Hello people of Earth. (Or I guess anyone else who might happen to be reading this, I don't discriminate).
I promise that I did not fall off of Korea, fall in love, have a falling out with my wifi provider, or fall in any way shape or form other than falling asleep last night without telling you all what has been going on for me. So, basically I do not really get to do much actual work during the week, which is why I get to write this now. Unfortunately, the times when I actually do get called upon to accomplish things in this YMCA always happen to fall on Saturdays or just weekends in general. This last Saturday was actually a pretty awesome experience. My friend Mongolia and I were asked to take pictures and videos for the prestigious youth writing competition that was going on. The whole thing was taken very seriously, and ended up ultimately reminding me of the past two years I experienced of taking IB tests... During the actual writing part of the day, Mongolia and I rediscovered how blatantly useless we were. Now, I say this because we both have a lot of trouble communicating, and not because we actually are incapable of successful endeavors. Mongolia is finishing her Master's degree and currently reformulating her thesis proposal, both of us are bilingual, and I am actually pretty useless... (At least, in Korea). Essentially, we were supposed to be patrolling between the aisles and around the perimeter of the room to ensure that no one was cheating and to cater to any of the children's needs that might rise up, such as getting an eraser or extra paper for them. The one flaw in this plan that our coworkers probably should have seen coming was that neither Mongolia nor I could actually understand any of the questions we were being asked. Okay, so this is untrue, we just had not been granted enough information or authority to allow people to leave the room to use the restroom. So, basically whenever the two of us tried to help, it ended up looking more like a strange interpretive dance than two people actually trying to provide assistance. Ah, the joys that come with living in a country where you can barely communicate! I will really miss Mongolia, since she is the person in the office I feel the closest to. She and I get along well because of our lack of proficiency in Korean, but also our feminist viewpoints and interest in other cultures. She honestly feels like a big sister to me, and this is her last week in the office, so I am not looking forward to the time after she leaves :*( On a different note, I am honestly reaching the point where my body is rebelling against the idea of more rice. I would do Voldemort's makeup in order to eat something other than rice, white sandwich bread, or noodles in broth. Also, there is only so much ramen I can eat before I get sick of it, and I reached that point two months ago. I guess that I never really thought about how spoiled we are in the United States, having the access to so many different kinds of food. Also, I am really wishing for a little more Christmas spirit, something that I am aware I already mentioned. It just strikes me as odd that all three of the Christmas trees I have seen are decorated exactly the same, with shiny bows and like three baubles apiece. I miss the cacophony of ornaments on the tree and the time spent with my parents making gingerbread and avoiding my grandmother's cranberry relish. I wish that there were someway that I could retain this happy warm feeling that always comes with December for me even through the whining and complaining of my host siblings who refuse to go to bed and the refusal by my female coworkers (who are 1/2 to 1/3 my size) to lift anything or actually do any of the things I can actually do by myself by myself. Thank you all so much for struggling to carry a box that I can lift with one hand. I appreciate the gesture, really I do, but please let me feel less useless :) Also, would there be any interest for me to post something I wrote that is more like fiction? Please let me! Love and holiday greetings! Elenita
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Elena Giselle
Everyday Acts of Activism Archives
December 2022
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