Hi Everyone,
I know I’ve missed the Sunday deadline again, but I was super busy on Monday catching up. First, thanks for sending me postcards and cards! They made me smile! It also makes me look bad since I still haven’t been to a post office in Korea- I know I’m totally lame. However, I do have high hopes for sending out Christmas cards from Korea- we’ll see if it happens :)
I was super busy in Monday because I spent 4 days in Seoul (a long weekend) on a mini-vacation of sorts. I had Wednesday and Thursday off because of the national testing in Korea. The KSAT happened on Thursday, our school was a designated testing site, so I could not even be in the building on Thursday. I had Wednesday off because of some meeting being held about the testing. Wednesday I spent in Daegu just relaxing and trying to do some work. I took off for Seoul on Thursday morning.
Just an FYI- on the national test day, the military grounds all flights (so the noise won’t disturb the test taking students), ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks are on standby to transport tardy students to the test, and some other crazy things happen. Wednesday I dropped by the school to do some grading and saw students from other schools just coming by the school to look at the building where they would be testing (and taking pictures with their cell phones of course). If you think about it, it has to be the single most important day in most Korean students’ lives. It is the first and most important factor in where they will go to university. A good university means a good job and in most cases even a good significant other. No wonder most high schoolers spend 12 hours a day studying.
Back to my travels in Seoul- I successfully bought a KTX (fast) ticket up to Seoul and made it to Seoul in a little under 2 hours. I got there sooner than I intended to check in, but decided to head to where I was staying anyways. I booked three nights at a guesthouse of sorts in Seoul called Koroot. I didn’t know what to expect, but it is super cool. It’s a place where Korean adoptees can stay and it’s super cheap. It’s designed so people can stay for extended periods of time to learn about Korea, learn Korean, or even do a birth family search. I met two Norwegians, a guy from Denmark, two women from France, a woman from Australia, a guy from Sweden, and another woman from America. It was really interesting listening to their stories and getting to meet people from all over the world. Plus, Koroot is a cool place- there’s a kitchen so you can cook, they provide breakfast and will even make you lunch. There’s a t.v., laundry room, and computer. It’s a really great idea and I’m glad it’s around.
So after checking in and getting lunch (which was great!) I left to go site see. I went to a palace near Koroot- it was super pretty. Then I went to see a prison that was used during Japanese occupation- not the most uplifting thing, but really interesting historically speaking. I had lots of time so I decided to have dinner in Itaewon (the foreigner district) and got REAL Indian food!!! Following my fabulous dinner I went to a famous shopping area- they were putting up Christmas displays!!! (See the video below!) It was early, but I decided to head back and ended up talking to some people staying in Koroot for awhile.
Friday morning I woke up and made myself toast with CHUNKY peanut butter *cough* it really was exciting. I got ready and then went out and visited Seoul tower and walked around Namsan park and the Korean Contemporary Art Museum. The park was gorgeous- a lot of the leaves are still on trees and there was really beautiful foliage. Friday night there was a Fulbright forum- a place where researchers get to present a little about what they are doing. It was a great place to meet other people and there was dinner! (Seriously, why do all my comments revolve around food?!) The forum was presented by a woman who is a dancer and has created her own 10 steps to strengthen a particular muscle in dancers (and consequently singers). It was a little odd- but interesting nonetheless. If you’re interested check out Maureen Flemming.
Saturday I woke up and met some friends in Insadong and then we walked to the U.S. Ambassador’s residence for our Thanksgiving lunch! The residence is really nice and built in a traditional Korean style, not American style. We got to meet the ambassador and his wife, along with other people who work at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Apparently it was the third year they hosted ETAs- it was a really nice gathering and the food was good- catered by some place on the American base. I had turkey, stuffing and yams!!!
Afterwards I had the meeting for the program where I am taking 5 high school students up to Seoul. It turns out that there isn’t much planning at all, which is cool. Really I feel like I’m along for the ride. We’re going to visit some cool places and get to hear a lot about international affairs. I think my students are really going to enjoy it. Saturday night I bummed around seeing different people which was a lot of fun.
