Whoa! This must be like backwards week, because one of my not so good classes was REALLY good today, and one of my good classes was not good. Strange...
We're doing a Happy Birthday theme lesson this week, so I taught them to shake the present and ask, "What is it?"^^ They liked saying what they were "giving" me and hearing what I was "giving" them. I got a dress, a robot, food, candy, a doll, a lion, a tiger, a toy car, a book, etc. It was pretty darn cute!
After school, I hung out in the first grade office to make some more Christmas stuff. I made red and green bells and snowflakes. There are colored snowflakes to replace the color cubes for their tables, and white snowflakes to decorate near the snowman in my classroom.
At almost 5:00PM, I went upstairs and put the snowman and new decorations up. I didn't leave school until 6:00PM; when I stepped out of my classroom, PITCH BLACK! Not even joking! The security guard comes by every night and when I stay late, he comes in to say hi, says something in Korean, I pretend to understand, and he leaves and shuts the lights off in the hall. LOL! I think he is just telling me to lock up before I leave. I wondered today at what time the school doors are locked, and at what point I am going to be locked in the school for the night.^^
Nobody was home when I got home, so I just hung out until my host fam got back with dinner. They had chicken, and I had tuna rice rolls.
I talked to my host mom for a bit after dinner, and then I just lounged around the house. It still takes me a while to realize that when they talk about their family, they include me! It's a great feeling to have family in Korea! My host mom met Seok Seonsaengnim (the teacher I made kimchi with) and she said, "Oh, you're Stacey's mom." LOL!
Time for bed.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Yakety Yak - Wednesday Nov. 28, 2007
My birthday lesson definitely needed revamped asap; I could just tell it was a little on the boring side. Wednesdays are my slightly wacky days; I teach a second grade class, then a first grade class, and then another second grade class. So, I had time to change the powerpoint; I added a bunch of pictures of cakes. The kids got a kick out of them. They really enjoy looking at pictures. Classes went well today in general.
I finally got my phone bill paid; I've been putting that one off for a while. Not on purpose; the bank is just always closed by the time I leave school, or I have something else to do right after school.
Again, nobody showed up to the teachers' class. When I headed down to the first grade office for a short time, 1-5 teacher apologized repeatedly and told me she forgot about it. Even if she had remembered, everyone else still wouldn't have been there.
At 5:00PM, I met 1-5 downstairs to go to dinner with her and her friend. We're going out to do stuff once a week, so they can learn English through simple interaction with a native English speaker. I was hesitant to accept, but they're paying for whatever we do each week. A weekend in December, we are going to go to the Sharing House that houses 10 surviving Comfort Women. I talked to 1-5 teacher about it, she talked to her friend, and her friend has been there before. So, they offered to take me! It's something that I really wanted to experience while in Korea.
At dinner, we talked about a bunch of random stuff; travel, life, work, etc. It was nice just hanging out with them. 1-5 teacher's friend is only 30 years old, but I still need to figure out her name. I hate asking, because I know I've already been told at least twice. They are the same two that I went to the basketball game with. I told them that I have an ex-fiance, and 1-5 was super surprised. She and I have talked about marriage before. We both agreed that we are too selfish to be in relationships right now. We have plans for our lives, and we're not really willing to sacrifice those plans for marriage. The difference is that: she is 39 and I am 22; she never wants to get married, and I would like to get married someday. One day I'll find someone with similar life plans, whether my plans are to travel the world or to finally "settle" down. 1-5 told me that her plan after retirement is to travel, and teach abroad. That is only her plan right now.
We were at dinner for about three hours. When I got home, I had to book it on making a topic for the Friday meeting. I was drawing a blank on a topic, but under pressure, I managed to pull something out. I got a text from Kevin (the leader of the group this month) so I felt a lot more pressure than I really had to, because I called him and he said that I didn't need to have it up until Thursday. I still decided to get it out of the way. The topic is equality in Korea and throughout the world. I made questions that go along with the topic. Unfortunately, I found out that I have dinner with the first grade teachers and the principal on Friday, so I'm going to dinner with them, leaving to go to the meeting for 2 hours, and then heading back to meet up with the teachers if they are still out and about. These are the questions for the discussion on Friday:
There's an amazing website that you should check out: http://www.freerice.com/index.php
This kept me up until 2:00AM. That and talking online.^^
I finally got my phone bill paid; I've been putting that one off for a while. Not on purpose; the bank is just always closed by the time I leave school, or I have something else to do right after school.
Again, nobody showed up to the teachers' class. When I headed down to the first grade office for a short time, 1-5 teacher apologized repeatedly and told me she forgot about it. Even if she had remembered, everyone else still wouldn't have been there.
At 5:00PM, I met 1-5 downstairs to go to dinner with her and her friend. We're going out to do stuff once a week, so they can learn English through simple interaction with a native English speaker. I was hesitant to accept, but they're paying for whatever we do each week. A weekend in December, we are going to go to the Sharing House that houses 10 surviving Comfort Women. I talked to 1-5 teacher about it, she talked to her friend, and her friend has been there before. So, they offered to take me! It's something that I really wanted to experience while in Korea.
At dinner, we talked about a bunch of random stuff; travel, life, work, etc. It was nice just hanging out with them. 1-5 teacher's friend is only 30 years old, but I still need to figure out her name. I hate asking, because I know I've already been told at least twice. They are the same two that I went to the basketball game with. I told them that I have an ex-fiance, and 1-5 was super surprised. She and I have talked about marriage before. We both agreed that we are too selfish to be in relationships right now. We have plans for our lives, and we're not really willing to sacrifice those plans for marriage. The difference is that: she is 39 and I am 22; she never wants to get married, and I would like to get married someday. One day I'll find someone with similar life plans, whether my plans are to travel the world or to finally "settle" down. 1-5 told me that her plan after retirement is to travel, and teach abroad. That is only her plan right now.
We were at dinner for about three hours. When I got home, I had to book it on making a topic for the Friday meeting. I was drawing a blank on a topic, but under pressure, I managed to pull something out. I got a text from Kevin (the leader of the group this month) so I felt a lot more pressure than I really had to, because I called him and he said that I didn't need to have it up until Thursday. I still decided to get it out of the way. The topic is equality in Korea and throughout the world. I made questions that go along with the topic. Unfortunately, I found out that I have dinner with the first grade teachers and the principal on Friday, so I'm going to dinner with them, leaving to go to the meeting for 2 hours, and then heading back to meet up with the teachers if they are still out and about. These are the questions for the discussion on Friday:
- Is everyone created equal (Is everyone born having the same worth?)
- How are males and females treated differently in Korea/in other countries? Are there “roles” that women and men are supposed to fill (Are there specific jobs for women and men?)
- How are people of different races and nationalities (black, Hispanic, Japanese, American, British, etc.) treated in Korea/in other countries?
- Are people of different sexual orientations (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, etc) treated equally in
- Give one or two experiences from history or personal experience where someone has been discriminated against or treated unequally.
There's an amazing website that you should check out: http://www.freerice.com/index.php
This kept me up until 2:00AM. That and talking online.^^
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Warship?! For real?! - A Rant!
Ok, I know that my last few beginnings have been of a somewhat stressed nature, but it was all pretty light hearted. This one won't be...
*Warning: There might be some explicit content and things you might highly disagree with from this point on.
I got a disturbing email from a close family friend today. I am in no way attacking her for sending it to me or for her beliefs, but am actually quite grateful that I received it despite my feelings.
"USS New York
Why Why Why?! Why would they create a WARship out of the rubble from the World Trade Towers?! A warship?! Seriously! Perfect; now we have something to exact our revenge on those terrorists who destroyed our country! It doesn't work like that!
That is like someone writing their child's name on a bomb that is to be dropped on Iraq, because their son or daughter was killed in the war.
What sense does that make?!
"Never forget?" What does that even mean?! I used to think that it meant we would never forget the men and women who lost their lives. That's not what it means anymore! It means that we will never forget what those "terrorists" did to us, we will never show forgiveness, we will never forget that our mission is to, "...hunt down the folks who committed this act."
I see what our country is made of!
*Warning: There might be some explicit content and things you might highly disagree with from this point on.
I got a disturbing email from a close family friend today. I am in no way attacking her for sending it to me or for her beliefs, but am actually quite grateful that I received it despite my feelings.
"USS New York
It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center .
It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."
Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up." "It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."
The ship's motto? "Never Forget"Please keep this going so everyone can see what we are made of in this country.
Why Why Why?! Why would they create a WARship out of the rubble from the World Trade Towers?! A warship?! Seriously! Perfect; now we have something to exact our revenge on those terrorists who destroyed our country! It doesn't work like that!
That is like someone writing their child's name on a bomb that is to be dropped on Iraq, because their son or daughter was killed in the war.
What sense does that make?!
"Never forget?" What does that even mean?! I used to think that it meant we would never forget the men and women who lost their lives. That's not what it means anymore! It means that we will never forget what those "terrorists" did to us, we will never show forgiveness, we will never forget that our mission is to, "...hunt down the folks who committed this act."
I see what our country is made of!
Snowfriend - Tuesday Nov. 27, 2007
I woke up at an amazing 8:15AM and had 10 minutes to dress, eat, and get my butt out of the door.
1-6 decided to stage a mutiny and basically ignore anything I had to say. Oh goodness! I felt badly, because their teacher felt badly about them not behaving for me. I hate when the teacher feels bad about it, because she actually helps me try to control them. That doesn't necessarily happen in my other trouble spot class.
I've been feeling exhausted for the past week. I only got about 6 hours of sleep last night, but that has never been a problem for me before; I was pulling off 3 hours of sleep and student teaching last year.
After school, I decided that I was going to build a snowfriend (the PC term for snowman that we came up with last year^^)...out of the main material I absolutely despise, styrofoam. I took big pieces of styrofoam from the second grade office down to the first grade office to work on it. At first I used felt to make a rainbow; 1-5 teacher used this amazing measuring method by using a piece of cardboard as a compass. After that...back to the snowman; I used a pie plate for the head, a drum for the middle circle, and a large clock for the base circle. Using my resources... 1-5 teacher helped me cut them out with an exacto knife. Off and on they made fun of my western style "snowman;" apparently Korean snowman only have two circles (one for the head and one as the body) and they wear straw hats. Whatev. I made a scarf and earmuffs for it out of felt, the face out of black paper with a felt nose, drumsticks for arms, and super cute kid mittens from a give-away pile! I already have two teachers that have dibs on it for next year. Eh, I'll let them fight it out,^^
I headed upstairs, wrapped a box to look present-like for my "Happy Birthday" lesson tomorrow, and finally took off around 6:00PM.
After dinner, we watched Flight Plan as a family; it is a movie about a woman, Jodie Foster, who loses her husband and is flying his body back to the states, her daughter disappears on the flight, and there is an officer that must detain her for the entirety of the flight. It was a good movie, but there was a part that irked me big time. At one point in the movie, Jodie Foster blames a man from the Middle East for her daughter's kidnapping; so as if the ignorant racism and discrimination toward Middle Eastern people isn't enough after 9-11, might as well put some idiotic stunt like that in a movie. The end of the movie slightly redeems the situation of her accusations, but seriously...!
I talked to my host mom a little bit about it afterward; I was pretty frustrated with it. Anyway, my host mom and I sat around talking for a while. I told them that one of my friends is switching homestays, because the living situation is not good. She grabbed my hand and told me that she doesn't want me to leave. She was so cute about it! She knows my friend, so she was a little shocked, but thought that it was a good idea as well. My host father asked me if I want to move homestays, and I asked him if he was trying to get rid of me. He told me that he thinks of me as one of them and that I have the right to make my decision. My host mom grabbed my hand again and said no. She then said that he could leave and I could stay! LOL! LOVE HER! He actually got up and walked away. It's hard to understand if you don't know my host family's sense of humor, but they're pretty darn amazing!
1-6 decided to stage a mutiny and basically ignore anything I had to say. Oh goodness! I felt badly, because their teacher felt badly about them not behaving for me. I hate when the teacher feels bad about it, because she actually helps me try to control them. That doesn't necessarily happen in my other trouble spot class.
I've been feeling exhausted for the past week. I only got about 6 hours of sleep last night, but that has never been a problem for me before; I was pulling off 3 hours of sleep and student teaching last year.
After school, I decided that I was going to build a snowfriend (the PC term for snowman that we came up with last year^^)...out of the main material I absolutely despise, styrofoam. I took big pieces of styrofoam from the second grade office down to the first grade office to work on it. At first I used felt to make a rainbow; 1-5 teacher used this amazing measuring method by using a piece of cardboard as a compass. After that...back to the snowman; I used a pie plate for the head, a drum for the middle circle, and a large clock for the base circle. Using my resources... 1-5 teacher helped me cut them out with an exacto knife. Off and on they made fun of my western style "snowman;" apparently Korean snowman only have two circles (one for the head and one as the body) and they wear straw hats. Whatev. I made a scarf and earmuffs for it out of felt, the face out of black paper with a felt nose, drumsticks for arms, and super cute kid mittens from a give-away pile! I already have two teachers that have dibs on it for next year. Eh, I'll let them fight it out,^^
I headed upstairs, wrapped a box to look present-like for my "Happy Birthday" lesson tomorrow, and finally took off around 6:00PM.
After dinner, we watched Flight Plan as a family; it is a movie about a woman, Jodie Foster, who loses her husband and is flying his body back to the states, her daughter disappears on the flight, and there is an officer that must detain her for the entirety of the flight. It was a good movie, but there was a part that irked me big time. At one point in the movie, Jodie Foster blames a man from the Middle East for her daughter's kidnapping; so as if the ignorant racism and discrimination toward Middle Eastern people isn't enough after 9-11, might as well put some idiotic stunt like that in a movie. The end of the movie slightly redeems the situation of her accusations, but seriously...!
I talked to my host mom a little bit about it afterward; I was pretty frustrated with it. Anyway, my host mom and I sat around talking for a while. I told them that one of my friends is switching homestays, because the living situation is not good. She grabbed my hand and told me that she doesn't want me to leave. She was so cute about it! She knows my friend, so she was a little shocked, but thought that it was a good idea as well. My host father asked me if I want to move homestays, and I asked him if he was trying to get rid of me. He told me that he thinks of me as one of them and that I have the right to make my decision. My host mom grabbed my hand again and said no. She then said that he could leave and I could stay! LOL! LOVE HER! He actually got up and walked away. It's hard to understand if you don't know my host family's sense of humor, but they're pretty darn amazing!
I HATE MONDAYS! - Monday Nov. 26, 2007
Why do I hate Mondays? Why? I could tell that I was in a cranky mood when I woke up this morning, so it didn't surprise me that I wasn't too keen on taking a lot of talking in my class from my students. 1-1 was their usual wonderful selves (take the sarcasm and run with it), and just to keep me on my toes, 1-3 decided to make 1-1 seem like they were off of their game today.
I don't have a lot of time to spend with the first grade teachers on Mondays, because I'm always preparing for the orphanage after school. I spent about an hour down there just hanging out and cutting out my new month signs.
My host mom picked me up from school and took me to the orphanage. I love walking up to the building and having little kids wave at me from the bay-esqe window! I started with asking how they were today. LOL! That was fun! These kids know NO English (and apparently neither do I considering I originally typed "no NO)! I'm working on that with them obviously!^^
We learned the letter C and filled in that page of our mini books, then cut out and made color turkeys (their feathers were all different colors), then I read them the ChickaChickaBoomBoom book, because they love it so much. They're catching onto the days song I'm teaching them, too! I'm super excited when I come back and they actually remember something that I taught them the previous week!
The girl that sits in with me to help translate drove me home afterward. She is only 22 and super nice! She is a college student. We couldn't talk much, because of the language barrier, but we had a small conversation.
I mostly just relaxed when I got home and finished up a workshop for my project in January.
I don't have a lot of time to spend with the first grade teachers on Mondays, because I'm always preparing for the orphanage after school. I spent about an hour down there just hanging out and cutting out my new month signs.
My host mom picked me up from school and took me to the orphanage. I love walking up to the building and having little kids wave at me from the bay-esqe window! I started with asking how they were today. LOL! That was fun! These kids know NO English (and apparently neither do I considering I originally typed "no NO)! I'm working on that with them obviously!^^
We learned the letter C and filled in that page of our mini books, then cut out and made color turkeys (their feathers were all different colors), then I read them the ChickaChickaBoomBoom book, because they love it so much. They're catching onto the days song I'm teaching them, too! I'm super excited when I come back and they actually remember something that I taught them the previous week!
The girl that sits in with me to help translate drove me home afterward. She is only 22 and super nice! She is a college student. We couldn't talk much, because of the language barrier, but we had a small conversation.
I mostly just relaxed when I got home and finished up a workshop for my project in January.
A Bicycle Built for Two - Sunday Nov. 25, 2007
I woke up around 9:00, because my host family isn't the quietest family in the mornings. Everyone was up except my host bro and Nahi's husband. We had ramen for breakfast; I got cheese in mine!! Then we headed for my host father's parents' house to make kimchi. My host mom got a phone call saying that the kimchi had already been made and that they wanted to go to a jimjilbang. So, we changed our plans and hung out in Seoul.
