오늘 기분 어때요

Oh-nuel-keyboon-awtayo. It basically means "How are you?" The literal translation would be more like "Today mood/feelings how?" I've been saying that to everyone the last two days. I think I've said it about 50 times. It's been a while since I've done any real studying, so I'm really trying to take this seriously.

It's hard to learn Korean. Especially for someone like me. I don't speak much in my own language, so forcing myself to speak a foreign language is not easy. Plus every time I show her my work my girlfriend laughs at me. It's not a mean laugh, she just thinks it's cute, but it does seem a little condescending. I've noticed that this is how a lot of Koreans are when you try to learn their language. Instead of being impressed that someone living here is actually taking the time to learn their language, they treat that person like a baby and insist on how cute it is that the retarded foreigner is trying to learn something that they don't think he'll ever be able to do. I've spoken to many people who've tried learning English and I never once laughed at them for trying to learn it.

On a different subject it seems like winter has finally hit. I don't know exactly what happened to fall, maybe it was only one day? So much for Korea having four seasons. One day it was sunny and 75 degress, and the next day it's windy and 35 degrees. I even had to wear my winter coat yesterday. This morning I turned on the heat for the first time. Here in Korea everyplace has what's called "Ondol" heat. It's basically just radiant heat, or heat that radiates through the floor. They like to believe that they invented it and are the only people in the world to use it. They like to believe that nobody else in the world is as equal or as inventive as they are. The truth however, is that radiant heat is not a Korean invention. Like many things in this modern world it was a Roman invention. Here's the wikipedia entry on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underfloor_heating

"Underfloor heating was first used by the Romans. Initially the preserve of the rich, underfloor heating became increasingly commonplace in public buildings and villas, particularly in the colder regions of the Roman Empire."

Anyways, I'm mildly anti-Korean today so I might as well also post this article from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/world/asia/02race.html

I realize the article has already been posted in a lot of Korea blogs, but it's definitely an interesting read. Fortunately, I have not been the target of any real racial discrimination yet. People always tell me that Seoul is a much more cosmopolitan city than Busan, but the fact of the matter is that it always seems like more of this xenophobic behavior occurs in Seoul, and of course the rural communities throughout Korea, than it does in Busan. I have yet to hear of or experience any real racism here in Busan. Everyone has been extremely nice to me. Maybe it's because there have been foreigners in Seoul for a lot longer, so the novelty hasn't quite worn off yet here in Busan, but as I said, everyone here has been great.

Anyways, I can kind of relate nevertheless. If I think about the girls I've dated here it does become a little more clear. I've never directly had any racist things said to me, but I'll relate a couple experiences. My first girlfriend never told her mother that she was dating a foreigner. She was afraid that her mother would basically disown her. However, she did tell her brother and her brothers reaction was not unlike this:

"Ms. Hahn said, “Even a friend of mine confided to me that when he sees a Korean woman walking with a foreign man, he feels as if his own mother betrayed him.”"

I can imagine him thinking that. She told him that she was dating an American and his only reaction was to ask "Why?" and then he stopped talking to her for a month.

I also dated another girl for about a month. Everything was going great. She told her mother, and her mother was worried, but overall she was okay with it. Then her mother leaked it to her father. That's when the shit storm happened. Her father basically locked her in the house. She was not a child, she was 26 years old. Her father locked her in the house, took away her cellphone, took away her credit cards, and basically told her that if she continued to date a foreigner she would have to do so without a family. Needless to say, that was the end of that relationship.

Now, I just feel really fortunate. My girlfriends family all know of my existence and though they have certain worries, they are okay with it. It is refreshing to know that there are some Korean fathers out their who are more concerned with their daughters happiness than with their precious 'pure blood'. The truth, though a lot of Koreans won't admit it, is that their blood is really not very pure. My girlfriend has the blue birthmark. I'd never mention it to her, but the blue birthmark means that she has Mongolian blood, just like millions of other Koreans her ancestry is a mix. The pure Korean blood thing is just a myth.

That's it for now. I'm watching the Bruins game and not so happy with their performance. I'll talk about that in my next entry. Have a great day everyone!!