Sunday I ended up going to church- an English speaking service in Seoul- which was okay. It was a larger service than the one in Daegu, which was cool, and the music was good.
I left Seoul on Sunday night and when I got home my host parents seemed really happy to see me- which was nice.
All in all, a great weekend! I hope all is well back in the states and everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat extra stuffing for me…it’s my favorite!!!
Love you and miss you all!
-me :)
P.S. Sorry you have to tilt your head to see this video! And I posted all the pictures in the album labeled Seoul. I tried to be artsy with some of the pics and I even took a series of doors.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Some more cultural experiences in my travels...
Hi All,
I feel like I've forgotten to blog about a lot of things that have happened. Mostly surrounding different cultural experiences within the last month or so. I'm going to correct that now.
This Sunday my host parents took me to two weddings. I did not know about these until Sat. night around 11:00pm when we were drinking beer and I was eating fish/squid jerky (ick). But my host parents invited me and excited about a new opportunity I said, "yes". So, I woke up on Sunday and my host parents told me to get ready- I didn't know what to wear so I pointed to a suit and my host om shook her head "yes". And off we go- we walk to a nearby subway stop and take the subway across Daegu to the wedding site also known as, "Wedding Castle". Which is a huge tacky wedding hall. Think of happily ever after and such- a Disney wedding essentially. Now, Korean wedding halls are interesting because there are literally weddings booked back to back- which means the place is crowded with tons of people- plus most wedding halls have more than one wedding going on at one time (in different rooms). We literally stayed at the wedding less than 5 minutes. Enough to watch the bride and groom walk down the isle- after they made their entrance on a carriage apartatus that was on tracks suspended on the ceiling! I'm not too sure why we didn't stay longer- I don't htink my host parents knew them all that well. Almost like they were boliged to go an show their faces and give a gift. But, we did manage to eat at the buffet- which is a really interesting experience. Instead of a nice reception hall- there is a buffet area for the whole wedding venue, which means you eat at a cafeteria like place with evryone else who there for the other weddings. Very informal and interesting- the food wasn't all that good either. Now, as I mentioned before, there were two weddings- I only thought we were goign to one, but at lunch my host parents announced that there was "another wedding". So, we hoped into a cab and went to another wedding. We didn't even stay to watch any of the ceremony, but dropped off ou gift, said heloo to a few people and came back home. I have a feeling that if my host parents actually knew these people well we would have stayed longer. Oh, the second wedding hall was a lot more understated and nicer than the first one. Much more traditional. I wish I had pictures, but I think my host mom deleted them off her camera. :(
Another cultural experience I forgot to blog about is a funeral I went to. One of the first year teachers at my school had her father pass away. I think it's tradition for the co-workers to pay their respects- so I went with my co-teacher and other teachers to the funeral home. I'm pretty sure the funeral home was attached to the hospital- like in another wing or something. As we were driving my co-teacher was explaining how it is tradition to bow twice to the person who died and once to their family members. This isn't just a bow, but a full bow to the floor. He explained that Christians usually do not participate in this, but bow their heads instead. Since he's a Christian, he said he'd just do a head bow and tht I should do the same- because I am a Christian and because he didn't want me to offend anyone with a sloppy bow. So we went into the building and went into a room that was reserved for this family. We took off our shoes and went in and bowed to the father- there was a picture- I didn't see a casket or anything. Then the family members (sons) came in and we bowed to them. Then we we went to another little room where we ate some food and talked to the teacher from our school. All in all, it was a somber event, like in the states. The women were dressed in blakc honbok (the Korean traditional dress) and the men were in black suits. Everyone also gave 3,000 won ($3.00) in an envelope to the family. I'm not sure what the money goes toward, but I'm guessing the ceremony.
