The full Korean experience
Today is Thanksgiving day.  Of course, this doesn’t mean anything to anyone around me.  On Cheusok, Seven Star asked me if I was okay, and I said of course I was, why do you ask?  “I heard foreigners were very lonely on Cheusok.”  No.  Not Cheusok.  Thanksgiving. So today I was not okay and the English teacher across from me at lunch asked me what was wrong.  He’s very good at English and also a very good listener and I don’t know his name, because he sits in another office.  Most of the English teachers are in another office.  He tells me that the year he spent at the University of Michigan was very hard on him, and that he prayed

Now my Visa’s Wrong Too
Got this today… Hello Suki, Thank you for application to me through Email. My name is L** L** at ******* and I am glad to contact you to find you a job in Korea. I got your resume and other documents well. Unfortunately, the position which you applied is looking for only North-American teachers. So, it is not for F4 visa holder teachers. My answer: I AM a North American teacher and have lived 42 years in the United States.  I have only been in Korea (for the first time) 9 months. I got my F-4 primarily so I could stay in Korea withou

Stop giving us something to blame already
Today I also miss my adoptive mom. Yeah, that’s the truth.  As much as she wasn’t there for me, as much as she was the most repressed person on the planet, as much as she chose to ignore the signs of my abuse or bury it once she knew, I still don’t blame her:  she had her own problems.  Little glimpses of a time when she was carefree would reveal themselves occasionally.  Little glimpses of a real person.  She could smile once in awhile.  Those times were enough.  They were rare, but when they were there, they glimmered like a jewel. In reality, I just don’t like blame. I know you probably think that’s crazy, since I ha

Adoption awareness month and Thanksgiving
Today I’m a little homesick.  I miss my kids, my one true family.  We’re a little strange.  I haven’t even spoken on the phone the whole time I’ve been here, but that’s not something that’s ever been necessary with us.  We know we’re in each other’s thoughts.  And when we’re together, we don’t have to do anything special or even talk much:  just being present is enough.  There is no obligation, no negative history.  Only love.  It is enough for me. My stay in Korea has been…incredibly difficult.  From the moment I got off the plane and the bus driver screamed at me in Korean for something to do

secret ingredient
Had dinner with Miwha wednesday.  She made pork and I couldn’t tell if it had been roasted or stewed on the stove, and I asked her for the recipe. She just served the meat alone, and I imagine maybe she would save the broth for soup later.  But here is what she did: In a pot half filled with water, add: coffee, green tea, and lemonaide salt, pepper, and cinnamon Pork meat on the bone (Koreans think bone marrow is very healthy and rarely ever remove bones from anything) garlic and onions Stew until tender and almost-but-not quite falling off the bone. So I made this at home, but added carrots and potatoes, turning