Chuseok (추석) Holiday

Chuseok is a Korean holiday a bit similar to our Thanksgiving. It's a Fall harvest holiday, with a large meal, many traditions, and visits to one's hometown and one's ancestor's burial mounds. For Chuseok, our kindergarten classes participated in the traditional art of making Songpyeon, Korean rice cake. To make Songpyeon, you encase sweet potato, beans, or other similar ingredients in glutinous rice flour, then steam it with pine needles. Ours tasted really gross to me and Will, but it was fun.

 

We got 5 days off from school (Sat - Wed), so we decided to go to Danyang, which is about 40 min. away. There we went to Gosu Caves (1.7km walkway through the 5km cave), and walked through Sobaeksan National Park (one of the most beautiful parks in Korea). It. Was. Gorgeous. I love Korea in the Fall, and I love the Chuseok holiday!

Oh yeah, and I baked stuff. That's always fun. 

At the Movies... Almost

Just a short today from today, with apologies for not having blogged in so long. Updates to follow... maybe. You can't really count on me, I'm sorry to say. Too busy having lots of Korean fun!

That time we went to see Brave...

So today Will and I went to see Brave. After months of waiting for it to come to Korea, and after giving up hope, I checked the Jecheon Megabox site and saw that it was here. I played at 4:30 in the afternoon on the first day of our Chuseok holiday, and it was the perfect plan for the day. We arrived in plenty of time, got popcorn, got 4 seats to ourselves, and sipped on our thermos of homemade alcoholic hot chocolate. We sat through Korean commercials and previews, and we saw the Pixar short. Finally the movie starts. Stirring Celtic music plays, and Merida, her mother, and her father start talking... in Korean. 
The movie was dubbed. We burst out laughing as quietly as possible and after some whispering as to what to do, we left and went downstairs. Will went to the ticket counter to see if he could get a refund without knowing any Korean. After much confusion, he finally got tickets to a 5:20 movie that the man assured him was in English. We took a walk in the lovely Fall weather, then returned. As we went into the lobby, Will checked the tickets to see which theater we were in. He noticed something a bit odd... the tickets were for Taken 2, NOT Brave. When he asked the man at the counter, we were informed that Brave is not playing in English... ever. So we walked around outside and looked at Korean dishes and enjoyed the weather and ended up having a very nice afternoon. In Korea, things don't always go as planned. But we have a good laugh and a good time anyway.

Korean Parents: Crazy or Smart? Or both?

Korean parents are strange. 

Fact # 1: The parents of our kids send them first to school, then to one academy (maybe piano), then to another academy (maybe ours), then to another academy (maybe Chinese characters), then to another academy (maybe violin), and they come home between 8 and 10pm, eat dinner, do mountains of homework, and go to bed around 11pm or later. 

Fact # 2: These parents expect their kids to do well in these academies. After all, they are paying lots (LOTS) of money for their kids to attend all these schools. If their kids don’t do a page or two in their books, the parents call the school to find out why. If the kids don’t do well on a test, the parents consider their money wasted and pull the kids out and send them to a different school. 

Fact # 3: Many of these parents expect us to go easy on their kids. Don’t push them too hard. Don’t stress them out. Don’t make them write if they don’t want to. Don’t punish them. Little Bobby doesn’t want to come to Wonderland, please don’t make it too hard for him.

I’m still trying to figure out whether there are two distinct types of parents (those who push their kids and want them to learn, and those who just send their kids to academies because everyone else does), but I don’t think there are. Sure, there are some consistent parents who expect us to push their kids all the time, who get angry with their kids when they get bad scores instead of us, and who keep their kids in Wonderland and just make sure they do the work. But there are still those inconsistent parents who get upset if we spend a day watching a movie instead of doing the textbook, who pull their kids out if they are getting bad grades, but who tell us not to make their kids stressed. 

So that’s the observation. Is there a conclusion? I’m honestly trying to figure that out as I write. Korean culture is very hard on the kids sometimes. Some things are easy for these kids. We teach the wealthiest kids in Jecheon, so these kids have fancy phones, brand name clothes, and new toys all the time. But when I tell them about the hours that American kids go to school, that they often get to choose their extra curricular activities (which include sports, theater, and fun stuff like that), and the amount of time they spend studying, I see their jaws drop with envy. BUT there’s a flip side to that, too. Many American kids don’t get into good colleges, they don’t travel because they can’t speak any other language well (how many of kids right out of high school can say more than a few broken sentences in another language?), they can’t converse with foreign visitors/immigrants to their country, and they never learned a musical instrument. They had a childhood, sure, but a childhood only lasts so long, and then you’re left with the rest of your life. And what you can do with the rest of your life depends largely on what you learned as a child. I think Korean parents struggle a little with this dilemma. It’s Korean culture to push their kids almost to the breaking point to make sure that their kid has a multitude of great opportunities as an adult. But I think some Korean parents still feel guilt, and they try to make it up by telling us not to be too hard on their kids, and by plying them with snacks and toys and fancy phones. As an outsider, I could be totally wrong. But that’s my best guess. As to my own conclusion, I think this is another matter where neither culture is better, but a blend of the two would be better than both. A few more extra curricular activities than American kids have, and fewer than Korean kids have. A little more choice for the Korean kids, a little more push for American kids. Too bad Korea and America are on opposite sides of the world. 

