What Do You Think is Scary?

Today in E5-A (fifth-graders), I was asking the kids what bores them, tires them, excites them, and scares them. When I finally got around to Jake, his answer caught me completely off guard!

Me: "Okay, Jake, what do you think is scary?"
Jake: "I think you are scary!"

Yeah, I probably had that one coming!

Hail the Disciplinarian!

My kindergartners (the second class) were behaving so badly today that they were endangering themselves. In other words, I was ready to strangle them! Since strangulation is a frowned-upon form of discipline, and since yelling at kids in a foreign language is also ineffective, I wracked my brain for a better method. I found one! I drew a box with a frowning face and the word "bad" on the board. Then I explained that anyone who kept talking or getting out of their seat would have their name written in the box. At the end of class, anyone with their name in the box would have to stay while everyone else got to go play. Result: the best behaved kindergartners I have ever seen! I think I'll try this on my older kids...

As for my other class of kindy kids, those four are turning into adorable little mimics. Since I am always having to tell Jay to sit back down, the others students now shout "Jay! Sit!" every time he gets up in class. Peer pressure is very effective; he sits every time they tell him to. My little Cali (a VERY cute and intelligent girl) is a miniature teacher now: she loves drilling the other three with the flash cards. Since I'm open to just about anything that encourages more learning, I am happy to let her.

I am also celebrating another victory this week: I taught the first batch of kindy kids the "Hello Song," which is actually a song used in the curriculum of two of my older classes. It's an easy, repetitive song, so I figured it would help the kindergartners learn "hello," "what's your name," and "my name is" better than drilling them would. I was right. The kids love the song, so they go around singing it after class, which is great. My director even commented on it today. Best of all, now they understand what I mean when I ask them their names. Slower but surely, I'm helping to create a batch of future English-speakers.

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!

Once again, we have a sunshiny, warm day here in Gyeongju. All the plants across the street are happily blooming away now, so I couldn't resist a few more flower pictures. I didn't get a chance to properly appreciate them on my way to class, because I was running a little late and then got a flat tire on my bicycle. I guess the leprechauns aren't giving me any help in the luck department today, even though I did wear green.

My eyes were feeling a bit dry today, so I decided to wear my glasses to class. Big mistake! My first class didn't seem to notice, but my second batch of kindergartners couldn't get over the change in my appearance. The minute I started to write the date on the board (and the kids stopped talking in order to observe me), I heard an immediate chorus of "Teacher! Teacher! Eyes!" and "Teacher Grandma!" Whilst retaining my laughter, I explained to them that normally I wear contacts (this explanation involved some brilliant charades), but "today Stephanie-teacher's eyes hurt - ouch. Eyes ouch. So Stephanie-teacher wear glasses today. Understand?" Seven little heads nodded, then Amber piped up again: "So Stephanie-Teacher grandma today!" Kids say the darnedest things!

"Holy Polaris!"

Tonight I went downtown with my new friend Nina to hang out with another new friend, Kristin. The three of us enjoyed a delicious fully-loaded baked potato dinner, a bottle of wine, and the classic, hilarious 1969 film Batman. That film is so cheesy, but that just makes it all the better. It was terrific fun mocking all the pathetic dialogue and "special effects", and of course, rooting for the bad guys. As much as I love Koreans, it was great to hang out with a British girl and another American and be able to speak in complete sentences sans charades.

Today officially marks the end of my third week in Korea. In this short amount of time I've been introduced to dozens of new dishes (most of them delicious), learned to decipher Korean nutrition information on packaged foods, learned to communicate with people in grocery stores, made several new friends, discovered that I really like teaching, and even learned to use Korean appliances. I have yet to humiliate myself in a public place, and I have not committed any cultural offences. On top of all that, my boss likes me, and I her. I'd say I'm off to a simply smashing start!

The Blue Garbage Bag Saga

Korea has a very intelligent way of handling trash pickup: you buy special colored trash bags (different colors for different areas) for throwing out garbage and the cost of the bags covers the cost of trash pick-up. Very sensible. The only problem for me has been the difficulty in locating these bags, which for my location are blue.

For the past two weeks, I have been diligently searching for these bags, with no luck. Cate gave me one to tide me over, but after that, I was forced to commit a big no-no: one night I waited until no one was about and then snuck out a grocery bag full of my trash. It was either that or live with the trash, and since the trash contributed nothing to the upkeep of the home, I could not find it in my heart to allow it to stay. I was unable to comprehend why anything so essential as a garbage bag should be hidden away, and my frustration was mounting with each failed attempt to uncover the secret hideaway of the bags.

