved it.

We had decided to go easy on Christmas gifts this year (meaning we were only going to do simple stuff for each other and nothing for anyone else =) ), but John broke the rules and bought me a Nintendo DS! I can't deny that I love it. It feels so Korean to get on the subway and play Super Mario!

Teaching is also going well. A little hectic right now because our English department is undergoing a lot of schedule changes, but going well. I definitely know now that teaching is NOT my calling, but I really do love my little Koreans and I am so grateful for this experience. We have such a good workplace--our managers and co-workers are fantastic and they have provided so much for us.

Life is very simple here. I really believe that God brought us here for many more reasons than just to pay off debt, and He has been teaching us many lessons in living simply and being content. These lessons have been hard and wonderful all at the same time. We've been here 6 months now and life has become "normal" again. We have routines, we know our way around the block as teachers, we can speak and understand enough of the language to get around (I taught myself to read Hangul!), and we have a great group of friends. Now that all of the excitement, the newness, and the honeymoon feelings have dissipated however, the homesickness has kicked in with a fierceness. Korea is SO different from the US in so many ways. It's funny how leaving the US can make you love it in ways that you never thought possible. I don't just miss the conveniences (the Targets, the Starbucks on every corner, the wide range of deodorants and toothpastes)--I miss the mentalities, the diversity, the politics, the music, the issues, and the people the most. I think I needed to leave, and to "love the leave" (as a friend of mine says) in order to really embrace being an American."

Officially the coldest I have ever been...

P'yongt'aek, South Korea

Today

Hi: -4°

Lo: -15°

Snow flurries. There is a 30% chance of precipitation. Partly cloudy. Cold. Temperature of -4°C. Winds N 27km/h. Humidity will be 56% with a dewpoint of -12° and feels-like temperature of -11°C.

Snowflakes on my nose and eyelashes...

Last Thursday I had a "first"-moment. You know, we've all got those significant moments of "firsts"; like a first kiss, or a first burrito, or a first trip to the zoo. Well, on Thursday I had a first: my first walk in the falling snow. Now let me clarify, I have walked in falling snow before--I have been skiing and snowboarding and to Lake Tahoe many times in my life. The reason last Thursday was different and most definitely a "first" for me is this: this is the first time I have walked in the snow in a place where I live. All of the other snow-experiences in my life have been times that I have visited the snow, now I currently reside in a place where it snows. And that is a definite first for me.

Korea is getting cold. Last Thursday was the first snow of the season and it hasn't snowed since then. The weather forecast shows that we can probably expect more snow later this week, but nevertheless, temperatures are definitely dropping. During the day you can expect mild, cold, Thanksgiving-like scarf weather with patches of sun. At night though, temperatures hover around freezing and the cold winds whip around with enough force to burn your lungs and numb your face off. So, I bought a warmth-preserving face mask. People who wear them often look like they just got out of the hospital, but man oh man do they keep your face warm!

This week comes in the form of a wonderful break. Although we still have to "work", our Center is not teaching any classes this week. John and I have completed our first semester and so on this American Thanksgiving week falls our "semester break." We will spend the week cleaning house, running errands, doing office work, and preparing for next semester--classes start again on Dec. 1st. And on Friday evening (one day later than the actual holiday, I know) we will try and reproduce as best as we can a Thanksgiving dinner. We have a small clan of waegook (foreigner) friends who will celebrate with us and I'm looking forward to being creative with my cooking. I know, however, that no matter how much good food we are able to conjure, it can never compare to the Thanksgiving spreads that I'm used to at my mom's house.

It's been a lot easier to feel homesick now that the holidays are at hand. We both miss our families and friends like crazy. But we are finding that we also just miss little things about California and the life that we had there. Korea has become "normal life" for us now--we know enough of the language to get around and we're constantly learning more; we know the transportation systems and where to go for everything; we have friends and people to hang out with; we're settled in our home; and we've got a pretty good handle on teaching (or so we think). So, Korea is normality now. But it's funny, no matter how normal it feels or becomes, when we talk about our home, it's always in reference to California.

But at least we've discovered the wonderfulness of samgyeopsal...