The third cultural event I forgot to mention was the fact that my host brother had his black belt testing. I kept asking him when it was, but he didn't know until the night before. He tol dme the testing was at 9:30- so I made sure I was up and left the houe with him. I thought it was strange that his parents didn't come, but clearly something was lost in translation. The testing wasn't at 9:30, he had to be at his gym at 9:30 to get ready! I had to hang around for like an hour and a half waiting for kids to get ready. Then, the testing wasn't at my host bros' gym, it was at an elementary school like 20 minutes away. Which means, I got to sit in the very back of a tae kwon do van with like 9 little kids! Note: Tae kwon do vans can be seen all over Korea. Generally each tae kwon do gym has a van that they drive kids around with. I never want to be in one again! The testing went well- it turns out that they test all the kids at one time from many different schools- there must have been like 50 schools- no joke!!! The test wasn't that difficult, but my host bro did well. We're still waiting for his belt.
Okay- a quick update on things that happened this week. Nothing new really happened. Although I did get to go to Pohang this Saturday and see my friend Alison, which was great! I'll post pictures soon. I also have some funny pictures, video of Korean teachers singing the Carpenter's song, "top of the world" for the singing contest at our school! SOOOO funny! I'm heading up to Seoul this weekend for some sightseeing and a Thanksgiving dinner athte Embassy. I'm super excited for turkey and some time by myself.
One more exciting piece of news, I/my school was selected for the Alumni Youth Partnership Program in January, which means I finally have some solid winter break plans! AYPP is going to let me take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days where they will learn about domestic and international affairs (mainly Korea-US realtions). It's super exciting for the students because a. they get out of class and b. the entire program is in English. I have to interview students today for the program, since I can only take 5 :( Still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my break- I'm still hoping for the Embassy internship!!!
AH! One MORE thing- please check out www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com This is where my students will be posting their blogs! Actually- I think I might have to do most of the left work, but we'll see! Exciting stuff all around! I'll let you all know when you can hear them!
-me :)
I feel like I've forgotten to blog about a lot of things that have happened. Mostly surrounding different cultural experiences within the last month or so. I'm going to correct that now.
This Sunday my host parents took me to two weddings. I did not know about these until Sat. night around 11:00pm when we were drinking beer and I was eating fish/squid jerky (ick). But my host parents invited me and excited about a new opportunity I said, "yes". So, I woke up on Sunday and my host parents told me to get ready- I didn't know what to wear so I pointed to a suit and my host om shook her head "yes". And off we go- we walk to a nearby subway stop and take the subway across Daegu to the wedding site also known as, "Wedding Castle". Which is a huge tacky wedding hall. Think of happily ever after and such- a Disney wedding essentially. Now, Korean wedding halls are interesting because there are literally weddings booked back to back- which means the place is crowded with tons of people- plus most wedding halls have more than one wedding going on at one time (in different rooms). We literally stayed at the wedding less than 5 minutes. Enough to watch the bride and groom walk down the isle- after they made their entrance on a carriage apartatus that was on tracks suspended on the ceiling! I'm not too sure why we didn't stay longer- I don't htink my host parents knew them all that well. Almost like they were boliged to go an show their faces and give a gift. But, we did manage to eat at the buffet- which is a really interesting experience. Instead of a nice reception hall- there is a buffet area for the whole wedding venue, which means you eat at a cafeteria like place with evryone else who there for the other weddings. Very informal and interesting- the food wasn't all that good either. Now, as I mentioned before, there were two weddings- I only thought we were goign to one, but at lunch my host parents announced that there was "another wedding". So, we hoped into a cab and went to another wedding. We didn't even stay to watch any of the ceremony, but dropped off ou gift, said heloo to a few people and came back home. I have a feeling that if my host parents actually knew these people well we would have stayed longer. Oh, the second wedding hall was a lot more understated and nicer than the first one. Much more traditional. I wish I had pictures, but I think my host mom deleted them off her camera. :(
Another cultural experience I forgot to blog about is a funeral I went to. One of the first year teachers at my school had her father pass away. I think it's tradition for the co-workers to pay their respects- so I went with my co-teacher and other teachers to the funeral home. I'm pretty sure the funeral home was attached to the hospital- like in another wing or something. As we were driving my co-teacher was explaining how it is tradition to bow twice to the person who died and once to their family members. This isn't just a bow, but a full bow to the floor. He explained that Christians usually do not participate in this, but bow their heads instead. Since he's a Christian, he said he'd just do a head bow and tht I should do the same- because I am a Christian and because he didn't want me to offend anyone with a sloppy bow. So we went into the building and went into a room that was reserved for this family. We took off our shoes and went in and bowed to the father- there was a picture- I didn't see a casket or anything. Then the family members (sons) came in and we bowed to them. Then we we went to another little room where we ate some food and talked to the teacher from our school. All in all, it was a somber event, like in the states. The women were dressed in blakc honbok (the Korean traditional dress) and the men were in black suits. Everyone also gave 3,000 won ($3.00) in an envelope to the family. I'm not sure what the money goes toward, but I'm guessing the ceremony.
