Idle thoughts

Hello all.

It’s been a ‘topsy turvy’ couple of weeks over here in Korea.

Life here it turns out, is drastically different. Of course I already knew this, but the struggle that Jess and I had to go through to ensure that both of us received home leave really brought home how different Korea and its people are.

On a whim Jessica’s principal refused her initial request for home leave. Jessica’s colleagues were sympathetic, but there was no rush to take the principal on. This is a very patriarchal society, and the men at top rule their fiefdoms with impunity. Jess pushed for the headmaster to change his mind which he finally did on Saturday morning.

This was however only after he brought both Jessica and her main co-teacher to tears. We are both very grateful that some of Jessica’s colleagues were prepared to put their own jobs on their line and help Jess push on. These people took very real risks, Jessica’s principal is known for transferring staff that speak out against him.

At the beginning of this school year two of Jessica’s colleagues were transferred to her school’s sister high school. These two teachers only found out about the decision to transfer them at the first staff meeting of the year, and it just so happened that both of these teachers were vocal critics of the headmaster. No middle school teacher in Korea wants to be transferred to high school. The hours that teachers are expected to put in at Korean high schools would drain even the most dedicated teacher.

I’m happy despite all the trouble we went through to secure our home leave. Sure I moan on occasion, and I have every right to. I’m impressed at my new found ability to shrug off difficult situations though. I get angry, curse and then calm down - there’s no dwelling on difficulties - you simply can’t afford to: daily life in Korea is replete with all manner of difficulties.

I’m looking forwards to coming home. For a brief period after returning from Europe I was incredulous at the number of black people in South Africa. After eight months of living in one of the most homogenous countries in the world I am beginning to find Korean faces quite mundane, while non-Korean faces are beginning to take on strange qualities.

I’m amused when I think back to how many times, while living quite comfortably at home, I dreamed of adventuring in foreign lands where I am one of the first foreigners. I’m living that dream. I don’t think it is likely that more 100 foreigners have ever lived in this town. The local populace certainly isn’t used to seeing my face. Fortunately I’ve grown accustomed to people openly staring at me. Sometimes it’s a point of amusement, at other times I curse the ‘starer’ and tell them that “I am not a freak you know”.

Of course they don’t understand me, and it’s unlikely that they hear me as I say this under my breath. The point of the comment is not to be belligerent but to release my frustration.

So I’m living in a surreal and dream like, sometimes nightmare like, world; but growing in a real and appreciable way.