Korean Superstitions

After writing about fan death, which still seems so crazy to me, I was interested in learning about some other Korean superstitions. After talking to some people,doing some research, and thinking about what I already know about Korean culture here is my list.

Fan death, of course, is number one. It's amazing how many people truly believe that fans will kill you in the night, and thus are not to be trusted.

If you dream about a pig you will have good fortune. If you dream about a snake your daughter may be pregnant. You should never sleep with your head facing west, as that is the way the dead are buried.

Red is the unlucky color in Korea. If you write someone's name in red it means that you want them to die.

As a housewarming gift you should bring someone laundry detergent, as it brings wealth and good fortune. (A friend of ours was presented with toilet paper by their neighbors as a housewarming gift earlier this year!)

On a babies first birthday you should present them with a pencil, string and money. Wait to see which the baby goes for first and that will be their fortune. The pencil means good at studying, the string means long life and the money, of course, means they will be rich.

After you give birth you should eat seaweed soup to aid in your recovery. (Side note: this soup is actually really yummy!)

The number 4 is very unlucky in Korean culture. In fact, many building elevators have a F instead of 4. The number 7 is considered very lucky.

In Korea when you choose your spouse you have to be careful of their age. If you marry someone with five years difference in age you will fight constantly but never be divorced. if you marry someone six years older or younger than you you will "become strange." Many Koreans believe that a 4 or 7 year age difference between you and your spouse is the best. (Everyone I tutor has asked me my age and Josh's age, to determine if we are a good marital match!)

Do not give your boyfriend or girlfriend shoes as a gift. If you it means they will leave you.
Girls are taught that if they cut their hair short they will grow taller.

Many Koreans also believe that having surgery is the best way to speak English better. Many Koreans struggle with the "l" and "r" sounds in English. I am often called "Ms Reah" even by many adults. Some Koreans agree that a surgery to separate the tongue from the lower jaw is the best way to solve this pronunciation problem.

2 years? Where is the time going?

Two years ago Josh and I got engaged. Seriously, where is the time going? I feel like it was just yesterday we were stressing out about wedding venues, honeymoon plans, packing up and moving across the country to Alabama. Now we are living in Korea working our butts off and enjoying every minute of it.
Feeling so blessed today to be living this amazing adventure with my best friend and the my man. Plans for tonight include recreating the meal we ate on the day we got engaged, reminiscing a little and celebrating the 4th of July from Korea!
Oh, and the countdown has OFFICIALLY begun- we will be leaving the ROK and coming back to the states for vacation in 26 days (insert happy scream here!) Can't wait to see our lovely sister get married, see all the other family and enjoy some good couples time as well. We are always so busy with both of our crazy work schedules, that some time away will be AMAZING!


One of my favorite engagment photos




Engagment day. My "holy crap I'm getting MARRIED!" face! Haha!

Beware of....fan death??!?!

Fan death is a widely held belief (and misconception) prevailing in South Korea that an electric fan left running overnight in a closed room can cause the death of those inside. Fans sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on. Here are the many ways Koreans believe you can die from a fan (all of which are complete bogus, by the way!)

1. An electric fan creates a vortex, which sucks the oxygen from the enclosed and sealed room and creates a partial vacumn inside.
2. An electric fan chops up all the air particles in the air leaving none to breathe.
3. The fan uses up the oxygen in the room and creates fatal levels of carbon dioxide.
4. That if the fan is put directly in front of the face of the sleeping person, it will suck all the air away, preventing one from breathing.
5. That fans contribute to hypothermia, or super low body temperature.As the metabolism slows down at night, one becomes more sensitive to temperature, and thus supposedly more prone to hypothermia. If the fan is left on all night in a sealed and enclosed room, believers in fan death suppose that it will lower the temperature of the room to the point that it can cause hypothermia.
6. The fan overheats after it has been left on for too long, and ceases to cool the room, instead causing the already sweltering heat to increase uncontrollably until the person dies from it. That fans contribute to prolonged axphyxiation ue to environmental oxygen displacement or carbon dioxide intoxication.

The best part? The Korean governement issues warnings warning people of fan death during the summer months, stating that is REALLY is a danger to people! Crazy! Many people call Korea "The land of the not so right" as many things are always just a bit OFF. This is definitely one of those times! :)

Monson Season is Here

Korea's rainy season is usually from early June to late July. The south is the first to receive the monsoon which then slowly travels north. There is some rainfall during the retreating of the monsoon in September. Most part of the country receives more than 100 centimeters of rainfall every year!
Humidity is between 80% and 90% during the summer months here as well.
Overall, the weather here is pretty nasty these days. If it's not DOWNPOURING its extremely hot and humid (it's been between 85 and 90 degrees the past week or so). The humidity is so strong that you can see it in the air on certain days. Thank goodness we lived in Alabama last summer and are a bit accustomed to the humidity.
Yesterday Josh and I were in Yongsan grocery shopping on post and were caught in  HUGE rains! Many of the roads on post were being shut down because of rain and flooding. We were not here during monsoon season last year but have seen photos and heard stories about how intense the flooding was. Many parts of post flooded and cars were floating in puddles of water! Crazy! Thankfully we waited out the storm and when we drove home the rain subsided a bit. We spend the rest of the day relaxing, cleaning the house and playing Monopoly as the rain fell hard outside. Perfect.

