Sorry for the slightly graphic title but that, my friends, is the best way to summarize my life recently. With that being said, happy belated Thanksgiving to you all! I hope the day was full of blessings in food form and people form. Of course I missed being home with the fam and all the good eats, but I feel extremely thankful and blessed right where I am. Following my body's ridiculous tradition, I managed to catch a cold a few days before the holiday (wwwhyyy? every year!) and had to be that gross, snotty kid at all the gatherings. Oh well, so it is...sorry friends. What's worse is being that gross, snotty teacher. At least all the kids wear facemasks these days (swine flu paranoia is still going strong). I don't feel as guilty about spreading my germs around then because they are blocked, right? :)
My list of thanks from this year, 2009. I am thankful for...
-Korean friends who became family (Ji, Gon, Ots, Jung Won). Without them my 1st year experience in Korea would have been completely different, not nearly as meaningful or exciting.
-Waeguk friends who became family (Kristen, Kat, Jenny). For the much needed companionship after a rough day or week at school, travel buddies, teacher story swapping, jokes only foreigners can find funny and the hearty laughs that follow.
-finishing my contract at ELC. For the good memories made there; the good co-workers, cute students, crazy director, funds it provided and the appreciation for my new job.
-paying off my student loans! Even with a rough exchange rate for most of the year, I met my goal set upon my departure. And it felt fantastic.
-my Costa Rica trip. For the funds to get there, my host family, great training, fun classmates, excellent teachers, the breathtaking scenery, safety and a slight improvement with my Spanish skills.
-a lovely and lengthy reunion with the family after 13 months of separation.
-old friends who didn't forget about me when I was overseas and wanted to hangout upon my return. For good company while I was in Iowa. I <3 you guys!
-my reunion with my old and bestest friend Kate! For the companionship of her and Chaz in a new and still mostly unfamiliar city, the comfort of company who you know well and know you well, laughter, venting, and continued adventures in this country.
-my new job. For providing the means to which to bring me back to Korea, the much improved working conditions, better hours, less classes, more prep time, friendly students and legit vacation time. For good stories to tell after the end of each day.
-Mrs. Lee who drives me to and from school each day. For her sweet spirit and dissipating shyness towards speaking English. For her all her glorious K-pop knowledge and for giving me Krispy Kreme donuts this morning!
-the helpful and kind moments with my co-teachers. The much appreciated observation week, the slow but steady help with furnishing my apartment, foreigner registration, health check, answers to my million questions, and occasional translation during lunch.
-the frustrating moments with my co-teachers, involving many of the same situations mentioned above. For both parties learning and accepting cultural differences and for the continual learning from each other throughout this year.
-mountains and beaches within 15 minutes walking of my apartment. For living in (I'm convinced) the best part of the city.
-Quizno's and Pizza School within walking distance for the nights when I just want to endulge.
-my afterschool, club and teacher training programs that allow me to teach whatever I want and actually get to know some students (then trick those students into being leaders in the regular classes...ha-HA!) and teachers.
-a subway system that allows me to manuever around the city for a low cost and free of traffic jams.
-a Thanksgiving feast at church with turkey, cassaroles, rolls, pumpkin pie, and the whole works. And new church friends.
-60 degree days this first week of December.
-Skype to remain connected to people back home. Set up Skype dates people!
-And same as I ended last year but certainly more sincere, KIMCHI! My body has officially embraced the taste as of a few weeks ago and now I can truly say I enjoy eating kimchi with my meals.
I could go on but that's it for now. So what are YOU thankful for?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
A Peppero Story
Storytime! YAAAY! This story is being told to illustrate a few points. First, how kids are hilarious. Second, to show how stinky my co-teacher (Mr. Adjussi) can be. And third, how much I enjoy what I do.
Setting: Peppero Day (11/11), in the 5th grade English classroom, 1st period (8:50 am)
*Bell rings*
Students scurry to their seats. Immediately Mr. Adjussi teacher commands them to put their hands on their heads and close their eyes in order to calm them. The students sit quietly for a few moments as he scans the room. The three (generally) talkative boys who sit in the back are not there...he's probably relieved. I begin by asking the usual questions, "How are you?" FINE/GOOD/SO-SO (shudder)/HAPPY! "What day is it?" WEDNESDAY! "How's the weather?" SUNNY! WINDY! Ending with, "What's the date today?" NOVEMBER 11th, PEPPERO DAY! Yes, that's right, excellent! The kids cheer and giggle about my knowledge of Peppero Day. "HAPPY PEPPERO DAY!" I say. My co-teacher takes over at this point saying, first in English, then in Korean, he doesn't like Peppero day because it's just some company who invented the day to sell their product. Suddenly the three missing boys burst through the door, walk directly to me, each hand me a box of Pepperos (Wooow, thank you!), do not even look at my co-teacher and sit in their chairs. My co-teacher repeats his beef about Peppero Day while sending dagger eyes to the boys in the back. They giggle knowing that he is directing the statement at them.
