Something weird has been happening over the last few weeks. Something I never expected. Something that is quite a departure, for me, from what has gone before.
Since I came back from my fantastic holiday with my amazing family (well, 2/3rds of them) in Australia, things have changed. I turned the corner into my second year in Korea, and little by little, I am feeling differently about this place. Its people, its landscapes, even its popular culture. I spent my first year vacillating between complete indifference and active dislike of many aspects of life here. None of it was awful, but I just didn't love the country. I am not a pop music fan, so the Kpop phenomenon didn't interest me in the least. Being spoilt by South African landscapes, fauna and flora and our vast views, I was unfazed by the best that Korea has to offer. The beaches are meh. The mountains are so-so. The countryside is marked by poor-looking,dusty little towns and industry. The people, especially the men, were not attractive
to me. There seemed to be only two types: trendy prettyboys with stupid hairstyles who wear nothing but skinny jeans, or bland working types with weather-beaten faces and no style to speak of. (Keep in mind that I live in a small city smack-bang in the middle of the country.)
Then, something happened. First, I developed an inexplicable crush on the type of guy I would NEVER have looked at twice in South Africa. Probably because there are so many of them there. Probably as a response to all the skinny jeans-wearing young boys around me. He is buff, he is not particularly attractive, he has testosterone oozing off him in waves. It's a little intimidating. He also speaks about three and a half words of English. And that only after three and a half bottles of Soju. It's disconcerting.
Second, one of my grade 1 students played me a song called Crayon, by one of Kpop's biggest stars, GDragon. Well, that was the beginning of the end of my reputation in music circles back home. I. Am. In. Love. I listen to this song on an almost daily basis. I am picking up some unsavoury language from this sexy little Kpop god. He is too pretty to be a boy. He looks about 5 feet tall. He has peroxide-blond hair. He has misspelt English tattoos - my favourite is 'Wreckless' in a big cursive script down his side. He is my new celebrity crush. I don't understand it. And I don't care.
I am finding that learning the language is becoming easier. No doubt because I now have ulterior motives. But I am learning something new almost every day, without making much of an effort. My reading is getting faster, even though it is still with very little understanding. I can transcribe from romanized English and by ear. I am retaining words and grammatical rules better.
A little bit.
I went to Seoul this last weekend and did a tour of the DMZ. Very interesting, but a story for another post. There are beautiful men in Seoul. Foreigners? What? There are foreigners? I mean the 서우ㄹ남자 - Seoul men. They have style, they are gorgeous, they speak English, they have foreign girlfriends. I found myself staring a bit. I have started telling my Korean friends that I want a Korean bf.
It's all very new and strange. But, seeing as how I will spend at least another year here, and likely 18 months, I think it's overall a positive development. I still miss home. I still think that South Africa is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and that Cape Town, in particular, has some of the most beautiful people. Our music touches my soul like no other. I miss hearing Xhosa, Zulu, and Capie English & Afrikaans. I can't wait to go home in January and have breathless, joyful catch-ups with friends that will never be long enough, but will somehow be enough nonetheless.
But I am happy to be happier here. I am looking forward to the next year. I love my students and enjoy watching them grow in all the exciting ways that teenagers do. I am making real friendships with Korean people, that I hope will last a lifetime.
I get them a little more, and they get me.
Sometimes.
As long as I don't try to be ironic. Or sarcastic. Or use innuendo. Or try to make jokes in my fledgling Korean.
