Ten days left. Man oh man. I can’t believe it.
Things are really coming together here, teaching-wise. It’s not as stressful as it was (at the moment, at least), and I’m really developing a vision for what I want and how to achieve it. It’s exciting and makes me look forward to another year to refine and implement it. I think the kids are having a better time in the classroom, too. I don’t know if they are doing better because I’ve become a better teacher and have relaxed some, or if they instigated the change in my attitude, but the cause hardly matters. We are having a good time together these days and it’s really pleasant.
But then, I encounter scenes like this morning: I was teaching my first graders and since they’ve been whipping through lessons in half the time I allocate for them, we played review Jeopardy. I tried to make it interactive, with a fancy PowerPoint and everything, and they did pretty well with paying attention, but their teacher is very strict so the moment they deviated from absolutely perfect behavior (whispering answers, accidentally saying them aloud, talking at all….), he had them get up, go to a corner of the room, kneel, and raise their hands high in the air. At any given moment, there were five of my 25 kids being punished. It was hard for me to watch. I mean, I do appreciate that he helps me out—there is always order in this class, which makes it probably two hundred times easier to teach than, say, my second-grade class—but it seems a bit extreme, even for Korea. I’m pretty sure none of the other teachers do this to the kids. Well, maybe one, but he’s old. This guy is fairly young. He slapped one of the kids on the back today, too. I don’t know what to make of it. He wasn’t this way last year…perhaps he’d whipped the spirit out of all his kids by then? Maybe that’s why my third graders are so wild this year, now that they’ve been released from the torture chamber….At any rate, I don’t really agree with his methods, but I’m really in no position to argue, as a junior, especially considering the usual state of affairs in my room. And even with constant discipline meted out, we still had time to play the exact same Jeopardy game twice. I guess I get results in this class, if nothing else…I think they’ve learned at least as much as my second and third graders, and they are younger and started English class a month later!
This afternoon everyone ambushed my room. Normally, I’m not too happy to see the chillun in the pm…I’m usually working hard, if I’m there, and they’re usually just annoying—running around the room, trying to beg candy out of me, stealing my balls, shouting…every single obnoxious thing a child can do, they do. No feces yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Anyway, today, I had several visitors and for once they were all pretty entertaining. They were making genuine efforts to communicate with me, and since I was just preparing hundreds of alphabet and phonics cards to laminate, I had the time to interact with them. They were my younger students, too…my third and fourth graders. And three of them who must have spent a good half hour with me were boys! It was fun—we traded insults (Beom Keon and You Bee almost died when I called them King Kong and E.T., respectively [popular insults among the elementary set]), talked about families (all my visitors are fascinated by the family picture I have taped to my desk, even though it’s been there since March), discussed age (I found out ALL of their parents are older than mine…how strange! My students with parents older than my own…), and just hung out. They were really amusing and I definitely appreciated their efforts to communicate with me. I know how frustrating it can be, but somehow, the kids are always patient with me and with themselves. More so than adults. I guess they are used to extracting meaning from context, since they don’t necessarily understand a lot at their age, and they are constantly being misunderstood themselves. What I hate, though, is when they say things in English and I still don’t understand them. I feel that is the most frustrating thing that can happen with language learning. Though I usually don’t have that problem with my younger kids—I know what they’ve learned, and they’ve learned with my accent, so we get along pretty well. It’s with the older ones, who have learned from Korean teachers with horrendous Korean accents, that I have problems. I hate frustrating them. It’s times like today when I see that I really am making a difference; I really am doing something important. They are learning to communicate with someone who speaks another language, which is really what English learning, at the core, is all about. It may be crude and inaccurate and simplistic, but it works, for the most part, and I am helping them learn more. It makes me really proud that my kids are brave enough to attempt this with me, especially during their free time! I am sure I didn’t have the courage for that at their age. They may exasperate me 30% of the time, but most of the time (especially now that things are falling into place), I feel pretty lucky to be here, surrounded by such enthusiastic, funny, and cute little ones!
I should be in Busan right now, instead of in my room writing this, but I gave up on the idea earlier this week when I was feeling down and the weather report predicted rain. I’m tired of traveling all the time—I haven’t spent a weekend at home since the end of March! And Busan is so far, too…I am sorry I will be missing all my friends (I was going strictly to attend a big birthday bash), especially since we’re all parting in two weeks already, but I had a feeling it would be a repeat of Seoul earlier this month, where I go to spend time with people and end up feeling terribly depressed. So rather than risk it, I’m sticking to my own company this weekend. It’s safer, less expensive, and less stressful. And now, of course, I’m suddenly feeling a bit sick, so it’s just as well.
I forgot to mention this before, but I discovered yesterday that, as I expected, Mi Song’s stupid, stupid diet is a complete farce. She’s been refusing to eat breakfast at home, probably out of some misguided idea that skipping a meal will make her thin. Yet, she has not lost any weight. The reason? She apparently gorges on snacks all day. I spotted her running out of the grocery store with a large sack of them yesterday morning when I was walking downtown. I hate the idea that she’s 14 and dieting already and her mother allows it, and the fact that she’s compensating with fried Styrofoam just makes it worse. So ridiculous.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Bummin'
Today I feel incredibly lazy. I could not even bring myself to go on a walk today after school. Part of it was the heat—since it was overcast and moderately cool today, I didn’t turn the AC on and I was tired of sweating by then. And mostly I’m just lazy. I can’t bring myself to study Korean, either. Instead, I am surfin’ the net for TV. Pathetic, yes, but I gotta fill the hours somehow, and work is not an option. I know I should, but…Entropy, man. It sets in and paralyzes you. I’m even seriously considering not going to Busan this weekend, which I’ve been planning to do for months now. A bunch of my friends are getting together to hang out and it will probably be the last time I really see many of them. But it’s so far, and I’m not at all sure I’d be able to get there. The trains look pretty sold out. Also, it’s going to rain. These seem to be clear signs that I should stay glued to my computer this weekend.