*Some time passes*
I am going over their vocabulary words. Buy. BUYYY! Very good. What can you buy? CARS. Good. COMPUTERS. Good. PPPEPEROOOOS! (from the boys in the back). YES!!! Pepperos for your teacher, such good boys you are!! They laugh and I can tell they feel proud for getting such a positive, genuine reaction out of me. Next word....watch. WATCHEEE! Noooo, WATCH. WATCH! Good! What can you watch? TV. Good. MOVIES. Good. PPPPPEPROOOOOS! Everyone laughs, including me, except my co-teacher. He scorns. No, actually you can't watch Pepperos, you can eat pepperos. Nice try though. *laughter* And we move on to the next word. Same scenario for the next word. My co-teacher is not having it. STOP SAYING PEPPERO! he says aggressively. *laughter* and whispered pepperos follow after every vocabulary word until we finish.
*Some time passes*
Students are in pairs writing a short dialogue pretending to call their friend on the phone. "Hello is Peter there?" "Speaking..." and so on. The chatty boys are in the back working away in their notebooks...not distracting the other students. This is rare. The students work for a while and then it's time to present. My co-teacher asks for volunteers. The usual, hard-working students volunteer and present their dialogue. *clap, clap clap* Who's next? The chatty boys' hands shoot up. My co-teacher seems surprised (as am I) and kindly welcomes them to the front, handing them each a microphone. They begin:
A: Hello, is Peppero there? *giggles*
B: Peppero!
A: Peppero?
B: Peppero, peppero, peppero. *giggles*
The students burst into laughter. I can't help it and burst into laughter too, trying to hide my face from my angry co-teacher. Come on...honestly, it's hilarious. Immediately my co-teacher has both giggling boys noses' against the wall and hands above their heads. "These boys are making fun of our lesson," co-teacher announces to the class, as if we don't know what is happening. I nod in agreement even though my eyes are stilll watering from holding back my laughter. Lucky for the boys the bell rings after a minute or two and class is dismissed. They are ordered to clean the floor and straighten the desks before leaving the room and it's done happily without any hint of remorse.
THE END.
Afterword: I don't blame them. Had my co-teacher not been so openly and agressively against Peppero Day and lighten up a little bit when he can see that clearly it's a fun day for the elementary school students, none of this would have happened. During many frustrating conversations with that co-teacher following that day, which usually begin by him saying, "If you knew Korean better, you would be a better teacher..." (GRRRRRRRR), I replay this peppero scenario in my head to bring a smile to my face and have to hold back the urge to say, "Peppero! Peppero? Peppero, peppero, peppero..."
Setting: Peppero Day (11/11), in the 5th grade English classroom, 1st period (8:50 am)
*Bell rings*
Students scurry to their seats. Immediately Mr. Adjussi teacher commands them to put their hands on their heads and close their eyes in order to calm them. The students sit quietly for a few moments as he scans the room. The three (generally) talkative boys who sit in the back are not there...he's probably relieved. I begin by asking the usual questions, "How are you?" FINE/GOOD/SO-SO (shudder)/HAPPY! "What day is it?" WEDNESDAY! "How's the weather?" SUNNY! WINDY! Ending with, "What's the date today?" NOVEMBER 11th, PEPPERO DAY! Yes, that's right, excellent! The kids cheer and giggle about my knowledge of Peppero Day. "HAPPY PEPPERO DAY!" I say. My co-teacher takes over at this point saying, first in English, then in Korean, he doesn't like Peppero day because it's just some company who invented the day to sell their product. Suddenly the three missing boys burst through the door, walk directly to me, each hand me a box of Pepperos (Wooow, thank you!), do not even look at my co-teacher and sit in their chairs. My co-teacher repeats his beef about Peppero Day while sending dagger eyes to the boys in the back. They giggle knowing that he is directing the statement at them.
*Some time passes*
I am going over their vocabulary words. Buy. BUYYY! Very good. What can you buy? CARS. Good. COMPUTERS. Good. PPPEPEROOOOS! (from the boys in the back). YES!!! Pepperos for your teacher, such good boys you are!! They laugh and I can tell they feel proud for getting such a positive, genuine reaction out of me. Next word....watch. WATCHEEE! Noooo, WATCH. WATCH! Good! What can you watch? TV. Good. MOVIES. Good. PPPPPEPROOOOOS! Everyone laughs, including me, except my co-teacher. He scorns. No, actually you can't watch Pepperos, you can eat pepperos. Nice try though. *laughter* And we move on to the next word. Same scenario for the next word. My co-teacher is not having it. STOP SAYING PEPPERO! he says aggressively. *laughter* and whispered pepperos follow after every vocabulary word until we finish.
