A Cup of Tea

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Hello, everyone! 

This might be a bit of an odd thread, but I wanted to give it a shot and see how it works out. Basically, if you're feeling tired, or lonely, or just in need of some company and a chat with a friend, well, why not drop in here and just...talk?

I moved to Korea this fall. Left all my friends and family, my entire life, basically, and started over in a totally foreign country. Today (technically yesterday for me) was Christmas Day, and it could have been rough, being so far from everyone - but it wasn't, because I had some good friends to spend the day with. And so I got to thinking - well, everyone needs a friend, don't they? And I know lots of us go through tough times in life - I've seen various of you hint at it in your spoiler threads (I read almost every one, by the way [yes, even yours! pls update more and include more pictures]). I have, too (the latest: I was set to ask a girl out this weekend after my play wrapped up its run. I met her afterwards...and she delightedly informed me that she had a date - with another dude. x_x Oops. No worries, I'm over it). 

And sometime we're not going through tough times, but we just want to talk! And that's fine, too. There are few things that can make you feel more enlivened and refreshed than a good conversation. 

So! If you're feeling lonely, or if you just need to vent about something to a sympathetic ear, or hell, if you just want to make friends with me (I like friends), just drop on in here and have a cup of tea with me (or coffee, too, I'm not picky). <3

Merry Christmas, by the way. If anyone got any good loot, let me know.

[Charriu]

Great thread. I never lived abroad, so I can't really relate to this feeling of lost in translation. I assume you already can speak a bit Korean? Otherwise I hear it's easier to learn then Chinese or Japanese.
Hope you are well.

Oh and loot-wise. I got two symphonic arrangements of the Final Fantasy and Mana series.

[darrelljs]

Nice idea! I would have been tempted to call the thread a dram of Scotch . I got a bag of pistachios.

Darrell

[Krill]

Any reason you decided to move to Korea?

[thestick]

I would also like to join the chorus and ask how and why Korea, and how's it working out. Have been kicking around the idea of picking up sticks and heading abroad myself, and wondering how's the culture shock treating you.

Got an oral history of the Normandy landings from the British perspective. Also treated myself to a handbook of basic Japanese grammar from a linguistic perspective.

If I may ruminate for a bit, I find it interesting how you decided to call this thread 'A Cup of Tea.' I see from your image that you're trying to go for a more intimate, casual affair, but now I'm stuck thinking about other connotations of tea. It could also mean dim sum. Good for large family gatherings or business meetings, semi to very formal, piles of hard-to-make food, and very energetic (especially in Cantonese). Or it could mean milk/bubble/boba tea. The engine of college socializing (at least where I'm from), perfect fuel for studying, a somewhat inappropriate slang term, and a symbol of the new 'Cool Asia.' Or we could go Japanese tea ceremony and become an art thread, or Boston Tea Party and become a hotbed of political dissent (please don't).

Anyway, favorite teas anyone? Not very familiar with teas, but have been stuck with barley and oolong. Maybe pu'er in social situations.

[Krill]

I'm currently drinking Tesco gold, 3 bags to a pot, but once Yorkshire tea get the plasticless t-bag sorted, I'll be trying that.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Great thread. I never lived abroad, so I can't really relate to this feeling of lost in translation. I assume you already can speak a bit Korean? Otherwise I hear it's easier to learn then Chinese or Japanese.
Hope you are well.

Oh and loot-wise. I got two symphonic arrangements of the Final Fantasy and Mana series.

I didn't speak hardly a word before I came here. I've been studying hard since August, though, and I can puzzle out most street signs at this point, and make myself understood in stores and stuff when I'm out and about in public. Still can't really strike up a conversation with a stranger at the bar, though - while Korean grammar seems relatively simple, the vocabulary is so damned foreign to me that I'm having a hard time picking it up. Maybe it's just because I'm not as young as I once was and my neuroplasticity is in decline, but I'm not learning language as easily as I did in high school or college. 

I would also like to join the chorus and ask how and why Korea, and how's it working out. Have been kicking around the idea of picking up sticks and heading abroad myself, and wondering how's the culture shock treating you.

Got an oral history of the Normandy landings from the British perspective. Also treated myself to a handbook of basic Japanese grammar from a linguistic perspective.