Korean children among most unhappy in the world article

http://rokdrop.com/2010/05/12/korean-children-unhappiest-among-oecd-member-nations/

Korea has the largest suicide rate among students in the world, and students are under an incredible amount of pressure starting extremely young. I have first and second grade students staying up well past midnight to do homework, read books and practice instruments. Eunice, a first grade student of mine, falls asleep every day in class because her parents have her stay up SO late to study. She's 7!
For Korean parents their children ARE their retirement. If you tell a Korean adult about retirement they will look at you like you are a crazy person. I said to the two University professors that I tutor, "Yes, Josh and I save money every month so that when we are old and cannot work anymore we have money to buy things that we need like housing, food and medicine." The response was, "What about your children? They will take care of you!" While I appreciate the devotion that children have to their parents, I also think it fosters an environment where children, even young children, feel entirely responsible for the livelihood and well being of their entire families.
Many families will spend up to 50% of their family income on their child or children's eduction, so perhaps at the end of the day they realistically don't have money to set aside for retirement?!?! Either this way is an interesting article that really will get you thinking. 

What's your blood type? Huh?!?!

In Korea, rather than the  North American question, “What’s your sign? you are more likely to be asked, “What’s your blood type?” Koreans link blood type to personality and the question of blood type is asked often. I hadn't thought about it much until yesterday when I was tutoring. Tuesday evenings I teach two University professors who have pretty advanced English skills. We were talking about nature vs. nurture and the role that genetics play in a child's intelligence. The topic of blood type came up with Paul said, "But what about bloo type. That determines a lot, just like genetics." So, I researched it some more and here are the personality traits ascribed to the basic blood types: A, B, AB and O.

Blood Type A:
Positive Traits: Conservative, introverted, reserved, patient, punctual and inclined to be perfectionists.
Worst Traits: Obsessive, stubborn, self conscious and uptight.
Referred as ‘farmers’ in some descriptions, Type A’s are said to be considerate of others and loyal to a fault. They can also be secretive and reluctant to share their feelings. Apparently they don’t hold their liquor well, either.

Blood Type B:
Best Traits: Animal-loving, creative, flexible, individualistic, optimistic and passionate.
Worst Traits: Forgetful, irresponsible and self-centered.
Referred to as ‘hunters’, Type B’s have very independent natures and tend not to be concerned about what other people think of them. Although often described as shallow and lazy, they can be quite passionate about the things they hold dear. Patience is not their strong suit either.
Type B men have acquired a very negative reputation in Korea and are not considered by many to be good husband material. Often described as ‘players’, they are perceived as being selfish and mercurial, quick to anger and not terribly reliable. That said, their bad boy image makes them very attractive to women, but not for the long term. (Type B women do not share in this bad rep, for some unexplained reason).

Blood Type AB: Best Traits: Cool, controlled, empathic, introverted and rational.
Worst Traits: Aloof, critical, indecisive and unforgiving.
Referred to as ‘humanists’, Type AB’s are said to be controlled more by their heads, than by their hearts. They are rational, good with money, but unpredictable. Although inclined to be distant, they prefer harmony and as such, work well with mediators. Some consider them two-faced, and therefore untrustworthy.

Blood Type O: Best Traits: Ambitious, athletic, robust and self-confident.
Worst Traits: Arrogant, insensitive, ruthless and vain.
Referred to as ‘warriors’, Type O’s are viewed as natural leaders and are often, also, natural athletes. They tend to be outgoing, expressive and passionate, but can also bore others to death with their obsessive drive for success coupled with their absolute convictions that they are winners. This certainty that they will always win explains why they aren’t afraid to take risks or gamble. They have a strong physical presence and are unlikely to ever be overlooked.

Interesting, right??!

Worms, worms, worms!

At BIS I mostly teach social classes, but I also teach novel classes to grades 1, 2, 3 and 4. Every month we study a new book. These classes are really fun because we don't have a set schedule or things that we have to accomplish every month. So, I plan fun activities like crafts, debates and writing activities.
This month the third graders and I are studying "How to Eat Fried Worms." This is a book about a boy named Billy who bets that he can eat 15 worms in 15 days. If he does, he will get $50 from his friends, and will be able to buy a new bicycle he has been wanting. The boys in the story come up with many different ways to eat worms and it's pretty hilarious. The kids LOVE gross things like this and every week so far they have been reading MORE pages than I assigned them to read. (A teachers dream!!)




This week in class we made worm cups, and the kids LOVED it! In a cup you put chocolate ice cream for the mud (usually you use pudding but I couldn't find that in Korea) then add crushed up oreos for the dirt
 and finally add gummy worms. Easy!
Here are some pictures from our fun day in novel class:

Showing the kids all of our ingredients

Handing out supplies

Jenny crushing her cookies into the "mud"

Jenny and Eunice

Lisa's (front, right) face in this one is hilarious. She was unsure about eating the treat and was acting like it was REAL worms! Perfect!

Stella and Lisa

Julia and Annie

Brandon and Chris

Handing out gummy worms

Kay, Jenny and Eunice

Julia

Kay didn't want to eat it either. But, once she did she loved it!

Chris and Brandon, buddies and the only boys in the class