On Wednesday, I gave a lesson to three middle school classes on the meaning of St. Patrick's Day. It was a typical simplified powerpoint show with some simple sentences to read along. I made it more interesting by having them pinch each other every time I said the word "green." And there is lots of love, so they pinch each other hard. At the end we sang the first verse of "The Wearing of the Green" and I explained the sad meaning of the lyrics. The students connected with the independence movement and symbols because of their own country's struggle against Japan. It is interesting that both countries have been unified under conquering powers and divided after their independence; both have strong indigenous cultures and have exported their sports to the world (rugby and taekwondo); and both drink, a lot. When I asked the Korean students if they have a "drinking" holiday, they laughed and said, "everyday!" Unfortunately, my back-up music on youtube didn't work in one classroom, so I had to dance and sing for them. I am glad no one from Ireland saw me! They were fascinated by the green dye in the Chicago River and the fact that Seoul has a parade as well. During lunch I tuned up a guitar in the teacher room and played some of my classical material. Then I played ping-pong against most of the boys; they mostly won, but I got in some good hits. On my way to school, I somehow missed my bus and I had to get a taxi. I told the driver Sannae Middle School, but he heard "Samae" Middle school. So about 50 minutes and almost $40 later I got to school. He did drop the price $10 because he felt bad, but it was a white-nuckle ride through a windy mountain highway, passing anything that moved less than 75 mph (the driver even turned on his hazard lights and blew through a red light in the shoulder lane).
Yesterday, I feared that I had eaten dog, but the teacher was saying "duck." I guess dog meat is a delicacy and they wouldn't likely serve it at a country school cafeteria. Needless to say, I was feeling a little guilty and sick that I had devoured man's best friend, though it was tasty. I am not crazy about the common fish parts soup broth, ususally with octopus and other weirdness. As far as teaching goes, I am getting the hang of working with my co-teachers. I now have an English translation of the teacher's book, which I got from a friend. It turns out that many of the Korean English teachers didn't know that it exists. This is sad because it is a such a useful tool for bridging the communication barrier. So next week, I will be armed to the teeth with lesson planning preparedness. Today I ran out of activities for my last 4th grade class, so I taught them "Simon says" and they ate it up, especially the "pick your nose" part.
In other news, I now have a cell phone. It gets free TV, where signals are available and it has a English-Korean dictionary that saves words so you can quiz yourself. The same day I got it, my internet and cable was shut-off. Fortunately, cable internet is fast and cheap (less than $30/month) so I will be making some Skype calls soon. The owners of my apartment installed a keyed entry on the door downstairs, so it has been fun getting locked out and helping others get in the building. Another priviledge of being on the first floor is the aroma from my bathroom drain (which I keep covered with a bucket). Mildew is a real problem so I am keeping my windows open as much as I can stand the cold and drying my towel with a space heater. I have been cooking more stir-fry dishes with rice and ramen, and occasionally meat. I scored a huge bag of fresh ginger root for $7.50 and I use lots of garlic, mushrooms, peppers, onions and whatever else I can find. Sometimes my neighbors invite me over for curry and fried donuts.
Taekwondo is going well. I am learning the forms (pronounced poom-says) and avoiding injuries, though I bruised the top of my foot while kicking some pads the other day. Mostly we just follow the leader's actions because we can't understand much of what they are saying. It is great to have a fun group of people with a shared common enemy, namely, pain. The training is sometimes strenuous, but they goof-off a lot, so it keeps things fun, "and it's a great way to stay in shape" (Family Guy). I have been teaching the kids how to play "thumb wars," the hand slapping game, "mercy" and various handshakes. It is impossible to remember all of their names and faces, but when one of them comes up and shakes my hand a certain way, I know which class he/she came from. Tonight, after training, I am going to drink with the two "masters" from taekwondo and some others, which may lead to more body language and a pool of shared meanings. Surprisingly enough, this will be my first drinking excursion in Namwon.
Yesterday, I feared that I had eaten dog, but the teacher was saying "duck." I guess dog meat is a delicacy and they wouldn't likely serve it at a country school cafeteria. Needless to say, I was feeling a little guilty and sick that I had devoured man's best friend, though it was tasty. I am not crazy about the common fish parts soup broth, ususally with octopus and other weirdness. As far as teaching goes, I am getting the hang of working with my co-teachers. I now have an English translation of the teacher's book, which I got from a friend. It turns out that many of the Korean English teachers didn't know that it exists. This is sad because it is a such a useful tool for bridging the communication barrier. So next week, I will be armed to the teeth with lesson planning preparedness. Today I ran out of activities for my last 4th grade class, so I taught them "Simon says" and they ate it up, especially the "pick your nose" part.
In other news, I now have a cell phone. It gets free TV, where signals are available and it has a English-Korean dictionary that saves words so you can quiz yourself. The same day I got it, my internet and cable was shut-off. Fortunately, cable internet is fast and cheap (less than $30/month) so I will be making some Skype calls soon. The owners of my apartment installed a keyed entry on the door downstairs, so it has been fun getting locked out and helping others get in the building. Another priviledge of being on the first floor is the aroma from my bathroom drain (which I keep covered with a bucket). Mildew is a real problem so I am keeping my windows open as much as I can stand the cold and drying my towel with a space heater. I have been cooking more stir-fry dishes with rice and ramen, and occasionally meat. I scored a huge bag of fresh ginger root for $7.50 and I use lots of garlic, mushrooms, peppers, onions and whatever else I can find. Sometimes my neighbors invite me over for curry and fried donuts.
Taekwondo is going well. I am learning the forms (pronounced poom-says) and avoiding injuries, though I bruised the top of my foot while kicking some pads the other day. Mostly we just follow the leader's actions because we can't understand much of what they are saying. It is great to have a fun group of people with a shared common enemy, namely, pain. The training is sometimes strenuous, but they goof-off a lot, so it keeps things fun, "and it's a great way to stay in shape" (Family Guy). I have been teaching the kids how to play "thumb wars," the hand slapping game, "mercy" and various handshakes. It is impossible to remember all of their names and faces, but when one of them comes up and shakes my hand a certain way, I know which class he/she came from. Tonight, after training, I am going to drink with the two "masters" from taekwondo and some others, which may lead to more body language and a pool of shared meanings. Surprisingly enough, this will be my first drinking excursion in Namwon.
Giving lessons on St. Patrick's day in the context of domestic struggle against an occupying power--Ireland versus Britian, and comparing it to their own experience of being occupied by Japan was surely a meaningful approach to enlightening students on some of the historical days of rememberance involving deeply rooted immigrant/ethnic populations in your home country.
ReplyDeletePlaying a musical instrument for the faculty was most likely appreciated, along with the ping-pong exercises with the children as these activities further ingratiate foriegn visitors who desire to gain acceptance through the exchange of culture in a cultural milieu that is all too new.
The taxi cab ride resulting from missing the bus seemed extremely expensive, especially since the words of the schools are so similiarly related--and this is an experience that you will most likely remember in the future if you miss the bus again.
A white knuckle ride passing anything that doesn't go 85 MPH really sounds a little to fast and it seems that the drivers would benefit from slowing down, especially in the mountians, but at least you got there.
As for the mystery elements in the soup and other food, I guess that is just the risk you take, but I do think that it would be interesting to eat octopus or some other mystery sea animals,so don't feel to bad if you don't know what something is .......eating man's best friend would not be my first choice and I would try to avoid this at all costs, but duck is OK, especially roasted or barbecued. Sorry about the mold--Mold is ubiquitous and it often causes some people lung ailments, but as long as things remain well ventilated, then there shouldn't be any long term affects.