*Some time passes*
Students are in pairs writing a short dialogue pretending to call their friend on the phone. "Hello is Peter there?" "Speaking..." and so on. The chatty boys are in the back working away in their notebooks...not distracting the other students. This is rare. The students work for a while and then it's time to present. My co-teacher asks for volunteers. The usual, hard-working students volunteer and present their dialogue. *clap, clap clap* Who's next? The chatty boys' hands shoot up. My co-teacher seems surprised (as am I) and kindly welcomes them to the front, handing them each a microphone. They begin:
A: Hello, is Peppero there? *giggles*
B: Peppero!
A: Peppero?
B: Peppero, peppero, peppero. *giggles*
The students burst into laughter. I can't help it and burst into laughter too, trying to hide my face from my angry co-teacher. Come on...honestly, it's hilarious. Immediately my co-teacher has both giggling boys noses' against the wall and hands above their heads. "These boys are making fun of our lesson," co-teacher announces to the class, as if we don't know what is happening. I nod in agreement even though my eyes are stilll watering from holding back my laughter. Lucky for the boys the bell rings after a minute or two and class is dismissed. They are ordered to clean the floor and straighten the desks before leaving the room and it's done happily without any hint of remorse.
THE END.
Afterword: I don't blame them. Had my co-teacher not been so openly and agressively against Peppero Day and lighten up a little bit when he can see that clearly it's a fun day for the elementary school students, none of this would have happened. During many frustrating conversations with that co-teacher following that day, which usually begin by him saying, "If you knew Korean better, you would be a better teacher..." (GRRRRRRRR), I replay this peppero scenario in my head to bring a smile to my face and have to hold back the urge to say, "Peppero! Peppero? Peppero, peppero, peppero..."
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
fight, fight!
Much to my surprise and disgust, I woke up to a light dusting of snow outside this morning. After my (hushed) curses about the sudden drop in temps this week, I dressed in my layers and left for school. The beauty of the snow clinging to the still color changing mountains on the ride was spectacular. And then to witness the kids of all ages (on their way to school) going NUTS grabbing every bit of snow they could find to throw at their friends was just hilarious. In the end I could not help but smile about it all. :)
Sidenote: It is very rare to see snow here in Busan even in December and January hence such extreme excitement from the children.
Sidenote: It is very rare to see snow here in Busan even in December and January hence such extreme excitement from the children.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
빼빼로 (Peppero) galore!
Happy Peppero Day! This is a fantasically unique and well marketed holiday to Koreans. People give boxes of peppero sticks to their friends and special someones and TEACHERS (bless their hearts) because it is 11/11/. The sticks look like the numbers, get it?
Well played marketing division of the Peppero company. They must sell BILLIONS on this day. I know this because I alone was given a billion pepperos today. Some people hate today because of the commericalization of it all. Well, I LOVE IT. So mmmehhhh to all you haters. I think it's cute.
I have no idea how I am going to get them all home. I have plans to eat them until I vomit. Good idea or no?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
This is the book I write....
One week under my belt! Huge strides are being made. For one, I've met almost all of my students. With the exception of some 4th graders whom I will be meeting today. They are shocked to have a friendly, female native teacher since their last teacher was an older, married man who apparently didn't like children. "Oh teacher, big eyes, beautiful, beautiful!" was the most common reaction, along with receiving folded hearts at the end of classes. Secondly, I feel I've conquerred the once intimidating Busan public transportation system. Getting to and from school is quite easy now and takes exactly an hour with walking, subway, and bus time combined. Not bad, especially with my "morning commute" playlist to get my blood pumping for the day of classes. In the evenings I used the subway to get downtown to meet Kate and Chaz and even went all the way to Ulsan by public transit over the weekend. Thirdly, there have been major breakthroughs with my stern (see previous posts) co-teacher. He rode the bus with me all the way home on Tuesday to make sure I knew where to get off at and by the end of the week was introducing me to his classes as a "wonderful, pretty native teacher". He let me solo plan and teach the English club classes on Tuesday. This was the turning point in our tense relationship. I think he saw I was very much capable of teaching the students on my own. I had to prove it to him. Things have been increasingly more comfortable since then as he seems to value having me in the classroom.