We went to the river walk and rented bicycles!! OMGoodness, it was sooo much fun! I love riding bikes, and I really had fun being with my host family! My host mom cannot ride a bike, so she and my host father got a double bike; he steered, and she pedaled along with him. It was pretty darn cute!
After that we went to Lotte Department Store to "window shop." Wow, I failed at that! I bought some winter clothes and socks, so I think it is justifiable. OH!! There is an ICE SKATING RINK in the middle of the mall!! Seriously! I was SO amazed! There was a Christmas band show when we walked by!! My host mom said that sometime we can go and skate; seeing as how I have never ice skated in my ENTIRE life, this should be an interesting experience. I'm sincerely looking forward to it; I've always wanted to try to move around on ice on something other than my butt (referencing the pond behind our house that my dad used to push me around on.)
To top off the wonderful day, we ate JAPANESE food!! It was yummy!
We headed home with my cranky host sister seated next to me. When we got home, my host sister and brother passed out for a few hours. When we started a movie, my host sibs both managed to wake up. We watched Hairspray! It was awesome! If you haven't seen it, I hightly recommend it! If you have seen it and didn't like it, I highly recommend you watch it again!
We went to the river walk and rented bicycles!! OMGoodness, it was sooo much fun! I love riding bikes, and I really had fun being with my host family! My host mom cannot ride a bike, so she and my host father got a double bike; he steered, and she pedaled along with him. It was pretty darn cute!
After that we went to Lotte Department Store to "window shop." Wow, I failed at that! I bought some winter clothes and socks, so I think it is justifiable. OH!! There is an ICE SKATING RINK in the middle of the mall!! Seriously! I was SO amazed! There was a Christmas band show when we walked by!! My host mom said that sometime we can go and skate; seeing as how I have never ice skated in my ENTIRE life, this should be an interesting experience. I'm sincerely looking forward to it; I've always wanted to try to move around on ice on something other than my butt (referencing the pond behind our house that my dad used to push me around on.)
To top off the wonderful day, we ate JAPANESE food!! It was yummy!
We headed home with my cranky host sister seated next to me. When we got home, my host sister and brother passed out for a few hours. When we started a movie, my host sibs both managed to wake up. We watched Hairspray! It was awesome! If you haven't seen it, I hightly recommend it! If you have seen it and didn't like it, I highly recommend you watch it again!
Seoul Has NO Soul - Saturday Nov. 24, 2007
I laid in bed for a good deal of today. Lauren and I were going to get up to meet Jeremy for coffee (he was swinging through Wonju on his way to Gyeongi-do), but we decided the night before that we needed to sleep in. Also, it is about a $6 taxi ride just to get anywhere near the bus station.
My host family headed out to Seoul around 3:50PM...and LITERALLY, folks, it took 4 hours to get to a destination that was only supposed to take 1 and 1/2 hours had there been no traffic!
When we finally got there, the five starved family members sat down at my host mom's sister's new apartment. We went to a house warming party that was just family. I love hanging out with my host mom's family!! They're so much fun and laid back; kind of like my mom's side of the family back home. I've noticed a lot of similarities between my host family and my family back home; sometimes just strange similarities. Like the fact that my host mom really likes caramel and tootsie rolls like my mom in the states, or that my host dad really likes to be out in the sun like my dad in the states while my host mom prefers to stay out of the sun like my mom in the states. My host mom only has sisters and no brothers like my mom in the states.
I played ping pong in a slighty creepy ping pong room in the parking garage with Youngjin, my host sis, and my host bro for a bit. When we got back, my host mom went out to meet a friend. She left at 12:00AM and came back at 3:30AM. I stayed up talking to Nahi, her husband, and my host father until 2:30AM. We got into a slight political debate, or rather I caused a slight one between my host father, Nahi, and Nahi's husband. LOL! I manage to do that a lot somehow; I didn't mean to. I simply talked about one of my friends from yesterday's meeting supporting Mr. Moon. I then learned that my host father and Nahi hold opposing views. I quickly stepped out of that one!
I couldn't stay up any longer after 2:30AM. Apparently my host father, my 10 year old host sister, my 12 year old host brother, and Nahi's husband all stayed up until my host mom got back.
My host family headed out to Seoul around 3:50PM...and LITERALLY, folks, it took 4 hours to get to a destination that was only supposed to take 1 and 1/2 hours had there been no traffic!
When we finally got there, the five starved family members sat down at my host mom's sister's new apartment. We went to a house warming party that was just family. I love hanging out with my host mom's family!! They're so much fun and laid back; kind of like my mom's side of the family back home. I've noticed a lot of similarities between my host family and my family back home; sometimes just strange similarities. Like the fact that my host mom really likes caramel and tootsie rolls like my mom in the states, or that my host dad really likes to be out in the sun like my dad in the states while my host mom prefers to stay out of the sun like my mom in the states. My host mom only has sisters and no brothers like my mom in the states.
I played ping pong in a slighty creepy ping pong room in the parking garage with Youngjin, my host sis, and my host bro for a bit. When we got back, my host mom went out to meet a friend. She left at 12:00AM and came back at 3:30AM. I stayed up talking to Nahi, her husband, and my host father until 2:30AM. We got into a slight political debate, or rather I caused a slight one between my host father, Nahi, and Nahi's husband. LOL! I manage to do that a lot somehow; I didn't mean to. I simply talked about one of my friends from yesterday's meeting supporting Mr. Moon. I then learned that my host father and Nahi hold opposing views. I quickly stepped out of that one!
I couldn't stay up any longer after 2:30AM. Apparently my host father, my 10 year old host sister, my 12 year old host brother, and Nahi's husband all stayed up until my host mom got back.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Foreigner Fridays - Friday Nov. 23, 2007
Again, I manged to fall behind in journal entries. Let's see what I remember...
I was pretty stoked about it being Friday. I think I was ready for the weekend.
I helped 1-2 teacher with her open class. She did it on "Do you like pizza" which is supposed to be my next topic to teach in my English class. Seeing as how half of the first grade teachers have already taught it for either their open class or for the hell of it, perhaps I should only spend 2 weeks on it. It's actually quite convenient considering I have four weeks left and two lessons to still teach.
The parents had brought snacks in like they do after every open class, so afterward we sat down with the VP who was there to watch the class. The parents had set today's snack up incredibly classy like; glass teacups, little cookies, rum filled chocolates (in school...), etc. I was slightly bored throughout the discussion since I can't understand anything, but the food was good. After that discussion, I then got to hear an outline of what I'm supposed to do next Friday in front of the principal; dress up like a wolf, sing a song, dance, etc. I should get paid extra for the costume. Just kidding! It's not really that big of deal to me, but I like messing it the teacher who is making me do it.
After school, I chilled until the host rents got home. We ate a late dinner, and I went late to my Friday meeting. There was a man over with his family that my host father is friends with (the fish club man). We ate raw fish; apparently they love to eat it as much as they love to look at it and nurture it....strange concept to me.
Though Kata is gone, there is a new foreigner or two in the group on Fridays. Kata was slowly warming up to me right as she had to leave for Germany, but for some reason, I find most foreigners I talk to in South Korea incredibly annoying. At first I really liked this girl (her name is Ashey and she is from South Africa.), but she soon went over the top and...well... I'm sure she'll warm up to me too. The topic for this week was Blind Dates, and we had to discuss whether we've been on them, if we think we can find our soul mates, if we think it's dangerous, etc. Blind dating is HUGE in South Korea! One explanation I heard is that men spend so much time working that they can't take the time to naturally meet someone. One guy in my group said that a few years ago, he would go on blind dates twice a week. I have never been on a blind date, and I don't intend to ever go on one. I think we agreed as a group that blind dates are uncomfortable and unnatural. We also talked about our perfect dates, blind date or not. One of the most romantic ones was, "Every date would be perfect if I found the right person." There was also an older professor there who has been married for a number of years. He has so many wonderful thoughts but can't share them in English; he is sensitive and caring and thinks in a very unique way. We asked him to share something about his wife. He told us that the first day he met his wife in university, he said, "I'm going to marry you," and they got married four years later. He told us that he writes poems to her even still, and told us that he would explain more next time, because he couldn't share everything due to a lower English ability. I really like him. He seems very genuine.
After the meeting, we headed to the Makkoli bar around the corner; Ashley did not come with us, because she had a going away party to get to. I talked to Allan most of the time about politics. He is an automotive engineer, I think, but he is helping Mr. Muun with his presidential campaign. He told me about his platform and told me to talk to my host dad about it. LOL! A story for another time. I talked to most of the guys that were there; there weren't many women this time.
I got home around 12:30PM, which is a good thing, because I was exhausted.
I was pretty stoked about it being Friday. I think I was ready for the weekend.
I helped 1-2 teacher with her open class. She did it on "Do you like pizza" which is supposed to be my next topic to teach in my English class. Seeing as how half of the first grade teachers have already taught it for either their open class or for the hell of it, perhaps I should only spend 2 weeks on it. It's actually quite convenient considering I have four weeks left and two lessons to still teach.
The parents had brought snacks in like they do after every open class, so afterward we sat down with the VP who was there to watch the class. The parents had set today's snack up incredibly classy like; glass teacups, little cookies, rum filled chocolates (in school...), etc. I was slightly bored throughout the discussion since I can't understand anything, but the food was good. After that discussion, I then got to hear an outline of what I'm supposed to do next Friday in front of the principal; dress up like a wolf, sing a song, dance, etc. I should get paid extra for the costume. Just kidding! It's not really that big of deal to me, but I like messing it the teacher who is making me do it.
After school, I chilled until the host rents got home. We ate a late dinner, and I went late to my Friday meeting. There was a man over with his family that my host father is friends with (the fish club man). We ate raw fish; apparently they love to eat it as much as they love to look at it and nurture it....strange concept to me.
Though Kata is gone, there is a new foreigner or two in the group on Fridays. Kata was slowly warming up to me right as she had to leave for Germany, but for some reason, I find most foreigners I talk to in South Korea incredibly annoying. At first I really liked this girl (her name is Ashey and she is from South Africa.), but she soon went over the top and...well... I'm sure she'll warm up to me too. The topic for this week was Blind Dates, and we had to discuss whether we've been on them, if we think we can find our soul mates, if we think it's dangerous, etc. Blind dating is HUGE in South Korea! One explanation I heard is that men spend so much time working that they can't take the time to naturally meet someone. One guy in my group said that a few years ago, he would go on blind dates twice a week. I have never been on a blind date, and I don't intend to ever go on one. I think we agreed as a group that blind dates are uncomfortable and unnatural. We also talked about our perfect dates, blind date or not. One of the most romantic ones was, "Every date would be perfect if I found the right person." There was also an older professor there who has been married for a number of years. He has so many wonderful thoughts but can't share them in English; he is sensitive and caring and thinks in a very unique way. We asked him to share something about his wife. He told us that the first day he met his wife in university, he said, "I'm going to marry you," and they got married four years later. He told us that he writes poems to her even still, and told us that he would explain more next time, because he couldn't share everything due to a lower English ability. I really like him. He seems very genuine.
After the meeting, we headed to the Makkoli bar around the corner; Ashley did not come with us, because she had a going away party to get to. I talked to Allan most of the time about politics. He is an automotive engineer, I think, but he is helping Mr. Muun with his presidential campaign. He told me about his platform and told me to talk to my host dad about it. LOL! A story for another time. I talked to most of the guys that were there; there weren't many women this time.
I got home around 12:30PM, which is a good thing, because I was exhausted.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thanksgiving? - Thursday Nov. 22, 2007
Thanksgiving? Really? How surreal. My holidays are going to all be this way here. That's okay; it's just a strange feeling to be able to simply slide passed a holiday that has been a family centerpiece since I can remember.
Two dozen people - at least, Thanksgiving lunch, someone napping on every couch and in every bed, eating a snack, a yearly craft, more snacking, euchre, massive games of Oh Hell (it's a card game), snacking, and finally leaving around midnight.
It's the first Thanksgiving without my grandma...another surreal concept.
The class that usually gives me hell on today days was really great today. They were pretty adorable actually; they really got into the sign language and the Thanksgiving activity today.
Hae Yeon and I had to clean the English Village, because there was a group of teachers coming in for a workshop. My host mom and another parent (the one I went out for Shabu Shabu with) were there helping in the English Village, so they helped us SCRUB the classroom. Hae Yon was angry at lunch when the head of the English department told her about the teachers coming today; it was the first we had heard about it. I could tell something was going down during lunch, but I wasn't sure until after we got back upstairs.
I disappeared after we cleaned; I didn't want to stick around for the workshop, so I went to work on some stuff down in the first grade office. 1-7 teacher helped me make months signs. Every time I make something, she asks if it is for her. LOL! I gave her an extra set of month names that I had printed out and we worked on them together. She had a much more effective way of going about it than I did, AND hers were straight. Now I know!^^
I met the second grade teachers at 5:00PM to go out to eat with them; they were celebrating 2-2's pregnancy. 2-3 teacher felt so bad, because he had invited me to a meat restaurant. Like I've said before, I can always find something. I told him about 5 times not to worry about it; I even busted out the Korean! I still managed to eat a ton...plus cake. I don't even like cake! The cakes here are different; two different ones I've had have had sweet potato in them, and another one was decked out in fruit (apparently tomatoes are considered a cake-worthy fruit in Korea.)
I was home by 7:30PM and my host family got home about an hour later; they had gone out to eat as well.
Two dozen people - at least, Thanksgiving lunch, someone napping on every couch and in every bed, eating a snack, a yearly craft, more snacking, euchre, massive games of Oh Hell (it's a card game), snacking, and finally leaving around midnight.
It's the first Thanksgiving without my grandma...another surreal concept.
The class that usually gives me hell on today days was really great today. They were pretty adorable actually; they really got into the sign language and the Thanksgiving activity today.
Hae Yeon and I had to clean the English Village, because there was a group of teachers coming in for a workshop. My host mom and another parent (the one I went out for Shabu Shabu with) were there helping in the English Village, so they helped us SCRUB the classroom. Hae Yon was angry at lunch when the head of the English department told her about the teachers coming today; it was the first we had heard about it. I could tell something was going down during lunch, but I wasn't sure until after we got back upstairs.
I disappeared after we cleaned; I didn't want to stick around for the workshop, so I went to work on some stuff down in the first grade office. 1-7 teacher helped me make months signs. Every time I make something, she asks if it is for her. LOL! I gave her an extra set of month names that I had printed out and we worked on them together. She had a much more effective way of going about it than I did, AND hers were straight. Now I know!^^
I met the second grade teachers at 5:00PM to go out to eat with them; they were celebrating 2-2's pregnancy. 2-3 teacher felt so bad, because he had invited me to a meat restaurant. Like I've said before, I can always find something. I told him about 5 times not to worry about it; I even busted out the Korean! I still managed to eat a ton...plus cake. I don't even like cake! The cakes here are different; two different ones I've had have had sweet potato in them, and another one was decked out in fruit (apparently tomatoes are considered a cake-worthy fruit in Korea.)
I was home by 7:30PM and my host family got home about an hour later; they had gone out to eat as well.
There must be more to it.... - Wednesday Nov. 21, 2007
Still trying to catch 2-2 class up after the two classes they missed while preparing for their open class. 1-7 class is super adorable; they're excited about everything! Since it was so icy yesterday, I've been teaching them "icy" by pretending to slip; the kids think it's the funniest thing ever.
I was fully prepared to have my first teachers' class today after a long time of not having it, and I got a call from 1-5 (Yeon Ohk) telling me that she is going to Chiak Art Center and asked if I wanted to go as well. I then learned that all of the teachers were going there to practice for the concert tonight. Little did I know when I was planning my teachers' lesson that none of the teachers were going to be in the building, so I went with 1-5 teacher. I met up with the other first grade teachers, and we sat together to watch the classes practice. They were all super cute and really good!
After a while, we went out to dinner together. Our group got split up; I went with 1-3, 1-6, and 1-7 teachers. We ate KalManduGuk!! Oh, I found out two new interesting things about babies. 1) Women in Korea are pregnant for 10 months, because they count from they become pregnant (August, September, October, etc. instead of August to September, September to October, etc.) 2) When a woman has twins, the first one is called Hyeong/Oni (older brother/sister) and the second one is called Tongsaeng (younger sibling).
At dinner, 1-7 kept joking that I didn't like her and that I only wanted see 1-5 teacher. All because I asked where 1-5 teacher was at Chiak. It was because she had driven me there that I was curious where she was! Gosh! It has become a joke between 1-7 and I though. She said that when I talk about 1-5, my eyes light up, but when I talk to her my eyes are small. LOL! So now I squint my eyes when she looks at me.
We headed back around 5:30PM to get seats and some of the first grade teachers had to work. 1-7 and 1-5 were in charge of kicking people out of the VIP seats. 1-3 and I sat and watched/made fun of the other two...we were like...their managers. They get my sarcasm and sense of humor, which is really nice to have in Korea. I found out how their ages; it's different than I thought. 1-1 is 51, 1-2 is 49, 1-3 is 34, 1-4 is a little older than 1-7 but younger than 1-2, 1-5 is 39, 1-6 is older than 1-3 but younger than 1-5, and 1-7 is a few years older than 1-5. It's like one of those little puzzles on ISTEP or the SATs. The most important thing in Korea is to know rank, not necessarily exact ages. It depends on who is served first, who is bowed to first, who gets the most attention, etc. The other thing I really like about the first grade teachers though is that they are pretty modern and rank doesn't really seem that important to them. It's difficult to take cultural cues though, because I am never around anyone else my own age. I tend to take cues from my host brother at home, because he is very polite in the company of guests. In school, it's just pretty much gut instinct.
