It's getting personal

So I've been at my new schedule for two weeks, and let me just say I am busy, busy, busy, especially compared to how things used to be. Long story short (and trust me, it's a loooong story involving much frustration), the extra third grade class was cancelled, so I'm steady on with 33 hours a week. When I initially signed my contract to work in Korea, I didn't understand how I could work only 30 hours a week - this sounded like quite a deal to me. However, after teaching for almost seven months, I realize how much 30 hours a week teaching is. Teaching itself isn't the hard part, though it's certainly not easy to simultaneously control, entertain, and educate a roomful of faux-jaded 13-year-olds, it's the planning that gets you. Good lessons don't materialize out of thin air, especially my after-school classes. I find curriculum classes to be much easier because you have a book you follow that comes complete with visuals, CDs, exercises, and games, whereas my after-school classes are just whatever I decide is worthwhile to teach - anything ranging from phonics to songs to verb charts to red light, green light if the little ones are being good. I have to think up a topic, then try and somehow complete the trifecta of fun, educational, and useful.

It's definitely getting easier as time goes on, though. I'm learning more and more what works and what doesn't, I have lesson plans from last semester that I can fall back on, and my new main school coteacher is much more strict with the students, so I don't spend as much time (fruitlessly) trying to discipline them. She also speaks quite a lot of English and is very intent on increasing the students' English levels. We have eight classes on Monday and Tuesday, so four in the morning and four in the afternoon. A lot of my in-between class time is used checking students' homework (my coteacher assigns noisy students English dialogues they have to write), or more often than not class runs over into the 10 minute break time. Sometimes I don't even have time to run to the bathroom! Honestly though, I really am taking more pride in my work - I feel like a real teacher, and I'm pleased to see the students doing what they're supposed to. The longer I'm at my schools the more connected I feel to my students, and especially my main school students, the troublemaker school. My coteacher confirmed that lots of my students don't have parents, and most are very poor. I kind of figured this because the town I teach in is mostly a farming town that looks pretty rundown. However, it hit me pretty hard today. I had typed up listen and repeat dialogues for the students to see on the projector, and several complained they couldn't see it. Later my coteacher told me she asked the kids why not, and one of my fourth-grade boys said that he had bad eyesight, so she asked why don't his parents take him to the eye doctor, and he said they have no time because they have to work so much. How sad is that? A little boy's parents don't even have time to take him to get an eye exam because they have to work so much. One of my sixth grade girls apparently cursed at my coteacher because my coteacher assigned her homework for not paying attention in class, and my coteacher said she spoke to the girl's homeroom teacher, who told my coteacher that this girl has problems at home, namely an alcoholic father. Really makes me re-think my own problems.

Now that I can talk more with my coteacher, I'm learning more and more disheartening news about my students' education levels. In my remedial classes, the sixth grade homeroom teacher sent me six students who failed their beginning of the year English exam. My coteacher said the kids need a 40 out of 100 to pass and get into middle school. I have four sixth graders who only got 40s, so they got sent to my remedial class as well. This means I'm now up to 14 students, which is too many for this kind of class, so I'll have to speak to my coteacher about it. I feel bad because I don't want to kick out my students who really want to learn more, but I need to devote my time to those kids who really need it to pass their test. In my remedial class today, I learned that five of my sixth graders don't remember the alphabet. I was really perplexed by this as a few of them weren't actually remedial students; in fact, they can read! How do you not know the alphabet but can read? I'm so baffled by this.

Earthquake

Last Friday was the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan. I don't know too much about the nuclear reactor problems and how serious they might be, but I just wanted to say that even though South Korea is incredibly close to Japan, it hasn't been directly affected by the quake. Personally, I live on the west side of Korea, so anything that would come to Korea from Japan would have to cross the entire country before it could get to me (as Japan is east of Korea). Also the earthquake was on the northeast side of Japan, so it was on the wrong side as far as affecting Korea. Obviously there could be far-reaching effects when it comes to the nuclear reactor, but I don't know anything more about it. For now everything is fine. Please keep Japan in your prayers.

Turns out I'm a karaoke natural

We all have our callings in life, and I think I've found mine - professional karaoke-er. Not singer, mind you - I'm a terrible singer. HOWEVER. Fortunately for me, the Korean karaoke machine doesn't bother with silly things like "talent." Instead, I think it judges you on a combination of 1) Volume 2) Enthusiasm 3) Lyric knowledge. Luckily, I happen to excel at all three categories! Suffice it to say, as one of my Buyeo friends recently said, I'm basically the queen of the noraebang (karaoke). I rack up the hundos like it's my job. I went to the noraebang last night and last week, and I'm just saying that I got 100 on Destiny Child's Survivor, Bohemian Rhapsody, Rihanna's Umbrella, and a Kpop song (my Korean friend Boyoung did the Korean parts and I filled in on the English parts). Anyway, the noraebang is tremendously fun.