After all my co-teachers' talks of disinterested students, bad attitudes, etc I was shocked at the lack of discipline commanded in their classes. They each spoke softly, just above a whisper, when starting the class and giving directions. No one could hear them, I could barely hear them and I was trying to listen. A handful of students in each class "forgot" their books. I watched nothing be done about this, a great excuse for them to tune out and distract others for the whole 40 minutes. No, no, no, no, no. I handed them all blank pieces of paper to write and follow along. I saw students playing games on their cellphones, not even being sneaky about it like they did at academy. No, no, no, no, no. I took the phones away. A few had their heads down in the back, I kindly woke them up and required them to participate. Several groups of rowdy boys or chatty girls sat in a pack constantly causing distractions but were never required to participate, answer questions or called out for their rudeness. No, no, no, no, no. You, "Mr. Rowdy", will sing a solo if you don't want to learn the chant with the rest of the class. Instant obedience. Or why not try splitting them up? I asked my co-teacher what the punishment was for all these offenses after class and he replied bashfully. "Oh, there's no punishments." Duuuh, it's no wonder the students don't respect you or the subject you teach! I gave my two-cents. Both seemed to agree that something had to be done and seemed thankful I would assist them in the process of whipping the students into shape.
The weekend was lovely. Friday night Kate, Chaz, Enah and I met for some tasty Italian. Then we discovered a little jazz club gem called "MONK" in the hip-hopping university district. We sat nursing some beers and listening to the smooth rhythms. Saturday Ji had a sk8ing competition in Busan so we went to cheer him on. It was in a beautiful part of the city I had never seen before, right next to the Lotte Giants baseball stadium, basketball arena, and indoor swimming pool and with an amazing view of the mountains behind it all. It reminded me of Olympic Park in Seoul. Then it was off to Ulsan for my cute, little Jenilee bear's going away party. She has been teaching in Korea for 2 years now and is heading back to the Phillipines. Many of my favorite Ulsan memories include Jenilee so of course it was sad to say goodbye. But I know I will see her again and perhaps soon (winter break in the Phillipines anyone?). I was able to reconnect with many Ulsan people once again and extend the invitation for them to stay in Busan with me whenever they want. The rain on Sunday was perfect as it gave me a good excuse to be lazy and catch up on sleep after a late night with friends on Saturday.
After all my co-teachers' talks of disinterested students, bad attitudes, etc I was shocked at the lack of discipline commanded in their classes. They each spoke softly, just above a whisper, when starting the class and giving directions. No one could hear them, I could barely hear them and I was trying to listen. A handful of students in each class "forgot" their books. I watched nothing be done about this, a great excuse for them to tune out and distract others for the whole 40 minutes. No, no, no, no, no. I handed them all blank pieces of paper to write and follow along. I saw students playing games on their cellphones, not even being sneaky about it like they did at academy. No, no, no, no, no. I took the phones away. A few had their heads down in the back, I kindly woke them up and required them to participate. Several groups of rowdy boys or chatty girls sat in a pack constantly causing distractions but were never required to participate, answer questions or called out for their rudeness. No, no, no, no, no. You, "Mr. Rowdy", will sing a solo if you don't want to learn the chant with the rest of the class. Instant obedience. Or why not try splitting them up? I asked my co-teacher what the punishment was for all these offenses after class and he replied bashfully. "Oh, there's no punishments." Duuuh, it's no wonder the students don't respect you or the subject you teach! I gave my two-cents. Both seemed to agree that something had to be done and seemed thankful I would assist them in the process of whipping the students into shape.
The weekend was lovely. Friday night Kate, Chaz, Enah and I met for some tasty Italian. Then we discovered a little jazz club gem called "MONK" in the hip-hopping university district. We sat nursing some beers and listening to the smooth rhythms. Saturday Ji had a sk8ing competition in Busan so we went to cheer him on. It was in a beautiful part of the city I had never seen before, right next to the Lotte Giants baseball stadium, basketball arena, and indoor swimming pool and with an amazing view of the mountains behind it all. It reminded me of Olympic Park in Seoul. Then it was off to Ulsan for my cute, little Jenilee bear's going away party. She has been teaching in Korea for 2 years now and is heading back to the Phillipines. Many of my favorite Ulsan memories include Jenilee so of course it was sad to say goodbye. But I know I will see her again and perhaps soon (winter break in the Phillipines anyone?). I was able to reconnect with many Ulsan people once again and extend the invitation for them to stay in Busan with me whenever they want. The rain on Sunday was perfect as it gave me a good excuse to be lazy and catch up on sleep after a late night with friends on Saturday.