Eight months, eight years, or eight weeks?

I have been in Korea for eight months. EIGHT MONTHS! And Will has been here for seven. In some ways, it doesn’t seem possible we’ve been here for that long. But on the other hand, we’ve grown into our routines and living in Korea has become pretty ordinary... at least sometimes. For the first month I was here, at every moment of every day, there was something strange in the air... A combination of smells, sounds, sights, tastes, and physical feelings that I couldn’t separate and identify, but that was so very different from home. That feeling is gone now. The “strange” smells have become everyday. I still notice them sometimes, but not as something alien. And we have our routines. Get up, make coffee, get ready for work, go to work, teach, come home, cook or go out for dinner, spend the evening reading, watching TV, and playing video games (for Will, at least). We go to Seoul about once a month, but we mostly go to the same places, and even those are becoming familiar. In the middle of this everyday life, I sometimes have to remind myself that less than a year ago, I knew nothing about Korea. Right before I came, I pictured Korea as a totally different place than it actually is, but when I arrived it was still strange. Even frightening. And sometimes it comes as a sudden realization that what I’m doing here is still exotic and interesting, even though to me it’s just living, working, eating, sleeping, sometimes doing something fun. So now I think it’s time (or way PAST time... sorry...) to write down some general observations I’ve made, some things I’ve learned while I’m here, and a general report on the goodness of life. So bear with me... this one’s going to take several posts over the next couple of weeks, since I haven’t written in months. If I save any of it for later, I’m afraid you won’t get it until January! (At which point, I’ll be home, I promise.)

Antics, Part 1

For verbal antics, see my previous post. For photo antics, see this one. 

Thomas' version of our ballerina art project. 

Which later became a Mickey Mouse insect ballerina. 

He was a little upset with me for putting star stickers on his cast, so I asked him if he would like Angry Birds instead. He's obviously cool now. 

I taught half a class like this. I'm a romantic French artiste!

Will likes to draw on the board. This is his demonstration of prepositions. 

For my birthday, the 10-year-olds in my class bought me a cake and compiled a box of presents, which included nail polish, chocolate, and lots of hair things. 

I'm so Korean now, with my sparkly hair bows and my peace signs!

I put all the hair bows into my hair at once. The kids thought it was hilarious. 

There was also some packaging. 

Cake toppers. The kids said that the bumblebee was Will and the butterfly was me. 

Two of the most adorable kids ever, the only two in a class that Will and I alternate teaching. They know very little English but they are so cute. 

One class requested that I dress up as a man. My name that day was "Anastasio Moustachios"[ah-nah-STAH-see-oh muh-STAH-shee-ohs]

2nd Semester - My awesome Prodigy 302 class. They LOVE to have their photos taken. 

My computer camera flips everything around, so the writing isn't actually backwards, but it IS upside down. On the first day of class, I was teaching them the names of the planets, so I wrote them on the board and then recited them. But I had already written my name on the board, so I said, "Uranus... Neptune... Anastasia!... wait..." The kids burst out laughing and said, "Anastasia is a planet! Anastasia Planet!" So then I drew a planet with a heart-shaped continent in the middle and wrote, "Will/Spider-Man, its only inhabitant." Since then the kids have taken turns drawing Anastasia Planet before class everyday. 

Upside down day. Man, that took forever. 

Will has a giggle gaggle. 

Another version of Anastasia Planet

Mrs. Will, so called (and created) by his kindergarten class. 

A spider instead of Spider-Man, and the flower is inspired by Le Petit Prince, or as Emily called it, "The Young King."

I love these kids. 

I'm a mouth monster!

Modern art. That my kids complained about for all of class. 

The Ridiculous Joys of Teaching / Korean Kidisms Part 1 (1st Semester)

Me: MY Iris.

Iris (6): No!

Me: MY Iris!

Iris: No!

Me: Well, whose then?

Iris: My mom’s!

Me: Why can’t you be mine?

Iris: You is not married!

Me: If I GET married, will you be mine?

     [Iris thinks for awhile.]

Iris: No.

Me: You like me today, I let you sing Christmas carols.

Isabel (6): [smirks] Just today.

James (7) (to Will): Tomato Teacher! (The room was a bit overheated.)

Me: So that’s more poetry! Poetry helps you describe ideas, it uses different ways of saying things so that the reader will feel different things, and my shirt is on backwards. Oh dear. Look at that, there’s the tag. I’ve been wearing it like that all day. Oh dear...