Recently my English friend Celina here in Buyeo has been pretty homesick, especially for all these English things I'm not familiar with. Her dad also had to go into the hospital the other week, so it's been a tough time for her. I decided in order to cheer her up I would try my hand at making an English dessert - banoffee pie. Apparently it's a banana-toffee pie that doesn't require an oven, so that was all I needed to hear. I enlisted the help of another Brit, my friend Chris, who claimed to make a mean banoffee pie. We schemed to go to Costco (two weeks ago) to pick up the ingredients: sugar, cookies, butter, cream, and sweetened condensed milk. Alas, Koreans don't really do sweetened condensed milk, and I thought the plan would come to naught. Luckily, an American friend of mine told me that you can get sweetened condensed milk at a special market in Daejeon. Chris goes to Daejeon fairly often, so he volunteered to stop by this market and try to find milk. He was successful, so this weekend he came to Buyeo for Operation: Banoffee Pie. We were slightly out of our depth with this because unsurprisingly, it's pretty hard to make things when your only cooking tools are a wok, frying pan, chopsticks, spatula, and a subpar can opener. But it was okay - REAL cooks don't need measuring cups! After some guesstimation, we melted butter then mixed with with crushed cookies for the base. Then we melted more butter, poured in some sugar, stir stir stir, then add the sweetened condensed milk and stirred some more. We sliced bananas to put in the pie then poured the toffee into the prepared crusts and let it sit.

Then came the real challenge: whisking cream sans whisk. Instead, we used forks to whip the cream. After awhile Chris got the idea to get two forks and rub them between our palms to mimic an electric mixer. Let's just say that if either of us are ever to be stranded on a desert island and need to rub sticks together to create a fire, we've got loads of practice now. After a full hour (no joke) of whisking, we had to call it quits as we were supposed to meet some people "out on the town" of Buyeo (see: noraebang, above). We Tupperwared the cream for Round 2 at a later time.

The next day I went to the dollar store and bought a whisk, and we actually managed to create "soft peaks" in the cream, which was a sign that it was finally ready. I told Chris next time we were going to go American-style and just get some Kool-Whip or something. ("But it's an English dessert! I don't even know what Kool-Whip is!")

We made a pie for Celina and then we had enough left over for four other little pies, so naturally we ate one. It was really good! It was ridiculously sugary though. Sadly, Celina is out of town this weekend and won't be back until late today, so I have to postpone giving her the pie until tomorrow. I think she's going to be really pleased though!

Boyoung, Jake, Chris, Carl, Misa - this is us in Seoul for a going-away party. There's too many people leaving! The new school year means that a lot of people's contracts are finishing so there's been a lot of changes.

My coteacher, his wife, and Kevin. I finally took them out in Buyeo last Friday. That toxic-looking green stuff is kiwi soju cocktails.

Noraebang last night. This is us singing Backstreet Boys' "Backstreet's Back (All Right)." Sadly I think this performance only garnered like a 93 or so.

Banoffee pie! It's got chocolate shavings on top.

Chris, my sous-chef. Well actually he was probably the head chef what with being my resident English dessert expert.

The times, they are a changin'

To reiterate what I was saying awhile ago about how I can always count on things to change, this new semester has brought some tumultous times with it. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that all my students have gone up a grade, and consequently I'm having trouble planning their lessons because I'm so used to the fourth grade being 10 students and knowing that the fifth grade are the troublemakers, etc etc and now I need to learn two new schedules and figure out new classroom arrangements and such.

I am SO not a fan of my new schedules. I miss the old setup so much - this semester has shifted classes more towards the morning so as to make time for "sports" in the afternoon, apparently. This means I teach four classes each morning with ten minute breaks in between each when I used to do two, then a 30 minute break, and then one or two more. At my second school I used to have first period free, and now I don't have that on Fridays. No more kindergarten at my second school either - I used to teach 1st/2nd together, but this semester those classes are separated into 1st and 2nd.

Working with my new coteacher is also a major change. It's good because she speaks good English, but by the same token, this means she actually wants to talk to me all the time. I'm very used to sitting down at lunch and just focusing on eating my food without accidentally consuming any fish bones or whatever, but now we talk during lunch. Also whenever I ask her questions about stuff she has a tendency to go on for awhile when really I just wanted a quick answer so I can go back to my work. A very nice lady though, and she's very gung-ho about English education.

