Snow. Still.

The way I feel about snow is as follows: 

• November - exciting
• December - romantic
• January - expected
• February - tiring
• March - uncool.  

That's right.  I said it.  It's uncool to snow in March, especially after the 21st which is the first day of Spring (according to US folklore).  Today, I'll have you know, is the  22nd and therefore it is unacceptable that there be snow anywhere in sight.  

But since there is, I took a few pictures.  It is with utter disgrace that I show these to you.  Spring, you better come soon.  My patience is wearing thin.  

the view from my window

Looking down at the street

Dos Tacos

Today I had the pleasure of my first Mexican food in Korea.  It was delightful!  Now, you should know that I make my own Mexican food on a weekly basis (you can find most things you need for a burrito at Home Plus) but burritos in a restaurant seem to taste a million times better.  

Dos Tacos is located right off the main strip in Gangnam (Kangnam).  I have actually walked passed it dozens of times and never even knew it was there because it's discretely hidden behind the Apple store (which is called Frisbee).  

Even though we got to Dos Tacos at 2pm we still had to wait about 20 minutes before we could get a seat.  The restaurant is very small.  It has about 10 little tables.  

As always, I entertained myself with pictures. 

dos tacos this way

 

                              the inside of the restaurant.  

Finally it was time to eat.  I was so excited about my food that I took a few bites before I remembered that I was supposed to take a picture of my burrito.  Oops.  Now you have to see my half-eaten burrito.  

I got the vegetarian burrito which came

with rice, beans (actually this wasn't on the menu but I was pleased when they showed up on my burrito anyway), salsa/pica de gallo, cilantro, sour cream, and cheese.  I opted to add avocado for w2,000 and not have the onions and jalapenos because I'm a spice wuss.   

My burrito cost w6,500 + the avocado made it w8,500.  I also recommend the Horchata which is a bit pricey at w4,000 but surely delicious with just the right amount of cinnamon.     

Advanced Class

Friday was the first day of my Advanced English Club.  I decided to call it a club instead of a class in hopes to give it more of a relaxed vibe and a sense that this was supposed to be a fun activity rather than just another English class that they have to take.  

My other hope was that I could combine both 5th and 6th graders together in one class and really get the best and the brightest of them.  But when only 6th graders signed up for the class I inquired about why that was; after all, I was very clear that I wanted a mixed-grade classroom.  My co-teacher explained that although it is possible in the school, due to scheduling it could only be one grade and so she obviously picked 6th grade since they are the oldest (and therefore should be the most advanced as far as language studies go).  

12 people signed up for the club: 11 girls and 1 boy.  I felt so bad for the one boy, Kevin, who is a really sweet kid and I watched him sink inside himself as he realized that he'd be stuck with all these girls.  (When the class was over I tried to talk to him about being in this class but he didn't quite seem to understand what I was saying.  My co-teacher came over and said she'd try to get more boys to join for him.  Later, I heard that 1 more boy was interested in joining so that my club would now be 11 girls and 2 boys).  

I was actually really surprised at who wanted to be in the club.  I looked around and said to myself "Wait, these are the kids that electively picked to be in English Club?  I had no idea they liked the subject."  But later I found out that hardly any kids wanted to be in the club and that they rock-paper-scissored and the loser had to join the class.  When my co-teacher told me that I tried not to let it show, but I was crushed and humiliated.  

I think I designed a really good curriculum that everyone can enjoy.  We spend a month learning about all the natural disasters (earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, etc), music (classical, hip-hop, pop, and music videos), journalism (where we will make a newspaper, magazine, and then star in our own TV news stories) and so forth.  I tried really hard to make my curriculum fun and entertaining and not something that they get to do in normal English class or in their academies.  I want to use a project-based, student directed learning approach.  At the start of each month they will have the opportunity to suggest one activity for that month's theme.  We will discuss this and see how we can make it happen.  

But now that I know that my students didn't want to be in the class I don't have much hope for it anymore.  Two of the girls squealed with delight as I showed them the powerpoint of what we will be doing.  The others just sat there numbly.  My greatest hope for the class is that they have fun and enjoy themselves.  I want them to forget that it's English class and just see it as a class where they do exciting things like make volcanoes and do egg-drop contests, put on a TV news broadcast and learn through art. This is my love and I hope that they can see it too.  I don't love teaching English but I do love learning and exploring ideas.  My only goal is that the students leave my class with a smile on their face each week.  If they happen to learn more English as a byproduct of that (and they will) then to me that's just an added bonus. 

And now... Random Korea Pictures!!

Bikers are Hardcore in Seoul

Dogs are Hardcore in Suwon