The third cultural event I forgot to mention was the fact that my host brother had his black belt testing. I kept asking him when it was, but he didn't know until the night before. He tol dme the testing was at 9:30- so I made sure I was up and left the houe with him. I thought it was strange that his parents didn't come, but clearly something was lost in translation. The testing wasn't at 9:30, he had to be at his gym at 9:30 to get ready! I had to hang around for like an hour and a half waiting for kids to get ready. Then, the testing wasn't at my host bros' gym, it was at an elementary school like 20 minutes away. Which means, I got to sit in the very back of a tae kwon do van with like 9 little kids! Note: Tae kwon do vans can be seen all over Korea. Generally each tae kwon do gym has a van that they drive kids around with. I never want to be in one again! The testing went well- it turns out that they test all the kids at one time from many different schools- there must have been like 50 schools- no joke!!! The test wasn't that difficult, but my host bro did well. We're still waiting for his belt.
Okay- a quick update on things that happened this week. Nothing new really happened. Although I did get to go to Pohang this Saturday and see my friend Alison, which was great! I'll post pictures soon. I also have some funny pictures, video of Korean teachers singing the Carpenter's song, "top of the world" for the singing contest at our school! SOOOO funny! I'm heading up to Seoul this weekend for some sightseeing and a Thanksgiving dinner athte Embassy. I'm super excited for turkey and some time by myself.
One more exciting piece of news, I/my school was selected for the Alumni Youth Partnership Program in January, which means I finally have some solid winter break plans! AYPP is going to let me take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days where they will learn about domestic and international affairs (mainly Korea-US realtions). It's super exciting for the students because a. they get out of class and b. the entire program is in English. I have to interview students today for the program, since I can only take 5 :( Still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my break- I'm still hoping for the Embassy internship!!!
AH! One MORE thing- please check out www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com This is where my students will be posting their blogs! Actually- I think I might have to do most of the left work, but we'll see! Exciting stuff all around! I'll let you all know when you can hear them!
-me :)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
4 months!
Hi all,
I really had a nice relaxing weekend- which is what I needed since I'm
trying to get over bronchitis- ick! I went to the hospital twice last
week and got antibiotics...I just hope it works, because I only got
the antibiotics for three days each time- so I had a day in between
when I wasn't taking them. But I think I'm finally beginning to
actually feel better. Friday at the hospital (which really means
doctors) I had my sinuses cleaned out- which is gross, but I'm gonna
explain anyways. They take this long (6-8 inches), metal, thin suction thing and
stick it down your nose and suck up all the stuff. I didn't
understand at first, but then I realized what she was going to do and
I was horrified. There wasn't much I could do to stop her at that
point, thankfully it didn't hurt. But it was one of the weirdest
things I've ever experienced.