I never thought

I never thought I'd miss my old job. However, today, I had a heartfelt desire to get into my Civic, drive through the Petaluma hills and go visit Alex Bunnell, one of my old clients. At first, he'd stand at the door and yell through it
"What do you want??."
"I wanna hang out with you, Alex."
"Go hang out with Patricia!"
"I will - later - but right now, I wanna hang out with you."
"Well, I'm busy."
(We're still yelling through the door, mind you.)
"What are you busy with, Alex? You just woke up, didn't you?"
He starts and sputters, as if wondering how in the world I could have come to possess this information.
"Pshyeah..."
"Ok, well Alex, let me in. We have a meeting and I don't want to stand out here for the whole thing."
"Give me a minute, John. I'm not wearing any pants."

He'd let me in, and I'd lecture him a little bit about the sorry state of his apartment. He'd blame his roommate, Jason, and begin doing the dishes. We'd talk about his check register, and I'd ask if he ever planned on shopping at Trader Joe's, like he said he wanted to months ago. Tired of arguing, I'd suggest we get in my car, and go grab some lunch. I would waver back and forth in my mind, regarding where to take him for lunch. I don't want to set a bad example and go for fast food, but I'm sure he only has $35 in his wallet and is probably saving all of that for soda and nachos at the bowling alley, which he will visit later that night. If we go somewhere healthier it will be more expensive and I will probably have to pay...in the end, I opt for Subway. We would take our sandwiches to Pioneer Park, and eat in the warm afternoon sun, talking of his latest argument with his girlfriend, Britney Spears' latest stunt and the newly elected president.

After lunch, I would drive him to San Rafael, so he could go bowling. Afterward, I would visit other clients and take a few to Trader Joe's. There is a Starbucks right next door, so I would probably grab a latte to sip, while they shopped. Then, after taking them home, I would cruise home, via the back roads so as to avoid traffic. By the time I got home, Ferial would probably be in the kitchen at the Treehouse, cooking some sort of Italian-inspired amazement. We would eat at the table, then kick back to watch TV. Perhaps I'd sip a cider, while petting the bunny with my foot...

So maybe it isn't work I miss at all. Perhaps the desire for my old job, is merely a vehichle, by which I desire my old life. Like a tortilla chip for the nacho cheese of nostalgia.

Motivation is a fickled wench.

I just wanted to use a provocative title. However, for me, motivation has been extremely fickle as of late. For the past couple of days, I haven't even wanted to get dressed in the morning...not really, anyway. I have to get dressed, because I have to go to work. What I mean is, I haven't wanted to get dressed up. I just wanted to roll out of bed, throw on some jeans and a t-shirt, put a hat on and head to work (Ferial bought me this really cool brimmed beanie / tam-type thing that I haven't gotten to wear yet). I haven't wanted to do my hair, or shave, or take the time to color coordinate an outfit, down to my socks. I just haven't had the motivation.

I think it's because we got cosmically screwed out of a three-day weekend last week. We were told that Monday the 3rd was our Community Centers birthday, so we had the day off. Which would have been cool, as the 4th was my birthday, and we would have had the opportunity to go to Seoul, after a relaxed weekend, and celebrate a little bit. As it turns out, we ended up getting a call at about 11 0'clock, Saturday morning, informing us there had been a horrible miscommunication, and that the Center's birthday was actually on the 17th (a wonderfully less convenient time for a 3-day weekend). So, that just totally took the wind right out of our sails, we canceled our plans for the entire weekend, stayed in bed for most of the day and spent the evening doing chores.

As it stands, we work this Saturday (a great prospect, since we make some really good coin doing it...we're just tired), have a wedding to go to on Sunday (which I think will be really fun), and then it starts all over. It will be 2 weeks straight with no real break. Now, I don't say all this merely to complain (I'm trying to stop complaining so much. Since coming to Korea, I've realized I do this far too much). I'm just trying to explain why I didn't have the motivation to put on a tie this morning, even though it would have matched really well with the rest of my outfit, right down to my socks, which match the grey stripes in my shoes and the yellow of my shirt.

We are celebrating in Korea!