What I've also noticed is that children say "hi" to me constantly, but don't really say anything to the other teachers. If I'm walking with a Korea teacher, the Korean teacher is pretty much ignored. This is such a strange concept for me. It's like they're so fixated on the English teacher that they're a little oblivious to other people around me. I'm not saying this in a proud, look-at-me sort of way, but a very matter-of -act way. It's nice to be noticed, but English teachers/foreigners are very much on display 24/7. It's great that my students are getting cultural exposure of another country at such a young age. Even if I don't affect their English ability enormously, they will hopefully be comfortable interacting with people of different cultures due to these few months. I explained it this way to myself; I refuse to be here for the soul purpose of teaching my students English. It's hard to express the tension surrounding the idea of learning English, but it has beyond surpassed reality to me.
Sidenote: A married first grade teacher calls her husband "Capitan;" it's his nickname. I asked what hers is, and she said that she doesn't have one. I fought back the slight hatred of the Confucian ideological crap that has been burned into the brains of so many here and just let myself assume that it was simply a cute little pet nickname and in no way is it as degrading to women as it initially appeared.
The concert was awesome. It got to be a little long after two hours, but it was really good overall! 1-5 teacher played bouncer for part of the show; there were children running EVERYWHERE! I did the bowing deal to the VIPs after the show and talked to some of the teachers who performed, then I was out of there.
I didn't get home until 10:30PM. I talked with my host parents for a while. I told my host mom about when my winter class is scheduled for....drum role, please....December 24th, December 25th, and December 26th. Anybody see anything slightly/incredibly depressing about that? My host father told me to run away. LOL! Then my host mom gave me $200. Yah, apparently that's from the insurance company from the car accident. Also, apparently, if we had gone to the hospital more often, we would have gotten a lot more than $200. I obviously no NOTHING about the way insurance companies work, but I wasn't going to refuse the money!^^
I was fully prepared to have my first teachers' class today after a long time of not having it, and I got a call from 1-5 (Yeon Ohk) telling me that she is going to Chiak Art Center and asked if I wanted to go as well. I then learned that all of the teachers were going there to practice for the concert tonight. Little did I know when I was planning my teachers' lesson that none of the teachers were going to be in the building, so I went with 1-5 teacher. I met up with the other first grade teachers, and we sat together to watch the classes practice. They were all super cute and really good!
After a while, we went out to dinner together. Our group got split up; I went with 1-3, 1-6, and 1-7 teachers. We ate KalManduGuk!! Oh, I found out two new interesting things about babies. 1) Women in Korea are pregnant for 10 months, because they count from they become pregnant (August, September, October, etc. instead of August to September, September to October, etc.) 2) When a woman has twins, the first one is called Hyeong/Oni (older brother/sister) and the second one is called Tongsaeng (younger sibling).
At dinner, 1-7 kept joking that I didn't like her and that I only wanted see 1-5 teacher. All because I asked where 1-5 teacher was at Chiak. It was because she had driven me there that I was curious where she was! Gosh! It has become a joke between 1-7 and I though. She said that when I talk about 1-5, my eyes light up, but when I talk to her my eyes are small. LOL! So now I squint my eyes when she looks at me.
We headed back around 5:30PM to get seats and some of the first grade teachers had to work. 1-7 and 1-5 were in charge of kicking people out of the VIP seats. 1-3 and I sat and watched/made fun of the other two...we were like...their managers. They get my sarcasm and sense of humor, which is really nice to have in Korea. I found out how their ages; it's different than I thought. 1-1 is 51, 1-2 is 49, 1-3 is 34, 1-4 is a little older than 1-7 but younger than 1-2, 1-5 is 39, 1-6 is older than 1-3 but younger than 1-5, and 1-7 is a few years older than 1-5. It's like one of those little puzzles on ISTEP or the SATs. The most important thing in Korea is to know rank, not necessarily exact ages. It depends on who is served first, who is bowed to first, who gets the most attention, etc. The other thing I really like about the first grade teachers though is that they are pretty modern and rank doesn't really seem that important to them. It's difficult to take cultural cues though, because I am never around anyone else my own age. I tend to take cues from my host brother at home, because he is very polite in the company of guests. In school, it's just pretty much gut instinct.
What I've also noticed is that children say "hi" to me constantly, but don't really say anything to the other teachers. If I'm walking with a Korea teacher, the Korean teacher is pretty much ignored. This is such a strange concept for me. It's like they're so fixated on the English teacher that they're a little oblivious to other people around me. I'm not saying this in a proud, look-at-me sort of way, but a very matter-of -act way. It's nice to be noticed, but English teachers/foreigners are very much on display 24/7. It's great that my students are getting cultural exposure of another country at such a young age. Even if I don't affect their English ability enormously, they will hopefully be comfortable interacting with people of different cultures due to these few months. I explained it this way to myself; I refuse to be here for the soul purpose of teaching my students English. It's hard to express the tension surrounding the idea of learning English, but it has beyond surpassed reality to me.
Sidenote: A married first grade teacher calls her husband "Capitan;" it's his nickname. I asked what hers is, and she said that she doesn't have one. I fought back the slight hatred of the Confucian ideological crap that has been burned into the brains of so many here and just let myself assume that it was simply a cute little pet nickname and in no way is it as degrading to women as it initially appeared.
The concert was awesome. It got to be a little long after two hours, but it was really good overall! 1-5 teacher played bouncer for part of the show; there were children running EVERYWHERE! I did the bowing deal to the VIPs after the show and talked to some of the teachers who performed, then I was out of there.
I didn't get home until 10:30PM. I talked with my host parents for a while. I told my host mom about when my winter class is scheduled for....drum role, please....December 24th, December 25th, and December 26th. Anybody see anything slightly/incredibly depressing about that? My host father told me to run away. LOL! Then my host mom gave me $200. Yah, apparently that's from the insurance company from the car accident. Also, apparently, if we had gone to the hospital more often, we would have gotten a lot more than $200. I obviously no NOTHING about the way insurance companies work, but I wasn't going to refuse the money!^^
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Let it Snow! - Tuesday Nov. 20, 2007
Yep, it snowed all right! It also froze hard core! The roads are super slippery. This is how a conversation went between my host dad and me this morning:
Me: Does Wonju salt the roads in the winter?
Host dad: Yes, but Wonju is poor...so only a little salt.
Oh gosh...makes a girl feel safe.
Classes were better today, which makes me think that my Monday classes are horrible for the sake of being horrible on Mondays. We're doing hand turkeys; so many of them turned out really cute!
I told 1-5 teacher today that it would be fine to hang out with her and her friend once a week. She told me that her and her friend discussed the Vagina Monologues last night and apparently her friend has been twice before. I talked to 1-5 teacher about the Sharing House where a few comfort women live, and she said that we can go there together sometime! I asked her if she was serious three times!
I helped 1-5 teacher work on her open class for a while. 1-2 teacher has her open class this Friday and 1-5 teacher has hers next week Friday. Guess what I am doing for 1-5's open class?! Let me tell you...
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet.
Wait! It gets better!
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet, and then singing a song about the wolf and time.
Wait! It gets better!
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet, and then singing and dancing to a song about the wolf and time.
Oh, and wait! It gets even better!
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet, and then singing and dancing to a song about a wolf and time while wearing a wolf costume!
And there it is folks...this is my task for the last first grade open class in front of all of the first grade teachers, the two vice principals, and the principal.
I headed back upstairs for a bit to prepare for the teachers class that I haven't had in nearly two months until 1-2 teacher came up with 1-3 teacher and had me record something for her to teach her class. I headed back down to the office for some pizza, and I got to try on my wonderful costume. It's actually kind of cute; 1-3 and 1-4 teacher both wanted to try it on after me. LOL! I, again, didn't leave school until 5:30PM. This is the second night that it isn't until the security guard comes in that I have left. When I have left these past two nights, it is super dark in the halls. It's also getting dark much sooner at night.
I watched Shrek 3 with my host sis when I got home. My host mom moved my dinner setting so my host sis and I could finish watching the movie while we ate. LOL! We then watched Kart Racing. I had never heard of it, but it was pretty good.
I'm tired still after sleeping for 10 hours last night, so again, I'm going to bed early.
Me: Does Wonju salt the roads in the winter?
Host dad: Yes, but Wonju is poor...so only a little salt.
Oh gosh...makes a girl feel safe.
Classes were better today, which makes me think that my Monday classes are horrible for the sake of being horrible on Mondays. We're doing hand turkeys; so many of them turned out really cute!
I told 1-5 teacher today that it would be fine to hang out with her and her friend once a week. She told me that her and her friend discussed the Vagina Monologues last night and apparently her friend has been twice before. I talked to 1-5 teacher about the Sharing House where a few comfort women live, and she said that we can go there together sometime! I asked her if she was serious three times!
I helped 1-5 teacher work on her open class for a while. 1-2 teacher has her open class this Friday and 1-5 teacher has hers next week Friday. Guess what I am doing for 1-5's open class?! Let me tell you...
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet.
Wait! It gets better!
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet, and then singing a song about the wolf and time.
Wait! It gets better!
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet, and then singing and dancing to a song about the wolf and time.
Oh, and wait! It gets even better!
I'm reading a book about time with a wolf puppet, and then singing and dancing to a song about a wolf and time while wearing a wolf costume!
And there it is folks...this is my task for the last first grade open class in front of all of the first grade teachers, the two vice principals, and the principal.
I headed back upstairs for a bit to prepare for the teachers class that I haven't had in nearly two months until 1-2 teacher came up with 1-3 teacher and had me record something for her to teach her class. I headed back down to the office for some pizza, and I got to try on my wonderful costume. It's actually kind of cute; 1-3 and 1-4 teacher both wanted to try it on after me. LOL! I, again, didn't leave school until 5:30PM. This is the second night that it isn't until the security guard comes in that I have left. When I have left these past two nights, it is super dark in the halls. It's also getting dark much sooner at night.
I watched Shrek 3 with my host sis when I got home. My host mom moved my dinner setting so my host sis and I could finish watching the movie while we ate. LOL! We then watched Kart Racing. I had never heard of it, but it was pretty good.
I'm tired still after sleeping for 10 hours last night, so again, I'm going to bed early.
Monday Monday - Monday Nov. 19, 2007
I have officially decided that I loathe Mondays at school! The very first class that I have on the very first day of the week is horrible...literally my worst class. It makes for a very long day. I just told them to sit there after a while, because they would NOT stop talking. So we sat in silence for about 2 minutes. They didn't get very far on their crafts either, because we had less time due to me having to tell them to get quiet. I asked 1-1 teacher to help me with them. I'm going to ask if she has any suggestions, but we'll see how it goes next week.
1-2 teacher didn't come to the English Village today, because she is preparing for her open class. 1-3 class was noisier than usual.
Usually the redeemer of Mondays is going to the orphanage to hang with the cool little kids, but unfortunately, it was canceled today because the workers at the orphanage had a workshop of some sort. I guess I didn't look as peppy as I usually do, because when I went down to the first grade office 1-1 teacher told 1-5 and 1-7 to talk to me and make me happy.^^ LOL! We talked for a while. I explained about the Vagina Monologues and VDay. We briefly talked about comfort women, and I could see the genuine hurt on their faces about that part of their history. It is difficult to explain VDay and V-logues, because most Koreans are still incredibly conservative; though many Americans can't really handle the concept of V-logues either. I explained it as women trying to become equal to men and trying to stop violence against women. They said that it is an important thing to have in Korea.
I stayed at school until 5:30PM just trying to get some stuff done. My brain is becoming overwhelmed with how many things I need to get done!
I ate dinner with my host sibs when I got home, and then we watched The Simpsons movie. We've watched it once, but they really like it. "Spider pig...spider pig." Best line in the whole movie! My host rents came home a little later, and apparently they went out for a late night walk around 11:00PM. I was already asleep; I fell asleep at 9:30PM. I was so tired!
I got a text from Lauren around 10:45PM telling me to look out my window, it was snowing. The first snow!
1-2 teacher didn't come to the English Village today, because she is preparing for her open class. 1-3 class was noisier than usual.
Usually the redeemer of Mondays is going to the orphanage to hang with the cool little kids, but unfortunately, it was canceled today because the workers at the orphanage had a workshop of some sort. I guess I didn't look as peppy as I usually do, because when I went down to the first grade office 1-1 teacher told 1-5 and 1-7 to talk to me and make me happy.^^ LOL! We talked for a while. I explained about the Vagina Monologues and VDay. We briefly talked about comfort women, and I could see the genuine hurt on their faces about that part of their history. It is difficult to explain VDay and V-logues, because most Koreans are still incredibly conservative; though many Americans can't really handle the concept of V-logues either. I explained it as women trying to become equal to men and trying to stop violence against women. They said that it is an important thing to have in Korea.
I stayed at school until 5:30PM just trying to get some stuff done. My brain is becoming overwhelmed with how many things I need to get done!
I ate dinner with my host sibs when I got home, and then we watched The Simpsons movie. We've watched it once, but they really like it. "Spider pig...spider pig." Best line in the whole movie! My host rents came home a little later, and apparently they went out for a late night walk around 11:00PM. I was already asleep; I fell asleep at 9:30PM. I was so tired!
I got a text from Lauren around 10:45PM telling me to look out my window, it was snowing. The first snow!
Woot! - Sunday Nov. 18, 2007
We checked out of the hostel from hell (by checking out, I mean we left our linens and keys near a sketchy looking smoker guy outside of the office that appeared as if he worked there) and headed to get some breakfast. We couldn't find a place that Lily suggested, so we went to the next best place...McDonalds. Usually I don't care for the place, but seriously, it has pancakes and hashbrowns. We also managed to take our picture with a giant mosaic/ceramic pile of poop outside; there were three...we chose the largest.
Alison, Jen, and I headed for the Gangnam stop and Megan headed to Sinchon. Jen was coming with Jen and I but not going to Jubilee with us. We met Diane, her cousin, a co-worker, Ray, a girl from the church we went to in Chuncheon, Laura T., Jenna, Jeremy, and Jason. Jubilee has an English service every Sunday that Jason and Diane go to. I liked the church setup, I liked the music, but I did not like the pastor. He was laid back and funny, which I really like, but there's a point where it gets to be TOO much. He didn't know how to pronounce the names from the Bible that he was talking about, he kept losing his place, and half jokingly/half seriously asking for help from the audience. It was cute at first, but essentially the message he was trying to get across just got lost.
After church, we went to a nearby sandwich shop. I wish I could remember the name; I know the location, but not the name (Gangnam, Exit 3...walk straight out of the station and it is on the right a little ways down). I had to get my sandwich to go, because I had to catch a 2:00PM bus. I got a shrimp and avocado sandwich; it was AMAZING!!! That's why I wish I could remember the name to see if we have a place around here like that one. I found the bus station much easier than I thought I would; I'm slowly learning not to despise the place.
I slept all the way to Wonju, took a taxi home, and had 30 minutes to relax before 1-5 teacher came to pick me up for the Wonju basketball game. It was her and her friend. The Wonju City basketball team is called Dongbu Promy (Dongbu - Insurance company, Promy - short for promise.) They are #1 in the country as of now; they have only lost a few games. Apparently each team is allowed only two foreign players; Wonju has a man from Nigeria (Okosa, I think) and a black American (Ren). I believe the hoops are lower to the ground and the court is shorter, but I don't have specific dimensions to compare to US bball court dimensions. A fifth grader that volunteers in the English Village came over to talk to me; he is the reason I know where the two players are from. I really enjoyed watching the game; the score at the end was something like 81 to 62. Wonju won again!! YEAH!!
We went to get Spaghetti afterward. The two of them asked me if I would be willing to go out with them once a week just to talk in English with them; they will pay for food or whatever. It sounds like a great deal, right? I thought so too initially, but the only thing is that this favor is asked often of English speakers. It can become overwhelming if not careful. I told them that I would think about it.
I watched Neverland on my computer and created a Powerpoint for my Thanksgiving lesson this week before going to bed.
Alison, Jen, and I headed for the Gangnam stop and Megan headed to Sinchon. Jen was coming with Jen and I but not going to Jubilee with us. We met Diane, her cousin, a co-worker, Ray, a girl from the church we went to in Chuncheon, Laura T., Jenna, Jeremy, and Jason. Jubilee has an English service every Sunday that Jason and Diane go to. I liked the church setup, I liked the music, but I did not like the pastor. He was laid back and funny, which I really like, but there's a point where it gets to be TOO much. He didn't know how to pronounce the names from the Bible that he was talking about, he kept losing his place, and half jokingly/half seriously asking for help from the audience. It was cute at first, but essentially the message he was trying to get across just got lost.
After church, we went to a nearby sandwich shop. I wish I could remember the name; I know the location, but not the name (Gangnam, Exit 3...walk straight out of the station and it is on the right a little ways down). I had to get my sandwich to go, because I had to catch a 2:00PM bus. I got a shrimp and avocado sandwich; it was AMAZING!!! That's why I wish I could remember the name to see if we have a place around here like that one. I found the bus station much easier than I thought I would; I'm slowly learning not to despise the place.
