email

date:Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 11:22 AM
subject: im cold.

Dear mom and dad,

Its really truly winter here now. I have attached a picture as you can see im fighting it as much as i can. I remember upon first arrival to Korea thinkin that the surgical masks were a little strange, but now my fourth winter here, i finally understand the beauty of them. Your face is freezing without them. My friend Omega from the knitting group says i should suck it up. She's from Detriot and reports they had a foot of snow fall yesterday. I told her to take that shit back to the D.

As i mentioned in the last email, i am interviewing for a new job. i'll update when there's news, right now there isnt much. ive had a couple of offers, but the pay isnt comparable to what i make now, so, we'll what happens.

Lately, i've been having lunch with these Korean friends. They don't speak much english but who cares because i get to eat without cooking. they're very impressed with my chop stick skills and the five korean phrases i know how to say.I do not like the soup but i always end up with a bowl of it because one of the koreans(a different one everytime) says i must eat soup because its winter. So they understand i don't care for kimchi but i guess soup is a requirement.

The facebook group has really grown. there are over 800 members now. We still continue book club once a month and recently have started movie screenings once a month with the help of my wonderful friend Danica. We had the first movie a couple weeks ago and around 70 people showed up. It was really awesome to see that many black people in one space. This sentiment was echoed by many people there. It was another one of those moments where we all were strangers but that afternoon we were family. We forgot we were in Korea for a while and just enjoyed each others company.

I've been knitting alot, i've gotten pretty good and pretty fast. I can knit forward and backward, i can even knit without looking. I've made a few really nice hats for winter but havent been able to keep any of them because my a-hole boyfriend takes everyone before i get to wear it. though he can knit a little bit(he ridiculously claims knitting expertise) so i asked him why he doesnt make his own damn hats. He says its obvious i make these hats for him out of love, i say its obvious eh really can't knit for shit. He comes to knitting meetings with me every sunday where he holds the knitting needles for 2hours and pretends.
love you miss you,
~daughter

email

Subject: RE: Waiting Is My Middle Name
Date: Tue, 19 May 2009 08:43:51 +0000
dear mom and dad,

cherry blossom time has come and gone, i think! i didnt go to any official festivities this time, but i did walk around the pond in my neighborhood to look at the trees, they were of course lovely and makes me hate winter all the more.

i dont remember who my godmother is, i think you guys showed me pictures, she's white and has blond hair? if you ever find her contact info, let me know. wow, what happened before internet and social connect websites? people had to hope they kept the same phone number forever i guess? ah well. i had a great time in japan anyway. My friends from india are still there, staying with another friend of mine, aaron. I dont know if you remember aaron, he stayed at the house the night before his flight to go teach in japan: he's black, has an afro, kind of tall-ish (well, that describes all of my male friends i guess). that was maybe 4 or 5 years ago? he's still there, still teaching, and he really loves it. He's been taking care of my friends from india, but i told him to not do it too well, b/c i want my friends to come back to korea to teach english, and not be seduced by the alleged "cool-er-ness" of japan^^

im still going to knitting group one or two times a week, ive actually finished something for the first time, it's a red scarf and it's awesome. i hate winter, but i will be happy to wear this when the time comes.

Last week, my friend bryan had a day off, so we went to the coex aquarium. i dont know why it's a big deal, it's another one of those "things you ahve to see" when you come to seoul. i wonder what koreans think of it, maybe they're looking at the fish and thinking "Dinner." Every restaurant has some sort of tank outside with tons of sea life in it, so being in the aquarium was like walking about in my neighborhood, a little. Except for the seals and penguins, which are not common food fare at seafood restauarants here. And we saw fruit bats. i know they're bats and all, but fruit bats are really cute, you would want to have them for a pet. Even tho Bryan pointed out i screamed when one of the bats made a sudden movement and flew around behind the glass and scared me, they're still cute.

email

Subject: RE: Greetings Mare
Date: Thurs, 14 May 2009 07:58:44+0000
hi pare,
im doing great! im so happy now b/c winter is over and it's not snowing anymore, the sun is bright and wow it makesme super happy:) work is going wonderfully of course, i still really love this job and i love the kids.