Speaking of English education, here's the biggest change to my schedule: overtime classes. I work 18 hours at Seokyang, my main school, and 12 at Seokseong, my second school. Two of my 18 hours used to be teachers training, where I taught English to various Korean teachers from both my schools. However, this semester they are too busy to take the class, so my principal and coteacher were looking for other ways to fill this time. The principal suggested kindergarten/1st/2nd, but I had what I thought was a better idea.

My main school classes are fairly large (25-29 students), and their English abilities are really varying in each class. It makes it hard to teach everyone because some students can't even write while others look bored senseless. Anyway, so this was my thinking - I had three classes to fill, so why not make review classes for my students who were struggling? This was the perfect opportunity - I would only accept certain students, so there would be less students per class in addition to giving the kids more time to learn the material. I thought this was a better use of my time rather than teaching kindergarten, which I think is kind of a waste of time. I know that learning languages is much easier when you're younger, so I can see the thought process behind having me teach kindergarteners to give them a bit of a head start on their English education, but let's be honest - how much do you really think that one 40 minute class per week is going to teach them? Having taught one kindergarten class last semester, I'll tell you how much. Almost nothing. They pick up vocabulary like you wouldn't believe, but if you want to teach them vocab you don't really need me. I thought that spending an extra 40 minutes with my older students would be much more beneficial.

My coteacher was a big fan of this idea, so she approached the principal. Long story short, he liked it too (all the teachers thought it was a good idea), but he still wanted the kindy/1/2 classes. New proposal? I teach four extra classes. I was pretty leery of this idea because it means that I'll be teaching 34 hours per week. This means that out of a 40 hour work week, 34 of those hours will be spent actively teaching. That means I'm down to six prep hours per week, and if you've never planned lessons, it's hard to understand the work that goes into it. In my opinion the actual teaching is easy; like most things, it's the prep work that's where the real work lies.

Either way my coteacher was definitely pressuring me to take the classes, and to be honest I really wanted to make them happen. For one, they won't require any extra planning because I just want the students to show up with the material we're working on at the time and then just go over it again. Another thing is that I'm liking the idea of overtime pay. And finally, I'm really excited to get a chance to really help out my students that I know have simply fallen behind and never caught up. It's hard because I see them in class, not participating, but now I know that it's not stubbornness or a refusal to learn, it's more that some of them just can't keep up, so they can't participate because they just don't know the answers.

The new schedule starts this week, and I can't lie - I'm pretty nervous. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. Wish me luck!

Pictures from Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Pictures from Phi Phi Island, Thailand

Sunset heading back to Phi Phi

Cliff jumping! 10 meters

Cliff jumping, 8 meters

Preparing to scale the rock face!

Monkey Beach

The beach on Phi Phi

Snorkeling with Jasmine and Blake

Maya Beach, where they filmed that Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach

Maya Beach... yeah, Leonardo DiCaprio and I have swum in the same water. No big deal.

Maya Beach again. Most beautiful beach I've ever seen.

More Maya Beach. I took more pictures of this beach than of Phi Phi!

I'm holding a quarter of a pineapple that has the stem attached so you can eat it like an ice cream cone. Amazing.

Pictures from Bangkok, Thailand

Belated pictures from Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is called the Venice of the East because of its waterways.

Me and my friend Jasmine on our boat tour.

The Grand Palace

I can only assume this is how people spent time before they began wasting it on TV, the Internet, etc

Me at the Grand Palace. You can't wear shorts or have exposed shoulders, so you can rent these nifty skirts.

Wat Pho

Largest reclining Buddha in the world

Wat Pho

Wat Pho

Amusing things of everyday life

Often when I'm just out living my everyday life here, I think about how funny and random some things are. I also always think how I should make a list of them, but for some reason this never seems to materialize. Anyway, here's my attempt at a few things that might make you LOL, even if just a little.


1. Pedestrians never have the right of way. Walk at your own risk, and never expect drivers to stop for you. Instead, expect an irritated honk should you even look like you MIGHT step in front of them. My principal drove me home the other day and he honked at a middle school boy for daring to walk too slowly across the street.


2. Contrary to America, buses here aggressively use their size recklessly to pass or bully slow moving cars. Whereas cars in America dart around these lumbering giants, here cars scurry out of the way lest they be crushed.


3. Women's skirts here are worn jaw-droppingly short. I was actually shocked when I first arrived because I assumed Koreans were modest dressers. This is sort of true - it's not cool to expose your shoulders or arms, even in the summer, but for some reason skirts don't even need to be anywhere near fingertip length. The sickening part is that every Korean woman has the most perfect legs ever.