I slept all the way to Wonju, took a taxi home, and had 30 minutes to relax before 1-5 teacher came to pick me up for the Wonju basketball game. It was her and her friend. The Wonju City basketball team is called Dongbu Promy (Dongbu - Insurance company, Promy - short for promise.) They are #1 in the country as of now; they have only lost a few games. Apparently each team is allowed only two foreign players; Wonju has a man from Nigeria (Okosa, I think) and a black American (Ren). I believe the hoops are lower to the ground and the court is shorter, but I don't have specific dimensions to compare to US bball court dimensions. A fifth grader that volunteers in the English Village came over to talk to me; he is the reason I know where the two players are from. I really enjoyed watching the game; the score at the end was something like 81 to 62. Wonju won again!! YEAH!!
We went to get Spaghetti afterward. The two of them asked me if I would be willing to go out with them once a week just to talk in English with them; they will pay for food or whatever. It sounds like a great deal, right? I thought so too initially, but the only thing is that this favor is asked often of English speakers. It can become overwhelming if not careful. I told them that I would think about it.
I watched Neverland on my computer and created a Powerpoint for my Thanksgiving lesson this week before going to bed.
Monday, November 19, 2007
TDay Dunch - Saturday Nov. 17, 2007
We woke up around 8:00AM, because none of us could stay in bed any longer. Meghan, Alison, Jen, and I met Lindsey and we all hung out at a bakery for a while. Jen and I were going to meet up with Ray to go to the art museum near the embassy, but he kind of took forever. So, instead, we went shopping in Dongdaemun. There are a few large markets in the area. By large I mean one store is about 7 floors; you can also bargain with the shop owners. I ended up spending too much money on a few shirts and a scarf, but oh well. Jen was my fashion advisor but none of them were my financial advisor.^^
We headed out at about 1:00PM to go over to the embassy for what has lovingly been deemed Thanksgiving dunch (It is after lunch and before dinner). The ambassador and his wife were there to greet us. I sat at the table with the ambassador, and we exchanged Korean experiences. He and his wife were quickly moved into this position, because the guy before had to abruptly leave after only a year. The current ambassador has been in this position for two years. Surprisingly, the ambassador had a few....interesting comments. Besides those few comments, he and his wife enjoy this placement the most out of all the placements they have had. He went to Yale, and they are originally from Massachusetts.
After eating entirely too much, I ate dessert. Tony played a song on his guitar and sang to Mrs. Shim; it was the highlight of the dinner! We promptly were kicked out around 3:30PM; I believe the ambassador had an appointment to get to.
A few of us headed to the museum that we hadn't made it to this morning. Let me tell you about this awesome museum (sense the sarcasm?) Ok, I'm sure this is an incredible museum...when it actually has paintings in it. Because they are currently setting up for a Van Gogh exhibit, we paid all of 700 Won (70 Cents) to get into see ONE room of Korean paintings based on American novels and movies.
After our exciting museum visit, Jon, Jen, Tom, Meghan, Amy, Jeremy, Lindsey, and I decided that we would walk to Seoul Tower instead of taking the subway. Well, see, we weren't exactly sure where the tower was, but we could see it. So we walked in its general direction. It was pretty darn entertaining. We formed a human chain as we oddly got lost amidst an enormous shopping area, we created chants to psych ourselves up when we went in the wrong direction (Tower Power, Tower, Tower Power Flower, etc), and we nominated a leader. When we came to a dead end at the base of the hill that the tower sits on, we asked for directions (this was after about an hour of walking...AND it started raining.) A woman told us the directions of how to get up the mountain, but then explained that it was a very long climb. So, instead, we took the cable car that she pointed to. It ended up being $14 with the tower included, so only Jeremy, Meghan, Tom, and I went up. The tower was a good experience, but because it was raining, the windows were quite foggy and we couldn't see much. We met everyone else, including Lily (Jon's...friend) at the bottom after we were done. We met Alison, Jenna, and Ray at Myeongdong station, but lost Ray and Jen. People were in and out of the group all night. Jenna left a little later too.
We were going to see a movie, but since Beowulf was the only movie out, we decided to pass. We, instead, ended up in the Lotte cafeteria for dinner and then a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. We managed to fit 9 people into a round booth.^^ We sat there talking for a few hours. Tom and I got into it a little bit about politics. THAT was a fun discussion! We talked about how our awesome president still thinks that we can win the war in Iraq, about war in general, about pacifism, the Vatican, etc. It was hard to start other conversations, because I was continually being asked questions about what I thought. Normally, I'm perfectly fine talking about how I feel about American national politics, but we were in such a massive group, that I thought maybe it would best be left for another time. BTW...Lily is amazing! She is such a sweetheart, AND she helped me deal with Tom. LOL!
We headed out so we could back to the hostel from hell before midnight before the subway stopped. Even on the subway, Tom was asking me questions...I believe something along the lines of how I would feel about war if another country bombed New York and 4,000,000 people were killed. Hmm...
I waited for Jen at the final subway stop to help her get back to our hostel. Alison and Meghan headed back to make sure that we could get our key before the office closed. We did a short fashion show of the clothes we bought earlier and then headed to bed.
We headed out at about 1:00PM to go over to the embassy for what has lovingly been deemed Thanksgiving dunch (It is after lunch and before dinner). The ambassador and his wife were there to greet us. I sat at the table with the ambassador, and we exchanged Korean experiences. He and his wife were quickly moved into this position, because the guy before had to abruptly leave after only a year. The current ambassador has been in this position for two years. Surprisingly, the ambassador had a few....interesting comments. Besides those few comments, he and his wife enjoy this placement the most out of all the placements they have had. He went to Yale, and they are originally from Massachusetts.
After eating entirely too much, I ate dessert. Tony played a song on his guitar and sang to Mrs. Shim; it was the highlight of the dinner! We promptly were kicked out around 3:30PM; I believe the ambassador had an appointment to get to.
A few of us headed to the museum that we hadn't made it to this morning. Let me tell you about this awesome museum (sense the sarcasm?) Ok, I'm sure this is an incredible museum...when it actually has paintings in it. Because they are currently setting up for a Van Gogh exhibit, we paid all of 700 Won (70 Cents) to get into see ONE room of Korean paintings based on American novels and movies.
After our exciting museum visit, Jon, Jen, Tom, Meghan, Amy, Jeremy, Lindsey, and I decided that we would walk to Seoul Tower instead of taking the subway. Well, see, we weren't exactly sure where the tower was, but we could see it. So we walked in its general direction. It was pretty darn entertaining. We formed a human chain as we oddly got lost amidst an enormous shopping area, we created chants to psych ourselves up when we went in the wrong direction (Tower Power, Tower, Tower Power Flower, etc), and we nominated a leader. When we came to a dead end at the base of the hill that the tower sits on, we asked for directions (this was after about an hour of walking...AND it started raining.) A woman told us the directions of how to get up the mountain, but then explained that it was a very long climb. So, instead, we took the cable car that she pointed to. It ended up being $14 with the tower included, so only Jeremy, Meghan, Tom, and I went up. The tower was a good experience, but because it was raining, the windows were quite foggy and we couldn't see much. We met everyone else, including Lily (Jon's...friend) at the bottom after we were done. We met Alison, Jenna, and Ray at Myeongdong station, but lost Ray and Jen. People were in and out of the group all night. Jenna left a little later too.
We were going to see a movie, but since Beowulf was the only movie out, we decided to pass. We, instead, ended up in the Lotte cafeteria for dinner and then a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. We managed to fit 9 people into a round booth.^^ We sat there talking for a few hours. Tom and I got into it a little bit about politics. THAT was a fun discussion! We talked about how our awesome president still thinks that we can win the war in Iraq, about war in general, about pacifism, the Vatican, etc. It was hard to start other conversations, because I was continually being asked questions about what I thought. Normally, I'm perfectly fine talking about how I feel about American national politics, but we were in such a massive group, that I thought maybe it would best be left for another time. BTW...Lily is amazing! She is such a sweetheart, AND she helped me deal with Tom. LOL!
We headed out so we could back to the hostel from hell before midnight before the subway stopped. Even on the subway, Tom was asking me questions...I believe something along the lines of how I would feel about war if another country bombed New York and 4,000,000 people were killed. Hmm...
I waited for Jen at the final subway stop to help her get back to our hostel. Alison and Meghan headed back to make sure that we could get our key before the office closed. We did a short fashion show of the clothes we bought earlier and then headed to bed.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Hostel from Hell - Friday Nov. 16, 2007
I did the class thing. Flexibility! Flexibility! The teachers continue to silently test me on this concept. Today, my first class walked in with 15 minutes left of class. It went pretty well despite the rushed lesson. The second class I think was only 5 minutes late. Next week I need a Thanksgiving lesson plan, but haven't the slightest clue of what to do. I really want to do construction paper turkeys with cutouts of their hands, BUT there is an incredible lack of resources, especially for 560 students to all do the same craft. I will work my creative magic and come up with something Turkey Day worthy.
After school, I headed home to grab my stuff and then found a taxi. You know you've been in Korea too long when you think a $7 taxi ride is outrageous! I got to the station and they gave me a ticket for a bus that was to leave in a minute; luckily it is an uber small bus station.
I woke up randomly on the way to Seoul about 5 times, each time noticing a heck of a lot of traffic. Somehow, after semi-freaking out about being late to the Fulbright forum, we made it in only 2 hours.
I navigated my way through the Seoul subway lines and to our hostel. The hostel was off a side street kind of hidden back in no man's land. The gate has iron doors. I walked in and was greeted by a man from Germany (I assumed he ran the place); he had me fill out a survey, and he needed my passport. The rooms were cheap; they were only 11,000 Won (~$11). I read this on a sign handwritten behind the desk. I was shown to "our room." (Alison, Lindsey, Meghan, and I were to stay together). We walk in, and there are two men staying in the outer room with four beds. There were two separate rooms with only two beds as well. The German man didn't know that those men were staying there, nor did he think that there were four of us coming. I put my stuff in the incredibly tiny bedroom with two beds, locked it, handed the key back over, and headed to the Fulbright Forum.
I was right on time for the forum; it took longer at the hostel than I had initially expected. The forum was about a Fulbright scholar presenting on the research she has been doing over the past few years. Her name is Maureen Flemming; you may have heard her name. She has created a series of movements called the Flemming technique; they work on regenerative movement. She was in an accident when she was younger, so she had horrible pain. She created a series of movements to work through the pain without the help of medicine. We watched a painfully slow video of her movements, and she showed us some with an elastic band she created. It was interesting to learn the motivation behind her research. She is 53 and INCREDIBLY flexible; it's impressive.
After the forum, I headed to Itaewon by myself; not always the smartest thing to do, but I wanted to go to a fundraiser and none of the other ETAs wanted to go. So I went. It was a fundraiser for VDay. I also put my name on a list to find out more information about auditions. I hope my schedule can line up for auditions and practices, if by any chance, I get a part.
I headed out after about an hour. I bought a shirt, donated some money, and hung out for a bit, but I was pretty overwhelmed with all of the foreigners. Itaewon is the foreigner district. I have this tendency now to feel uncomfortable around large groups of English speaking foreigners; I'm sure it's because I have spent so much time directly surrounded by Koreans only.
I met up with Jen, Ray, Ellie, and Leah in Myeongdong (shopping district) just to grab something to drink and talk for a while. Jen and I headed back to the hostel around 11:30. The subway stops at midnight, and taxis aren't cheap after midnight. Alison, Lindsey, and Meghan had checked into the hotel; they checked in with someone different than me. Alison was in the room with me, Meghan was out with the two guys and some random girl, and Lindsey was in a completely different room with three other ETAs. They barely had room for all of us. Jen slept in a bed with me; she was crashing there for the night. They were super tiny beds and the place was a little less than clean, but those not so clean comforters were super comfortable.
After school, I headed home to grab my stuff and then found a taxi. You know you've been in Korea too long when you think a $7 taxi ride is outrageous! I got to the station and they gave me a ticket for a bus that was to leave in a minute; luckily it is an uber small bus station.
I woke up randomly on the way to Seoul about 5 times, each time noticing a heck of a lot of traffic. Somehow, after semi-freaking out about being late to the Fulbright forum, we made it in only 2 hours.
I navigated my way through the Seoul subway lines and to our hostel. The hostel was off a side street kind of hidden back in no man's land. The gate has iron doors. I walked in and was greeted by a man from Germany (I assumed he ran the place); he had me fill out a survey, and he needed my passport. The rooms were cheap; they were only 11,000 Won (~$11). I read this on a sign handwritten behind the desk. I was shown to "our room." (Alison, Lindsey, Meghan, and I were to stay together). We walk in, and there are two men staying in the outer room with four beds. There were two separate rooms with only two beds as well. The German man didn't know that those men were staying there, nor did he think that there were four of us coming. I put my stuff in the incredibly tiny bedroom with two beds, locked it, handed the key back over, and headed to the Fulbright Forum.
I was right on time for the forum; it took longer at the hostel than I had initially expected. The forum was about a Fulbright scholar presenting on the research she has been doing over the past few years. Her name is Maureen Flemming; you may have heard her name. She has created a series of movements called the Flemming technique; they work on regenerative movement. She was in an accident when she was younger, so she had horrible pain. She created a series of movements to work through the pain without the help of medicine. We watched a painfully slow video of her movements, and she showed us some with an elastic band she created. It was interesting to learn the motivation behind her research. She is 53 and INCREDIBLY flexible; it's impressive.
After the forum, I headed to Itaewon by myself; not always the smartest thing to do, but I wanted to go to a fundraiser and none of the other ETAs wanted to go. So I went. It was a fundraiser for VDay. I also put my name on a list to find out more information about auditions. I hope my schedule can line up for auditions and practices, if by any chance, I get a part.
I headed out after about an hour. I bought a shirt, donated some money, and hung out for a bit, but I was pretty overwhelmed with all of the foreigners. Itaewon is the foreigner district. I have this tendency now to feel uncomfortable around large groups of English speaking foreigners; I'm sure it's because I have spent so much time directly surrounded by Koreans only.
I met up with Jen, Ray, Ellie, and Leah in Myeongdong (shopping district) just to grab something to drink and talk for a while. Jen and I headed back to the hostel around 11:30. The subway stops at midnight, and taxis aren't cheap after midnight. Alison, Lindsey, and Meghan had checked into the hotel; they checked in with someone different than me. Alison was in the room with me, Meghan was out with the two guys and some random girl, and Lindsey was in a completely different room with three other ETAs. They barely had room for all of us. Jen slept in a bed with me; she was crashing there for the night. They were super tiny beds and the place was a little less than clean, but those not so clean comforters were super comfortable.
Pass...Next Please! - Thursday Nov. 15, 2007
Well, it's been 4 days since I last wrote, so of course I have no idea what happened on Thursday! NONE!
Initial instinct of what was done on Thursday...Nothing!
I'm sure there is more to it than that, but for now I have a blank memory to work with.
Onto Friday...
*I remember what happened on Thursday now! I left school immediately after I was done with lunch and the English Village so I could meet Lauren at my apartment. It was the first time we had seen each other since Kyeongju. She and I sat around the apt for a bit, and then we headed to a jimjilbang. It's one that was supposed to be nicer, but the taxi ride was super expensive and the jimjilbang was pretty standard with a tub closed down for some reason. Either way, it was relaxing. We went upstairs and ended up staying up there talking for a few hours. We were at the place for about 4 hours before we realized that we should probably get dinner.
We walked around aimlessly for a while until I spotted a Kalguksu restaurant. SCORE!! We sat in there for a few hours and ate one of my favorite foods in Korea. Taxied it up for the ride home.
PS. It's super cold in Wonju nowadays.
Initial instinct of what was done on Thursday...Nothing!
I'm sure there is more to it than that, but for now I have a blank memory to work with.
Onto Friday...
*I remember what happened on Thursday now! I left school immediately after I was done with lunch and the English Village so I could meet Lauren at my apartment. It was the first time we had seen each other since Kyeongju. She and I sat around the apt for a bit, and then we headed to a jimjilbang. It's one that was supposed to be nicer, but the taxi ride was super expensive and the jimjilbang was pretty standard with a tub closed down for some reason. Either way, it was relaxing. We went upstairs and ended up staying up there talking for a few hours. We were at the place for about 4 hours before we realized that we should probably get dinner.
We walked around aimlessly for a while until I spotted a Kalguksu restaurant. SCORE!! We sat in there for a few hours and ate one of my favorite foods in Korea. Taxied it up for the ride home.
PS. It's super cold in Wonju nowadays.
Adult Movies? - Wednesday Nov. 14, 2007
I practiced with 2-2 teacher again for her open class. She had the real thing during 5th period. After her open class, the teachers and the principal had a meeting in her classroom; this happens after every open class. The parents brought food, and we sat and discussed the class. Well, they discussed the class and then asked if I had any comments. I did have a question. I asked what the purpose of an open class is. Apparently it is to instruct the teachers on how to teach English more effectively. So, let me sarcastically lay this out for you. First and second grade teachers, who don’t teach their students English, practice to perfect an open English class so they can receive feedback on how to more effectively teach their students English. I’m a little confused as well. I do know that I spent four classes worth working on this one open class; those students had better darn well understand the phrase, “I’m hungry.”