To redeem myself, I did actually work hard at school today. My threats worked and I had few problems with my third-graders. Two of them did have to stay and clean…I hope they spread the word on how horrible it is. I have to admit that I enjoyed it. One of them had the audacity to ask me for candy afterwards. This was a punishment, not something to be done for rewards! I don’t know what he was thinking…I think I’ve only given out candy for helping me once or twice. I’d rather not have kids helping me (they’re usually not much help, anyway) if it’s just for candy. I stayed late today and got almost all my lessons for next week figured out. And after that, I only have one more week to go! How strange…
To redeem myself, I did actually work hard at school today. My threats worked and I had few problems with my third-graders. Two of them did have to stay and clean…I hope they spread the word on how horrible it is. I have to admit that I enjoyed it. One of them had the audacity to ask me for candy afterwards. This was a punishment, not something to be done for rewards! I don’t know what he was thinking…I think I’ve only given out candy for helping me once or twice. I’d rather not have kids helping me (they’re usually not much help, anyway) if it’s just for candy. I stayed late today and got almost all my lessons for next week figured out. And after that, I only have one more week to go! How strange…
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A Vengeful Heart
Halfway done with the week. And only two weeks left after this! Whoa…I was thinking it was three. Where has all the time gone??? I don’t know if I’m ready to pack it all up and switch countries again, but I’ll have to get it all together soon. According to my latest flight itinerary, I have less than 19 days left in Korea!
I yelled at students for the first time today. I really haven’t yelled in a long time—I rely on ice, rather than volume, to convey anger/disdain/disappointment, generally, though I used to be the queen of the scream. I didn’t even lose my temper today…there was just nothing else to do. They wouldn’t listen to a single word I said. It was so frustrating…I’d just had my first graders, a whole year younger (and a year means a lot at that age) and we’d whipped through two lessons in less than one period. And here I was with second grade, unable to teach a single thing. So I yelled, hoping to scare them, but they thought it was funny instead. I’ll show them funny come Friday, when I start keeping them after class to clean up. Oh, it brings glee to my heart to think of my revenge! If only I’d thought of it earlier…
I yelled at students for the first time today. I really haven’t yelled in a long time—I rely on ice, rather than volume, to convey anger/disdain/disappointment, generally, though I used to be the queen of the scream. I didn’t even lose my temper today…there was just nothing else to do. They wouldn’t listen to a single word I said. It was so frustrating…I’d just had my first graders, a whole year younger (and a year means a lot at that age) and we’d whipped through two lessons in less than one period. And here I was with second grade, unable to teach a single thing. So I yelled, hoping to scare them, but they thought it was funny instead. I’ll show them funny come Friday, when I start keeping them after class to clean up. Oh, it brings glee to my heart to think of my revenge! If only I’d thought of it earlier…
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Ramblin through the Chungnam Countryside
With Tuesday afternoons free, I’ve recently resolved to spend them adventuring. Last week, I went to Gwangju; this week, I went to Seocheon. I had to keep it closer to home this time, as I didn’t have Wednesday free. I wanted to go to Boryeong, a town near Daecheon, Korea’s biggest beach, and several hiking trails, but I realized this morning that there are no direct buses to Boryeong from Hongsan. It’s the same problem I have with the nearby hiking trail, too…I have to catch two buses, which takes a lot of time. So I decided to take the bus to Seocheon instead, which is in the southwestern corner of the province and in a direction I have never traveled before. I knew the sea was somewhat close, but I wasn’t sure how far it was, and I had no idea what was in the area, if anything. It was only a twenty minute bus ride; from there, I started walking generally west to the sea. It took me about two hours to finally reach it, though I could feel the tantalizing ocean breeze on my face the whole time. It was further than I expected and the roads were not direct. Nonetheless, I had an enjoyable ramble through some uncharted Korean countryside and managed not to get lost the whole time! The beach itself was not that great—the tide was low and the revealed sea bed was not all that pretty; I was surrounded by ugly fishing boats and materials; the sand was gorgeous, but completely covered in shells, both whole and crushed to tiny sharp bits. Not idea for romantic strolls by any means, but I enjoyed hunting for seashells. I found some huge intact ones to bring home to Eun Ho and Ye Eun. I think they liked them. I read some 2002 O. Henry prizewinners there on the beach, then trudged back. I did read the bus schedule wrong, so I just missed one bus and had to wait 35 minutes for a new one, but other than that, I managed to go a day without catastrophe. I have a sneaking suspicion I was quite the distraction in the countryside—I’m sure they don’t see many people like me. I often wish for anonymity, especially when I’m wandering aimlessly around and have an audience for my cluelessness, but it’s unavoidable here. I did talk to two groups of people and it was pleasant enough—one group of middle-aged people invited me to sit in the shade with them while they rested, and a group of children walking home from school gathered the nerve to practice “Hi!” and “Nice to meet you!” and “Bye bye!” with me. So cute. I forget how unusual it is for students here to practice English outside of school. At least I can do that for my students…they know EXACTLY what to say when they see a foreigner.
Well, maybe. I had another **** incident today. In my fourth grade class, we were brainstorming words that start with P and one of them (one of my best students, actually), suggested “Puck you?” I was appalled. I think I am going to have to talk to my co-teacher about this. I know they don’t really know what they’re saying, and it’s harmless enough here without the context that makes the word so bad, but still…they should know what it does mean, at least so they’re not using it around me! It’s a shock to my old-woman sensibilities.
And now, back to Autumn Fairytale, my new Korean drama, and to bed…I’m beat after 15 miles of walking today!
Well, maybe. I had another **** incident today. In my fourth grade class, we were brainstorming words that start with P and one of them (one of my best students, actually), suggested “Puck you?” I was appalled. I think I am going to have to talk to my co-teacher about this. I know they don’t really know what they’re saying, and it’s harmless enough here without the context that makes the word so bad, but still…they should know what it does mean, at least so they’re not using it around me! It’s a shock to my old-woman sensibilities.
