You are not American.

Hello all. As you have gathered, I’ve been extremely negligent to my poor, poor blog. I apologize to this inanimate object, as well as my readers, who, I can probably imagine, are waiting in agonizing anticipation for my every entry. Hahaaa….that was a joke. I would hold it against none of you if you simple gave up even checking to see if I’ve stopped becoming a lazy bum. As I have so much to tell you, I shall be writing this in installations. The first of which will consist of a few funny things that have happened or been said in the last month. The next ones will be about my exciting, silly, and sometimes stupid adventures in South Korea. And as always, I miss you. You know who you are. J Here we go!

I spend copious amounts of time at my school, so, the people who I have the most frequent and interesting situations, happen to be, yes, my boss and his wife (Cindy). Here are a few:

-I’ve been tutoring Cindy so that she can start a beginner’s free talking class. We had a conversation about favorite foods. She asked me what my favorite food is and if you know me, you will understand that I really like pancakes. A lot. Mr. Kim and Cindy also know that I really have a soft spot in my heart for bread (oh carbs, how little I care) because when they go to Costco, and I am fortunate enough to tag along, I buy the most delicious bagels I can find in Korea. So when I said that pancakes were my favorite, she laughed and said; “oh! Kaley! Bagels and pancakes! You are so cute!”

Now, when you look at Kaley Eastman, I think the word “cute” is pretty far down on the list of ways to describe me. But as you can see in the next story, in Cindy’s eyes, I must be cute. Though, I am getting a sneaking suspicion that when she says “cute”, she’s actually meaning, “silly girl who’s strange mannerisms and preferences are just as odd in Korea as they are in America.” Let’s just hope all she means is Merriam Webster’s “attractive in a dainty way” but I don’t think so. Lol.

-Time: after work, getting ready to go home- “Oh no, we have a parking ticket on our car. I don’t want to pay it, do you see the parking officer?” ~Mr. Kim

“No…” ~ Cindy and I

“Ok! Quick! Run!” ~Mr. Kim

“Oh Kaley! You run so cute!” ~Cindy

So then we run to the car, hop in, and drive away. How much money did he just save? 3,000won. About $2.75. High fives all around.

- “Have you seen the news?”~Mr. Kim

This is a confusing question to me, as are many questions that I am asked. It has such a vague feeling to it, that all I can say is…no. It didn’t take me long to realize that something important usually happened, relevant to me, for him to ask me this. Such as, the shooting at the Army base in Texas, or the big snow all over the nation in Dec./January. Every once in awhile though, he’ll ask me this, and then tell me a completely random fact like, “A woman had a baby while she was in a weight lifting competition.” WHAAAAT?! Why would I have seen that? I mean, honestly, after he tells me these things, I try to find them in the Korean Herald, or the NY Times on the internet, but….sometimes, I have no idea where he is getting his information. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep a straight face in this environment.

- “Kaley, just you and I are going home tonight. Mr. Kim has an appointment.” ~ Cindy

And “an appointment” means that he’s going out drinking with his pals. Lol. Oh Korea.

-Even though Mr. Kim studied in California for a year, he still has some very interesting, and let’s face it, funny way of saying things in English. Such as “What is wrong with your brain system?” and “Why are you giving me that smile?” Both of which were said in a joking manner, and both of which I laughed at. Quite hard actually.

Some interesting stories involving my students:

-one student has recently been having troubles with between his company and a Chinese one. Apparently, the Chinese company made a safety regulation device but all the devices are now breaking, putting his company behind on shipments. He has begun referring to the Chinese company as “the bullshit company.” I swear I didn’t teach him that.

- I was recently told, as a joke that the reason one of my students comes to this Hogwon (private school) was because of two reasons. 1. It’s flexible hours and 2. Because I’m so beautiful. Lol.

- Another student asked me “Kaley, do you understand me when I speak English?” to which I replied “Most of the time. Sometimes you only have problems with your pronunciation, otherwise you speak English quite well!” He then said “Well, you don’t count. You are not American.” He meant that I had been in Korea long enough, that I was used to how they talk and could understand, even when they mispronounce words. They won’t just accept a compliment! Lol. He likes using this phrase now. “Kaley, what are you doing this weekend?” “I’m going ice fishing!” “oh! You are not American!” hahaaa.

love and hugs!