i miss ethiopian food sooooo much. two weeks ago, i went to japan for a couple of days and found an ethiopian restaurant, i think it was called fasika. everyone there was japanese, including the waiter and bartender, but the cook was from ethiopia, i dont remember if she was amhara or not, but her food was delicious. i didnt want to leave japan, i thought i might leave korea and teach english in japan in that city so that i can be close to that restaurant always. i spent the last of my money there and had to walk an hour and a half back to my hotel, but it was worth it b/c the food was so good :) ~mare.

email

Subject: thanks for waiting^^
Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 07:26:07 +0000
dear mom and dad,

its so sunshiny and beautiful today, spring in seoul has got to be one of my favorite things in the world right now. of course, it's like this every day in san diego, which i didnt appreciate until having to suffer a real winter with snow here. thank goddess thats over... for a while anyway.

not me nor anyone i know------>
japan was wonderful, i stayed for 4 days and 3 nights. i stayed at khaosan hostel in fukuoka. i went to japan to get a new e2 visa, this is the visa that allows me to work in south korea. this is common here, called a "visa run." If you ahve to get a new visa like i did, fukuoka is the closest place to go to get it. the trip was super easy. tho i didnt meet anyone who spoke english, signs on the subway were in english, and the hostel was easy to find, and all the employees there were fluent in english. I remember the hostels i stayed at when i went to europe 10+ years ago: i remember a lot of them being so dirty. this place in japan was the nicest cleanest spot i'd ever stayed in. if you ever meet anyone who is going to fukuoka, tell them to stay at khaosan hostel!

i met the coolest people at the hostel. i met this guy from isreal who does computer something for employment, and had been vacationing for 7 months. yes, SEVEN MONTHS. he said he'd just buy one way tickets to where he felt liek going and just kept on holiday. he was at the tail end of his trip, tho, and would be giong back to work soon. good god, i should've majored in ITS or computer engineering or something...

i met a girl from finland who, after saying hello to her, i told her she had to be the blondest blue-eyed person i'd ever seen in my life. she said she thinks she may have been the blondest blue eyed person in all of japan, bc she'd been getting lots of stares and whispers since her arrival. but she was really good humored about it. I met a frenchman who for the past year lived in scottland to study english, and had a japanese girlfriend that he was visiting in town. OMG, of all the english accents inthe world, he picks scottland?! i know a teacher here from scottland and i have to ask him to repeat every third word he says.

One Greek/English girl i met while in fukuoka teaches english in tokyo and was on holiday. a week later, she came to seoul and stayed with me, it was cool:) Together in seoul, we met up with two other girlfriends of mine who just finished thier 9month study program in india. i was a little worried having the 4 of us stay in my humble abode, but after being in india so long, my friends said my place was like the Ritz. "it's so nice to use toilet paper again!" they joyfully cried. WOW. i thought that was back int he day, i didnt know it was still in practice (the wiping your bum with your left hand and not using toilet paper, but now i know it's still in practice in india at least). And i had the nerve to complain about not being able to flush toilet paper here. I ought to be glad that i at least have it... *blush*

btw, the sheets you sent do fit the bed, but barely. i tore the corner a little bit trying to stretch it over the mattress, so if you can find one size up for me, i think it'd be better. but if youre unable, it's fine. AAAAND, i wear one or the other of my new shoes every day, i absolutely love them more than any pair of shoes ive ever had in my life. the black pair especially b/c the fit is perfect. i havent had a chance to use my projector yet (i need to find a plug adaptor) but im very excited to, and thank brother dave for me. er, i'll email him.

loveyoumissyou,
~daughter

filler emails

Subject: for mom
Date: Sat, 9 May 2009 12:32:43 +0000

hi mom! it's saturday night here, and i wasnt sure if it's sunday wher eyou are yet. if it is or isnt, happy mother's day :)

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Subject: email coming
Date: Tues, 12 May 2009 02:20:01 +0000

hi mom and dad. im working on an email for you today, and i had a feeling that i might get an email from you before i finish. so hold tight a couple of hours, and email is coming, ok? dont guilt trip me.~daughter.