My teachers didn’t show up to the teachers’ class again.
I thought that I would get so much done since I was hanging around school until 5:00PM, but the meeting lasted until after 4:00PM; hence, nothing much was accomplished. I left with 1-7 teacher to go to
Then we went to dinner. I managed to find the restaurant when 1-7 teacher had no idea where it was. Luckily I just happened to read the sign as we turned the corner. LOL! Yeah for slight Korean reading ability! We had seafood stew…spicy seafood stew. Now, some things I wouldn’t have expected to see; like a freaking huge snail that the teachers had to pry out with scissors and tongs. I’m pretty sure I tried sting ray…1-5 teacher drew a picture; it was like playing Pictionary! I guessed jellyfish, and she drew a jellyfish to show me that that wasn’t what she was talking about. So, I believe it was a sting ray.
We had some interesting dinner conversation. At one point, they started talking about adult movies. This was explained to me in English. Names and status will no longer be mentioned from this point on. One teacher mentioned that she likes adult movies. Now, I think our concept of adult movie and the Korean concept of adult movie are slightly different. They compared the movies to
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Mushrooms!! - Tuesday Nov. 13, 2007
Classes went really well today. The students love singing along with the Colors song and dancing around at the same time.
"Red and Yellow, Blue and Green,
Stand up!
Red and Yellow, Blue and Green,
Turn around!
Stretch up high above your heads.
Red and Yellow, Blue and Green,
Sit down."
So, I gave them pieces of colored paper to hold onto and stand up when it was their turn. There are 12 colors mentioned. Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple, Brown, Tan, Gold, Silver, Black, and White. Strange that Tan, Gold, and Silver are in there, but not...oh I don't know....ORANGE! So I taught them the new colors and they had a blast!
I stayed after school for a while to work on some stuff. I actually have a lot to do, but am slowly getting everything done. I need to make a list!! One of the number one priorities is figuring out my winter break! I'd say that's pretty important. I need to research whether or not I can even be granted a visa for the program I working on. And many many more things!
I recently got involved with the first annual bilingual Vagina Monologues in Korea. I'm going to be volunteering and eventually trying out for a role if everything works out the way I hope. I think I might take Korean classes in Seoul during February. That way it will also work out for practices for the Vagina Monologues performance.
When I went home, my host mom decided that the two of us would go out to dinner together, because the rest of the family was busy. So went to 서단 (I think that's the name). We had Mushroom bibimbap (mushrooms, rice, veggies, sauces, etc). It was delicious!! I talked to my host mom about what's been going on in my life. I slowly tried to explain Vagina Monologues, and I think she understood after a while. She also seemed okay with the concept of it; I wasn't sure how it would go over. I told her about my apprehension involving teaching English in Korea and how I feel about globalization. I'll elaborate at some point. All in all it was a good conversation!
I just hung out with the host family the rest of the night. I finally know my host siblings schedule. 찬익 (Chan-i, my host brother) has English Hagwan for three hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Science Institute on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Robot Camp on Fridays. 경찬 (Kyeong-chan, my host sister) has English Hagwan on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for one hour and Science Institute on Saturdays. I think that is right. They're active little kids, but it is incredibly common in Korea. My sister is actually trying out for that recorder group soon.
"Red and Yellow, Blue and Green,
Stand up!
Red and Yellow, Blue and Green,
Turn around!
Stretch up high above your heads.
Red and Yellow, Blue and Green,
Sit down."
So, I gave them pieces of colored paper to hold onto and stand up when it was their turn. There are 12 colors mentioned. Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Pink, Purple, Brown, Tan, Gold, Silver, Black, and White. Strange that Tan, Gold, and Silver are in there, but not...oh I don't know....ORANGE! So I taught them the new colors and they had a blast!
I stayed after school for a while to work on some stuff. I actually have a lot to do, but am slowly getting everything done. I need to make a list!! One of the number one priorities is figuring out my winter break! I'd say that's pretty important. I need to research whether or not I can even be granted a visa for the program I working on. And many many more things!
I recently got involved with the first annual bilingual Vagina Monologues in Korea. I'm going to be volunteering and eventually trying out for a role if everything works out the way I hope. I think I might take Korean classes in Seoul during February. That way it will also work out for practices for the Vagina Monologues performance.
When I went home, my host mom decided that the two of us would go out to dinner together, because the rest of the family was busy. So went to 서단 (I think that's the name). We had Mushroom bibimbap (mushrooms, rice, veggies, sauces, etc). It was delicious!! I talked to my host mom about what's been going on in my life. I slowly tried to explain Vagina Monologues, and I think she understood after a while. She also seemed okay with the concept of it; I wasn't sure how it would go over. I told her about my apprehension involving teaching English in Korea and how I feel about globalization. I'll elaborate at some point. All in all it was a good conversation!
I just hung out with the host family the rest of the night. I finally know my host siblings schedule. 찬익 (Chan-i, my host brother) has English Hagwan for three hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Science Institute on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Robot Camp on Fridays. 경찬 (Kyeong-chan, my host sister) has English Hagwan on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for one hour and Science Institute on Saturdays. I think that is right. They're active little kids, but it is incredibly common in Korea. My sister is actually trying out for that recorder group soon.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - Monday Nov. 12, 2007
I'm working on the flexibility thing; I really am. 2-2 teacher came in, while I was planning for my lesson today, and wanted to practice for her open class. She wanted me to play a puppet for it while I was OBVIOUSLY working on preparing a lesson. I tried to help her as much as possible, but I was a little frustrated. I ended up getting everything done for my lesson thankfully. Then, I got a phonecall all in Korean; I got from the phonecall that 1-1 class...no. Then 1-5 teacher called to explain that 1-1 teacher was going to teach her own English class today. Not a great start to the week, but I'm sure it'll get better.
The lesson this week is to dance to a "Colors" song! The students seem to love it. They only dance to part of the song, while I dance to the whole thing...and they ask "One more time" about 3 or 4 times, so there's a whole lot of dancing going on this week!
After school, I hurriedly laminated individual nametags with the alphabet for my kids at the orphanage. I had to then head home to grab their books that they made last week, and my host mom drove me there. There's more of them than last time, first there were 17, then 19, today there are 21. I'm fine with teaching 21 kids, but I didn't bring enough supplies, and the children made a book last time. I thought the number would be consistent, but it's not. I tried to teach them a song, but whoa it was hard. I need to work more on teaching them the days of the week before they will grasp the song. It's also difficult because they range from age 5-10, so the 5 year olds are actually 4, American age. They barely know their own language! LOL! They are so cute though. Even though I wasn't having too great of day, they made me feel so much better.
They kept saying ChickaChickaBoomBoom, because I read that book to them last week. It cracked me up that they remembered it! We added a page B in our books, and went over the alphabet a few times. I gave them Pepero since yesterday was Pepero Day. I'm still working on learning names, but I think I'll learn them pretty quickly. They're so freaking cute! I want to take them home with me. Because the place they live is pretty nice, I forget sometimes that they don't have families. I can't ask many questions, because nobody can answer them; nobody speaks English there. It's one more reason to continue learning Korean!
I hung out with my host mom and host sister when I got home. I got a call from Julie asking me if I wanted to go out with her and her friend tonight at 9:00PM. She wanted to buy me something to drink to make up for not being there on Friday and tell me something...it made me nervous that she wanted to tell me something. I also talked to Lauren for the first time in forever! She and I haven't seen each other in a few weeks since Kyeongju! Crazy! We live in the same city!
I didn't each much of dinner, because earlier my host mom made a kimchi pajang (Kimchi Pancake) for my host sis and me. Also, I don't really like ddeokbolki (pounded rice in a spicy sauce).
My host mom went out to meet my host father at the movie theatre; they went on a date to a movie!! The host sibs stayed home alone once I left to meet Julie and her friend. Her friend was a really nice, attractive guy. He is 28 and speaks almost not a word of English! We went to 길가배 (Kil Cafe - A road with many small cafes). We had coffee and cookies and talked. At one point when her friend went to the bathroom, Julie told me what she had wanted to. Apparently, her job is starting sooner than she initially though, so she's leaving this weekend. It was really hard for me to hear! She told me that she would be back every weekend, but I'm busy a lot of weekends. We'll make time for each other...it just sucks.
We kept hanging out and having fun. Then we headed to the Makkoli restaurant near where WEC meets. We had a seafood pajong (Korean pancake) and Makkoli. Julie's friend paid for us. He was really nice, and I tried to talk to him. It was hard, but we managed a small conversation. I swear I should know more Korean than this after four months! I'm working on it...promise!!
The lesson this week is to dance to a "Colors" song! The students seem to love it. They only dance to part of the song, while I dance to the whole thing...and they ask "One more time" about 3 or 4 times, so there's a whole lot of dancing going on this week!
After school, I hurriedly laminated individual nametags with the alphabet for my kids at the orphanage. I had to then head home to grab their books that they made last week, and my host mom drove me there. There's more of them than last time, first there were 17, then 19, today there are 21. I'm fine with teaching 21 kids, but I didn't bring enough supplies, and the children made a book last time. I thought the number would be consistent, but it's not. I tried to teach them a song, but whoa it was hard. I need to work more on teaching them the days of the week before they will grasp the song. It's also difficult because they range from age 5-10, so the 5 year olds are actually 4, American age. They barely know their own language! LOL! They are so cute though. Even though I wasn't having too great of day, they made me feel so much better.
They kept saying ChickaChickaBoomBoom, because I read that book to them last week. It cracked me up that they remembered it! We added a page B in our books, and went over the alphabet a few times. I gave them Pepero since yesterday was Pepero Day. I'm still working on learning names, but I think I'll learn them pretty quickly. They're so freaking cute! I want to take them home with me. Because the place they live is pretty nice, I forget sometimes that they don't have families. I can't ask many questions, because nobody can answer them; nobody speaks English there. It's one more reason to continue learning Korean!
I hung out with my host mom and host sister when I got home. I got a call from Julie asking me if I wanted to go out with her and her friend tonight at 9:00PM. She wanted to buy me something to drink to make up for not being there on Friday and tell me something...it made me nervous that she wanted to tell me something. I also talked to Lauren for the first time in forever! She and I haven't seen each other in a few weeks since Kyeongju! Crazy! We live in the same city!
I didn't each much of dinner, because earlier my host mom made a kimchi pajang (Kimchi Pancake) for my host sis and me. Also, I don't really like ddeokbolki (pounded rice in a spicy sauce).
My host mom went out to meet my host father at the movie theatre; they went on a date to a movie!! The host sibs stayed home alone once I left to meet Julie and her friend. Her friend was a really nice, attractive guy. He is 28 and speaks almost not a word of English! We went to 길가배 (Kil Cafe - A road with many small cafes). We had coffee and cookies and talked. At one point when her friend went to the bathroom, Julie told me what she had wanted to. Apparently, her job is starting sooner than she initially though, so she's leaving this weekend. It was really hard for me to hear! She told me that she would be back every weekend, but I'm busy a lot of weekends. We'll make time for each other...it just sucks.
We kept hanging out and having fun. Then we headed to the Makkoli restaurant near where WEC meets. We had a seafood pajong (Korean pancake) and Makkoli. Julie's friend paid for us. He was really nice, and I tried to talk to him. It was hard, but we managed a small conversation. I swear I should know more Korean than this after four months! I'm working on it...promise!!
Whoa Mama...that's a lot of kimchi! - Saturday Nov. 11, 2007
So, today is kimchi making day. I got to sleep in until 9:00AM! Then we got up, ate breakfast, and went at the kimchi making! So, yesterday, they soaked the cabbage in salt water to ferment it. Today, they started throwing a bunch of ingredients into a big plastic bathtub: little shrimps, two kinds of spicy powders, a type of cut up vegetable, smashed garlic, smashed ginseng, and water. It became a sauce of sorts. Then they laid out paper on the driveway ground, put the tub in the center, and lots of bins around. They sat down with cabbages and just started smearing the sauce around on them. There is definitely a technique to make sure that all of the cabbage is covered in this firey red sauce, but it looked pretty simple.
For a long time, I carried buckets of cabbages over to those making the kimchi, I made sure that they had sauce in their own buckets, and so on. They somehow dubbed me a really good worker. LOL! Within that time, they kept calling me over to eat kimchi (there was a small place on the ground set up with cups and a little bit of the sauce that wasn't so runny and we were supposed to eat occasionally.) They shoved raw oysters in my mouth and super hot kimchi paste, but it was all okay. Oh, I forgot to mention, that since this is a small town, making kimchi is a town activity. So, yesterday I met a few neighbors that came to help today. I also met like ALL of the family except for the one older sister. The youngest brother used to work at a restaurant in Seoul, so he did the mixing of the sauce. Anyway, I was told by one neighbor to call her aunt, and the mother in law of the cousin who just got married last week told me to call her mom. LOL! It was hilarious, and I loved every minute of it!
I got up the courage to try to make the kimchi too. So, I sat down and shared a bucket with Seok and we made kimchi. It wasn't hard at all, but it was incredibly messy! If neighbors came down the road, they were offered kimchi and soju (Korean liquor). I have no idea how many heads of cabbage we kimchied (not an actual verb), but it was a whole heck of a lot!!
After about three hours of making kimchi, my headache that had been slowly progressing since yesterday morning was worse. So, I went to lay down for a while before lunch. I laid down so more (Seok's daughter Tajung (16 years old) had been sleeping all day...she didn't help make kimchi.) We headed back to Wonju around 3:00PM, and I slept almost the whole way there.
Seok's mom gave me some kimchi, ddeok, and cooking oil to give to my family. After dinner, I was pretty much gone. My headache was full blown. I don't really like taking medicine, but I couldn't have even if I wanted to...I ran out of Ibuprofen about a week ago. My host mom offered to buy me some Tylenol (which is strange since I live with an oriental medicine pharmacist), and I refused; I didn't want her to have to go out just to buy Tylenol. I was kind of a walking zombi for a while when I wasn't lying in bed. Eventually I gave in and accepted my host mom's offer the second time. It helped enough for me to get to sleep around 11:00PM.
For a long time, I carried buckets of cabbages over to those making the kimchi, I made sure that they had sauce in their own buckets, and so on. They somehow dubbed me a really good worker. LOL! Within that time, they kept calling me over to eat kimchi (there was a small place on the ground set up with cups and a little bit of the sauce that wasn't so runny and we were supposed to eat occasionally.) They shoved raw oysters in my mouth and super hot kimchi paste, but it was all okay. Oh, I forgot to mention, that since this is a small town, making kimchi is a town activity. So, yesterday I met a few neighbors that came to help today. I also met like ALL of the family except for the one older sister. The youngest brother used to work at a restaurant in Seoul, so he did the mixing of the sauce. Anyway, I was told by one neighbor to call her aunt, and the mother in law of the cousin who just got married last week told me to call her mom. LOL! It was hilarious, and I loved every minute of it!
I got up the courage to try to make the kimchi too. So, I sat down and shared a bucket with Seok and we made kimchi. It wasn't hard at all, but it was incredibly messy! If neighbors came down the road, they were offered kimchi and soju (Korean liquor). I have no idea how many heads of cabbage we kimchied (not an actual verb), but it was a whole heck of a lot!!
After about three hours of making kimchi, my headache that had been slowly progressing since yesterday morning was worse. So, I went to lay down for a while before lunch. I laid down so more (Seok's daughter Tajung (16 years old) had been sleeping all day...she didn't help make kimchi.) We headed back to Wonju around 3:00PM, and I slept almost the whole way there.
Seok's mom gave me some kimchi, ddeok, and cooking oil to give to my family. After dinner, I was pretty much gone. My headache was full blown. I don't really like taking medicine, but I couldn't have even if I wanted to...I ran out of Ibuprofen about a week ago. My host mom offered to buy me some Tylenol (which is strange since I live with an oriental medicine pharmacist), and I refused; I didn't want her to have to go out just to buy Tylenol. I was kind of a walking zombi for a while when I wasn't lying in bed. Eventually I gave in and accepted my host mom's offer the second time. It helped enough for me to get to sleep around 11:00PM.
Road Trip - Saturday Nov. 10, 2007
I woke up at 9:00 to get ready to meet 석 선생님 (Seok Seonsaengnim). I packed, ate breakfast, took a shower, and then met her and her daughter at the front gate of my apartment complex. We stopped at Emart on the way out of town...first time I've been there since creepy guy. We headed to Kapyeong in Gyeongido where her parents live.
The house is in the middle of nowhere. There were two houses actually; the older house where Seok grew up is now being remodeled for her second brother to live in with his family. She is the third child; she has two younger brothers and an older sister. We ate lunch when we got there, hung out for a while, and then I ended up taking a two hour nap until dinner. We ate dinner, and then I got to go see their cow farm!! I was expecting them to milk their cows by hand, but no. They have a cow milk pump thingymajig. I had never seen one in action, so it was interesting to watch. I played with the baby cows for a while before we went back to the house. We mashed up some garlic, and I helped to peel chestnuts with a REALLY sharp knife!
Then we headed to bed. We slept in the old house on the floor, but it was really nice. The floors are heated!! Super exciting!
