Yeouio Part 1

Yes, I know that it has been a while since I have updated my blog, but I have been so busy lately that I really haven't had much time to sit down and write about everything that has been going on.  Until now.  Even still, I only have an hour before I have to meet a friend for dinner and so I won't be able to write everything.  So here's what I can do for now:

April 10 

On this day I met up with Taylor and some of his friends to check out the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was not a very good day for it as the weather was unusually cold and there were few blossoms on the trees.  Still, we managed to have a lot of fun and I got some decent pictures out of it.  

This is the Yeouido area and the Han River.  People were still out biking despite the frigid weather. 

Wow!  A cherry blossom!  Yes, I did alter this photograph.  But I like it.  

Bridge at the Han River 

There's a little recreation area in the middle of the park landing.  You can rent tandem and single bikes (as seen in the first picture).  These kids had the thrill of riding through the shallow water.  If I had a bike (and it was warmer out) I would totally do that too.  

Instead I got to play on this.   

Because the bench is only balanced in the middle it's almost like a see-saw.

***

Taylor is going to Korean class with this girl from China and she brought along her two friends.  Upon meeting me, one of the Chinese girls gave me a Chinese name which she said means "romantic and free" because she said that was her first impression of me.  It was really sweet.  There was also this other guy that I think was from Africa and said he speaks 6 languages!  Pretty impressive.

After walking around for about 2 hours we were hungry and ready for an early dinner.  Not surprisingly, I had a craving for Mexican food so I suggested that we go to Hongdae for some Dos Tacos.  It was the Chinese girls and the African dude's first time eating Mexican food and they loved it.  I did too.  

Then we went out for a drink in Hongdae at Ho Bar.  Ho Bar is just a typical chain bar and our experience there was only mediocre at best.  They played terrible American rap music that the bartender knew all the words to, the cocktail waitress was standoffish and unhelpful, but most importantly, they were out of the first 3 or 4 drinks that we tried to order.  I wouldn't go back there any time soon.  

After that I had to call it a night since I was tired and had to wake up early the next day.  On my way back I stopped at the central plaza area of Hongdae and watched a free music performance.  The music was ok but there was a male tap dancer and that made it awesome.  

***

Next entry: Dad's visit to Korea

Rain is wet and snow is delicious.

All things considered teaching English is a pretty good job.  I don't have to work too hard, I have plenty of free time and I'm paid well for it.  But that's not to say that I can skate through life here.  There are moments when my job can be really demanding and when I am pushed to my limits.  Everyday is a challenge in some way.  

The things that help me keep going even when things get rough are the kids and the funny things they say.  I love it when they come up to me at my desk and try to talk to me in English.  They say things like "Teacher, I am genius!" or "Teacher, he is crazy!"  

Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself and the things I do.  Last week, for the first time, I used a puppet in class.  I always kind of assumed that the 5th graders would be "too cool" for a puppet but they really loved it.  I fed off their energy and had a good time with it.  My co-teacher snapped a photo of me in class.  

Funny things the 6th graders have said recently: 

The task at hand was basically to fill in the blanks and talk about why they like or don't like the four seasons.  The sentence on the board was written as follows

I like _________ because it ____________. 

Then I showed them a picture.  It was a winter scene where someone was sticking out their tongue at the falling snow.  Almost all of the students followed the sentence structure and said "I like winter because it snows."  But three students very loudly did not say that.  Instead I heard this:

I like snow because it's delicious.  

I laugh just thinking about those 3 boys saying it in their cute little voices.  By the way, one of those kids goes by the name "Person" in my class.  Last year he was "Jack" but this year he's Person.  I have to take a deep breath every time I call on him in class and muster up the strength to call him Person.

The other great sentence was by this one girl Lisa who always tries really hard in class to think of creative sentences.  When I called on her for the picture of spring she raised her hand and said:

I like rain because it's wet.  

Why yes, yes it is.  

in on under over in front of behind

Korean Basketball

Yesterday some friends and I went to a Korean basketball game at the Jamsil Sports Complex.  (There is also a baseball stadium and an Olympics arena in the area).  The website to buy tickets was all in Korean but with the help of my co-teacher we were able to secure some tickets in the upper level of the stadium.  We were fortunate enough to go to Game 5 of the Finals!  

The game was a blast! The team that we were rooting for, KCC Egis, won!  It was a tight game the entire time which made it all the more thrilling. 