This afternoon, the saga finally had a happy ending. Cate, my ever-conscientious director, stopped by to see if I had time for a short trip to the store. Then she took me there personally and showed me exactly where to find the elusive blue trash bags. Who knew a day would come when I would look upon being able to take out the trash with such delight?

A Rooftop BBQ and a Trip to the Cinema

Saturday began with a migraine, which concerned me since I had plans for the evening and did not want to have to cancel them. I used every means available to me and managed to get the blasted thing to a tolerable level of pain by 6:00 pm, which is when I needed to leave by. I was due to meet up with Daisy, the teacher I replaced, at 6:15 in front of the Lotte Supermarket (where I do most of my grocery shopping). I think the walk did me some good, because my headache was completely gone by the time I got there.

We met up with a few other foreigners and then went downtown. A very nice lady, Patty, was having a rooftop BBQ, and we were all invited. It was a great opportunity for me to meet about twenty other foreigners, all of whom are very friendly and fun people to know.

The weather turned cold, so our rooftop party was more like a rooftop huddle around two heaters. We still had fun, though. We all come from different parts of the world, so it was neat to hear about places other people lived and to compare stories of how we happened to choose life in Korea. Aside from being foreign teachers, we all share one very important thing in common: we all love Korea!

After the party, a group of nine of us went further downtown to a cinema to watch an 11:00 showing of 10,000 B.C. The film was actually quite stupid and fanciful, so we had a great time making fun of it (it was in English with Korean subtitles). The cinema was very nice - clean with comfy seats and tasty snacks. I tried some flavored popcorn that was simply delicious. Best of all, unlike in America, the cinema here doesn't show any ads or previews before films.

After the movie concluded we unanimously decided to call it a night, so we hopped into cabs (which cost next to nothing) and headed back to our part of town. I left the group at the Lotte Supermarket and headed cheerfully back to my apartment. As I walked though the abandoned streets, I almost laughed aloud at how much my mother would be bothered if she knew I were walking home alone at 1:00 AM through dark, narrow streets and alleys. It's Gyeongju though, so it's perfectly safe.

Temple Pictures from Last Weekend

Today my absolutely awesome director Cate e-mailed me a few pictures she took last Sunday when we visited the temples.

The first two pictures are of Bulguksa; the third is of the other temple we visited (way up in the mountains). The little girl with glasses is my student Angie and the other little girl is Rosie, also my student (and Cate's daughter). They are two of my best students, as well as two of my all-around favorite kids.

Have You Ever Wondered What Killer Whales Eat?

Thanks to today's kindergarten lesson, I can tell you: they eat seal, octopus, fish, and squid. Now don't you feel smarter?

Today is Friday, so the schedule is different for the kindergarten classes. Each month has a different theme, and each Friday has activities and lessons centered on that theme. The month concludes with a field trip. This month, our theme is whales, and our month will conclude with a field trip to a whale museum (which I am really looking forward to).

My job today was to teach a "science" lesson about whales to the kids and to assist Cate in doing a big whale craft project. For the lesson, I taught the kids what killer whales eat. That may not sound like much of a lesson, but imagine having to learn that lesson in a language that you barely speak. Now do you have a healthy respect for my smart little kindy kids?

For the craft, we made killer whales and colored and cut out pictures of seals, octopuses, squid, and fish to "feed" the whales. Of course, the kids' favorite thing to do with their whales is make them poop out what they just ate. It figures!

Happy White Day!

Today is White Day. When one of my classes informed me of this yesterday, I was, needless to say, a mite puzzled. My students patiently explained to me that Korea has two versions of Valentine's Day. On February 14, girls give chocolate to the boy they like. On March 14, boys give candy to the girl they like. Sounds like a great plan for the candy companies!

On a completely unrelated note, it has been very cloudy here the past two days. Cate told me yesterday that this is actually owing to the pollution from China. My immediate thought was "Wow, just how badly polluted is China?" Then last night, I was watching CNN's Asia World News and they actually discussed the pollution in China. Apparently it is so bad that one marathon runner has already decided not to compete in these year's Olympics, and several other athletes are also reasonably concerned.

If Only Memories Could Be Bottled

"I wish there could have been an invention that bottled up a memory, like perfume, and it never faded, never got stale. Then whenever I wanted to, I could uncork that bottle and live the memory all over again." ~"I" de Winter, Rebecca (by Daphne du Maurier)

Today had two moments, both during the same class, that I wish I could bottle and relive over and over again.

