Seoul Searching.......My story of finding 이가영 Soul pt. 1

As you all know I moved out to South Korea at the end of August 2011. My mission coming her was to work as an English Teacher for CDI (Chungdahm Institute). But I also believed that God directed my path and led me to find this job specifically in Korea. The last time I was in Korea was May 1985, I was 17 months old. I have no memory of Korea, the Language and of my birth family. So on my journey to Korea I made it a priority to do some "Seoul Searching". On May 10th 1985 I believe my soul was left in Korea, I dont believe that my soul died but I did always feel that apart of who I was, was missing. Being a mixed, biracial adoptee, growing up in Colorado with a very unique family was difficult at times. I have two brothers and one sister that were also adopted from Korea. I always wanted to know about my background, where I came from and who I was. A lot of info was simply papers in a file with the words "unknown".

So about a month after arriving in Korea and getting settled into work, I started my search. The search was prompted due to the fact that I needed specific paperwork for a F4 Visa and that I had to get from my Orphanage ESWS (Eastern Social Welfare Society). After a few emails back and forth with the social worker there I got some good news and bad news. The good news was at one point back in 2005 she had contact with my birth mother. The bad news was that the contact info was out dated and she could not be reached. So she continued to try and contact the Korean Government to find her.

On Wednesday Oct 12,2011 I went to the ESWS office in Seoul to have a mtg and file review with my social worker. As soon as the mtg started she shared with me some good news...that the Korean Government contacted her back with my birth mothers info. She is currently married to a Korean man and has two children. She was hesitant to call because when she did the husband picked up and it can be a sticky situation when you try to regain contact with them. She only wanted to speak to my birth mother so she hung up and attempted to contact her via telegram.

STORY TO BE CONTINUED.....

BREAKING NEWS!!! South Korea on HIGH ALERT!!!!!

As everyone knows that Kim Jong Il has died. The news yesterday morning/all day was swarming the TV and internet with the latest on North Korea and Kim Jong Il's death. They are worried about the safety of South Korea, China and Japan. There are no threats but its the unknown that they are preparing for. As for me I haven't noticed any change here in South Korea. And if anyone is concerned which I assume no one is because I got no calls, I am fine, safe and going about my daily life! Praying for the Koreans....

Let's Learn Our Numbers (숫자) !!!

There are two sets of numbers in Korea, the native Korean and the Sino-Korean Numbers. Sino-Korean numbers are borrowed from Chinese. Generally speaking, for expression involving dates, money, foreign loanwords, minutes, seconds and counting beyond 99 Sino-Korean numbers are used otherwise its the native Korean numbers.


You might be wondering why some numbers are skipped in both numeral systems, this is because there are certain patterns to achieve the numbers in between.

In Native Korean, to express let say 11 it’s 열하나 (yolhana) so the formula is 10(열)+1(하나). This is the reason why after the number 10 only numbers in multiples of 10 are provided up to 90. So you have to memorize at least 18 numbers in Native Korean.

While in Sino-Korean, to express let say 32 it’s 삼십이 (sam-ship-i) so the formula is 3(삼) X 10 (십) + 2 (이). There are few numbers to memorize in Sino-Korean, with just 13 numbers to you can go up to a million already.

스팸 (SPAM)

I broke the monotony....and tried SPAM for the first time ever!! It was ok...had to get pass that it looked and smelled like dog food coming out of the can....and was really salty! But had it with eggs rice and siracha....NOT BAD....but definitely NOT BACON!!

Let's Learn Korean Together!!

Let's start with the basic...I will add a few words each week so everyone can learn together!!

Hello 안녕하세요 (Annyong haseyo)

Goodbye 안녕히 가세요 (Annyonghi kasayo)

Hello on the phone 여보세요 (Yoboseyo)

Yes 네 (Ne)

No 아니요 (Aniyo)

Thank You 감사합니다 (Kamsahamnida)

Thanksgiving...

This Thanksgiving was not the same....being so far from family, friends and loved ones was the hardest part! Of course I did miss stuffing my face in traditional American Thanksgiving food...sigh! I have been able to accept the sacrifice that I made to come all the way to Korea but I know this time of year will be the hardest for me!! Skyping my family on Thanksgiving evening and then having to go to work after made me MISS everything all over again!!! On Thanksgiving day here I did have to work as they dont observe American Holidays...and working at a Hagwon we dont even get most Korean Holidays off. But my branch is always closed on Wednesday's sooooo me and my fellow coworkers decided to celebrate a day early and have a potluck. The hardest part of trying to come up with the menu was that in Korea we dont have ovens. We all know the best food for Thanksgiving comes out of the oven....so we improvised and made due with our lil toaster ovens. Needless to say we spent all day cooking!! But we had quite the spread....it consisted of: Mac n Cheese, Salad, Broccoli/Cauliflower, stuffed mushroom caps, Pumpkin soup, Candied Korean Sweet Potatoes, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Chicken Pot Pie, Korean Beef Galbi, Rice, small Roasted Chicken, Apple Crisp, and Pumpkin Pie!! ohhhhh and of course lots of alcoholic beverages to drink!! We ate all evening and stuffed our fat lil bellies with all the food we could! The night ended with playing Apples to Apples, Uno and watching youtube videos...LoL!! It definitely wasn't family or traditional but I have been very thankful for the FAMILY/FRIENDS that I have made out here!! I am also thankful for, the opportunity to be in Korea working, the constant support from everyone back home, all the people that I have met so far and accepted me for who I am, and that Im here today to share with you my adventures!!
감사합니다 그리고 당신을 사랑!! (Thanks and I love you all!!)

The Spread!!

Playing Apples to Apples!!

My Apologies Life in Korea

Dear Blog & Blog Followers:
My apologies for neglecting you on my updates. I am truly working on dedicating more time to you and everyone following. I know everyone is not connected to me via FB....but I promise from this day forward that I will be better about updating my post...STARTING NOW!!