And now, back to Autumn Fairytale, my new Korean drama, and to bed…I’m beat after 15 miles of walking today!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Skidamarinky Dinky Dink
And so it begins again. Another week. It’s weird to think I only have three left now—this semester has certainly flown by.
Some highlights from today:
1. At lunch, I sat with my second-grade students. Somehow, the subject of love came up—probably because Joo Hee, my greatest admirer and future boyfriend, scooted right over to sit by me, and the girls were teasing him. They asked me if I loved him, and of course I answered yes (to giggles); to ease the embarrassment (if he felt any), I told them that I loved all my students. So we ran through the whole list of their classmates—“Eun Young sarang heyo?” “Keon Hee sarang heyo?” “Yes, yes, yes.” They were so amused and kept running over to their teacher to tell her the OUTRAGEOUS things I was saying. So little Keon Hee, one of my worst students but lately one of my favorites, anyway (of the hiding-behind-parked-cars-and-scaring-me-senseless/bruising-my-hands-with-enthusiastic-high-fives fame), runs over, says something to his teacher, runs back, and blurts, “Me, too!” I’d been expecting tolerance, at best, from eight-year-old boys. I melted.
2. I was walking home the long way, as usual, when I heard the telltale whine of our army guy’s little yellow motorbike. He slowed down behind me, as become his habit lately, and turned to wave to me as he passed. Either my radiant beauty was too distracting or he is not a good driver—he nearly swerved into the ditch. I snorted aloud and I think he heard me.
Some highlights from today:
1. At lunch, I sat with my second-grade students. Somehow, the subject of love came up—probably because Joo Hee, my greatest admirer and future boyfriend, scooted right over to sit by me, and the girls were teasing him. They asked me if I loved him, and of course I answered yes (to giggles); to ease the embarrassment (if he felt any), I told them that I loved all my students. So we ran through the whole list of their classmates—“Eun Young sarang heyo?” “Keon Hee sarang heyo?” “Yes, yes, yes.” They were so amused and kept running over to their teacher to tell her the OUTRAGEOUS things I was saying. So little Keon Hee, one of my worst students but lately one of my favorites, anyway (of the hiding-behind-parked-cars-and-scaring-me-senseless/bruising-my-hands-with-enthusiastic-high-fives fame), runs over, says something to his teacher, runs back, and blurts, “Me, too!” I’d been expecting tolerance, at best, from eight-year-old boys. I melted.
2. I was walking home the long way, as usual, when I heard the telltale whine of our army guy’s little yellow motorbike. He slowed down behind me, as become his habit lately, and turned to wave to me as he passed. Either my radiant beauty was too distracting or he is not a good driver—he nearly swerved into the ditch. I snorted aloud and I think he heard me.
Wonju Weekend
Wonju, travelwise, was a complete nightmare. I got stranded in Daejeon on the way there, which I halfway expected according to the bus schedules I had access to, but figured wouldn’t really happen—I’ve had such luck with travel in the past! Alas, luck was not on my side here. I missed the last bus by a full hour and a half. GD Friday afternoon classes. Why does my school hate on me so hard?
So there I was, alone in a completely unknown section of town. I thought I’d find a jimjilbang (a public bath) where I could spend the night, then do some errands. I was pissed about the whole situation, of course, so I was stalking around Daejeon in a fury. I finally spotted a likely-looking jimjilbang right behind the bus station, so I was making my way to the train station (on foot, to work off steam) when this dude called to me from behind. I thought maybe he was one of those helpful sorts—sometimes people will approach me and ask if I need help, because, you know, foreigners absolutely cannot make their way around Korea—but no, absolutely not. Turns out he’d seen me while waiting for a taxi right outside the bus station and followed me. Slightly creepy, but highly appreciated by my sensitive ego, considering the closest thing I get to a compliment these days is “Man legs.” He was decidedly unattractive, but having nothing better to do, I agreed to have some coffee with him. I was (and am, still) very surprised to be seriously approached by any Korean male who is not either blackout drunk or acting on a dare from friends, and I still don’t know why he did. Something about my “eye smile,” apparently. He said I was the first foreigner he’s ever spoke to. We somehow ended up having an awkward, stilted, but somewhat conversation for over an hour and then he escorted me to the jimjilbang and insisted on paying for me. Sweet! I used to hate chivalrous gestures—I hated the idea of being obligated to anyone, and receiving special treatment solely because of my sex—but they’re definitely growing on me. And it’s true that I do like the guys who do this much better than I would normally. But now, after his talk of surprise visits to Hongsan, I have to figure out how to let him down gently. It never occurs to me to lie until much much later, but I definitely should have said I had a boyfriend if I was not interested. I always mess this up!
In the morning, after about 15 solid minutes of sleep on a hard wooden floor, I caught the bus to Wonju. I didn’t get there until nearly 11, and by that time the weather was most uncooperative for hiking—there were threatening clouds everywhere, but they were interspersed with blinding sunlight. It was truly bizarre. Of course, once we’d decided not to hike, it didn’t rain after all, but who was to know? Too risky—I loathe hiking (or doing anything) in the rain. Instead, Bianca took me home to meet her family. She has a high-school age host sister, who is evidently beyond surly these days, an absent high-school age host brother who goes to boarding school, a moderately crazy host mom who sports multiple piercings and short shorts, and a drunk couch potato host dad. So different from my family, for sure, with my moderate God-fearing host mom, little sweet host siblings, and non-drinking host father. Anyway, she then took me out to a fab mountain mushroom restaurant, where we had an amazing meal in a log cabin to an eclectic soundtrack of random Korean and American pop tunes. That evening, we went to Pirates 3, which was pretty awesome. I cannot believe there’s going to be a fourth one, though. When will it all stop???