The house is in the middle of nowhere. There were two houses actually; the older house where Seok grew up is now being remodeled for her second brother to live in with his family. She is the third child; she has two younger brothers and an older sister. We ate lunch when we got there, hung out for a while, and then I ended up taking a two hour nap until dinner. We ate dinner, and then I got to go see their cow farm!! I was expecting them to milk their cows by hand, but no. They have a cow milk pump thingymajig. I had never seen one in action, so it was interesting to watch. I played with the baby cows for a while before we went back to the house. We mashed up some garlic, and I helped to peel chestnuts with a REALLY sharp knife!
Then we headed to bed. We slept in the old house on the floor, but it was really nice. The floors are heated!! Super exciting!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
"Dick Stick" - Friday Nov. 9, 2007
Ok, so today is the day that all of the little elementary school students are celebrating 빼빼로 (Pepero) Day. I also started teaching Mr. Haw's class today. When he walked in he handed me two things of Pepero. One definitely says, and I quote, "Dick Stick: Crunch & Plain Bulgogi (meat) Stick." I love entertaining moments like this!
I forgot that this class hasn't been doing the same thing, so we definitely had to slow the pace and go over things a few times. I figure they'll catch on pretty quickly. I remember this being the hardest class to motivate; they're not rude or anything, they are just incredibly quiet. They got into a few of the songs though and screamed their guts out when I told them to sing one of the songs as loud as they could!
During class, I got a note that says, "Hello! Penguin~ Could I have a pattern for color square? ~1-5^^" She called me penguin; I don't exactly remember talking about the fact that I love penguins, but she remembers somehow! She was asking for the cube pattern I used to make the laminated colored cubes that hang over my six desks. I made cubes, so I could call to the different tables more easily. I say, "Red table, look at me," and only the red table shouts "Ok, I will." This instead of the whole class; it helps break it down if a certain table isn't listening or if I want to listen closer to a smaller group of students saying something instead of the whole class. I can check for understanding and pronunciation better that way.
My second class was 2-7 class. The teacher of that class is the one I'm spending the weekend with. She invited me to her mother's country house, so the three of us can make kimchi (fermented cabbage) together. Making kimchi is a big deal in Korea! It's one of the staple foods, when it is made, it is supposed to last for 4-6 months. Julie told me that it is a hard job. I'm supposed to make it twice this month (it is usually made in November or early December): once with 2-7 teacher and her mom and once with my host family.
After school, I headed to Julie's apartment, and she wasn't there. That's the second time that she hasn't been there when I've gone to meet her for tutoring. I was super happy about the situation, but I got over it; I know that she is having a hard time with her job and whatnot. I hung out with my host sister and mom for a while and tried to figure out if I was going to go to the WEC meeting. I decided to go, so I had my host father call a "Call Taxi."
When I got there, everyone was asking why I came alone and asked where Julie was. I realize that Julie and I are close friends, but I guess it didn't register that everyone else realizes that we're good friends too. There were about 15 or 20 people there...a little less than usual. We always have jokes and quiz time at the beginning of the meeting. I thought I came late enough to miss all that, but apparently not!^^ I was volunteered for the quiz; it was pretty fun and a good idea for the classroom. (2 games actually: 1) A group of 3-5 people each have a word, say them all at the same time, and the group has to guess what the sentence says. 2) The leader says 5 describing words, and the group has to guess what word the leader is thinking of.)
Kata came, but they wouldn't let us be in the same group. They wanted the foreigners spread out. The conversation was about money, five things you can do with money: earn it, save it, spend it, donate it, invest it. It was a hard topic for me to discuss. I brought up the fact that I don't really think about money as much as most people in the group, because everyone is older than me. They told me that I don't have to worry about money yet. The topic started getting a little boring, so, Sk8erBoi asked if there is anything else you can do with money. I offered, "Burn it." Then Sk8erBoi said, "Steal it." LOL! I hadn't really ever talked to him, but he is pretty funny! There were three new members in my group, Sk8erBoi, and Kevin.
After the meeting, we headed to the infamous Makkoli bar right around the corner. It was a lot of fun! I talked to Chris, a new guy (nickname: Guns...like Guns and Roses), and Kevin for most of the time. They were hilarious! Sadly, it was Kata's last meeting. She is leaving on Monday to head back to Germany!ㅠㅠ I really like her; she's so nice! I'll try to figure out how to keep in touch with her; I'm sure someone has her email address, or we can stay in touch through the WEC website.
After the Makkoli restaurant, a few of us went to Noraebang (Karaoke). I kept trying to get Chris to go, but he had something early the next day. It was Park Ranger, Sk8erBoi, Su, new guy, Jay, Kingcandle, and me. Super fun! They know so many English songs! I liked when they sang Korean songs too, but it didn't happen very often. I sang Barbie Girl, by request of Kingcandle! LOL! Sk8erBoi and new guy passed out. At one point new guy disappeared; we think he went home... Sk8erBoi was out the whole time even though we were screaming during some songs, like "Living on a Prayer!" I didn't get home until 3:30AM, but that gave me about 5 and 1/2 hours of sleep still.
I forgot that this class hasn't been doing the same thing, so we definitely had to slow the pace and go over things a few times. I figure they'll catch on pretty quickly. I remember this being the hardest class to motivate; they're not rude or anything, they are just incredibly quiet. They got into a few of the songs though and screamed their guts out when I told them to sing one of the songs as loud as they could!
During class, I got a note that says, "Hello! Penguin~ Could I have a pattern for color square? ~1-5^^" She called me penguin; I don't exactly remember talking about the fact that I love penguins, but she remembers somehow! She was asking for the cube pattern I used to make the laminated colored cubes that hang over my six desks. I made cubes, so I could call to the different tables more easily. I say, "Red table, look at me," and only the red table shouts "Ok, I will." This instead of the whole class; it helps break it down if a certain table isn't listening or if I want to listen closer to a smaller group of students saying something instead of the whole class. I can check for understanding and pronunciation better that way.
My second class was 2-7 class. The teacher of that class is the one I'm spending the weekend with. She invited me to her mother's country house, so the three of us can make kimchi (fermented cabbage) together. Making kimchi is a big deal in Korea! It's one of the staple foods, when it is made, it is supposed to last for 4-6 months. Julie told me that it is a hard job. I'm supposed to make it twice this month (it is usually made in November or early December): once with 2-7 teacher and her mom and once with my host family.
After school, I headed to Julie's apartment, and she wasn't there. That's the second time that she hasn't been there when I've gone to meet her for tutoring. I was super happy about the situation, but I got over it; I know that she is having a hard time with her job and whatnot. I hung out with my host sister and mom for a while and tried to figure out if I was going to go to the WEC meeting. I decided to go, so I had my host father call a "Call Taxi."
When I got there, everyone was asking why I came alone and asked where Julie was. I realize that Julie and I are close friends, but I guess it didn't register that everyone else realizes that we're good friends too. There were about 15 or 20 people there...a little less than usual. We always have jokes and quiz time at the beginning of the meeting. I thought I came late enough to miss all that, but apparently not!^^ I was volunteered for the quiz; it was pretty fun and a good idea for the classroom. (2 games actually: 1) A group of 3-5 people each have a word, say them all at the same time, and the group has to guess what the sentence says. 2) The leader says 5 describing words, and the group has to guess what word the leader is thinking of.)
Kata came, but they wouldn't let us be in the same group. They wanted the foreigners spread out. The conversation was about money, five things you can do with money: earn it, save it, spend it, donate it, invest it. It was a hard topic for me to discuss. I brought up the fact that I don't really think about money as much as most people in the group, because everyone is older than me. They told me that I don't have to worry about money yet. The topic started getting a little boring, so, Sk8erBoi asked if there is anything else you can do with money. I offered, "Burn it." Then Sk8erBoi said, "Steal it." LOL! I hadn't really ever talked to him, but he is pretty funny! There were three new members in my group, Sk8erBoi, and Kevin.
After the meeting, we headed to the infamous Makkoli bar right around the corner. It was a lot of fun! I talked to Chris, a new guy (nickname: Guns...like Guns and Roses), and Kevin for most of the time. They were hilarious! Sadly, it was Kata's last meeting. She is leaving on Monday to head back to Germany!ㅠㅠ I really like her; she's so nice! I'll try to figure out how to keep in touch with her; I'm sure someone has her email address, or we can stay in touch through the WEC website.
After the Makkoli restaurant, a few of us went to Noraebang (Karaoke). I kept trying to get Chris to go, but he had something early the next day. It was Park Ranger, Sk8erBoi, Su, new guy, Jay, Kingcandle, and me. Super fun! They know so many English songs! I liked when they sang Korean songs too, but it didn't happen very often. I sang Barbie Girl, by request of Kingcandle! LOL! Sk8erBoi and new guy passed out. At one point new guy disappeared; we think he went home... Sk8erBoi was out the whole time even though we were screaming during some songs, like "Living on a Prayer!" I didn't get home until 3:30AM, but that gave me about 5 and 1/2 hours of sleep still.
Anesthesia - Thursday Nov. 8, 2007
I’m still confused by the morning English Zone process. I’m supposed to be helping in the mornings, but I’m never quite sure what exactly that help is supposed to entail. This month, I’m supposed to communicate with students on the phone.
Classes went well today! My first class was kind of crazy, but that class always is. Plus, the teacher didn’t come today. I haven’t seen him since he told me that he was having some heart problems last week. I kind of developed my lesson even more while I was actually teaching it. I told the students that we would do the same activity next week and the table that finishes first will get candy.
My host mom came in to help in the English Village after lunch today. She was going to give me a ride to Julie’s, but I called Julie and she delayed the time. So, I just ended up taking a taxi. BTW…Korean language is a funny thing at times. You have to get the pronunciation perfect or many people don’t understand. Ex. In Chuncheon, during orientation, one ETA was trying to get to E-Mart. He said “E-mart ga chusaeyo.” Correct sentence, but the taxi driver didn’t understand until he said “E-marteu.” It’s a slight pronunciation change, but nonetheless a needed one. Today, when I got in the taxi I guess I said, “Keojang aparteu” instead of “Keochang aparteu” and the taxi driver had no idea what I was talking about for about 15 seconds. It clicked and he apologized; he didn’t need to apologize. He was really nice; he offered me a piece of gum too. Unlike in America, you don’t have to be uber worried about taking gum from strangers in Korea.
I did take gum from a stranger when I was younger. I was like 6. What did I know?! We used to stay at a chalet at Lake Michigan, and we always stayed next to the same family, so we were friends. Well, one of the daughters told on me for taking gum from a stranger, and I got yelled at by both their parents and my mom!
Julie and I talked about her job interview and apparently it went well. She might take a job near Seoul in about two weeks. She’s still confused and doesn’t know for sure what she wants to do. I know she won’t be happy if she continues to teach, so I’m trying to convince her that it might be a good idea to try something new. She has a good plan of trying it for a few months, and if it doesn’t work out, she can always come back.
I also got a call from Mr. Haw while I was there. He asked me to teach his English class from now on. He has to have surgery. I didn't completely understand the situation, but he has an unregulated heart beat. I thought he said something about operating on his leg, so I'm a little confused. I said that I would take over the class, which just means that I teach two 40 minute classes on Fridays instead of one. I really hope he's going to be okay!
I headed home around 5:30PM. My host mom and host sis got home minutes after I did with bags of Pepero. Let me explain. Pepero is like a stick biscuit with 3/4 covered in chocolate. If you know what Pocky is, it's the exact same thing except Koreanized. Well, November 11th is Pepero Day; created by the candy company, but something fun for children. So, they chose 11-11 (November 11), because it looks like sticks [of Pepero]. Since Sunday is a weekend day, most children are celebrating Pepero Day at school on Friday. I had wanted to get some as well, so my host mom took my host sis and me out to GS Mart. They were having a sale on a new style. 4 for 1,000 Won (4 for $1), which is super cheap! So, I bought a box of 32. I'm going to give them to the children at the orphanage, a few teachers, and my host sibs. I told my host sis that I wasn't giving any to her...just messing with her. She fake pouted for a bit and got over it. I told my host mom that I wasn't going to tell her that I was giving her some! It's supposed to be a surprise! LOL! 경찬 (Kyeongchan - my host sis) already told me that she's giving me Pepero on Sunday. Gotta love her!
I watched a few episodes of Alex Mac (yah, you know you love it!) on my computer after we got back. I just hung out until 10:00PM; that's when I was meeting Julie, Howl, and Jia to go to a coffee shop. My host father got home about 15 minutes before I left. I barely see him anymore. My host mom was joking around about how she hates night owls, because she never sees her husband anymore and I was going out tonight. She was just joking though! I really like my host mom!! She's such an amazing woman!
Howl, Julie, Jia, and I went to a really adorable coffee shop! Unfortunately, I will never be able to find it again unless I go with them again!^^ There was a beautiful place to sit outside, and inside there were red velvety booths with art everywhere! We sat around and talked for about 2 hours. It's a little frustrating at times, because even though they can all speak English quite well, they spoke in Korean. When Howl and Jia would try to switch over to English for my benefit, Julie (my friend and tutor) would always answer in Korean. She overestimates my ability to understand Korean, even though I've tried to explain that I don't really understand that much. She told Howl when I got in the car that I can understand 90% of Korean language! Are you kidding me?! I've been in Korea for 4 months with no prior Korean language background! She has a lot of confidence in me, though, which is super awesome of her!
I taught them the meaning of sketchy, and they tried to teach me the meaning of "oily." Apparently when someone is too much of a smooth talker, they are oily. Also a guy who keeps more than one or two buttons open on their shirt is "oily"; they used Ricky Martin as an example. The closest to the meaning I could get was sketchy; I know there's a word, but I couldn't think of it. Help me out!
I got home around 12:00, and my host mom was up watching a Korean movie; she helped explain it to me. This movie was crazy messed up. In English, it is called "Anesthesia." It is about a doctor who has to operate on his wife, because she is mysteriously ill after being stung by a bee. So, he cuts her open and finds a stone in her. She ended up coding on the table, and she died. Later, he finds a letter that explains that it was all about revenge. He gets a note explaining the whole thing. His best doctor friend released a few bees in front of the doctor's wife while she was sitting in the park and then injected her with something to knock her out. He then injected something into her stomach to create the stone. During her operation, the anesthesia wasn't administered, but she was paralized for some reason. So, she felt every bit of the surgery and went into shock and died because of it. ISN'T THAT SICK!! Think about it! All of this because he was operated on by his father and uncle when he was younger without anesthesia, hence the revenge. There's some random guy in all of this as well; I don't know who he is exactly, but he's helping the doctor figure everything out. He goes to catch the other doctor who committed all of the crimes and found the psychologist tied up. This random guy chased the doctor and the doctor ended up falling to his death. Oh, by the way, the doctor whose wife died, tried to kill himself out of guilt, but failed. So, while in the hospital, the psychologist that is supposed to be his friend turns out to be the actual murderer; he set the other doctor up. Whoa! Story twist! The random guy, who was on his way to jail for murdering the other doctor, managed to break out of the car and save the doctor who was about to be murdered in the hospital. The psychologist dies in a really sick way, too. He has a freaking long needle shoved ALL the way into his neck. YUCK! It was really nice of my host mom to translate for me though. She's super awesome!
Classes went well today! My first class was kind of crazy, but that class always is. Plus, the teacher didn’t come today. I haven’t seen him since he told me that he was having some heart problems last week. I kind of developed my lesson even more while I was actually teaching it. I told the students that we would do the same activity next week and the table that finishes first will get candy.
My host mom came in to help in the English Village after lunch today. She was going to give me a ride to Julie’s, but I called Julie and she delayed the time. So, I just ended up taking a taxi. BTW…Korean language is a funny thing at times. You have to get the pronunciation perfect or many people don’t understand. Ex. In Chuncheon, during orientation, one ETA was trying to get to E-Mart. He said “E-mart ga chusaeyo.” Correct sentence, but the taxi driver didn’t understand until he said “E-marteu.” It’s a slight pronunciation change, but nonetheless a needed one. Today, when I got in the taxi I guess I said, “Keojang aparteu” instead of “Keochang aparteu” and the taxi driver had no idea what I was talking about for about 15 seconds. It clicked and he apologized; he didn’t need to apologize. He was really nice; he offered me a piece of gum too. Unlike in America, you don’t have to be uber worried about taking gum from strangers in Korea.
I did take gum from a stranger when I was younger. I was like 6. What did I know?! We used to stay at a chalet at Lake Michigan, and we always stayed next to the same family, so we were friends. Well, one of the daughters told on me for taking gum from a stranger, and I got yelled at by both their parents and my mom!
Julie and I talked about her job interview and apparently it went well. She might take a job near Seoul in about two weeks. She’s still confused and doesn’t know for sure what she wants to do. I know she won’t be happy if she continues to teach, so I’m trying to convince her that it might be a good idea to try something new. She has a good plan of trying it for a few months, and if it doesn’t work out, she can always come back.
I also got a call from Mr. Haw while I was there. He asked me to teach his English class from now on. He has to have surgery. I didn't completely understand the situation, but he has an unregulated heart beat. I thought he said something about operating on his leg, so I'm a little confused. I said that I would take over the class, which just means that I teach two 40 minute classes on Fridays instead of one. I really hope he's going to be okay!
