Ahn Yeong Ha Se Yo from Busan, South Korea! It’s the last day of Chuseok, the long Korean thanksgiving weekend. Kyk nou daa! At the same time as Heritage Day because you know mos the mense they took off on Friday to have a long weekend. Braai updates everywhere on the socials, and I even got my own personal copy of Busan is Good in the mail, an English newspaper for expats. There was ’n oulike Chuseok children’s art competition in this edition. You could scan a link to the pictures they painted and read short captions about them. I used some of this in my Monday afterschool class but yinne the baba’s they come to class late then a person can’t roll out the whole lesson plan with them because their Maths teacher kept them in for detention, plustens they first went to GS25 for ‘n chocolate sucker before they come to Tasneem Teacher’s class!
I thought I was gonna reach out to the other Busan expats to meet, but yoh, a person needed to reset because moving to a new country is hard mental labour. This is not my first time living in Korea but still. New city. New school. New bus routines. New translator apps to use even yinne! Papago is now on my phone, and I have a Korean SIM card with data so I don’t need to look for free Wi-Fi like a mad person and I can just lift my phone up and scan the buildings to translate the names on the front of the buildings. Yinne don’t you feel versin when you realise that all the places you were looking for is right under your nose thanks to Papago, and ja, ja, ja I know I should be learning Korean instead of focusing on growing my 200+ day streak learning Bahasa Indonesia on Duolingo!
But you know I feel so proud of myself because I conquered my fear of Ajeossi (Korean for “male elder”) on Floor B1, the building’s caretaker who takes his trash facilitating duties way too bladdyville seriously: “VEENAAL! VEENAAL!” I thought “VEENAAL!” is the Korean word for “plastic” kaantie this Ajeossi was skelling me for not recycling properly because the plastic that go over the 6 pack water bottles must actually go in the vinyl bin, not the plastic bin. Ajeossi soema get ’n ajal, I got so bang, he even klapped his hand on his forehead out of frustration I soema walked right back to my apartment on the 12th floor with half of the trash still in my hand. Yinne Ajeossi!
You mos know I’m too shy to tell you how long that trash stayed in my apartment before I gathered courage to face Ajeossi again. I thought, I’ma ask him for a tutorial on how he want me to recycle the things, and then – I’ma video him! I’ma leqqa LORL with him, he mos can’t verinneweer me like that and then think I’m not gonna tell everyone about it on my WhatsApp status. But yay, that reminds me I must hide my status from my co-teacher before she also gets ’n Korean ajal when she sees my status about Ajeossi.
But yinne, happy one month abroad to me man, yinne! I thought I was gonna reach out to the other expats in Busan to hang out, but yinne, my moeg was moeg – that massage I got on Thursday put me to bed for the rest of the weekend hahaha! I’m a bietjie misluk because this Friday I missed Jumuah at the mosque across the city – there are only a few Friday public holidays on the calendar to make it to Jumuah. I was planning to make it a vibe, go to mosque, make some friends, find a Middle Eastern place to eat schwarma, maybe shop for some Halaal goods at the markets nearby, and of course, spices from you-know-mos the Bangladeshi’s that are on every corner of the planet waiting to season the dhal (red lentil) curry that you must eat when you take a break from Korean food on the weekends. Ten years ago, when I first lived in Korea I soema made my dhal curry with butter chicken spices hahaha, yinne, don’t judge me that was the first time I was living outside of my mother’s house making my own food. Ok then again 10 years later my dhal curry is still pap. But ja Halaal expat adventures denied because jong that Thai massage was potent man! Anyway, there’s one more long weekend coming up with a Friday in it so I’ll just skedaddle then.
Back to school tomorrow. Lesson plans sorted for my third-grade middle school class. Here in Korea there’s no primary and high school – its elementary, middle and high school – so it takes me a second to remember they talking about Grades 7, 8 & 9 when they talk about the baba’s I teach everyday. But they oulik man, this age group. I’m so happy they placed me in middle school just like I asked. No snot noses to run after with the younger grades – those smaller baba’s just zone out and make a noise because they don’t have enough English vocabulary to stay engaged for long enough. But ja, the middle schoolers they are the perfect middle. Plustens, they have their priorities right in Tasneem Teacher’s class: “I want to learn English so I can marry with handsome Canada boy like Mark Lee!”
But look here, this is my fourth time coming abroad by myself. I’m used to the vibes but it can still be overwhelming. First time leaving home since Mamma maningal’d (passed away), you know mos. Plustens, 24-26 new Korean faces looking at you at a time so you can teach them English. Yinne but now tomorrow’s third-grade class is the shy group, you don’t realise how you need them to spontaneously speak to you during the lesson so they can indicate to you that they follow and are connected to the lesson. Yinne, but the baba’s must know it’s a speaking lesson so they can’t be binnebek all the time in Tasneem Teacher’s class.
I didn’t yet get Ajeossi on video but I say alhamdulillah. I’m grateful for my life here. My freezer is now stocked with food for the air fryer, and I have coffee, milk and sugar for early mornings at home. I’m a documented resident now, no more only relying on passport – oh ja but yay, Lotté Mart still wants to see my passport so I can pay for my groceries using the foreign-tax-refund service. Plustens, more apps I must download so I have membership at all the main convenience stores where I shop a lot. Klom dinge!
Tasneem’s credits include Miela’s Box and Love in the Time of Labarang Hajj, published work on LitNet and Die Burger, and work done for Suidooster (kykNET), An NUR – The Light (SABC 3), Radio 786 (100.4 FM), the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in collaboration with Bush Radio (89.5 FM), LIVE FM Radio and appearing as guest on Cape Talk Radio (567 AM). Tasneem is about to make her YouTube début with Flamenco a la Cape – Through the Eyes of Bienyameen Camroodien, an original documentary inspired by time spent completing the How to Make a Musical Masterclass with David Kramer at the Baxter Theatre.
