Housewares and Language Woes

This week has truly flown by and in just a few days I'll being introduced to my first group of students at SFS. While the thought of starting school is terrifying, it is also exhilarating to be back in the habit of doing what I love. Aside from that, I have been working hard to get settled into my new apartment while adjusting to life in a new surrounding.

Yesterday, I hit the jackpot! Since I was hired at SFS, I have been corresponding with a pen pal who has answered questions, offered advice, and helped support me during this time of transition. It just so happens that Tish is brave enough to drive in Korea and offered to take Kristen and me to E-mart so we could finish stocking up on apartment necessities. We had an absolute ball! Our trip started off at the McDonald's on the top floor and as we ate we exchanged stories about our lives, how we got to SFS, and how God is working on us now. An hour later, the shopping began! E-mart consists of 9 floors of house hold goodness--bedding, electronics, food, kitchen ware, clothes. E-mart has it all and we made our way from floor to floor filling our carts with many necessities and a few fun finds. It seems that I have met my shopping equals in Kristen and Tish and I foresee many shopping excursions to come with these two. We packed the car with our purchases and managed to make it home without getting lost.

I might have mentioned already that I purchased a television at the electronics store down the street (got a sweet deal too!). Sadly, my beautiful new 32" television has a defective pixel so I see a nice black speck in the picture. Tonight the t.v. repairman payed me a visit to determine what to do about this problem and we quickly learned that my lack of Korean and his lack of English equaled zero understanding. This is the first time since my move that I have faced a language barrier of this sort and it helped awaken me to how ignorant and unloving I have been when I encounter a foreigner in the States that didn't speak English. I don't mean to single people out, but in the last few days I've seen several of my Facebook friends "liking" a page called "I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PRESS 1 TO HEAR A MESSAGE IN ENGLISH... WE ARE IN AMERICA, LEARN THE LANGUAGE" and, much to my surprise, have started to feel agitated every time I see it. I cannot even begin to tell you how accommodating the Korean people have been and I can only imagine how frustrated they must be when they encounter a huge number of foreigners who figure they can get by without trying to learn Korean. I should also note that on several occasions since I moved, I have had to push the button to hear a message in English and am thankful to be offered that option (we can even call a translation service free of charge to get help from a native Korean speaker if we are in a bind).

It has shocked me how rapidly my perceptions and paradigms are shifting as I begin to understand what it is like to have the shoe on the other foot and after tonight I feel like it has been placed on my heart to start learning some Korean soon. I think I have had the desire to study another language for some time, but the urge has turned into a longing as I encounter teachers here who can speak two or more languages. I keep thinking that Americans are really the ones with the disadvantage because many of us can only speak English, and what a shame it is that we can live our lives without the benefit of being able to communicate with so many others who share this planet with us. I find myself wishing that I had been given the opportunity to learn at an international school like SFS where students begin learning French and Korean as elementary students and are surrounded by children from all over the world whose families celebrate a variety of cultures. Perhaps when I have children I will decide to raise them in an environment similar to this where they can grow into culturally sensitive adults who appreciate diversity and celebrate differences. Until then I will just encourage others to act with grace when encountering someone in the States who doesn't speak English well. Chances are they are trying to learn the language (English is much more difficult to master than many of us realize) and if someone needs a message in Spanish to understand the full meaning of what is being said, so be it. On that note, I'll say good night (that's annyeonghi jumuseyo or 잘 자 in Korean).