The next day, Sunday, was gorgeous, so we decided right away that some hiking was in order. We ate a great breakfast specially prepared by her host mom (usually, they don’t have the typical side dishes, but just rice and some meat, but with a vegetarian around, she prepared a veggie feast!). We were both really happy with all the greens. Then we walked up to Chiaksan National Park, which is literally a half hour walk from Bianca’s house. Lucky girl! The hike was tough—facing the duel challenges of searing heat and pathetic aerobic abilities, we were a little slower than we would have liked. We still managed to cover at least ten miles and climb the highest peak in the range (Birobang, elevation 1250m). Afterwards, her host mom and host grandma (who mysteriously looks younger than her host mom—there’s some kind of mystery there…) took us out for makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles: Wonju’s specialty) before I had to catch my bus. I received a standing invitation to come back to see them next year, which is really nice to hear after she was making fun of my Korean (in)ability. I ended up catching a much later bus than I anticipated and didn’t get back to Buyeo until 10:00, by which time all the buses had departed, but the day was worth it. So much fun, and a great way to cap off the weekend after such a dismal start. Korean hiking rocks! (And Wonju, too, obvi.)
So there I was, alone in a completely unknown section of town. I thought I’d find a jimjilbang (a public bath) where I could spend the night, then do some errands. I was pissed about the whole situation, of course, so I was stalking around Daejeon in a fury. I finally spotted a likely-looking jimjilbang right behind the bus station, so I was making my way to the train station (on foot, to work off steam) when this dude called to me from behind. I thought maybe he was one of those helpful sorts—sometimes people will approach me and ask if I need help, because, you know, foreigners absolutely cannot make their way around Korea—but no, absolutely not. Turns out he’d seen me while waiting for a taxi right outside the bus station and followed me. Slightly creepy, but highly appreciated by my sensitive ego, considering the closest thing I get to a compliment these days is “Man legs.” He was decidedly unattractive, but having nothing better to do, I agreed to have some coffee with him. I was (and am, still) very surprised to be seriously approached by any Korean male who is not either blackout drunk or acting on a dare from friends, and I still don’t know why he did. Something about my “eye smile,” apparently. He said I was the first foreigner he’s ever spoke to. We somehow ended up having an awkward, stilted, but somewhat conversation for over an hour and then he escorted me to the jimjilbang and insisted on paying for me. Sweet! I used to hate chivalrous gestures—I hated the idea of being obligated to anyone, and receiving special treatment solely because of my sex—but they’re definitely growing on me. And it’s true that I do like the guys who do this much better than I would normally. But now, after his talk of surprise visits to Hongsan, I have to figure out how to let him down gently. It never occurs to me to lie until much much later, but I definitely should have said I had a boyfriend if I was not interested. I always mess this up!
In the morning, after about 15 solid minutes of sleep on a hard wooden floor, I caught the bus to Wonju. I didn’t get there until nearly 11, and by that time the weather was most uncooperative for hiking—there were threatening clouds everywhere, but they were interspersed with blinding sunlight. It was truly bizarre. Of course, once we’d decided not to hike, it didn’t rain after all, but who was to know? Too risky—I loathe hiking (or doing anything) in the rain. Instead, Bianca took me home to meet her family. She has a high-school age host sister, who is evidently beyond surly these days, an absent high-school age host brother who goes to boarding school, a moderately crazy host mom who sports multiple piercings and short shorts, and a drunk couch potato host dad. So different from my family, for sure, with my moderate God-fearing host mom, little sweet host siblings, and non-drinking host father. Anyway, she then took me out to a fab mountain mushroom restaurant, where we had an amazing meal in a log cabin to an eclectic soundtrack of random Korean and American pop tunes. That evening, we went to Pirates 3, which was pretty awesome. I cannot believe there’s going to be a fourth one, though. When will it all stop???
The next day, Sunday, was gorgeous, so we decided right away that some hiking was in order. We ate a great breakfast specially prepared by her host mom (usually, they don’t have the typical side dishes, but just rice and some meat, but with a vegetarian around, she prepared a veggie feast!). We were both really happy with all the greens. Then we walked up to Chiaksan National Park, which is literally a half hour walk from Bianca’s house. Lucky girl! The hike was tough—facing the duel challenges of searing heat and pathetic aerobic abilities, we were a little slower than we would have liked. We still managed to cover at least ten miles and climb the highest peak in the range (Birobang, elevation 1250m). Afterwards, her host mom and host grandma (who mysteriously looks younger than her host mom—there’s some kind of mystery there…) took us out for makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles: Wonju’s specialty) before I had to catch my bus. I received a standing invitation to come back to see them next year, which is really nice to hear after she was making fun of my Korean (in)ability. I ended up catching a much later bus than I anticipated and didn’t get back to Buyeo until 10:00, by which time all the buses had departed, but the day was worth it. So much fun, and a great way to cap off the weekend after such a dismal start. Korean hiking rocks! (And Wonju, too, obvi.)
Friday
Fridays are always long. Five classes, plus the prospect of lengthy and stressful evening travel…not so fun, most of the time. Today? No exception, especially considering I really had no idea how to get to Wonju or whether I would even be able to get there Friday night.
Fortunately, I was distracted, as always, by silly student antics. My sixth graders are making their own stores (we’re studying prices and “How much is it?”) and some of the things they come up with are absolutely hysterical. For example, one of my favorites, Young Mook, comes up to me and asks about a word: “Swim” (with motions). “Anyong.” (glasses, with motions). “Oh, goggles,” I say, distractedly. I look down at his paper. He’s written “Water glasses.” Too funny. I have another student in the same class, Jae Cheol, who is also amazing—not nearly as good at English, but wildly enthusiastic at times (seeing him play the drums in samulnori is a hoot) and when he applies himself in class, it nearly always makes me laugh. Today he had decided to open a restaurant and was asking me to translate all these weird food words, and since I’m not a meat eater nor a restaurant frequenter, I was having some trouble, even with all his elaborate gesturing. So I had him go back to his teacher (my co-teacher) and ask her to translate. He came back to me with “Pokuh cutletuh.” “Oh, yes, pork cutlet, sure!” and I write it on the board and try not to laugh. He’s serving pork cutlet? What country am I in, anyway?
