The past three weeks I have been teaching at an English camp held at my school. Local sixth graders come from nearby public schools to learn about how Westerners spend seasons and holidays. Imagine trying to explain the journey of the Pilgrims to a bunch of kids that can barely say the correct colors. I am definitely getting a crash course in ESL. The interesting thing is the similiarities between Eastern and Western cultures. One of my students spent six months in the States and knew about the horrendous violence that occurred between the settlers and Native Americans. I asked what happened in Korean history to see if I could draw any ties together. The kids immediately divulged about Korea's history of violence and oppression. I had no idea how much Korea has been tormented by China and Japan over the last few centuries. It makes our history seems so YOUNG at times.
The last half hour of camp was spent watching "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving". It officially marked the kick-off for my Thanksgiving holiday. The rest of the "true" Thanksgiving day in Korea was spent chaperoning a Sadie Hawkins dance. Yes, I dressed up and danced my heart out. I celebrated with a sushi feast afterward.
In spite of seaweed and rice, I did get to enjoy some authentic Thanksgiving food. TCIS has a sister school up in Suwon (a suburb of Seoul) that volunteered to host a joint Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday for the two schools. I spent the morning frantically shopping for gifts for my family, then hopping a train and two taxis to arrive at the school. I played an hour of intense basketball with my headmaster, pastor, and several other teachers, showered quickly, then headed off to eat a HUGE meal with my extended family. I couldn't help but walk into the crowded cafeteria with a sense of vagueness. The scene wasn't quite right. The magohony buffet at my parents' house wasn't there; filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, and the random dish of cottage cheese in the Japanese bowl my mother secretly likes to sneak into every meal. My grandfather wasn't there to banter with me and constantly telling me I need to "beef up". Wrigley wasn't there giving the irrestible look of manipulative pity that forces me to give him endless amounts of turkey.
Instead, I saw my second cousin feeding her three children and allowing everyone to hold them so she could sneak a bite of turkey. I overhead conversations about my other cousin Phil coming to visit for three months and coach basketball. I talked with my pastor about a new bible he picked up for me. I heard my friends talk about homesickness and feeling out of sorts. I chatted with my friend Meredith about the going out for jazz and dancing that evening. As Charlie Brown would say, good grief!
I still have to catch myself sometimes at the radical difference life has taken since August.
On another note, happy belated Thanksgiving! To my mom and sister- Happy Chusokae! (minus the obscenity Mals!) I am grateful to have you all in my life, despite the six thousand mile distance.
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