Feet Nibblin' Good! Mmm...

Intimidation. It has amazing power. I feel intimidated by a great many things, but I rarely allow that feeling to overwhelm to the point of not accomplishing something I want to accomplish. I'm afraid that this time it may get the best of me. I went to the climbing wall on Thursday night after I finished my guitar lesson, but I didn't climb because I don't have climbing shoes or a harness. I could have asked to borrow someone's, but once I was there, I realized that I was intimidated by that wall. There were people scaling it like professionals...and some of them are. ^_~ I told myself that I was going to stick with this for a month, and that, I'm going to do. I still have yet to buy shoes or a harness, but I'm sure I can at least borrow a harness. I'm not sure what will come of all this climbing jazz, but I know I will be angry at myself later if I allow the intimidation to control me now.

More to say about that later...

I was told on Wednesday by my co teacher that the boys (prepare yourselves for awkwardness) in my 6th grade classes have been talking about me...the way that 6th grade boys would talk about girls. Ugh...awkward and pretty much just gross. Anyway...enough of that.

Friday had a semi-stressful beginning. Some of my classes are starting to get noisier than I would like. I'm fine with some noise, but I just need to make sure it stays at a level I'm comfortable with. I'm frustrated because a number of the teachers in 6th grade said they would help me with anything I needed, yet they come to my class to sit down or sit at the back desk or to hang out at the back of the classroom without saying one word to the students. I have been told that some of my students cuss in my classes. My next step: Learn Korean cuss words and bust them since their homeroom teachers don't seem to be doing much about it. I shouted at one class, and I knew immediately after I did, I shouldn't have. It does no good, and it just hurts my throat.

Friday took a wonderful turn when I traveled to Seoul for the weekend. I got to see my dear friend Aimee Gerdes. I'm not sure if I explained how Aimee and I know each other or not. We met back in middle school during a band festival; our two middle schools plus one other joined to play as a mass group at the high school. I met Aimee at THAT festival. We re-discovered our friendship when we went to high school together, again when she attended Manchester College for 2 years (and I was her RA one of those years ^_~), and yet again when she recently came out to South Korea to teach music education at a Christian International School in Seoul. Goes to show just how randomly you may meet up with one of your friends post-schooling.^^

She and I hung out for a few hours before I had to make my way into inner-Itaewon (Aimee lives in Bongwadong, I believe) to Curry Town for a going away party for one of my friends, Maria. Maria is a volunteer at the House of Sharing. It was hard to see her go. I am in love with Curry Town though. It had been a while since I was able to go. There's just something about watching Bollywood music videos while eating spicy Indian food that I adore. Aimee and I met up afterward to head to Homo Hill (a known area for gay bars). Aimee doesn't like dancing, but we had fun just sitting, drinking, and talking. There was a hilarious guy named Craig who kept trying to get us to come into a dance club next to SoHo, the bar we were in. I forget the name of his friend, but he was an overweight, gay, Korean man who cracked me up. They were both so friendly.

Saturday, Aimee went to lunch with her landlord and some of the other girls she is living with from her int'l school. I stayed in and read over some of the material for tomorrow. Plus, it was pouring, and I had no desire to go outside. When Aimee got back we went to a Dr. Fish place, where fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. Sound gross?! Haha! There are large square tables that you can sit at and stick your feet into a square pool with fish who nibble at your feet while you drink coffee. The Turkish fish were small and more like a vibration on my feet while the Chinese fish were more like little woodpeckers pecking at my feet. They both tickeled, but the Chinese fish tickled a ton more. We hung out around Hongdae for a bit; I bought some nose rings (which I can't find now), and we grabbed a drink at some place I can't remember the name of but I remember the location. I've realized that the best way for me to go is to drink Korean Stout...black beer but cheap.^^ We headed back near Aimee's to grab a desk from a super nice couple, and we hung out for most of the night. We left for a bit to go eat at a small place down the road. Aimee freaked out about the squid in her soup...maybe after a few more months it won't phase her. It is strange when someone is weirded out by something that has become second nature to me: seeing squid, eating squid, eating whole fish with the heads on, watching children play ridiculously in the hallway (I just walk by these days), seeing alcohol in the office refrigerator at school, etc.

Sunday! Sunday was amazing! I almost blogged separately about Sunday! I gave my first full tour at the House of Sharing. There were only three volunteers, so Jyoung Ah came with me and added a few things here and there, but I was the leader.^^ I was incredibly intimidated by the thought of providing so many people with as much information as I had to tell them, especially considering the seriousness of the issue involving the "Comfort Women." The group was maybe the largest I have ever seen. We started advertising on Facebook, and it drew a huge crowd. Malcolm and I split it in half with each of us having a group of about 22 or so. The part I couldn't believe was how many compliments I got on the tour and how many offerings of appreciation. People were just so incredibly supportive even though I was just the person delivering the information. After I read a testimony of one of the elder ladies who has already passed away, a woman came up to me crying saying how much it touched her heart and expressing the emotions that come with hearing for the first time the details of the wretched life these women had to endure. She almost made me cry. It is hard for me to read it every time. Malcolm asked me that day if I was going to read it to the group and wished me luck when I confirmed that I would indeed. He knows how difficult it is for me to read it aloud and in general. Perhaps one day, I'll type up the testimony I keep mentioning to share a bit of my experiences as a volunteer at the House of Sharing with you, but even now as I think about it while writing this, I don't have the energy to post it at this time. After the museum tour, Aimee and I snuck in to sing karaoke with a Japanese group that was there at the same time as our HUGE group. It was a small group of guys and a few women. They had all flown in from Japan but some were Korean and some were Japanese; they are part of the Korean/Japanese Association. While the others went in to listen to 이옥선 (Lee Ok Seon) halmoni's testimony. I sat outside with Pae Chun Hee halmoni and a volunteer from Japan; she came over to translate between Korean and Japanese. She's studying Japanese in Japan these days, but she is originally from Seoul. I wish I could remember her name. She was so sweet. We had a short conversation in Korean. I feel like I can better carry a conversation in Korean these days!!^^ I still have a looooong way to go, but I definitely feel more confident than I did last year language-wise. I went back in for part of Lee Ok Seon halmoni's testimony; she always has something new to add. This day she was asked what her happiest time is since she experienced so many horrible times. Unfortunately, she said she has never had a happy time. I don't know if I entirely believe that, but of course she has had to live with the constant knowledge of what happened to her in those "comfort stations" by the Japanese soldiers.

I cannot express how grateful I am for the experience I have had at the House of Sharing. I have met so many wonderful people, I have learned so much valuable and important history, and I have been given the chance to be part of the living history of this movement.

More updates to come...