I’m increasingly alarmed with the number and frequency of middle fingers I see nowadays. I know my students don’t really know what it means—they just know it’s bad, so they, of course, are naturally drawn to it. I’ve had students flipping me off in class, flipping each other off…it’s incredibly irritating. Things reached a head today when one of my cute little kindergarteners ran up to me while I was walking to the cafeteria. One of his friends was crying, and his attempt to explain what happened consisted of a middle finger and “F*** you!” I was appalled. Again, what kind of place am I in???
Fortunately, I was distracted, as always, by silly student antics. My sixth graders are making their own stores (we’re studying prices and “How much is it?”) and some of the things they come up with are absolutely hysterical. For example, one of my favorites, Young Mook, comes up to me and asks about a word: “Swim” (with motions). “Anyong.” (glasses, with motions). “Oh, goggles,” I say, distractedly. I look down at his paper. He’s written “Water glasses.” Too funny. I have another student in the same class, Jae Cheol, who is also amazing—not nearly as good at English, but wildly enthusiastic at times (seeing him play the drums in samulnori is a hoot) and when he applies himself in class, it nearly always makes me laugh. Today he had decided to open a restaurant and was asking me to translate all these weird food words, and since I’m not a meat eater nor a restaurant frequenter, I was having some trouble, even with all his elaborate gesturing. So I had him go back to his teacher (my co-teacher) and ask her to translate. He came back to me with “Pokuh cutletuh.” “Oh, yes, pork cutlet, sure!” and I write it on the board and try not to laugh. He’s serving pork cutlet? What country am I in, anyway?
I’m increasingly alarmed with the number and frequency of middle fingers I see nowadays. I know my students don’t really know what it means—they just know it’s bad, so they, of course, are naturally drawn to it. I’ve had students flipping me off in class, flipping each other off…it’s incredibly irritating. Things reached a head today when one of my cute little kindergarteners ran up to me while I was walking to the cafeteria. One of his friends was crying, and his attempt to explain what happened consisted of a middle finger and “F*** you!” I was appalled. Again, what kind of place am I in???
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Hiking in Naju/Conflicting with School
It’s almost the weekend again. Those mid-week breaks really shorten the week! Now there’s just Friday madness to make my way through, and then it’s Bianca and Wonju!
On Tuesday afternoon, I headed south to Gwangju to meet Nika. Yesterday was Korea’s Memorial Day, so everyone had the day off (except high school seniors and honors students, apparently. What a reward for hard work…). I usually wouldn’t make such a big trip for just a day, but since the year’s coming rapidly to a close, I wanted to see some of my friends again before they all leave. We had dinner with our friend Anurag at a fabulous vegetarian buffet in the area. There was no meat, no fish, and even no egg and it was all super delicious. I ate two heaping plates full. Soooo good.
That night, I stayed at Nika’s temple, Mireuksa. We were joined by another friend, Ryan, who planned to go hiking with us the next day. We killed the rest of the night killing malicious centipedes and watching Sex and the City, Season Six. Just like last time, I was at the temple only briefly—we didn’t get there until almost ten (slow buses!) and then we left early in the morning to meet Jonah and his hobbit-like teacher for the hike. The temple food was amazing, as usual. I am sometimes envious of Nika—she eats delicious, fabulous food all the time, and at regular hours, lives in a beautiful place, and has a nice long walk to school. I don’t have it too bad, either, but I often wish my schedule were more regular. As in, a one-hour window for possible dinner times, instead of three. Her situation seems somewhat similar to mine in other respects, though—the schools are about the same size and located in similar-sized towns. We got to see her school from the outside, but they’d pulled the curtains in her classroom so we couldn’t spy in there.
We met Jonah at his school in Naju around 9 and started hiking from there (the four of us, plus Frodo teacher, plus two of his friends). There’s a mountain right behind the school that ripples out into a range extending across the countryside toward Gwangju. We spent all day climbing up and down across this ridge. It was actually pretty challenging—the trails were rugged and steep, the air was hot and sticky, and everyone was in better shape than I. We stopped a few times for snack and lunch breaks, but not nearly as much as I am accustomed to on hiking excursions with Koreans. They were pretty hardcore.
We didn’t get down until 3:30, and then we had to catch a country bus back to Naju. I hopped right onto the train and headed back to Hongsan. I didn’t get home until 8:30—what a long day! And it was raining when I got to Hongsan L—but it was totally worth it. I would have done nothing, I’m sure, if I hadn’t gone. It was nice to get a good workout again and to hang out with my friends.
I was really dreading coming back to school today—it felt like the weekend!—but it wasn’t so bad. I managed to get through it, at least, with only a few scars. I only have tomorrow left, and then two days of freedom!
I did finally talk to my school about my schedule. I think it’s sorta worked out now, but I’m a little irritated at their inflexibility. They are going to let me go home July 1 now, but I still have to teach the stupid camp. I’m not looking forward to it at all, but I suppose being here in August, teaching only a handful of kids, is preferable to being here in July, with hordes of kids in swampy monsoon weather while also missing the Fourth. I asked about next year, too, and this is where they’re not being as flexible as I’d like. Fridays off are impossible, they say, mostly because of the principal. Why is he deliberately trying to make my life hellish? Perhaps this is why he’s so unpopular…I AM ANGRY. There’s no reason they can’t be more flexible…basically, it seems that he just wants me to be at school five days a week. I’m going to try again next semester, though…I mean, half the reason I’m here is to experience Korea, and asking for less than half the week in which to do it doesn’t seem unreasonable. Stupid school. And stupid me, for being unassertive and accepting status quo (which I’m sure I will do, resentfully).