Jessica (12): Teacher, you are cute.

Ann (7): Teacher, see! My cat!

[Shows me pictures on her phone.]

Me: Oh, it’s so cute! Can I have it?

Ann: [laughs] No. 

Me: Why not?

Ann: Cat is... cat is... [slides hand across throat] Cat is die.

Speaking Tests

Me: What kind of books do you like to read and why?

Diana (9): I like to read thick books, because books are usually boring in the beginning and interesting in the middle.

Chelsea Teacher: Why don’t people live in the desert? 

Paul (10): Strawberries!

Will: Do you have any friends you don’t like?

Student (10 or 11): Yes.

Will: Why don’t you like them?

Student: Mind control.

Me: What is the hardest thing about learning English?

Diana: The hardest thing you learn in English is that you have homework.

Me: What do you want to do if you go to America? 

Lisa (12): I want to see Liberty of a Statue.

Things My Kindergarteners Half Believe

Will is Spider-Man

I am a vampire who eats homework

I have killed 5 zombies

I have a baby dinosaur in my stomach

My Kindergarteners Ideas on How to Save Endangered Animals

1. Kill all the hunters
2. Put all the animals in Wonderland
3. Not eat meat or plants, only rice (So the animals can eat all the plants)
4. Turn all pandas into Kung Fu pandas so they can fight hunters

Little Innocents

Will is teaching his 4-year-olds the sounds the letters make and getting them to say words that start with the letter.

Will: ‘F!’

Leo: Fuh... fuh... fire!

Tommy: Fuh... fuh... f@#*!

Will: Uh... fog? Very good!

Tommy: No, f@#*!

Will: ...Fog! Very good!

Will: ‘B!’

Tommy: Buh... bollock!

Will: Huh?

Tommy: Bollocks!

My kindergarteners were learning phrases you say or hear in the doctor’s office, and one of them was, “Take off your pants” (for a flu shot), and the CD had the whole class saying, “Take off your pants!” After the CD finished, Isabel turned to her cuddly “boyfriend” Jorden and said, “Take off your pants!” At which point, I said, “OKAY, turn the page!!!” 

Jorden (6): Teacher, you are foxy!

Me (a la Princess Bride): I do not think that means what you think it means. 

Christmas: When I Was Thankful for Tissues and Toaster Ovens

I'm finally un-lazy enough to tell you about my Christmas, but still too lazy to write whole paragraphs about it. So instead I will tell my stories with pictures and captions and a few random sentences.


Will and I went to Seoul late at night on the 23rd. I had a horrible migraine on the train, but we finally got there around midnight. The next morning, we went to the International Clinic at Severance Hospital to get me some migraine drugs. That part is too boring for pictures.

While we ate lunch, we realized that our Starbucks cups expressed the purpose of all of our journeys, including this one. 

And we did. 

English books, English books, as far as the eye can see! There are few English books to be found in Jecheon, so when I heard of an expat-owned English bookstore in Itaewon (foreigners' district of Seoul), I had to go. It's called What the Book, and it has an amazing selection of new and used books. I bought a few and was very happy.

I can't escape America, especially in Itaewon. 

The less fun part of our trip included hunting desperately for a hotel while carrying far too much luggage, getting very sick starting Saturday morning, showing up so late for Vespers on Saturday that we only caught the end (the homily given in Greek and translated into Korean), and having to leave church early on Sunday due to this horrid head cold. 

A tray of tissues at the Starbucks where I attempted to recover after church on Sunday. 

The recovery went well, don't you think?

The train ride home was beautiful. If only I hadn't almost thrown up. That would've made it nicer.

 Now for a Jecheon Christmas, in which I finally got unsicked and unlazied enough to cook for me and Will. 

 

Zucchini cooked in olive oil and chardonnay, and carrots and onions sautéed in butter and brown sugar. 

Ham rubbed with brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger, and garnished with raisins and tangerine slices. Cooked in a toaster oven!

Mini caramel apple pies with vanilla crust. Also cooked in a toaster oven!

All of this food had to be carried down from my apartment to Will's, and I had to set the table quickly so it wouldn't get cold. The tiny wreaths and the candles were the extent of the Christmas decorations, sadly. 

I'm kind of proud of myself for being able to create my own Christmas, my first Christmas without my family. I still missed them tons, though. 

Pretty presents for Will: hot chocolate, Starbucks sumatra coffee, kitchen tongs, and a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. 

Will had actually NEVER SEEN my favorite Christmas movie! He is now forced to be part of the tradition in which I watch It's a Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve until I can't keep my eyes open and then resume watching it on Christmas morning. Incidentally, he liked it, as I suspected he would, since he has both a soul and a heart. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my complaints about sickness and my boasts about my cooking. It's all part of the adventure.