email

from my dad:

Subject: It's Been Awhile
Date: Sat, 2 May 2009 14:03:38 -0700
Hey SHA
It’s been a while since we have heard from you; I can only hope that you have gotten your projector, the sheet set, and the shoes that I sent. Maybe it is the rain that does not allow you to drop your old daddy a line.
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Subject: RE: It's Been Awhile: NO IT HASNT!
Date: Mon, 4 May 2009 04:

dear mom and dad,
today is monday and it's been 8 days since my last email! i JUST got back from japan (fukuoka) on friday night, and was thinking i could sleep the weekend away before i emailed you, but you guys got me with another guilt email before i could manage. dammit! japan was awesome, but more on that another time.

i left for japan on tuesday, and on friday i came home to a clean apartment (thanks to my cleaning lady) AND a box with the projector, thanks so much for it. today (monday) not more than 10 min ago,t he postman came with another box with shoes and sheets, thank you! i LOVE LOVE LOVE these shoes, i want to wear one black one and one white one so i can enjoy both new pairs at the same time! and thanks for the bug spray, yeah! youre right, i could find something here easily and i was being greedy with asking you to send it to me b/c i was loving all the free stuff. but thanks for sending it anyway^^

do you know ^^? ^^ is the korean way of making a happy face, it's two happy eyes, did you know?

work has been great of course. outside work has been a bit busy too. last week the brothas & sistas had a book club meeting, about a dozen people showed up wonderful company and conversation, i included a photo:) The sister who organized it is danica, she has her masters degree in.. i think, psychology? or social work? or something, id ont know. she works at a university in seoul, like my friend jinny. These university jobs are said to be the best and most prestigious of esl jobs to be had here, but i cant imagine not teaching children anymore. well, plus, one needs a masters degree which i aint got!

some friends of mine were in this years performance of the vagina monologues again, i didnt go to the show this time, but i sat around and watched friends rehearse. they baked cupcakes to sell at the door to raise additional funds, which i didnt want to help with either, but i did eat about 4 cupcakes. picture of this included as well.

well im off, i have a knitting meeting tonight, im almost finished with my first scarf, it's a wonderful day!

loveyoumissyou,
~daughter

email

Subject: spkez, kclass
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:29:55 +0000
dear mom and dad,

it's raining on and off here, i hate it. we get like one day of bright sunshine, then 3 days of clouds and rain. spring is teasing me.

omg i LOVE this tea you sent me, i drink it everyday and it makes me so happy. Ed says thanks very much for the oreos, my coworkers want to know if there'll be more chips ahoy. the delicious peanut butter is gone (dont send more, i can get it here, i was just being greedy asking you to send it to me).

im doing well of course. my friends hosted another speakeasy a couple weeks ago, i ve included a couple of photos. i love these events, i completely forget that im in korea and instead can get lost in the family vibe these things create. One of the friends in my circle had a friend coming to visit her here, and when we found out this friend is a dj, an event was put together tan rapido. it was sooo wonderful to hear music from back home! well, you hear american music in all the clubs here, but it's that crappy mainstream rap music, and it sucks. anyway, the event and the music was wonderful.

left: everyone in my korean class. right: me.
i HATE korean class so much. no, thats not exactly true, i like my teacher, i like the class and getting the time to speak and practice in an atmosphere where i can be guided, but lawd help me, my progress is little to none. its really frustrating, an hour after class, i forget everything we learned. i still read slow, like a toddler. its really humbling... even just nouns and verbs i cant retain yet. i walk around, and i can name everything i see in spanish, but i couldnt do 1% of that in korean. last night i was watching some movie on tv and it had a scene in spanish, i understood every word, didnt even need the subtitles! (well, good thing i guess since the subtitles are in korean anyway), i want so badly to be able to do that with korean. *sigh* more time, i know. but it's making me nuts in the interim.

i finished knitting a scarf! it's the first thing ive ever finished, im very excited! one of the women int he knitting circle is going to help me on my next project. im thinking socks, i dont know yet. i want to make a sweater, but it may be too ambitious just yet.

~daughter