Today was a lazy day for me. I spent the morning decorating my room with pictures and emailing friends while the rest of the family was at church. The kids returned home around 10:30 or 11, but my host father didn’t come back until 3 and my host mother came back around 5. I have absolutely no idea where they were. It was enough that I even understood they would be gone all day when they told me this morning!
I went on another long walk today. I really want to find a mountain path, but all I’ve found so far are unfriendly, skinny, windy roads. I did get some good pictures, though, and I intend to keep searching. I am afraid of trespassing, too...it’s hard to tell which are driveways, and which are actual roads!
I still don’t know anyone’s names. I must learn quickly, but it’s so hard for me to pick them out! The only one told to me was the little boy’s, and I forget that one. I suppose I will learn the two younger children’s names in school, but I don’t know about the older girl.
I spent the rest of the day studying Korean, reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, going through the textbooks and CDs Choi Hyun Moon gave me, and reading up on Korean history in A New History of Korea. I intend to read it all, and then since it only goes through 1960, to find a more recent book and read it, too. History is really important in general and especially here and I would like to know more about where I am living. I am pretty sure I already read parts of the book for my Asian Traditions class at Pomona, but I really don’t remember anything I read. It was three years ago, after all. A brush-up can’t hurt. And now, it seems much much much more pertinent, strangely enough.
This afternoon, my host father had a friend over. He was really friendly and engaged me in a conversation about Africa and Montana which caught the attention of the entire house. I brought out some South Africa pictures to show them and they were impressed by the giraffes and the fact that I’d lived in Cape Town. This friend mentioned, however, that my face used to be fat! Of course, he was comparing it to now, but still...I don’t think it’s any thinner now. My hair’s just down more. I don’t want to be a fat-face! Overall, though, it was a nice interaction with the whole family (except my two host sisters). After feeling like a mute and dumb burden for the last few days, it was nice to finally connect with them in some way.
I feel very accomplished for today. I did many of the things I set out for myself today, instead of just being a lazy slob. Goodness knows I hate that. And I tried to help out around the house…it seems to be the least I can do. I don’t think my host mother is really into it, though. She let me wash the dishes this morning because they were leaving for church right then, but at dinner she told me specifically that she would wash, even though she didn’t even eat until after everyone else had finished and it would just make it longer for her. Maybe she doesn’t like how I clean dishes. I think it’s more that I am still a guest here and must be taken care of. It’s nice, but I want to do some things around the house, too, since I can’t do much else for them. Oh, they asked me about internet today…I might be getting it in my room! Sweet! I think they must be relatively well-off, based on their generosity so far and the status of the house. Though it’s small, it’s clean and obviously new, whereas some around here that I’ve seen on my walks are basically shacks. I didn’t expect to find so much poverty here, but it is apparent if you open your eyes. I didn’t mention this before, but our dorm at Kangwon was separated from a shantytown (for lack of a better word) by only a fence. It was strange to walk by it and look down (it was on a hill).
Tomorrow I go to school, but only to meet the other teachers. I hope I don’t have to give a speech and embarrass myself, but I expect I must. And they’ll laugh at me...