(Jenilee and Jong Won)
It's Monday morning, the sun is just peeking out from behind the left-over rain clouds and I'm about to start my day of classes, 아자! This week is going to be a good one. Wednesday = Peppero Day. Which means I'll definitely be sick Wednesday night after eating so many peppero sticks from students....I can't wait! Thursday = OTS ARMY BREAK!!!! OTS will have 6 nights of freedom. I'm so excited to see his lil soju face again. And excited to see him with a buzzed haircut....bahahaha.
Monday, November 2, 2009
안녕 선생님! (hello teacher!)
I don't think it will ever get old hearing the excited greetings from students whether in English or Korean. I was a doubting Thomas but....I'm actually getting an orientation week like was promised! I get to sit back and observe each class once before I'll jump into teaching them next week. All day yesterday was 3rd grade. They are tiny, very sweet and giggly, but shy to speak much more than basic greetings in English. My co-teacher translates everything for them. It's my opinion that they could go without the translation in most cases, these children seem severely underestimated. 3rd and 4th grade study only listening and speaking. Therefore, most class time is spent practicing songs or chants. While songs and chants are more entertaining and work to practice correct pronunciation, they are very much useless when it comes to actually speaking. Here's today's chat, "Wow, wow. It's so small. Look at the monkey it's so small. Small, small. It's. So. Small. Wow, wow. It's so big. Look at the bear...." As I sat listening to these chants over and over I wondered to myself how great it would be if we all, did in fact, speak in chants. Conversation would become an art! Usually the people most likely to use profanity are the ones with the lowest vocabulary, but in this case they'd have to be clever about their profanity and probably just give up and sit quietly. Fantastic! Hmmm...this would be a great sociology experiment, who wants to take it on?
The public school system was such a mystery to me last year when I taught in the academy. I often wondered what the students accomplished at school regarding English, what the schedules were like, were there extracurricular activities?... etc. Now I can better piece together the educational life of a Korean student. First of all, classes are big. Big classes mean very little one-on-one interaction with the teacher. It makes me think of UNI's cheesy slogan that I often mocked...."You're more than just a number!" Well, in Korea you are a number...literally. Each student is given a number which is used instead of their names, even in elementary school. "That student 15 was really distracting today in class." What? It's hard for me to refer to students by numbers so I have requested they pick English names. It may mean having to memorize an entire school of names, but I'd prefer it that way. I can now see why academies are so desirable for parents. There their child would be getting attention and be called by their actual names.
Secondly, students do have extra-curricular classes/clubs. They are in the afternoon and students get to choose from things like recorder class (a classic!), English club, movie club, craving class, sports group, etc. I teach 2 English club classes a week. They are a bit smaller and I have total freedom of the lesson, assa! I think I will really enjoy these classes.
Thirdly, the kids really do eat rice and kimchi everyday for lunch! I always thought this was just a cheap, rehearsed answer the lazy kids would give me at academy. Who knew? I've eaten my kimchi everyday so far and am actually starting to enjoy it. Whoa!
I am directly experiencing a lot more cultural differences in the public school as I interact and observe my students and co-teachers than I ever did in the academy system. It's fun and interesting (classic Korean elementary student response for all "why" questions). I will keep you all updated as I continue to learn. :)
The public school system was such a mystery to me last year when I taught in the academy. I often wondered what the students accomplished at school regarding English, what the schedules were like, were there extracurricular activities?... etc. Now I can better piece together the educational life of a Korean student. First of all, classes are big. Big classes mean very little one-on-one interaction with the teacher. It makes me think of UNI's cheesy slogan that I often mocked...."You're more than just a number!" Well, in Korea you are a number...literally. Each student is given a number which is used instead of their names, even in elementary school. "That student 15 was really distracting today in class." What? It's hard for me to refer to students by numbers so I have requested they pick English names. It may mean having to memorize an entire school of names, but I'd prefer it that way. I can now see why academies are so desirable for parents. There their child would be getting attention and be called by their actual names.
Secondly, students do have extra-curricular classes/clubs. They are in the afternoon and students get to choose from things like recorder class (a classic!), English club, movie club, craving class, sports group, etc. I teach 2 English club classes a week. They are a bit smaller and I have total freedom of the lesson, assa! I think I will really enjoy these classes.
Thirdly, the kids really do eat rice and kimchi everyday for lunch! I always thought this was just a cheap, rehearsed answer the lazy kids would give me at academy. Who knew? I've eaten my kimchi everyday so far and am actually starting to enjoy it. Whoa!
I am directly experiencing a lot more cultural differences in the public school as I interact and observe my students and co-teachers than I ever did in the academy system. It's fun and interesting (classic Korean elementary student response for all "why" questions). I will keep you all updated as I continue to learn. :)
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