I headed home around 5:30PM. My host mom and host sis got home minutes after I did with bags of Pepero. Let me explain. Pepero is like a stick biscuit with 3/4 covered in chocolate. If you know what Pocky is, it's the exact same thing except Koreanized. Well, November 11th is Pepero Day; created by the candy company, but something fun for children. So, they chose 11-11 (November 11), because it looks like sticks [of Pepero]. Since Sunday is a weekend day, most children are celebrating Pepero Day at school on Friday. I had wanted to get some as well, so my host mom took my host sis and me out to GS Mart. They were having a sale on a new style. 4 for 1,000 Won (4 for $1), which is super cheap! So, I bought a box of 32. I'm going to give them to the children at the orphanage, a few teachers, and my host sibs. I told my host sis that I wasn't giving any to her...just messing with her. She fake pouted for a bit and got over it. I told my host mom that I wasn't going to tell her that I was giving her some! It's supposed to be a surprise! LOL! 경찬 (Kyeongchan - my host sis) already told me that she's giving me Pepero on Sunday. Gotta love her!
I watched a few episodes of Alex Mac (yah, you know you love it!) on my computer after we got back. I just hung out until 10:00PM; that's when I was meeting Julie, Howl, and Jia to go to a coffee shop. My host father got home about 15 minutes before I left. I barely see him anymore. My host mom was joking around about how she hates night owls, because she never sees her husband anymore and I was going out tonight. She was just joking though! I really like my host mom!! She's such an amazing woman!
Howl, Julie, Jia, and I went to a really adorable coffee shop! Unfortunately, I will never be able to find it again unless I go with them again!^^ There was a beautiful place to sit outside, and inside there were red velvety booths with art everywhere! We sat around and talked for about 2 hours. It's a little frustrating at times, because even though they can all speak English quite well, they spoke in Korean. When Howl and Jia would try to switch over to English for my benefit, Julie (my friend and tutor) would always answer in Korean. She overestimates my ability to understand Korean, even though I've tried to explain that I don't really understand that much. She told Howl when I got in the car that I can understand 90% of Korean language! Are you kidding me?! I've been in Korea for 4 months with no prior Korean language background! She has a lot of confidence in me, though, which is super awesome of her!
I taught them the meaning of sketchy, and they tried to teach me the meaning of "oily." Apparently when someone is too much of a smooth talker, they are oily. Also a guy who keeps more than one or two buttons open on their shirt is "oily"; they used Ricky Martin as an example. The closest to the meaning I could get was sketchy; I know there's a word, but I couldn't think of it. Help me out!
I got home around 12:00, and my host mom was up watching a Korean movie; she helped explain it to me. This movie was crazy messed up. In English, it is called "Anesthesia." It is about a doctor who has to operate on his wife, because she is mysteriously ill after being stung by a bee. So, he cuts her open and finds a stone in her. She ended up coding on the table, and she died. Later, he finds a letter that explains that it was all about revenge. He gets a note explaining the whole thing. His best doctor friend released a few bees in front of the doctor's wife while she was sitting in the park and then injected her with something to knock her out. He then injected something into her stomach to create the stone. During her operation, the anesthesia wasn't administered, but she was paralized for some reason. So, she felt every bit of the surgery and went into shock and died because of it. ISN'T THAT SICK!! Think about it! All of this because he was operated on by his father and uncle when he was younger without anesthesia, hence the revenge. There's some random guy in all of this as well; I don't know who he is exactly, but he's helping the doctor figure everything out. He goes to catch the other doctor who committed all of the crimes and found the psychologist tied up. This random guy chased the doctor and the doctor ended up falling to his death. Oh, by the way, the doctor whose wife died, tried to kill himself out of guilt, but failed. So, while in the hospital, the psychologist that is supposed to be his friend turns out to be the actual murderer; he set the other doctor up. Whoa! Story twist! The random guy, who was on his way to jail for murdering the other doctor, managed to break out of the car and save the doctor who was about to be murdered in the hospital. The psychologist dies in a really sick way, too. He has a freaking long needle shoved ALL the way into his neck. YUCK! It was really nice of my host mom to translate for me though. She's super awesome!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Recorders Rock Out - Wednesday Nov. 7, 2007
Today's classes went really well. I didn't get everything in that I thought I would with the second grade, but no big deal. I'll just move it to next week.
Oh, this definitely needs mention! The best lunch to date! Tuna, cabbage, kimchi, rice (mix it together for bibimbap!!)
I decided that I wouldn't go to 청주 (Cheongju) today. I was going to go with a few teachers to eat dinner with our VP who is training to become a Principal, but it is a 2 hour long drive there and a 2 hour drive back; we wouldn't get back until 11:00PM.
After lunch, I had the same three sixth graders come to my classroom just to hang out and talk. They have been here once before. They're super cute! Two of them were hiding from everyone to open their...I don't know if they are midterm grades, test scores, or what kind of grades they were. They were upset about their grades. Guess what they were!? Go ahead...guess! 95 in Korean, 91 in math, 94 in Social Studies, and 92.5 in Science. They said that good scores are 98. Well, I suppose I used to think that way when I was in school too, but most kids don't think like that, right?! That's the way most kids in Korea feel about their grades.
I waited around to see if I would have my teachers' class today, and nobody showed up again. I think that it will resume next week. The teachers were really busy with the festival these past few weeks, and I think a lot of them thought that I was going to go to Cheongju today. After I realized that nobody was coming, I headed down to the first grade office. They invited me to eat food. 1-5 teacher said that she would cook, but apparently she had a parent do it instead. So, a few of the teachers were chanting that 1-5 teacher didn't cook. LOL! The food was really good though! We had chopchae, and two other things I don't remember the names of. I love love love the first grade teachers!
I sat around with 1-5, 1-7, and 1-3 teachers just talking and laughing for about 2 hours! I taught 1-5 teacher "sneaky" and "snoopy" while acting them out. The four of us also had the most difficult environmental conversation EVER! We tried to use big words...didn't work!^^ I think they ended up telling me that plastic and paper are polluntants and that after being recycled, they still have toxins in them so it is bad for pregnant women to drink from paper cups or eat from plastic containers. Not completely sure... LOL!
Oh, I also learned that Korean couples name their child before it is born and then after it is born; two different names. 1-3 teacher named her child 건강이 (Keongangi - Health) because she and her husband hope for a healthy baby.
When I got home, I watched two episodes of Scrubs, ate ramen, and then headed to Chiak Art Center with my homestay family. We went to watch a recorder concert. Yep, there is a professional recorder group in Wonju! I had never heard of such a thing before. It consists of young students all the way up to adults. There are all sorts of styles of recorder; soprano, tenor, bass, etc. There was one 6th grade girl that has apparently won many competitions because of how she plays. She did two solos with a type of piano (can't remember the specific name of the instrument). I couldn't believe it! This girl was AMAZING! She did a solo...ok for all you band geeks out there...that would have easily gotten a high school senior a first division ranking in a Solo and Ensemble contest. Incredibly impressive!
After heading home, I finished off the second season of Scrubs. That's right; I watched the second season of Scrubs in a total of two days. I forgot to mention that I also caught up on the past two episodes of Prison Break at school today!^^
Oh, this definitely needs mention! The best lunch to date! Tuna, cabbage, kimchi, rice (mix it together for bibimbap!!)
I decided that I wouldn't go to 청주 (Cheongju) today. I was going to go with a few teachers to eat dinner with our VP who is training to become a Principal, but it is a 2 hour long drive there and a 2 hour drive back; we wouldn't get back until 11:00PM.
After lunch, I had the same three sixth graders come to my classroom just to hang out and talk. They have been here once before. They're super cute! Two of them were hiding from everyone to open their...I don't know if they are midterm grades, test scores, or what kind of grades they were. They were upset about their grades. Guess what they were!? Go ahead...guess! 95 in Korean, 91 in math, 94 in Social Studies, and 92.5 in Science. They said that good scores are 98. Well, I suppose I used to think that way when I was in school too, but most kids don't think like that, right?! That's the way most kids in Korea feel about their grades.
I waited around to see if I would have my teachers' class today, and nobody showed up again. I think that it will resume next week. The teachers were really busy with the festival these past few weeks, and I think a lot of them thought that I was going to go to Cheongju today. After I realized that nobody was coming, I headed down to the first grade office. They invited me to eat food. 1-5 teacher said that she would cook, but apparently she had a parent do it instead. So, a few of the teachers were chanting that 1-5 teacher didn't cook. LOL! The food was really good though! We had chopchae, and two other things I don't remember the names of. I love love love the first grade teachers!
I sat around with 1-5, 1-7, and 1-3 teachers just talking and laughing for about 2 hours! I taught 1-5 teacher "sneaky" and "snoopy" while acting them out. The four of us also had the most difficult environmental conversation EVER! We tried to use big words...didn't work!^^ I think they ended up telling me that plastic and paper are polluntants and that after being recycled, they still have toxins in them so it is bad for pregnant women to drink from paper cups or eat from plastic containers. Not completely sure... LOL!
Oh, I also learned that Korean couples name their child before it is born and then after it is born; two different names. 1-3 teacher named her child 건강이 (Keongangi - Health) because she and her husband hope for a healthy baby.
When I got home, I watched two episodes of Scrubs, ate ramen, and then headed to Chiak Art Center with my homestay family. We went to watch a recorder concert. Yep, there is a professional recorder group in Wonju! I had never heard of such a thing before. It consists of young students all the way up to adults. There are all sorts of styles of recorder; soprano, tenor, bass, etc. There was one 6th grade girl that has apparently won many competitions because of how she plays. She did two solos with a type of piano (can't remember the specific name of the instrument). I couldn't believe it! This girl was AMAZING! She did a solo...ok for all you band geeks out there...that would have easily gotten a high school senior a first division ranking in a Solo and Ensemble contest. Incredibly impressive!
After heading home, I finished off the second season of Scrubs. That's right; I watched the second season of Scrubs in a total of two days. I forgot to mention that I also caught up on the past two episodes of Prison Break at school today!^^
SCRUBS - Tuesday Nov. 6, 2007
One of the first things you learn as a teacher is to be flexible, one of the first things you learn as a Fulbright ETA is to be flexible, so I sure tried like hell not to be incredibly frustrated at the fact that my first class walked in with 5 minutes left of class. And then...I asked the students where their teacher was. The first response and most common response, "I don't know." I soon found learned that she was in the first grade office. So, I told the students to sit down and be quiet (mistake #1), and I went to try to talk to my co-teacher down the hall so she could call the first grade office (mistake #2). I didn't make it down the hall, because I realized that the students weren't going to be able to handle being alone in my classroom; they are left alone in many other classrooms, but there is some pretty expensive stuff that I would prefer not broken in my classroom. When I came back, students were yelling and running, and I had a very "pissed off 선생님 (teacher)" moment. I lined them up and took them back downstairs. I stopped at the office to figure out what happened, and apparently there was a festival thing this morning, so they didn't really have to come to the English Village. Which is fine with me...I don't understand why they showed up for the last 5 minutes though. I was mostly upset about the students running around. Anyway, I went down after lunch to apologize to the teacher. She knew I was upset this morning, but I wanted to apologize anyway. She apologized right back. I felt better about the situation afterward.
The next class was good, but the students and the teacher were so tired in the next one that it was hard to get them motivated. They really got into the songs though, which was good! I can usually count on their peppiness, so it's a little rough when they come in dead tired.
After school, I took a taxi to Julie's apartment. She and I ended up talking more than studying. I asked her some simple phrases to use with my students, so maybe I can explain myself a little more. We started talking about jobs. Julie talks about money being very important and that she doesn't really like teaching. She says it in a very thought out way, not in a manner of complaining. I realized that it is hard for me to connect with her on this level. It's like in conflict resolution in college when we discussed the importance of trying to see things from another person's perspective; we talked about how different the lives of a freshman and senior are. They think about entirely different things and hold different things as priorities in their lives. Similarly, Julie is over 30 years old. Like I said, she doesn't act like it, but I can definitely tell that we have different priorities right now. I don't care about money. I would like to think that money will never influence the type of job I want to get, but I can't fully believe that. Who knows how I will feel in the future. When I'm ready for a family, maybe my priorities involving money will change. It was an emotionally difficult conversation for me; it brought up many questions that I need time to evaluate.
Anyway, Julie has an interview tomorrow for a different job; something to do with golf. If she gets the job, she will: 1) Not be my tutor, and 2) She will move away! ㅠㅠ Can't handle it! She's my best Korean friend in Korea!! I didn't like the conversation, but of course I want her to be happy! If this is what is best for her, then I will certainly support her...as sad as it all is!
Julie's best friend came over. She is a kindergarten teacher, and she too, is starting to dislike her job. She has taught little ones for 10 years. Most of the time I sat there and let them ramble on in Korean, because I knew that they needed to release some stress which is always easier to do in your native language. Julie told me that age matters when looking for a job in Korea, especially the age of women. Women are still not treated as equals, but usually preference is given to younger women who are pretty and fresh out of school. I told them that that in America, usually experience has the most priority. Apparently, that is not the case in Korea. For men, maybe, but not for women.
I headed home around 5:30PM and played cards with my host sister for a while. Everytime before she asks me to play, she says, "Are you busy?" So, yesterday, when I asked her if she wanted to play cards, she still asked me "Are you busy?" I tried to explain that I wouldn't have asked if I was busy. LOL!
I got a package today from my mom!!! YAY!! I got lots Halloween candy, my leather jacket from home, granola bars, and the best was Season 2 of SCRUBS!!!! So, I watched 1 and 1/2 cds tonight of Season 2.
The next class was good, but the students and the teacher were so tired in the next one that it was hard to get them motivated. They really got into the songs though, which was good! I can usually count on their peppiness, so it's a little rough when they come in dead tired.
After school, I took a taxi to Julie's apartment. She and I ended up talking more than studying. I asked her some simple phrases to use with my students, so maybe I can explain myself a little more. We started talking about jobs. Julie talks about money being very important and that she doesn't really like teaching. She says it in a very thought out way, not in a manner of complaining. I realized that it is hard for me to connect with her on this level. It's like in conflict resolution in college when we discussed the importance of trying to see things from another person's perspective; we talked about how different the lives of a freshman and senior are. They think about entirely different things and hold different things as priorities in their lives. Similarly, Julie is over 30 years old. Like I said, she doesn't act like it, but I can definitely tell that we have different priorities right now. I don't care about money. I would like to think that money will never influence the type of job I want to get, but I can't fully believe that. Who knows how I will feel in the future. When I'm ready for a family, maybe my priorities involving money will change. It was an emotionally difficult conversation for me; it brought up many questions that I need time to evaluate.
Anyway, Julie has an interview tomorrow for a different job; something to do with golf. If she gets the job, she will: 1) Not be my tutor, and 2) She will move away! ㅠㅠ Can't handle it! She's my best Korean friend in Korea!! I didn't like the conversation, but of course I want her to be happy! If this is what is best for her, then I will certainly support her...as sad as it all is!
Julie's best friend came over. She is a kindergarten teacher, and she too, is starting to dislike her job. She has taught little ones for 10 years. Most of the time I sat there and let them ramble on in Korean, because I knew that they needed to release some stress which is always easier to do in your native language. Julie told me that age matters when looking for a job in Korea, especially the age of women. Women are still not treated as equals, but usually preference is given to younger women who are pretty and fresh out of school. I told them that that in America, usually experience has the most priority. Apparently, that is not the case in Korea. For men, maybe, but not for women.
I headed home around 5:30PM and played cards with my host sister for a while. Everytime before she asks me to play, she says, "Are you busy?" So, yesterday, when I asked her if she wanted to play cards, she still asked me "Are you busy?" I tried to explain that I wouldn't have asked if I was busy. LOL!
I got a package today from my mom!!! YAY!! I got lots Halloween candy, my leather jacket from home, granola bars, and the best was Season 2 of SCRUBS!!!! So, I watched 1 and 1/2 cds tonight of Season 2.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Go Fish - Monday Nov. 5, 2007
Well, I didn't have an incredible start to the day. The children, oh my goodness, the children were crazy today! The first class came in and started running around the classroom, sliding on the carpets, jumping on the stage, playing with the VERY expensive interactive white board, and doing whatever possible to ignore what I was saying to calm them down. SO, I yelled! I was a very unhappy teacher, and I definitely let them know. This class has not been good the past few weeks, and I'm not going to put up with it anymore. It is so difficult to be a teacher who reasons with her students, when we don't speak the same language. Their teacher hasn't been much help, so I do what I can. They're scared when I yell, because they don't expect it from me. I am incredibly nice with them, but I'm super sick of them not listening. After that, they listened the rest of class!^^ I’m playing “I Spy…” with my first graders this week. They seem to enjoy it.
My host mom picked me up from school after I frantically made 20 small books for the children at the orphanage. *I almost just wrote “…for the orphans.” That has a different impact on my senses when I think of them as orphans rather than children at an orphanage.*
There were 19 children this week instead of the 17 last week. Two older boys joined this week. I talked to them about the date; they didn’t really understand much of what I was talking about, and because there are 19 of them in a small space, it was difficult for all of them to see what I was showing them. I like working on the floor alongside the children rather than working above them, so I need to figure out how that’s going to work out. I’m not in a room; I am in the living room of the boys “dorm.”