I love my E3-D class. There are only four students: Lucy, Emily, Gene, and Perry, ages eight and nine. They are four of the most eager, lovable kids I have ever been privileged to know. Whenever they enjoy a lesson, for instance, they thank me. Imagine, kids thanking a teacher for teaching them! Most kids just take such things for granted.

Today I created a new review game for the kids, since they have just finished their Smart Phonics book. The first moment I'd like to have bottled took place while they were engaged in this activity. Gene did something (I'm not sure what) that made Emily cry. I jokingly suggested to Emily that she should hit Gene for being such a mean boy and he responded by saying "here" and offering her his head. Emily smacked him on the head before I could do anything. Smacked him hard, in fact. Gene grinned, so I knew he was okay, but I was more than a little bit shocked. I asked Emily if she felt better and she replied thoughtfully, "One more time." Once again, Gene offered his head (rather eagerly actually), Emily smacked him even harder (REALLY hard), and I once again responded with horrified shock. Gene gave me his infectious grin, pointed to himself, and declared "Stone-head!"

My second moment came as I was preparing to leave the room. Emily and Lucy, as always, had erased the board for me. I just happened to glance at it as I was walking out the door and I read the message Emily had left for me: "I love you."

What Gets Lost in Translation

I am curious as to whether the author of my kindergarten curriculum is indeed a native English speaker, or whether he/she just a twisted sense of humor. Today's lesson in my second class was, shall we say, a bit rough on the teacher.

Apparently, euphemisms were not taken into consideration in the writing of the textbook. Try keeping a completely straight face while teaching all of your students to say "Those are my balls!" Normally, I'm above such things, but today, it was REALLY hard not to giggle after hearing this about the sixth time (with each child pointing down at the picture on the bottom of the page as they said it). Take into consideration that my first kindergarten class still insists on referring to the number that follows five as "sex" instead of "six" and I'm sure you'll excuse my brief relapse into adolescent humor.

The author of the textbook also has lousy grammar, which sometimes irks me a bit. For instance, I'm supposed to teach the kids to say they're doing good (when actually they are well), and have them learn to ask if they "can" do something (when actually they should be saying "may"). I know that very few Americans even briefly consider grammar anymore, but I don't like deliberately teaching poor grammar. It's like encouraging kids to live up to the lowest standards.

Some of the things the kids come up with on their own are pretty funny. A few kids like to use the word "angry" as a substitute for "very": "I am angry hot, teacher!" or "It is angry sunny outside." Oh, and what blockhead taught all these Korean kids the phrase "so-so"? I seldom hear that back home, and yet almost every kid over here says they're so-so when I ask how they're doing. They like to make combinations, too: "I'm happy and so-so," "I'm angry and so-so." What the heck?! I keep finding myself using the blasted phrase now!

I love teaching English. I may completely lose my mind in a few months, but I love it.

Dinner with the Parents

Dinner tonight went pretty well. Of course, I was a bit nervous having dinner with the parents of one of my students (Anne, from my favorite class), but at least Gary and Cate were along, as well as Rosie (Cate's delightful daughter) so I wasn't completely put on the spot. Anne is a sweet little girl, and her parents are quite nice, but it was important that I represent the school well, which put a little pressure on me.

We went to a charming little Chinese restaurant, which I was very glad about. I love Korean restaurants, but it is so much easier to make a good impression when you get to sit in a chair, as opposed to the floor. Of course, we used chopsticks, which I'm still not as dexterous with as I would like to be (though vastly improved from when I first came).

There were loads of new foods for me to try (served in courses), most of which I thought were fantastic. I've gotten to the point now where I don't even bother to ask what I'm eating anymore, so I have no idea exactly what ingredients were in each thing I ate. The dumplings with stir-fried peppers and chicken were yummy, as were the sticky sweet potatoes, pickled radishes, and the sweet and sour pork. Best of all were the ginormous shrimp with a light, sweet, buttery coating. Normally I'm not a shrimp fan, but these were amazing! My soup was pretty good, albeit a bit odd: there were pieces of tentacle from some species of sea creature, which I found very difficult too eat (too rubbery for my liking). Of course, the main dish of chajang myon was great (even though I had that for lunch). There was one other dish involving shrimp that I tried and, while it was not a smash hit, it was acceptable to my palette.