On Tuesday afternoon, I headed south to Gwangju to meet Nika. Yesterday was Korea’s Memorial Day, so everyone had the day off (except high school seniors and honors students, apparently. What a reward for hard work…). I usually wouldn’t make such a big trip for just a day, but since the year’s coming rapidly to a close, I wanted to see some of my friends again before they all leave. We had dinner with our friend Anurag at a fabulous vegetarian buffet in the area. There was no meat, no fish, and even no egg and it was all super delicious. I ate two heaping plates full. Soooo good.
That night, I stayed at Nika’s temple, Mireuksa. We were joined by another friend, Ryan, who planned to go hiking with us the next day. We killed the rest of the night killing malicious centipedes and watching Sex and the City, Season Six. Just like last time, I was at the temple only briefly—we didn’t get there until almost ten (slow buses!) and then we left early in the morning to meet Jonah and his hobbit-like teacher for the hike. The temple food was amazing, as usual. I am sometimes envious of Nika—she eats delicious, fabulous food all the time, and at regular hours, lives in a beautiful place, and has a nice long walk to school. I don’t have it too bad, either, but I often wish my schedule were more regular. As in, a one-hour window for possible dinner times, instead of three. Her situation seems somewhat similar to mine in other respects, though—the schools are about the same size and located in similar-sized towns. We got to see her school from the outside, but they’d pulled the curtains in her classroom so we couldn’t spy in there.
We met Jonah at his school in Naju around 9 and started hiking from there (the four of us, plus Frodo teacher, plus two of his friends). There’s a mountain right behind the school that ripples out into a range extending across the countryside toward Gwangju. We spent all day climbing up and down across this ridge. It was actually pretty challenging—the trails were rugged and steep, the air was hot and sticky, and everyone was in better shape than I. We stopped a few times for snack and lunch breaks, but not nearly as much as I am accustomed to on hiking excursions with Koreans. They were pretty hardcore.
We didn’t get down until 3:30, and then we had to catch a country bus back to Naju. I hopped right onto the train and headed back to Hongsan. I didn’t get home until 8:30—what a long day! And it was raining when I got to Hongsan L—but it was totally worth it. I would have done nothing, I’m sure, if I hadn’t gone. It was nice to get a good workout again and to hang out with my friends.
I was really dreading coming back to school today—it felt like the weekend!—but it wasn’t so bad. I managed to get through it, at least, with only a few scars. I only have tomorrow left, and then two days of freedom!
I did finally talk to my school about my schedule. I think it’s sorta worked out now, but I’m a little irritated at their inflexibility. They are going to let me go home July 1 now, but I still have to teach the stupid camp. I’m not looking forward to it at all, but I suppose being here in August, teaching only a handful of kids, is preferable to being here in July, with hordes of kids in swampy monsoon weather while also missing the Fourth. I asked about next year, too, and this is where they’re not being as flexible as I’d like. Fridays off are impossible, they say, mostly because of the principal. Why is he deliberately trying to make my life hellish? Perhaps this is why he’s so unpopular…I AM ANGRY. There’s no reason they can’t be more flexible…basically, it seems that he just wants me to be at school five days a week. I’m going to try again next semester, though…I mean, half the reason I’m here is to experience Korea, and asking for less than half the week in which to do it doesn’t seem unreasonable. Stupid school. And stupid me, for being unassertive and accepting status quo (which I’m sure I will do, resentfully).
Monday, June 04, 2007
Weekending in Seoul
This was not the best of Seoul weekends. I came up originally to “see people”: just about everyone was proctoring this test (because they’re slaves to money) and I was going to spend my time doing something else (like see the country), but then I remembered that we only have a month together now and some Fulbrighters I might not see again. So I yielded to peer pressure and headed north, but in the end, I only saw five other people, two of whom I’ll be spending next year with, anyway. So as far as that was concerned, the weekend was a wash. I was feeling a little down, too...the blues have been striking me periodically and this last week was one of those times. I think I’ve just repressed far too many emotions—it’s not healthy or natural, and when I’m prone to such intense emotions anyway, swallowing them for months can lead to untimely eruptions. I realized this weekend that I’m in need of a lot of love, but at the same time, I do what I can to push it away. In short: a psychological mess. I was happy enough on Friday—I only had to teach two classes and I got up to Seoul early for once, even if I did spend much of the afternoon trying to find a place to stay. There’s nothing like knowing you have nothing in particular to do for two days—hence the cheer. But my peeps (Janaki and Susie) left me Saturday morning for a meeting about their test, and in their absence I grew sad again. So I spent the rest of the day avoiding people. I went to the art museum, the bookstore, a palace, a restaurant, and the river. It was a good downtown tour. The palace (I’d never been to it before) featured a festival this weekend—Korea’s Intangible Cultural Assets Festival. There were a lot of performances, traditional games, and food. It was fun, but a little sad to go by myself. At least I managed to get my first Korean sunburn! I met Paul later for an early dinner and that was nice. He cheered me a bit. One of my former students (a cutie!) called me, too, so I was feeling a little more loved. But then…I was just blue. For no particular reason. I met Bianca and Susie around dusk and we walked around and ate and drank tea, but I was still off. It’s so frustrating when vague depression settles upon you—it’s inexplicable but so hard to lift that cloud off your shoulders! Wallowing is always easier. And so I wallow, usually. And then they left me in the wee morning hours on Sunday, leaving behind profuse gifts: face masks, books, lollipops, bread. I must have cut quite the pathetic figure to warrant that many gifts!