After talking about the date, we colored “Aa” papers. I had them write the letters in the air with their fingers and then cut out one of the “A” pictures. On the front cover of their books, I had them write “ABC Book.” On the back cover, they wrote their names. They wrote “Aa” and glued the “A” picture on the first page of their books. They did a really good job, especially for their being a range of 5-10 year olds in the group.
Before leaving, I took pictures of all of the children and had the “mom/caretaker” write down the corresponding names; I want to try to memorize names, and I want to glue their pictures inside the front cover.
I love the kids! They’re so cute! I’ve only been twice, and I feel like I want to start spending more time there than just the hour and ½ a week. I don’t know how it would work with my schedule or their schedule, so I’m just going to continue with the hour and ½ for now.
I talked with my host mom for a while when I got home; we talked about the orphanage, a little bit about North Korea and South Korea, and some other politics. She doesn’t like politics; she told me that she thinks it’s dirty. Her definition of dirty politics is quite similar to our definition.
I spent a lot of time with my host sis tonight. We played card games; I taught her how to play “War” and “Go Fish.” She fell in love with “Go Fish,” so we played about 5 times. I made a deal with her that I would take a shower while she did her homework, and then we would play again afterward. So we did! We played 2 more times and played Gongi. (I’m not sure of the spelling. It is the Korean form of Jacks.)
My host mom picked me up from school after I frantically made 20 small books for the children at the orphanage. *I almost just wrote “…for the orphans.” That has a different impact on my senses when I think of them as orphans rather than children at an orphanage.*
There were 19 children this week instead of the 17 last week. Two older boys joined this week. I talked to them about the date; they didn’t really understand much of what I was talking about, and because there are 19 of them in a small space, it was difficult for all of them to see what I was showing them. I like working on the floor alongside the children rather than working above them, so I need to figure out how that’s going to work out. I’m not in a room; I am in the living room of the boys “dorm.”
After talking about the date, we colored “Aa” papers. I had them write the letters in the air with their fingers and then cut out one of the “A” pictures. On the front cover of their books, I had them write “ABC Book.” On the back cover, they wrote their names. They wrote “Aa” and glued the “A” picture on the first page of their books. They did a really good job, especially for their being a range of 5-10 year olds in the group.
Before leaving, I took pictures of all of the children and had the “mom/caretaker” write down the corresponding names; I want to try to memorize names, and I want to glue their pictures inside the front cover.
I love the kids! They’re so cute! I’ve only been twice, and I feel like I want to start spending more time there than just the hour and ½ a week. I don’t know how it would work with my schedule or their schedule, so I’m just going to continue with the hour and ½ for now.
I talked with my host mom for a while when I got home; we talked about the orphanage, a little bit about North Korea and South Korea, and some other politics. She doesn’t like politics; she told me that she thinks it’s dirty. Her definition of dirty politics is quite similar to our definition.
I spent a lot of time with my host sis tonight. We played card games; I taught her how to play “War” and “Go Fish.” She fell in love with “Go Fish,” so we played about 5 times. I made a deal with her that I would take a shower while she did her homework, and then we would play again afterward. So we did! We played 2 more times and played Gongi. (I’m not sure of the spelling. It is the Korean form of Jacks.)
Nemo Died - Sunday Nov. 4, 2007
I woke up at 12:00PM, and my brother looks me in the eyes and says "Nemo is dead." Luckily I knew what he was talking about. We have...well had two "Nemo" fish aka "Clown" fish in an aquarium in the dining room. The water hasn't stabilized to support sea life, and apparently the two Nemo fish couldn't handle it.
My host father went to his parents' farm today to pick persimmons. My host sibs had to go take a math test; from what I understand, it is a practice math test that my host mom paid for just to test her childrens' skills. Is that an odd concept for elementary schoolers? Do we have that in the states? I honestly don't know. The ETA's joke about how some things have just become so normal to us that we have a hard time distinguishing between things that are concepts in the states, and things that are concepts in Korea. While they were at their test, I just laid in bed and watched movies. It was so nice to just be able to relax!
At about 4:30PM, my host brother came into the apartment and asked me if I was ready to go to dinner. I wasn't exactly ready considering I had no idea that we were going so suddenly, but I got dressed and headed out with my host bro. When I got in the car, I asked my host sibs how the test went. My host sister said, "Not good." My host brother said, "Not bad." LOL! We met another family at a "meat" restaurant. Literally...meat! Restaurants in Korea are specialized for one type of food in many cases. My host mom kept apologizing, but it was okay. She wanted to take my host sibs out for dinner after they had the test. I always find something to eat; I wasn't too worried. I ate rice, grilled garlic slices (YUM!!), soup, and salad.
We headed over to other family's apartment. The moms are good friends, and my host bro is good friends with the boy in the family. The mom is super nice! She gave us a pumpkin that she had gotten from her father-in-law. So, I'm going to carve it with my host sibs...maybe next weekend. So far, I don't have any plans for the weekend.
My host sister and I played with the daughter in the family; she's a second grader. Have you ever had one of those moments where you become really grateful for the siblings you have, because the ones that could have been your siblings drive you crazy?! I had that moment! The girl is super cute and sweet, but she sort of drove me insane!
So, I went back to hanging out with the adults, and my host sis and the daughter played games on the computer. The boys were playing computer games in another room as well. We started talking about North Korea; she asked me how my trip went. She told me that her father-in-law left North Korea about 50 years ago without his wife or small child, and he hasn't been able to see them since then. He got remarried, and it is only recently that he has talked to his family about what happened all those years ago. She said it is their family's tragedy. I can't imagine ever going through such an experience.
We left after about two hours, because my host father had gotten home from his parents' house. He spent an hour and 1/2 picking persimmons. They aren't ripe yet, which my host sis and I realized after trying one.
My host father and I sat around and talked for about 1/2 an hour about the reunification of North and South Korea and what it would mean for the country and for other countries. We also talked about English teachers in Korea. The number of English teachers in Korea is dramatically rising.
I learned from Julie that native English speakers who teach English are much better paid than Korean teachers who speak English. Also, teachers in Seoul are paid much better than teachers in Wonju. How strange...to be paid more than a Korean who goes to school for years just because we were born into a language that other countries would later desire. I am not paid more than a Korean teacher, because of my program, but I'm still trying to grasp the concept that we have an incredibly valuable skill simply because of the location we were born.
My host father went to his parents' farm today to pick persimmons. My host sibs had to go take a math test; from what I understand, it is a practice math test that my host mom paid for just to test her childrens' skills. Is that an odd concept for elementary schoolers? Do we have that in the states? I honestly don't know. The ETA's joke about how some things have just become so normal to us that we have a hard time distinguishing between things that are concepts in the states, and things that are concepts in Korea. While they were at their test, I just laid in bed and watched movies. It was so nice to just be able to relax!
At about 4:30PM, my host brother came into the apartment and asked me if I was ready to go to dinner. I wasn't exactly ready considering I had no idea that we were going so suddenly, but I got dressed and headed out with my host bro. When I got in the car, I asked my host sibs how the test went. My host sister said, "Not good." My host brother said, "Not bad." LOL! We met another family at a "meat" restaurant. Literally...meat! Restaurants in Korea are specialized for one type of food in many cases. My host mom kept apologizing, but it was okay. She wanted to take my host sibs out for dinner after they had the test. I always find something to eat; I wasn't too worried. I ate rice, grilled garlic slices (YUM!!), soup, and salad.
We headed over to other family's apartment. The moms are good friends, and my host bro is good friends with the boy in the family. The mom is super nice! She gave us a pumpkin that she had gotten from her father-in-law. So, I'm going to carve it with my host sibs...maybe next weekend. So far, I don't have any plans for the weekend.
My host sister and I played with the daughter in the family; she's a second grader. Have you ever had one of those moments where you become really grateful for the siblings you have, because the ones that could have been your siblings drive you crazy?! I had that moment! The girl is super cute and sweet, but she sort of drove me insane!
So, I went back to hanging out with the adults, and my host sis and the daughter played games on the computer. The boys were playing computer games in another room as well. We started talking about North Korea; she asked me how my trip went. She told me that her father-in-law left North Korea about 50 years ago without his wife or small child, and he hasn't been able to see them since then. He got remarried, and it is only recently that he has talked to his family about what happened all those years ago. She said it is their family's tragedy. I can't imagine ever going through such an experience.
We left after about two hours, because my host father had gotten home from his parents' house. He spent an hour and 1/2 picking persimmons. They aren't ripe yet, which my host sis and I realized after trying one.
My host father and I sat around and talked for about 1/2 an hour about the reunification of North and South Korea and what it would mean for the country and for other countries. We also talked about English teachers in Korea. The number of English teachers in Korea is dramatically rising.
I learned from Julie that native English speakers who teach English are much better paid than Korean teachers who speak English. Also, teachers in Seoul are paid much better than teachers in Wonju. How strange...to be paid more than a Korean who goes to school for years just because we were born into a language that other countries would later desire. I am not paid more than a Korean teacher, because of my program, but I'm still trying to grasp the concept that we have an incredibly valuable skill simply because of the location we were born.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Skippity Skip - Saturday Nov. 3, 2007
I woke up around 9:30AM today instead of sleeping in. My host bro and sis were at school, I think that my host dad was at his 한야국 (Hanyakuk - his oriental pharmacy), and my host mom was in bed still. My host mom got up around 11:00AM, and the family was all home an hour later. We had an amazing lunch; mussels, rice, kim, odeng (boiled fish paste), and a spicy seafood mixture. My host father told me that eating mussels in the summer is dangerous, because they contain a small amount of poison. This is apparently the time when mussels are pregnant, and they release poison in order to protect their babies. Eep!
My host bro left after lunch with his friend to go to hagwan...not sure if it was Robot camp or English hagwan, and my host father went to work again. My host sister and I took a walk to a 문방구 (Munbangu - stationery store) near Seonwonju (our school). It was cute! We talked all the way there. My host sister wanted to buy a "Latchhook" set; they call it a "Skill" set. On the way back, we bought some rice snacks, played "Thumb War," and I taught her the Wizard of Oz skip.
It took us a while to figure out how to do Latchhook, but we looked it up online in our respective languages. We figued it out, and my host sis definitely got used to it. We watched this weird bear cartoon called Baekkum that has no words, so it's pretty convenient for both of us to watch. After that, we watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. It's quite cheesy, but I like cheesy hero movies sometimes. After the cheesy hero movie, we watched Fly Boys. It's about the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I. They became the country's first fighter pilots. It's a really good movie! We had started watching it at some other point, so I was pretty determined to finish watching it this time.
My host bro left after lunch with his friend to go to hagwan...not sure if it was Robot camp or English hagwan, and my host father went to work again. My host sister and I took a walk to a 문방구 (Munbangu - stationery store) near Seonwonju (our school). It was cute! We talked all the way there. My host sister wanted to buy a "Latchhook" set; they call it a "Skill" set. On the way back, we bought some rice snacks, played "Thumb War," and I taught her the Wizard of Oz skip.
It took us a while to figure out how to do Latchhook, but we looked it up online in our respective languages. We figued it out, and my host sis definitely got used to it. We watched this weird bear cartoon called Baekkum that has no words, so it's pretty convenient for both of us to watch. After that, we watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. It's quite cheesy, but I like cheesy hero movies sometimes. After the cheesy hero movie, we watched Fly Boys. It's about the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I. They became the country's first fighter pilots. It's a really good movie! We had started watching it at some other point, so I was pretty determined to finish watching it this time.
Friday, November 2, 2007
문막 (Munmak) - Friday Nov. 2, 2007
For a while today, I wasn't sure if I was going to have any classes. Usually on Fridays, I only have two classes: one puppet class, and one actual class. My puppet class was canceled; they went on a field trip somewhere I think. My 2-7 class showed up a little late, but I had just had them the day before as well because of schedule changes. The poor teacher seemed a little confused about whether or not she was supposed to be there. I love the 2-7 teacher; she is so sweet!
After lunch, I went down to the first grade office. I spent about an hour and 1/2 just talking to the teachers down there. Both of them speak a little bit of English, so we were going back and forth in English and Korea. I taught them some new words like snooping and sneaky, which of course I acted out!^^ I was making a "Hello" sign, and it looks like I need to make a few more. Both of the teachers I was talking to asked for one. I know I've said it before, but I really like the first grade teachers!! They're so easy to just hang out with.
I headed to Julie's for tutoring at 4:00PM. We didn't study for an incredible amount of time; we were talking for a lot of it. We ordered 자장면 (Jajangmyeon - Chinese noodles) for dinner, and then took a taxi to meet some of the Wonju English Club members. We carpooled to Munmak for Kata's art show opening. We got lost on the way, because it was back in BFE. We figured it out though and got there around 8:30PM. It was interesting art...different than I expected. It was solely based off the living style of nomadic people. I didn't completely understand some of her work, but it was an interesting experience. My Korean friends kept asking me if I understood what the art was about; I don't know if that is because they didn't understand or if they were just worried that I wouldn't.^^
We drove to another art museum-esque building nearer to downtown which doubled as a bar/coffee shop. We were at two tables; my table ordered a bottle of Australian wine. Yummy! We sat around and talked for a while and then headed back to Wonju. The car I was in had Kingcandle, Su, Julie, another girl, and me. We headed to our usual Makkoli restaurant, drank some bamboo soju, and ate anju (food that has to be ordered when ordering alcohol.) I was getting a little cranky, because I was SO tired! I was tired all day, but I was ready to go home. I hate when you can tell you're getting cranky, but you're not quite sure what to do about it!^^ I just decided that I would take a taxi home, and another girl shared the taxi with me. I got home around 1:30AM.
Oh, also, Julie and I ended up calling Howl twice yesterday. The first time was at her apartment when I asked him why he wasn't going to the art show. Apparently he part time tutors, sometimes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays! Yuck! So, we decided that Julie, Jia, him, and I would get together next Thursday. Julie called him again when we were at the second bar back in Wonju, and she made me talk to him. We wanted him to come out, but he like me, was very tired. I told him that I understood and that I would talk to him later. Then the phone somehow managed to be passed around to the other 3 people sitting there, and Howl talked to everyone! LOL! Julie kept saying that I really wanted him to come to the bar. She acts so young, but I believe she is at least 30. She doesn't look it AT ALL! I was made to play the guessing game last night about ages; I HATE playing that game! People get offended if you guess too high and sometimes people get offended if you guess too low in Korea. So, it's like a no-win situation. Anyway, I know one of the girls is 30, and she kept calling Julie 언니 (Eonni - older sister). So this is why I believe Julie is over 30. Ah...the power of deduction.
After lunch, I went down to the first grade office. I spent about an hour and 1/2 just talking to the teachers down there. Both of them speak a little bit of English, so we were going back and forth in English and Korea. I taught them some new words like snooping and sneaky, which of course I acted out!^^ I was making a "Hello" sign, and it looks like I need to make a few more. Both of the teachers I was talking to asked for one. I know I've said it before, but I really like the first grade teachers!! They're so easy to just hang out with.
I headed to Julie's for tutoring at 4:00PM. We didn't study for an incredible amount of time; we were talking for a lot of it. We ordered 자장면 (Jajangmyeon - Chinese noodles) for dinner, and then took a taxi to meet some of the Wonju English Club members. We carpooled to Munmak for Kata's art show opening. We got lost on the way, because it was back in BFE. We figured it out though and got there around 8:30PM. It was interesting art...different than I expected. It was solely based off the living style of nomadic people. I didn't completely understand some of her work, but it was an interesting experience. My Korean friends kept asking me if I understood what the art was about; I don't know if that is because they didn't understand or if they were just worried that I wouldn't.^^
We drove to another art museum-esque building nearer to downtown which doubled as a bar/coffee shop. We were at two tables; my table ordered a bottle of Australian wine. Yummy! We sat around and talked for a while and then headed back to Wonju. The car I was in had Kingcandle, Su, Julie, another girl, and me. We headed to our usual Makkoli restaurant, drank some bamboo soju, and ate anju (food that has to be ordered when ordering alcohol.) I was getting a little cranky, because I was SO tired! I was tired all day, but I was ready to go home. I hate when you can tell you're getting cranky, but you're not quite sure what to do about it!^^ I just decided that I would take a taxi home, and another girl shared the taxi with me. I got home around 1:30AM.
Oh, also, Julie and I ended up calling Howl twice yesterday. The first time was at her apartment when I asked him why he wasn't going to the art show. Apparently he part time tutors, sometimes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays! Yuck! So, we decided that Julie, Jia, him, and I would get together next Thursday. Julie called him again when we were at the second bar back in Wonju, and she made me talk to him. We wanted him to come out, but he like me, was very tired. I told him that I understood and that I would talk to him later. Then the phone somehow managed to be passed around to the other 3 people sitting there, and Howl talked to everyone! LOL! Julie kept saying that I really wanted him to come to the bar. She acts so young, but I believe she is at least 30. She doesn't look it AT ALL! I was made to play the guessing game last night about ages; I HATE playing that game! People get offended if you guess too high and sometimes people get offended if you guess too low in Korea. So, it's like a no-win situation. Anyway, I know one of the girls is 30, and she kept calling Julie 언니 (Eonni - older sister). So this is why I believe Julie is over 30. Ah...the power of deduction.
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