Korean basketball games are fun because there are cheerleaders

who don't do flips and cartwheels but rather 

just stand there and make little k-pop dance moves and look cute  

~ How to dress at a Korean basketball game ~

You have two choices: 1) a team shirt, 2) a suit and tie

Shot clock is 01.. At the buzzer.. He shoots... He SCORES!  

 Final  score: Ulsan 65, Junju 69

The crowd goes wild! 

Cooking with the Teachers

Every week I have a Teachers' Class where we learn and practice English.  After the failure of last week's class (which I thought was going to go over really well...) I almost broke down in tears.  I pleaded to my co-teacher for help and ideas about what to do.  "How about a cooking project?" she suggested.  Ok, I thought.  Maybe I can think of something.  

Last week was Passover and although I can't say I celebrated the holiday in any way, I did pay homage today through my cultural cooking class.  Yes, we made Charoset!  It was a huuuuge success and all of the teachers loved it.  I even heard that one teacher said she wanted to make it at home for her children!  

So for those of you not in the know, here is how you make Charoset:

 

 1.  lay out all of the ingredients.  I wasn't able to find my typical ingredients like figs and apricots (the teachers had never even heard of these delicious fruits!) so instead I substituted what I could find in the local grocery store -- which is not to say that the food is local to the area.  It surely was not.  

 2. Chop and dice the apples.  (New   vocabulary included cutting board, chop, dice, mince, and peel)

3.  Mix all the ingredients together in an airtight container. 

4.  Enjoy! 

 

Seoul Pillow Fight

Yesterday, April 3, 2010 was International Pillow Fight Day.  A few weeks ago I saw an event posting on Facebook for it and decided to participate.  According to Facebook there should have been well over 700 people there, but my estimates were much smaller, somewhere around 300 or so.  

The pillow fighting was tough stuff.  I was under the impression that participants would stick to the age-old rule that you never hit someone in the head (especially a lady!) but clearly this was not the case.  Immediately upon entering the mosh pit I was whacked and pillow-slapped in the head.  Over and over I was being head-bashed from behind.  Not cool.  I think I lasted about 2 minutes in there before I gave up in disgust and stood with the rest of the spectators taking pictures.  

Pillow fighting and flying feathers

Bowling in Suwon

Yesterday my buddy Matt and I went bowling in Yeongtong, Suwon.  There's a small bowling alley on the third floor of a building right in the downtown area.  We paid about w11,000 each for 3 games and shoes.  

One thing that's interesting about bowling in Korea is that you can't drink or smoke in the alley.  For a country that drinks almost constantly and allows smoking indoors, I found this rather remarkable.  Instead, bowling patrons drink canned coffee and Vitamin Water.  

Further surprising, for a country that is technology-obsessed (hello LG & Samsung!) their score monitors were rather simplistic.  There were no fancy colors or flashing pictures.  No tips on how to throw the ball and no big animation when you get a strike or a spare.   Heck, there weren't even individual monitors where you could input your name and correct mistakes. 

Still, it was a fun night.  Does anyone not have fun while bowling?  It's one of those sports that you love to hate but secretly love.  

 

rockin' it at the alley

the whole alley had only about 10 or so lanes.

Spring has Sprung!

I have big news.  Spring is here.  Sort of.  

See, the trees are still totally bare and there aren't any leaves yet, but there are these slight buds that give me hope that I'll see flowers on those branches soon.  Plus, I kid you not, it's been warm out recently.  Although the temperature insists that today's high was only 52-F, if you had asked me I would have told you it was easily in the 60's.  Perhaps it was the glorious shining sun or perhaps it's just that after months of weather in the 20's and 30's a 52 degree day is hot stuff.  Nevertheless, with weather continually showing mid-50's temps for the next week, I'm a happy camper -- er, teacher.  

beautiful bud

buds against blue sky

 

South Korea Packing List

A few people have written to me and asked what I think they should bring to Korea and while my guide is not complete by any means, I do hope that it helps you in some way.  

First things you should know: 

1. Korea has 4 distinct seasons and you should be prepared for this (mentally and physically)
2. Korea is not a third world country.  You can get almost everything you possibly desire here, if just at a slight cost markup.  