Friday night was fun- I went to a movie with one of the Korean
teachers at my school. I really like this particular teacher because
she's really with it and speaks English almost fluently- she studied
in the states. We went and saw Once- an Irish rock musical. It is an
Indie film- and I honestly can't say I'd recommend you see it. The
music is really good- I liked the music a lot, but the movie itself
was a bit painful to watch. At first the film was shaky and the story
drawn out and not very good- but if you have a chance to listen to
the soundtrack, you should.
Saturday I hung around and then went to a girl's spa night- one of the
women from church was hosting it. She actually teaches for the
Department of Defense Schools here, which is interesting. She has the
sweetest apartment ever!!! I'm not even joking- it's a 5 bedroom
apartment on the top (27th) floor of the building (she lives by
herself). It has a spectacular view- she was able to buy a whole
bunch of American snacks from the base- which was a treat. I ate a
bunch and felt really icky. But we also had chili- which was kinda
crazy, with real sour cream and cheese! (Clearly, I'm in another
country.) We watched Rent, there are some musical fans, and Step Up.
We had manicures and just hung out- it was really nice, because it was
the first time I've gotten to hang out with these women from church.
Of course I'm the youngest, but there is one girl who's 23- most women
are around 30. Some are even married- which is cool. I ended up
spending the night- sleeping on a real mattress. And then had eggs
and pancakes for breakfast!!! The first time since I've been here!
(Notice how all my news revolves around food.)
Then I went to church yesterday and after had dinner and gelato with some
of the people and women's Bible study. I really like the women, which
is exciting because I've been looking for fellowship for awhile. I
don't necessarily like the sermons at church. However, I do like the worship at
church- so that's cool- fellowship and worship I guess isn't a bad
reason to go to church.
So, four months have gone by and although I am missing family, friends, and familiar things- like Boulder and driving my car, I am having a good time. Everytime a new month begins it makes me reflect and evaluate how I'm spending my time in Korea and how I feel about it. Last month I reflected upon how I hadn't made any Korean friends, Korean language study was really hard, that I didn't have any fellowship, and I wasn't sure where to apply for jobs and such next year.
This month things have changed. I have made one Korean friend, another aspiring English teacher in Korea and I have started to do things with teachers at school- I think some of them count as friends. I passed my Korean test (80%!) and I really like some of the people at church, which equals fellowship. Hopefully it also means friends, as some of the foreigners will be here the entire time I'm here. I still don't have clear direction for where I'll apply for jobs and such next year, but realize that I don't have to think about that immediately- which is comforting.
Hope everyone is dong well at home, please let me know what's happening!
-me :)
I really had a nice relaxing weekend- which is what I needed since I'm
trying to get over bronchitis- ick! I went to the hospital twice last
week and got antibiotics...I just hope it works, because I only got
the antibiotics for three days each time- so I had a day in between
when I wasn't taking them. But I think I'm finally beginning to
actually feel better. Friday at the hospital (which really means
doctors) I had my sinuses cleaned out- which is gross, but I'm gonna
explain anyways. They take this long (6-8 inches), metal, thin suction thing and
stick it down your nose and suck up all the stuff. I didn't
understand at first, but then I realized what she was going to do and
I was horrified. There wasn't much I could do to stop her at that
point, thankfully it didn't hurt. But it was one of the weirdest
things I've ever experienced.
Friday night was fun- I went to a movie with one of the Korean
teachers at my school. I really like this particular teacher because
she's really with it and speaks English almost fluently- she studied
in the states. We went and saw Once- an Irish rock musical. It is an
Indie film- and I honestly can't say I'd recommend you see it. The
music is really good- I liked the music a lot, but the movie itself
was a bit painful to watch. At first the film was shaky and the story
drawn out and not very good- but if you have a chance to listen to
the soundtrack, you should.