The trouble came with a seemingly innocent vegetable and shrimp dish that involved a great deal of broccoli. I personally consider broccoli to be the second greatest among vegetables, so I was eager to try this new dish. Nothing in its appearance prepared me for what was to come. In short, that dish was cruel and vindictive! It was very spicy to begin with, and then I bit into some unidentified crunchy object that was so hot it brought instant tears to my eyes and made me almost desperate enough to tear my tongue out of my mouth and throw it across the restaurant. As I was being observed by Anne's parents, I had no choice but to swallow and try to downplay just how much agony I was in. The side of my tongue is actually still sore from whatever it was I bit into.

Aside from that one mishap, and the one water chestnut that chose to dive into my lap rather than my mouth, dinner was a success. Anne's parents seemed pleased with us teachers, and I thought both of them were very kind. It was also nice to get to spend a little extra time with two of my best students, both of whom are really fun little girls to be around.

One thing continues to amaze me though: I can't figure out how Koreans can stay so small and yet eat so much at each meal! Every Korean I've met can out-eat me easily, yet I'm like Behemoth next to them! It must be all the stairs they put everywhere.

More Pictures of Spring Being Born

It's getting prettier and prettier every day here in Gyeongju, now that spring is finally getting out of bed.

Cate and Mark gave me a bike, which I finally figured out the kickstand on, so today I rode home from school instead of walking. It felt terrific. It's the perfect temperature out, so you don't need a coat, but you don't get sweaty doing anything active, either. Perfect weather for bike riding! I'm planning to leave a little early for my afternoon classes so I can take advantage of the weather and have a bit of a ride.

This evening, three of us teachers are going out to dinner. We're being taken out by the parents of a student that we all have. I'm a little nervous, since I will be kind of on display tonight, but I anticipate good food and a general good time. We're going to a Chinese restaurant. I'm hoping to have something I haven't tried yet.

Spring Is in the Air

On my walk back to school to teach my afternoon classes, I had the delight of seeing brand new yellow blossoms springing up on the trees. Aren't they lovely? I can hardly wait to photograph what it looks like when they all burst out in glorious profusion.

I really enjoy my walks to and from school each day. I pass so many beautiful sights each time, and I find myself leaving home earlier than I need to each day, just so I can savor my walk a bit more, and have that extra moment to enjoy something that catches my eye.

My Clothes Have Been Known to Excite Small Children

It is gorgeous outside today. The sun is bright and cheerful, the sky is a happy light blue, and it's warm enough to go without a coat. Naturally, I felt the need to dress accordingly, so I put on my brightest red shirt this morning. I had no idea what delight my shirt would have for my kindergartners (they are a rather unpredictable bunch).

When I walked into my first class, with my four little cuties that speak next to no English, I was greeted with cheers of "Hello! Red! Red! Hello, hello!" The kids paid much closer attention than normal, so I'm wondering if the shirt had anything to do with it. After class, Jay, my slowest little boy, came and sat with me for a few minutes and kept pointing to his shirt and then mine, saying "red." (He was also wearing a red shirt.) I was so delighted to hear that he has learned something!

In my next kindergarten class, I was greeted with more cheers: "Hi Teacher! Teacher red shirt! Red!" As with my first class, I seemed to hold their attention much better than usual. So either English was much more fascinating today, or kids like red shirts.

After class is over, the kids play together while waiting for their parents. Today, as often happens, they got a bit too wound up and there was soon the sound of crying. It was little Jay, and he came barrelling into the office, ignored the two Korean teachers, and threw himself into my lap. I almost started tearing up myself! He wanted comfort from the foreigner! I can barely communicate with the kid, and yet he likes me! It was a very special moment for me.

I have reached the conclusion that although kindergartners are twice the stress and three times the work of my other classes, they are not without rewards. Kindy kids give the best hugs, for one thing. They make you want to pull your hair out one minute, and then the next minute they do something so unbelievably cute and/or sweet that you wish you could bottle the moment and preserve it forever. They are really lovable little monsters!

On Friday, when Mark and I got back from Daegu, he took me to lunch at a Chinese restaurant that serves excellent chajang myun (noodles in a dark sauce with beef). It was Kids' Day at school, so Cate and two other teachers took the kindergartners out to lunch at the same restaurant Mark and I were at. The kids saw me immediately, and began shouting excitedly, "Stiff-unnie Teacher! Hello Stiff-unnie Teacher!" (By the way Mom and Dad, thanks for giving me a name that not a single Korean can pronounce.) It felt great knowing that just the sight of me excites my little pupils. It felt even better knowing that I didn't have to eat with them!