Clothing

• Summer:
• shorts/skirts
• t-shirts
• tank-tops (Koreans don't really wear tank-tops very much because they are very upper-body conscious and some people think it's rude to show your shoulders, but if nothing else, bring a few as layering wear)
• swimsuit (Koreans don't wear bikinis to the beach.  They swim and lounge in regular clothing.  It's ok to bring a bikini but if you want to swim at the pool in your gym, you really ought to have a one-piece bathing suit.) 
• rain jacket (summer is the rainy season)
• Fall & Spring 
• jeans (1 nice to wear to work and 1 for hanging around)
• slacks or khakis for work 
• long-sleeved tees 
• light sweater
• medium jacket  
• Winter 
• a really thick and warm jacket (or you can just buy one here if you need to save the space in your suitcase.  This jacket will be your bible and you will use it everyday for months)
• hat, scarf, gloves (you can really buy all this here but if you want to bring it, that's cool too)
• heavier sweaters or fleece 

Shoes :

• running shoes/sneakers
• everyday flats/shoes
• winter boots
• 1 pair of high heels 
• 1 going-out pair of boots
• sandals
• your favorite pair of slippers

(As a note: at most schools you are required to use indoor shoes.  Some hagwons don't implement this rule but all public schools do.  Mine are just simple black ballet flat shoes.  It doesn't matter what kind you wear.  I have seen teachers wear high heels and I have seen teachers wear sandals or even slippers)

(A further note on shoes:  Koreans have small feet.  If you have large feet or even normal-sized feet, don't expect to find shoes easily.  I wear a women's US size 8, which I think of as average, but is monstrously large here.  I can't ever buy shoes in the subway stations, but Home Plus, E-Mart, and ABC Mart always carry my size, Korean 250).    

Accessories:

• sheets for a twin size bed (Koreans don't really use sheets!) 
• an alarm clock (or you could just buy it here)
• tampons (they are becoming more common, but if you are in a rural place, you might want to stock up.  Koreans mostly just use pads so don't bring those)
• toothpaste (Personally, I don't really mind the Korean toothpaste but some people think it's gross so if you think you might care, bring some.  Yes, you can buy Crest or Colgate but it's a bit more expensive.) 
• books & movies 
• laptop and camera (some people say that you should buy this stuff in Korea because being so close to China it's gotta be cheaper.  Lies, I tell you.  The US/Canada is way cheaper.  Apple products are the same price though.) 
• DayQuil/Nyquil (going to the doctor is really easy here and so is going to the pharmacy to pick up some pills for that head cold the doctor can't help with but if you're like, you like the comfort of DayQuil when you have a cold even if you're not convinced it works in the first place.  Don't bother bringing asprin or other meds, it's all here.) 
• photos of friends and family 
• a razor with the refills.  (You can buy the Venus at Home Plus supermarket but eh, just bring one along anyway) 
• deodorant (this is also becoming more common these days because of all the foreigners but you might as well just pack it in it you've got room) 
• your Costco membership.  We <3 Costco here.  

Things you DON'T need to bring: 

• um, like almost all of this list.  Seriously, you can buy anything you want here. 
• those little converter things (see picture).  They are so cheap here.  
• umbrella (buy it here; be like the Koreans and use it/love it for sun, snow and rain)
• cheap jewelry (Korea is cheap jewelry heaven)
• cheap socks with cute little designs on them (Korea is also sock heaven)

Random Things I'm Glad I packed:

• canvas shopping bag (I just like mine and it's better quality than some others out there)
• um... nothing really. 

*** This list may be amended at any time.  If you have some suggestions/advice please leave a comment in the blog and I'll try to fix my list *** 

Bulletin Board

At some point during winter vacation I realized that I hadn't really put much effort into teaching here in Korea at all.  I do minimal lesson planning because it is, for the most part, scripted and I didn't need to decorate the classroom because when I arrived it was the middle of the semester and it was already done for me.  

But I wanted to change that.  I wanted to come out of this job knowing that I tried and I put a good effort forth and, I do admit, that teachers would have good things to say about me in a possible letter of recommendation.  

One way that I decided to implement an effort was to make a monthly bulletin board.  It's a small thing and one that few students would care about but I know that it's something that *I* would enjoy and it would enable me to have a tiny bit of creativity here.  

So behold my March bulletin board!  

Yes, in case you were wondering, I did cut out all those shamrocks, created the rainbow and colored all those leprechauns by hand.  And yes, the design is all my own.  

Since it is now April, today I completed my April/Easter bulletin board and if I remember to bring my camera to school tomorrow I will show you that too.