If I may ruminate for a bit, I find it interesting how you decided to call this thread 'A Cup of Tea.' I see from your image that you're trying to go for a more intimate, casual affair, but now I'm stuck thinking about other connotations of tea. It could also mean dim sum. Good for large family gatherings or business meetings, semi to very formal, piles of hard-to-make food, and very energetic (especially in Cantonese). Or it could mean milk/bubble/boba tea. The engine of college socializing (at least where I'm from), perfect fuel for studying, a somewhat inappropriate slang term, and a symbol of the new 'Cool Asia.' Or we could go Japanese tea ceremony and become an art thread, or Boston Tea Party and become a hotbed of political dissent (please don't).

Anyway, favorite teas anyone? Not very familiar with teas, but have been stuck with barley and oolong. Maybe pu'er in social situations.

The culture shock isn't too bad. Korean culture is a weird blend of traditional Asian culture with a heavy, heavily Western (primarily American) overlay. They'll take common Western ideas and put a uniquely Korean twist on them. For example, video games - common Western pasttime. In Korea, lots of people don't have desktop PCs. Instead, they go to a PC bang (PC room) and buy time there. It's absurdly cheap and most of the more popular online games - LoL, Overwatch, PUBG, Counter-strike, and yes, Starcraft - are pre-installed. Or they like Western music - but they enjoy it by going to a noraebang (song room) and singing karaoke with their friends. Lots of things like that. 

The hardest part is getting used to the language. I've never lived anywhere where I couldn't understand most everything around me before (I lived in Guatemala a bit, but my Spanish is good. Same when I went to Europe - English/Spanish/Greek is enough to puzzle out most things even in France or Italy). So just going to the store or taking the bus was a challenge when I first got here. 

Anyway, I came to Korea mostly because I wanted a change. I taught English/history at a middle school in St. Louis for five years, but I felt stuck in a rut. I wasn't growing as a person, my school, while nice, could promise me nothing other than a comfortable post for the foreseeable future - not to be sneezed at, but I want more out of life. Korea pays good money for foreigners to move here and teach English, so I went ahead and did it. Now I'm teaching English at a gifted science high school in one of the major cities (not Seoul - I've been here 4 months and still have yet to see Seoul!). Japan and China are cheap plane tickets away, and Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand are just beyond. For someone who loves to travel it's a dream. 

It's been hard sometimes. I thought my girlfriend and I could survive the separation, but she met someone else while I've been gone, so I find myself newly single. I miss family and friends, of course - part of maybe why I've been lurking more here and other Internet locales - it's a nice little rock to cling to, an island of familiarity in a sea of uncertainty. But the most helpful thing has been new friends I've made here. 

Which is why this thread exists! Talking to people has been so helpful to me, and I thought, well, surely I'm not the only one? Why not? My vision is for this to be a thread where people can come to just vent, be heard, and feel refreshed. 

PS. My favorite tea is boring old Earl Grey. Cliche, but you can't beat the old classics. If I drink coffee, a chai tea latte is perfection. Like Christmas in a cup.

[superdeath]

I've seen various of you hint at it in your spoiler threads (I read almost every one, by the way [yes, even yours! pls update more and include more pictures]).

You want MORE pictures?

Lol, people dont read my threads  

Merry Christmas, by the way. If anyone got any good loot, let me know.

A bunch of giftcards, The Golden compass series ( grandma only got me the 2nd, and 3rd book in the series... she forgot to get the first one ) a BUNCH of goodies such as Cornflake cookies/wreaths, no bake cookies, almond bark pretzels and some really bad shortbread cookies. So im pretty stuffed.


My favorite tea is Raspberry Sweet Iced Tea, because the only good tea is cold.

[wetbandit]

I enjoy a good Earl Gray or Chamomile, but Chrysanthemum tea is my preference when I'm drinking tea. It's better than the motor oil coffee I typically drink.

Congrats and best wishes on your new endeavor. After palling around with a bunch of exchange students stateside, a good friend of mine taught English in Japan for many years. He loved it and never came back to the states. I don't know what your anticipated end result is, but good luck.

[RefSteel]

Nice idea! (I'm not a tea drinker myself, but I keep a tea kettle, mugs, and a couple varieties of white tea around the house for my best friend, who is definitely a tea lover!)

Leaping into a new culture with a new language, you must have a lot more courage than me, CMF; I'm glad to hear it seems to have worked out so well!