On Sunday, I finally went hiking up Bukhansan (a national park on the northern end of Seoul). First, however, I woke up to Desperate Housewives. (I think this recent trashy TV obsession is another manifestation of my inner turmoil…they’re so emotionally satisfying!) I started walking toward it from our hotel. It took me a while to find a real hiking trail—first it was all roads, then a lame walking path, and finally a trail about two hours into the hike—but it was fun to find my own way, my own adventure. I just walked, up as much as I could, until I found myself on the tippy-top of a rocky peak. It was awesome! Hot, but rockin’. I was equally adventurous on the way back—just went down, and hoped there would be a bus back to downtown (it seemed pretty likely, considering the location). It was a perfect day. I got down just when I planned to and caught an early bus back. I got home just as the sun was setting, sore and hot and salty but happy.
And now, I’m in the midst of another night at home. Some of my old students visited me today (following up on their weekend call, presumably) and that raised my spirits. And on the way home I got the usual big wave from our army guy. It’s sad how that can actually make me happy. My standards ARE lowering…to 50 pound weaklings with shaggy hair. He’s actually a pretty funny sight on that yellow moped, though—I can hear him slow down behind me, and then he turns around, smiles, and waves wildly as he passes. It’s so weird, though…he NEVER talks to me, or even smiles at me, at work. Guess I’m scary.
I’m going away tomorrow—I only teach two morning classes, and then I have Wednesday off, so I’m going to visit Nika at her temple in Naju and go hiking with her and Jonah. It’ll be a nice mid-week break. I don’t know what I’m going to do next week (and the week after, and the week after) when I have to teach full weeks again. I don’t think I’ve taught a full week since March! It’s going to KILL me.
On Sunday, I finally went hiking up Bukhansan (a national park on the northern end of Seoul). First, however, I woke up to Desperate Housewives. (I think this recent trashy TV obsession is another manifestation of my inner turmoil…they’re so emotionally satisfying!) I started walking toward it from our hotel. It took me a while to find a real hiking trail—first it was all roads, then a lame walking path, and finally a trail about two hours into the hike—but it was fun to find my own way, my own adventure. I just walked, up as much as I could, until I found myself on the tippy-top of a rocky peak. It was awesome! Hot, but rockin’. I was equally adventurous on the way back—just went down, and hoped there would be a bus back to downtown (it seemed pretty likely, considering the location). It was a perfect day. I got down just when I planned to and caught an early bus back. I got home just as the sun was setting, sore and hot and salty but happy.
And now, I’m in the midst of another night at home. Some of my old students visited me today (following up on their weekend call, presumably) and that raised my spirits. And on the way home I got the usual big wave from our army guy. It’s sad how that can actually make me happy. My standards ARE lowering…to 50 pound weaklings with shaggy hair. He’s actually a pretty funny sight on that yellow moped, though—I can hear him slow down behind me, and then he turns around, smiles, and waves wildly as he passes. It’s so weird, though…he NEVER talks to me, or even smiles at me, at work. Guess I’m scary.
I’m going away tomorrow—I only teach two morning classes, and then I have Wednesday off, so I’m going to visit Nika at her temple in Naju and go hiking with her and Jonah. It’ll be a nice mid-week break. I don’t know what I’m going to do next week (and the week after, and the week after) when I have to teach full weeks again. I don’t think I’ve taught a full week since March! It’s going to KILL me.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
To Be a Good Teacher! In Korea.
Man, I’m getting super lazy with journal entries. And everything else, for that matter. I think I went on one walk all of last week and maybe did one day of my regular strength routine. I told myself the rest was required to recover from my illness, but really…it’s not like a walk and 50 crunches put people at death’s door. It’s time to actively combat this trend.
Since I last wrote, life’s been pretty busy and I actually haven’t had computer time. On Thursday, I had the morning off from school (ALL my students had tests all morning!), but we had to leave for the ETA conference in Cheonan by 11 am. We took a really wild roundabout way there, following my crazy vp, and I think my co-teacher was pissed ‘cause it shouldn’t take 2.5 hours to drive to Cheonan. I mean, I took a bus from Seoul tonight and it only took me 2 hours! I have no idea what he was thinking.
The conference itself was not especially informative or interesting. We started late, of course, and the entire afternoon consisted of everyone reading their reports. We didn’t even give real speeches—we read. Considering that half of these speeches (that, timewise, took up ¾ of the workshop) and the comments were in Korean, it was incredibly boring for us ETAs. I spent the time reading the other ETAs’ reports and writing notes back and forth with Cara. I don’t think I’ve written notes since I was in high school. Juvenile, but how else am I supposed to stay awake and alert? We received a 110 page booklet of everyone’s reports—the co-teachers’, written in Korean (only one complied with the Board’s request for English translations), and ours, written both in English and Korean. I didn’t give mine a title because that was not mentioned in the nonexistent instructions I received. So imagine my surprise when I open up to my report and see this, in big letters: “To be a Good Teacher! In Korea.” I cried, actually. Too funny. I learned later that these booklets are going to be sent to all native English-speaking teachers in the province. I’m probably going to be sent home for trying to pose as a native speaker.
On the bright side, though, I do have a few new teaching ideas from the conference. I think I am going to completely do away with the books next year and do topic-based lessons. It’ll be a lot less work for me—I’ll just level the lessons based on the age group—and it will make a lot more sense. Plus, I’ll be able to teach them things I think are useful that they couldn’t learn from anyone else. I’ll keep my original plans in place for now—the end of the semester is approaching so rapidly!—and just implement this new plan in the fall. I’m excited to get it all figured out.
After the conference, we had a nice dinner out. I talked a lot to this lady who is on the provisional board of education, I believe. She is really curious about my decision to stay here another year—I guess it’s pretty unusual. She kept asking me why I wanted to teach another year, especially in a place like Hongsan. I actually got a round of applause at the conference itself and made everyone else look bad, too. Oops. She was really nice, though, and I think she’s going to implement one of my suggestions—the one to have regular meetings. I was thinking about it later, though, and I don’t think I was specific enough. I envision the five of us (or more, next year) meeting informally one afternoon a month at each others’ schools. We’d observe a lesson and then chat about things that work, things that don’t, and generally just give each other support and an outlet for frustration. I fear it could just become a monthly meeting like the one we had on Thursday. I will have to get in touch with her.