Saturday I hung around and then went to a girl's spa night- one of the
women from church was hosting it. She actually teaches for the
Department of Defense Schools here, which is interesting. She has the
sweetest apartment ever!!! I'm not even joking- it's a 5 bedroom
apartment on the top (27th) floor of the building (she lives by
herself). It has a spectacular view- she was able to buy a whole
bunch of American snacks from the base- which was a treat. I ate a
bunch and felt really icky. But we also had chili- which was kinda
crazy, with real sour cream and cheese! (Clearly, I'm in another
country.) We watched Rent, there are some musical fans, and Step Up.
We had manicures and just hung out- it was really nice, because it was
the first time I've gotten to hang out with these women from church.
Of course I'm the youngest, but there is one girl who's 23- most women
are around 30. Some are even married- which is cool. I ended up
spending the night- sleeping on a real mattress. And then had eggs
and pancakes for breakfast!!! The first time since I've been here!
(Notice how all my news revolves around food.)
Then I went to church yesterday and after had dinner and gelato with some
of the people and women's Bible study. I really like the women, which
is exciting because I've been looking for fellowship for awhile. I
don't necessarily like the sermons at church. However, I do like the worship at
church- so that's cool- fellowship and worship I guess isn't a bad
reason to go to church.
So, four months have gone by and although I am missing family, friends, and familiar things- like Boulder and driving my car, I am having a good time. Everytime a new month begins it makes me reflect and evaluate how I'm spending my time in Korea and how I feel about it. Last month I reflected upon how I hadn't made any Korean friends, Korean language study was really hard, that I didn't have any fellowship, and I wasn't sure where to apply for jobs and such next year.
This month things have changed. I have made one Korean friend, another aspiring English teacher in Korea and I have started to do things with teachers at school- I think some of them count as friends. I passed my Korean test (80%!) and I really like some of the people at church, which equals fellowship. Hopefully it also means friends, as some of the foreigners will be here the entire time I'm here. I still don't have clear direction for where I'll apply for jobs and such next year, but realize that I don't have to think about that immediately- which is comforting.
Hope everyone is dong well at home, please let me know what's happening!
-me :)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Cha-cha-cha-changes...
Hi All,
I'm not exactly sure who can read this anymore, but I hope most of you all are still able to read my blog. I apologize for changing the format of how to read my blog. The program I am on in Korea wanted to make all blogs private for security reasons (for our home stay families, schools, etc). So, if I forgot to send evites to anyone who regularly reads this (and you know about them) please send me their e-mail address and I will invite them. The other option is for me to send out mass e-mails every now and then to those who cannot log in to see my blog. Let me know what works for you.
I didn't update this last week because I was away in Gyeongju for the Fall conference. It was mainly a time to catch up with everyone in the program and make sure everyone was okay. The goal of the actual conference was to swap teaching techniques and stories from the trenches to make us better teachers. The conference aspect of the trip was ok- not all that helpful, but it was nice to be in a pretty place (by a lake) and see friends. We did a tour of the city on Sunday- we saw sooo many places, I was exhausted! Gyeongju is really cool and probably has the most historical sites in all of Korea. It's about an hour away from Daegu and was once the capitol of a Korean dynasty. I've posted many pics on the website for all to see. We saw historical sites, went to an amusement park, and even rode mini bikes around the lake! P.S. I'm sporting some new cute Korean clothes.
There are also some pictures up under teaching. Last week I taught about scrabble and let the kids play the game. It turned out to be a pretty good lesson and really quite easy for me. I was surprised how into it all the kids were. There were only a few that I had to remind to participate. I actually made the scrabble boards for the kids to play on- each board took about an hour. So not that bad in terms of lesson planning and now I have the boards- which is uber helpful.
Life is pretty good here- I am sick- which sucks. I'm trying to get over it myself, otherwise I have to go to the doctor's next week. Ick. Next week is Halloween and I'm going to bring in candy for my students- woot! I haven't decided what I'll teach on yet, but it'll involve candy.