4. It's true when people say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. That is, I've learned several Korean words, especially those that relate to me. This means that I know when people around me are talking about me, however, I don't know what they're saying! They could be saying, "Wow, she's a really nice person." or "Isn't it cool that the foreigners like to eat at our restaurant?" Or they could be saying, "Ugh, it's those damn foreigners again!" "Why is Theresa always so awkwardly avoiding eating her seaweed soup?"


4a. Ways people refer to me:
Theresa
Theresa teacher
the foreigner
the foreign teacher
the native teacher
the English teacher
Sometimes I'm pretty sure they refer to me as "the baby" as well. I can't be 100% certain, but I do know one of my other native teacher friends has been nicknamed "the baby" at her school because she's the youngest teacher.


5. Elderly people (women especially) are the pushiest people I literally have ever encountered. They will physically push you out of the way; however, this does NOT mean that they will ever move out of your way if you're walking somewhere.


5a. Along the same lines, here's something you'll never hear in the subway, on a bus, on the train, or basically in any crowd: "Excuse me." Rather, you'll know to get out of the way when someone pushes you out of the way.


6. Elderly people are also the loudest people you will hear in public arenas. They all seem to know each other (in Buyeo, at least), and they think nothing of shouting conversations any and everywhere, such as buses, streets, trains, etc. This goes for face to face and phone conversations. However, as a foreigner, I will get stared at and/or shushed for quietly speaking English.


7. According to the other teachers, I have unparalled chopsticks skills.


8. Being told you have a "small face" is the highest compliment you can get in Korea.


9. "Personal space" is a joke compared to America. People here crowd you tremendously, especially in Seoul. Additionally, same-sex touching is a way of showing friendship. It's not uncommon to see men holding hands or women linking arms. My kids especially do this - I've seen my sixth grade boys actually sitting in class with their legs crossed over each other's. You know a Korean likes you when they start rubbing your shoulders or back or slapping your thighs/knees.


10. A popular fashion trend here is "couples clothes." Yes, you'll see a Korean couple walking around wearing the exact same outfit - a slightly more masculine version for the man, slightly more feminine for the woman. Couples' mannequins are hilarious.


11. Beer is a refreshing beverage completely appropriate to consume during sporting events. I don't mean while watching sports, I mean while playing them, particularly volleyball.

12. Drinking water isn't high on the average Korean's to do list. I have a water bottle at school I fill up periodically throughout the day, and I'm pretty sure people find this very strange. They don't really drink anything with meals either, unless it's beer or soju.

13. Koreans don't have hardly any body hair and are simultaneously intrigued and repulsed by foreigners' body hair. Therefore prepare to have your arms or legs petted, especially by children.

14. Kimchi is magic. Really. Apparently it's diet food, health food, cures SARS, and can be eaten with any food at any meal during the day. It probably cures cancer and heals the blind too, but I've yet to confirm this suspicion.

15. Vegetables are more expensive than alcohol or cigarettes.

16. Redlights are more like suggestions rather than rules of the road.

17. If you spend enough money somewhere, you can get Korean "service," aka free stuff. Sometimes you can get service just because, which is awesome.

18. No matter how awful or little Korean you speak, it's still "good."

19. Curly hair = perm. Naturally curly hair is impossible, so every time I scrunch my hair everyone assumes I've gotten a perm.

20. It's perfectly acceptable for children (boys included) as young as 9 to get perms.

21. At the first sign of illness, you must immediately go to the hospital and get medicine. No illness can be cured without medicine.

22. Dodging loogie landmines is an everyday hassle. Hawking loogies and spitting everywhere is totally okay, especially among older Korean men.

23. Be prepared for loud chomping, slurping, and excessive masticating when eating with Koreans.

24. Traveling by yourself in Korea apparently makes you very adventurous and brave.

25. Koreans are never "jealous" of anyone, they are always "envious." For some reason even Koreans who speak excellent English almost always say, "I envy you/him/her" rather than "I'm jealosu of you/him/her."

26. Korean pop (Kpop) is awesome.

27. Korean pop groups are incredibly corporate. They're apparently chosen by big labels, worked to death for very little pay, have extensive plastic surgery, and designed with a very critical eye. Being able to sing is not necessarily a requirement. There's usually one lead singer, some backup singers, a rapper, and the rest are eye candy/dancers. Girls' Generation, the most popular female group in Korea (I think) has a whopping nine members. Super Junior, a male group, has an astonishing 13 members.

28. Korean kids are obsessed with Kpop and most can do a lot of dances from music videos.

29. Koreans are highly nationalistic.

30. Koreans can be some of the nicest, most generous people I have met.