Of Xenophobia and Assimilation

Life's been a bit busy for me lately. I've taken on a few other teaching jobs, since such opportunities are abundant in Korea. For a native English speaker, getting an ESL position here is as easy as walking by an oak tree in Autumn, watching a leaf take its pendulum plunge to the earth, and snatching it from the sky before it lands softly upon the soil.

I now teach an adult class three times a week. It's my 아 줌마 (ahjoomah) class, meaning "married woman." Since I teach them MWF from 10-12, only moms are really available since their husbands are working. Let's just say that Korean women in their 30's and 40's really like me.

I'm also teaching gifted sixth graders every other Saturday for three hours. The class is a bit challenging since I have to pick a single topic, find materials, create appropriate activities and games, and make it last three hours. My first lesson had too many materials, my second not enough. It's hard to find a balance, but I'm enjoying the ride - and so are my students. We have good times.

The first time I taught them, we played 'getting to know you' games. I first had all the kids write down a fact about them that no one really knows. It could have been a secret talent, desire, etc. as long as they didn't mind sharing it. That bit was crucial - I didn't want any dirty, clandestine bits of info being shared! After everyone wrote their secret on a scrap of paper, they handed them to me and I read them aloud. The students had to guess who, among their peers, could do that talent. One girl could talk like Yoda from Star Wars. Another could form a box with her body (some kind of yoga position, I think). I shared my secret talent with them and now I'll expose it you. I guess it won't be so secretive anymore. I can form a little bubble of spit on my tongue, gently blow on it, thus propelling it from my tongue and making it float about in the air. Upon doing so, the kids cheered and wooped and felt generally amused or disgusted. I know, I should go on Letterman.

Yesterday, I taught them briefly about palindromes during our break. My favorite - A man, a plan, a canal, PANAMA! I showed them Panama on the map, and explained that at one point in history merchants would travel ALL the way around South America to export their goods until one bright dude thought of creating the Panama Canal. The kids dug it.

Yesterday's topic was traveling abroad and what one needs to do in preparation to ensure a safe trip. I told them about my trip to Mexico and about how I avoided Montezuma's Revenge. They were shocked to hear about how sick one can become from foreign tap water. I asked them about the steps needed for brushing one's teeth.

They said, "take out a toothbrush, put some toothpaste, and go like this." With invisible toothbrushes they pantomimed cleansing their teeth.

I said, "Wait! You forgot one crucial part."

"Oh, yeah Teacher. You gotta put on water."

"That's right," I beamed. "You know, in Mexico, you can't even put tap water on your toothbrush before you brush your teeth because it could make you sick." I heard cries of "진짜?" and "really?" (진짜 means 'really?' or 'really' depending on the inflection and sounds like "jinncha." It happens to be my favorite Korean word so far).

"That's right, so what do you need to do in foreign countries to make sure you don't get sick?" I asked.

"Use bottled water," they cried. Such bright students I have.

We started talking about the importance of learning useful phrases in other languages. So if you're going to Portugal or Brazil, learn some Portuguese before you go. In addition to learning some survival language, we conversed over the importance of learning about the country's culture. I told them about how I started learning about Korean customs and how they are vastly different from all things American. In the States, we don't bow, pour each other's drinks, take things with two hands, or extend our right hand while supporting it with our left - but all those mannerisms are mandatory in Korea. I now do each of these things on a daily basis in Korea without thinking twice or feeling the slightest bit awkward.

"I've assimilated," I told them.

So much, in fact, that I'll experience some serious reverse culture shock when returning home. I'll be bowing like mad!

During one of the ten minute breaks, we played a game where one student has to say an English word, and the next person has to come up with a word that begins with the previous word's last letter. For example, if one person says "rabbit" the next person will say "tiger" or "torrential" or "triceratops" or whatever word they can think of that begins with the letter t. One student said "tax," meaning the next person had to come up with a word starting with x. X-ray had already been used, so they weren't sure what to say. I broke in and decided to teach them xylophone, and, more importantly, xenophobia - the fear or hatred of all things foreign.

I talked briefly about America, the concept of the "melting pot" and why this term isn't nearly so accurate as "mixed salad." Basically, different cultures don't gel or coagulate. People from different backgrounds form barriers; where there are barriers, there are fears. I told my students that I don't really understand exactly why people become xenophobic. From my perspective, other cultures are fascinating. I want to learn how others live, and perhaps adopt what I like into my own way of living.

Since I've come to Korea, I haven't felt one spec of xenophobia - either towards others or from others toward myself. Sure, Koreans and 외국인 (waygookin) don't always understand each other, but our cultures tend to slosh around and deliquesce into one another with greater ease here.

Why can't this happen in the States?