Today I got to sleep in until 10am, which is a huge treat! I'm meeting a Korean language partner (hopefully friend) later today and then going to Costco with an American friend! Tomorrow is my host brother's testing for his black belt- I'm totally going. I'll try to post pics and video of that too.
Thanks again to everyone who sent me something- check out the pics of my office under teaching. If you've sent a card I've put it on the bulletin board. O! and I have a spiffy official sign for my office "English Lounge".
Hope everyone is doing well!
-Me :)
I'm not exactly sure who can read this anymore, but I hope most of you all are still able to read my blog. I apologize for changing the format of how to read my blog. The program I am on in Korea wanted to make all blogs private for security reasons (for our home stay families, schools, etc). So, if I forgot to send evites to anyone who regularly reads this (and you know about them) please send me their e-mail address and I will invite them. The other option is for me to send out mass e-mails every now and then to those who cannot log in to see my blog. Let me know what works for you.
I didn't update this last week because I was away in Gyeongju for the Fall conference. It was mainly a time to catch up with everyone in the program and make sure everyone was okay. The goal of the actual conference was to swap teaching techniques and stories from the trenches to make us better teachers. The conference aspect of the trip was ok- not all that helpful, but it was nice to be in a pretty place (by a lake) and see friends. We did a tour of the city on Sunday- we saw sooo many places, I was exhausted! Gyeongju is really cool and probably has the most historical sites in all of Korea. It's about an hour away from Daegu and was once the capitol of a Korean dynasty. I've posted many pics on the website for all to see. We saw historical sites, went to an amusement park, and even rode mini bikes around the lake! P.S. I'm sporting some new cute Korean clothes.
There are also some pictures up under teaching. Last week I taught about scrabble and let the kids play the game. It turned out to be a pretty good lesson and really quite easy for me. I was surprised how into it all the kids were. There were only a few that I had to remind to participate. I actually made the scrabble boards for the kids to play on- each board took about an hour. So not that bad in terms of lesson planning and now I have the boards- which is uber helpful.
Life is pretty good here- I am sick- which sucks. I'm trying to get over it myself, otherwise I have to go to the doctor's next week. Ick. Next week is Halloween and I'm going to bring in candy for my students- woot! I haven't decided what I'll teach on yet, but it'll involve candy.
Today I got to sleep in until 10am, which is a huge treat! I'm meeting a Korean language partner (hopefully friend) later today and then going to Costco with an American friend! Tomorrow is my host brother's testing for his black belt- I'm totally going. I'll try to post pics and video of that too.
Thanks again to everyone who sent me something- check out the pics of my office under teaching. If you've sent a card I've put it on the bulletin board. O! and I have a spiffy official sign for my office "English Lounge".
Hope everyone is doing well!
-Me :)
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Firebreathing Peacocks and English speech contests, oh my!
Hi all!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIGI JENSEN!!! :)
This weekend is very relaxing and enjoyable. Rather last minute, I decided to visit Jinju with the girls from Daegu. We went to visit another friend on our program who is teaching there for the Jinju light festival. It was really pretty! there are lanterns on the riverbank and floating on the river. There are small lanterns, but also huge floats! It was really neat to see. Apparently all the floats are made of paper and painted. Some of them are very elaborate and range from traditional Korean things to more modern other things- such as the Statue of Liberty. We crossed one of the makeshift bridges and got to see some of the larger animated lanterns- hence the fire-breathing peacocks!
We actually ran into two other people from our program, which was unexpected and cool. After walking around we managed to find a "live-cafe" and had dinner. The place was pretty ridiculous, think karoeke, but it was dinner.
