Home at last. Kind of.

I had a lot of quiet time on the train from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, hence the sudden flurry of posting!

Lacey and I started planning our post-Korea life soon after my arrival in Busan last winter. It was clear from the beginning of the year that Korea wasn't going to offer the life we wanted, so to help keep ourselves sane, we daydreamed about our end-of-contract trip, and where we would live 'one day'. We did a lot of research, and found a lot of dead-ends, and we finally decided on two months in South East Asia, and then settling, for a year or so at least, in the U.S. (The cat made it rather too difficult to include a stop in the U.K., but a cat that can do forward rolls is worth keeping around, so she's forgiven.)

So here we are, a month into our 'return' to the good ole U.S. of A. Obviously it is less of a 'return' for me: I haven't actually lived here since I was 9 years old. I don't have a driver's license, a credit rating, or a mobile phone, but I do have an American accent (we can all thank my school's strict policy on American English for that one.) This last one is probably the one that causes me the most consternation. Because I look and sound, and indeed am American, my 'foreignness' is in many ways stranger than it was in Korea. In Asia, I knew where I fit: it was clear that I was a foreigner, and if I couldn't count out my money at the till, no-one found it strange.

I'm sure all this is much more awkward for me than anyone I encounter: I can, mostly, speak the local language and know the basic customs after all. I guess it's just a case of getting used to not being strange anymore. In Korea, your 'foreigner card' allows certain freedoms, because society already has you pegged as an outsider. And after two years of that, being 'normal' is actually kind of weird.

Oh kindie

I love teaching kindergarten. Just love it. I get why other people don't – it's noisy and they cry and they're messy and they don't listen and lord knows someone's not going to make it to the bathroom in time at least once in a while. And in Korea, it means an early morning schedule too. I definitely get the downsides. But man, teaching kindie is awesome. They will laugh at your tired,corny old jokes like you're the Eddie Izzard of teaching – and once you find a joke they like, you can just reuse it everyday. They'll watch the most boring phonics videos, and absorb all that new stuff - just because it was in a song. They'll have chats in the bathroom about who is a princess and who is a a fairy. And some of them give you hugs in between driving you nuts.

Watching Christmas videos is serious business.

So even though I hated the 'job' parts of my last job, I still miss the teaching parts. And that made my last day more than a little bittersweet. It started with a lot of stress: Lacey and I ended up having to move all our worldly possessions to the school for the day. But my boss managed to rein in her natural awfulness, and didn't kick up a fuss about that (or my lateness...) And the kids were so thrilled about their moms coming to school, and not having normal classes, that they actually behaved themselves. Of course they looked adorable in their costumes, and of course the Korean teachers made the library look great, and of course nothing quite went to plan. But aside from a few tears, and scratched off face-paint, they pulled off a good show: the songs all got sung, the letters to Santa got read and the big kids remembered all the words to their play.

The moms all stayed to have lunch with their kids, and the atmosphere was about as relaxed as I'd ever known it to be. Maybe that was just the buzz from it being my last day... I managed not to cry in front of anybody, but when Andy (the monster) walked up to me and said 'Don't go home', well, that was a tough one. After lunch, I got a bunch of cards that other teachers had made with the kids and tons of photos to keep. I never get around to making stuff like that so I really appreciate having those. Lacey was even allowed to stick around to take photos (the boss must've been feeling especially festive!)

Who knew the monster would turn out so cute?

After our trip around South East Asia, we went back to Busan for a few days, and happened to be in the area one day when the kindergarteners were leaving school. I was a little nervous that they wouldn't remember me, or care about seeing their old teacher, but it ended up being kind of nice that they weren't that bothered about me anymore. I still got a hug from Isabelle, and, like all 6 year olds, they were all jazzed about showing someone their latest crafts, but they'd already moved on, just as they should.

Hiking, K-style

So I started spring-cleaning the computer, and found a few old posts that never got finished. This one is from two years ago(!) and I really don't know why I didn't just post it at the time....

Walking along an exposed ridge in unseasonably cold and wet weather, rain briefly turning into hail, while mist alternately covers and reveals the surrounding mountains. A rainbow briefly appears when the sun comes out, and the path gradually turns into a muddy bog. The summit is marked with a stone monolith, but the weather is only conducive to a short break for water and a quick snack. And no other hikers seen until we reach the bus. A familiar scene indeed to anyone who's gone for a walk in the Scottish hills. But this was Korea – a country with sunshine! And good paths! And hikers on every hill!

I haven't done as much hiking in Korea as I should have, but enough to have begun to understand the differences between Korean hiking and Scottish hillwalking.

Probably the most striking difference is the wilderness, or lack of it. While there are some very popular hills, and routes, in Scotland, there isn't nearly the same density of people that you find on Korean hills. Koreans absolutely LOVE to hike, and they love to hike in groups. You don't to go hiking to feel close to nature, or to be alone, it's a hobby. And like all Korean hobbies, it's a group activity. Paths are large and well marked, making maps largely unnecessary, there are benches, pagodas for picnics, even clocks tied to trees. When the going gets too steep, there are staircases on the more popular paths – and I don't mean stones built into the hill, but fully-formed metal staircases with handrails. Every time I see one of these giant paths, I remember complaints about 'motorways' going up the more popular Munros back in Scotland. The equivalent here is more like an airport runway.

Gear is another big difference. I'm certainly not above lusting after the latest kit, especially when it comes to rock-climbing, but Koreans take the love for gear to a new level. In general, people here like to be properly attired for whatever activity they're engaged in – and the mountains are no exception. At home, the outdoors shops usually sell everything for camping, trekking, climbing – anything you do in the outdoors. In Daegu, theere are plenty of stores for hiking, but they really just sell the clothes – no gadgets, no tents, no toys.

The basic uniform is: hat or visor, colorful neck scarf, pink or purple hiking jacket and shirt, black hiking trousers, brightly colored trekking shoes or boots, walking stick and a small bag or specially designed belt for carrying your water bottle. There is very little variation on this – overall the effect is very colorful, but I've only seen one or two pairs of trousers that weren't black. And it's worth noting that none of the above clothing is ever worn for any other purpose. If you're wearing the clothes, you are hiking. In Scotland, we used to say 'all the gear, no idea' when we saw climbers or walkers with a ton of brand-new kit – in Korea, the newer and shinier the kit, the better. Nothing ever looks beat up, or even very well used.

I'm sure I intended to finish this post with loads of profound and insightful cultural observations... let's just go ahead and pretend that's what I did. I never did end up spending much time on Korean mountains. The gaudy outfits were entertaining, and the scenery was often pleasant, but I was just too curmudgeonly to get into K-style hiking. That said, even I can enjoy a sunny afternoon wandering around local hills with friends and a bottle of makkeoli!