Laura, another ETA, came home with me that night. She doesn’t work on Fridays. We’ve been talking all semester about a visit, but it didn’t transpire until now. She was enormously popular at school—the kids even hung out of the building to shout hello, which they’ve never done with me! I guess a couple of the little kids said she looked scary, but overall, the comments on her beauty outweighed those. And she’s pretty good at Korean, so the other teachers were really impressed. They’re going to hate me now in comparison.
So it seems that lately Korea is getting popular in America. That is, people seem to be recognizing that there’s more here than nuclear war. Someone sent me this Stephen Colbert clip recently in which he becomes jealous of Rain (a popular pop singer and actor—I’m a fan J) and then makes up a song about kimchi and so on. You can see it here: http://community.livejournal.com/life_in_korea/52173.html. I am surprised this would go over well at home—who knows anything about Rain or kimchi or bibimbap in the U.S.? Maybe it’s funny even without the context—I wouldn’t know—but it’s damn funny to see my adopted country in the news. I also saw some MadTV spoofs of Korean dramas online, and those were pretty good, too. Unfortunately, I don’t have the links for them. Again, I’m surprised to find that American audiences would understand what’s so funny here, but I suppose the situation itself is funny, even if you don’t know exactly what it’s making fun of. Like how I love Will Ferrell’s Robert Goulet impression, even though I’ve never seen or heard the man himself.
I spent last weekend in Seoul, but the recounting of those adventures will have to wait until tomorrow. It’s bedtime (aka Goong time) in Hongsan!
Since I last wrote, life’s been pretty busy and I actually haven’t had computer time. On Thursday, I had the morning off from school (ALL my students had tests all morning!), but we had to leave for the ETA conference in Cheonan by 11 am. We took a really wild roundabout way there, following my crazy vp, and I think my co-teacher was pissed ‘cause it shouldn’t take 2.5 hours to drive to Cheonan. I mean, I took a bus from Seoul tonight and it only took me 2 hours! I have no idea what he was thinking.
The conference itself was not especially informative or interesting. We started late, of course, and the entire afternoon consisted of everyone reading their reports. We didn’t even give real speeches—we read. Considering that half of these speeches (that, timewise, took up ¾ of the workshop) and the comments were in Korean, it was incredibly boring for us ETAs. I spent the time reading the other ETAs’ reports and writing notes back and forth with Cara. I don’t think I’ve written notes since I was in high school. Juvenile, but how else am I supposed to stay awake and alert? We received a 110 page booklet of everyone’s reports—the co-teachers’, written in Korean (only one complied with the Board’s request for English translations), and ours, written both in English and Korean. I didn’t give mine a title because that was not mentioned in the nonexistent instructions I received. So imagine my surprise when I open up to my report and see this, in big letters: “To be a Good Teacher! In Korea.” I cried, actually. Too funny. I learned later that these booklets are going to be sent to all native English-speaking teachers in the province. I’m probably going to be sent home for trying to pose as a native speaker.
On the bright side, though, I do have a few new teaching ideas from the conference. I think I am going to completely do away with the books next year and do topic-based lessons. It’ll be a lot less work for me—I’ll just level the lessons based on the age group—and it will make a lot more sense. Plus, I’ll be able to teach them things I think are useful that they couldn’t learn from anyone else. I’ll keep my original plans in place for now—the end of the semester is approaching so rapidly!—and just implement this new plan in the fall. I’m excited to get it all figured out.
After the conference, we had a nice dinner out. I talked a lot to this lady who is on the provisional board of education, I believe. She is really curious about my decision to stay here another year—I guess it’s pretty unusual. She kept asking me why I wanted to teach another year, especially in a place like Hongsan. I actually got a round of applause at the conference itself and made everyone else look bad, too. Oops. She was really nice, though, and I think she’s going to implement one of my suggestions—the one to have regular meetings. I was thinking about it later, though, and I don’t think I was specific enough. I envision the five of us (or more, next year) meeting informally one afternoon a month at each others’ schools. We’d observe a lesson and then chat about things that work, things that don’t, and generally just give each other support and an outlet for frustration. I fear it could just become a monthly meeting like the one we had on Thursday. I will have to get in touch with her.
Laura, another ETA, came home with me that night. She doesn’t work on Fridays. We’ve been talking all semester about a visit, but it didn’t transpire until now. She was enormously popular at school—the kids even hung out of the building to shout hello, which they’ve never done with me! I guess a couple of the little kids said she looked scary, but overall, the comments on her beauty outweighed those. And she’s pretty good at Korean, so the other teachers were really impressed. They’re going to hate me now in comparison.
So it seems that lately Korea is getting popular in America. That is, people seem to be recognizing that there’s more here than nuclear war. Someone sent me this Stephen Colbert clip recently in which he becomes jealous of Rain (a popular pop singer and actor—I’m a fan J) and then makes up a song about kimchi and so on. You can see it here: http://community.livejournal.com/life_in_korea/52173.html. I am surprised this would go over well at home—who knows anything about Rain or kimchi or bibimbap in the U.S.? Maybe it’s funny even without the context—I wouldn’t know—but it’s damn funny to see my adopted country in the news. I also saw some MadTV spoofs of Korean dramas online, and those were pretty good, too. Unfortunately, I don’t have the links for them. Again, I’m surprised to find that American audiences would understand what’s so funny here, but I suppose the situation itself is funny, even if you don’t know exactly what it’s making fun of. Like how I love Will Ferrell’s Robert Goulet impression, even though I’ve never seen or heard the man himself.
I spent last weekend in Seoul, but the recounting of those adventures will have to wait until tomorrow. It’s bedtime (aka Goong time) in Hongsan!
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