So Ko in Autumn

Fall in Korea raced by in a blink of an eye. One day I was sitting in the subway station daydreaming in shorts and the next I was huddled in a coat staring glumly at the weather, my curse words frozen mid air. The Korean teachers look at me amused and worried as I scurry around school, my winter coat buttoned up to the neck, trying to keep my frozen limbs moving to ward off frostbite. Every morning I walk in the school doors and stare at the janitor in disbelief as he props open all the windows and doors in frigid 20 degrees weather. I haven’t quite figured out the reasoning behind this, particularly considering the huge H1N1 scare…guess there’s more than one way to carry out population control in this country! Teaching is coming easier to me. There are some seriously precious students who bring me rice treats and hand me hot canned coffee to warm my hands with during the morning bus ride. First grade has weaseled their loud rambunctious way into my heart mainly due to the fact that when I collapse from exhaustion in a desk chair three little boys run over to resuscitate me with a back, arm, and leg massages. I fell in love in 2.5 seconds! I’m taking all three of them home with me! This living in a different country can have a strange effect on a person. I’ve never felt very possessive of American fast food,in fact, i’ve always thought it was highly offensive when foreigners assumed that all there is to American food is McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. But then again no one has ever tried to steal them away from me before either. The first time i saw the shocked look on peoples faces when I said McDonald’s started in the U.S, i thought surely this was just a fluke, Korea is far from the epicenter of junk food. The second and third time however is far from just a mere mistake! What are they thinking trying to claim McDonald’s as their own?! Now I just want to tell them to get their own fast food joint and leave mine alone! I may refuse to ever eat at one of those places, but all us American products, esl teachers and fast food joints alike, have to stick together! =) It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here 70 days and look what it’s already done to me