Last Monday I met with my Korean conversation partner, Inyoung, and we had a fun hour talking. She is a very interesting individual and our conversations vary from stances on gay marriage to her three month old son. Speaking of her son, it was his 100th day yesterday! In Korea 100 days is a big thing. Inyoung told me the tradition stems from long ago when it wasn't expected for babies to live very long, so 100 days was a good sign. They have a tradition of making rice cakes, I believe it was, and sharing it with 100 people as good luck. Inyoung promised to give me a bit of rice cake tomorrow when we meet, I'm kind of excited.
Also, this past Friday was my first day working at the YMCA in Lafayette. I had a blast working with the kids, even if it was only for two hours. They attached to me pretty quickly, there were three of them that literally attached themselves to me. "I'm walking with you," Reese said to me as they lined up. Little Nora just loves hugging everybody and seems to have it out for Reese. Friday I didn't do much because this coming week will be their spring break and they don't have much homework (which will be my primary job, homework help) but I still helped out. In the hallway from the Gym one little girl stopped and pointed into thin air, "There's a spider," she said, her voice shaking, her body stiff. The other three councillors, college students like myself, were also freaked out, trying to coax the girl to walk around the spider. "I can get rid of it if you like," I offer.
"If that's what you want...."
I grabbed the spider's web about a foot above the spider and turned around, "Does that door behind me open?" A councillor opened the door and I was able to let Mr. Spider go free. I came back in and the councillor that hadn't held the door for me was so...excited.
"I can't believe you did that! That was amazing, it was so scary, OMG!"
Well.... I thought he was kind of cute.
That is so neat to hear that you have a conversation partner too. I’m interested to know how you got paired up with yours. Did you do it through the international center? In any event, it’s a truly rewarding experience. My conversation partner also happens to be Korean and she is really pregnant (I don’t remember the number of months). Mine is a student here trying to get her master’s degree so that she can become a math teacher, I believe. I assume you haven’t been doing this for very long but, after a while you definitely become friends with your partner because after a while it no longer feels like your meeting with a complete stranger. Actually last night, Jinmin, my partner, took me out to dinner and we had a great time. I only hope that your experiences with your partner are as rewarding, if not more rewarding, than mine.
ReplyDeleteYeah I understand, I think after the first session it wasn't awkward anymore, actually half way through the first time we just hit it off so well that I look forward to seeing her every week ^__^ And I went through the international center as well, and it was just randomly chosen for me. But we laugh and talk boys and fashion like old friends. I really love this work.
ReplyDeleteThis blog made me laugh out loud. I hate when girls freak out over spiders. Or anyone for that matter. That seems to be what all guys are afraid of. Crazy how a little tiny spider can freak someone out. I volunteer at the YMCA too. I also love working with the kids. They do kind of make an instant connection with you especially when you are teaching them to swim. Good luck with your volunteering!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an awesome experience Polly! I don't know that much about Korean culture, so I'm really glad that you shared about it. I think it would be really cool to have a 100-day celebration, and now it's making me wonder just how many days old I am...
ReplyDeleteI can understand being a little freaked out by spiders. After all, a spider bite can sometimes have nasty consequences, but I don’t think it’s necessary to really freak out. And good for you for just taking it outside instead of squishing it. I may not love spiders, but there’s no reason to not let them enjoy living outside.
I love the spider thing! Sounds a lot like myself, anytime there is a bug inside I always try and catch it and let it go outside. You always get the weirdest looks for doing this but why should they be squished just because some people don't like them? Also, I love working with little kids because they are always so loving and welcoming, they don't care about who you are, your mistakes, your past, your faults, or your opinions that just automatically care because they see that you care about them!
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