Saturday afternoon I met up with a teacher from school and a student for the speech contest. This teacher and I had listened to a few students give speeches two weeks ago and then we chose the best one. Then I helped this girl prep a little this past week and the contest was yesterday. She was very good and I had no doubt that she would win something. The contest took forever because there were middle school contestants and high school contestants. The panel were 3 native/4 native speakers of English and two Koreans. I think all of them were from Daegu University and were professors of English- I'm not sure if they were really professors or just teachers of English at the university. But all the judges were pretty harsh on the students. Way too negative. Some of the feedback was good, but generally they were a pretty intimidating bunch. The whole speech contest seemed pretty political to me. It was sponsored by a specific district of Daegu and for the beginning introductions two American soldiers were there to welcome everyone. Even the Korean teacher I was with from my high school said, "English is such an industry here, I hate it." Which I thought was pretty interesting. Anyways, you're probably wondering how our student did- 2nd place! Her speech was about how she likes to watch soap operas and movies- it was pretty funny. I meant to record it, but forgot! I think the teacher I was with recorded it, hopefully I can get it from her!
Nothing much to do today, except I slept in and will go to church in a little bit. Maybe a Bible study tonight- I'm not sure.
Here's one more video clip from the mask festival two weeks ago- it is the lion dance! I also updated pictures "Around Korea" and "Daegu"
-me :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIGI JENSEN!!! :)
This weekend is very relaxing and enjoyable. Rather last minute, I decided to visit Jinju with the girls from Daegu. We went to visit another friend on our program who is teaching there for the Jinju light festival. It was really pretty! there are lanterns on the riverbank and floating on the river. There are small lanterns, but also huge floats! It was really neat to see. Apparently all the floats are made of paper and painted. Some of them are very elaborate and range from traditional Korean things to more modern other things- such as the Statue of Liberty. We crossed one of the makeshift bridges and got to see some of the larger animated lanterns- hence the fire-breathing peacocks!
We actually ran into two other people from our program, which was unexpected and cool. After walking around we managed to find a "live-cafe" and had dinner. The place was pretty ridiculous, think karoeke, but it was dinner.
Saturday afternoon I met up with a teacher from school and a student for the speech contest. This teacher and I had listened to a few students give speeches two weeks ago and then we chose the best one. Then I helped this girl prep a little this past week and the contest was yesterday. She was very good and I had no doubt that she would win something. The contest took forever because there were middle school contestants and high school contestants. The panel were 3 native/4 native speakers of English and two Koreans. I think all of them were from Daegu University and were professors of English- I'm not sure if they were really professors or just teachers of English at the university. But all the judges were pretty harsh on the students. Way too negative. Some of the feedback was good, but generally they were a pretty intimidating bunch. The whole speech contest seemed pretty political to me. It was sponsored by a specific district of Daegu and for the beginning introductions two American soldiers were there to welcome everyone. Even the Korean teacher I was with from my high school said, "English is such an industry here, I hate it." Which I thought was pretty interesting. Anyways, you're probably wondering how our student did- 2nd place! Her speech was about how she likes to watch soap operas and movies- it was pretty funny. I meant to record it, but forgot! I think the teacher I was with recorded it, hopefully I can get it from her!
Nothing much to do today, except I slept in and will go to church in a little bit. Maybe a Bible study tonight- I'm not sure.
Here's one more video clip from the mask festival two weeks ago- it is the lion dance! I also updated pictures "Around Korea" and "Daegu"
-me :)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Cultural Notes
Hi all,
Oooo- yes, it's an extra update this week and it's extra long! I am talking to Victoria online and got inspired to blog about some Korean culture, some funny anecdotes, etc. I finished planning my teacher classes for next week, but I still have to plan for regular classes next week. I'll do that later. Right now I have some down time- it's Thursday here which means I taught two classes this morning and will teach three classes after lunch. I was supposed to study some Korean with a teacher today, but I have to help a girl with an English speech she will be giving at a contest this Saturday.
Next week there aren't any Korean language classes and that is really really nice. I just get very tired with teaching and then going to class (which takes an hour), class (which takes an hour), and then coming back home (another hour)! The break in class is because te university has midterms- so all extra classes are cancelled. It will be nice to have the time off. However, the week after that we have a test for class. AND I am certian I will fail it. So, I need to study a lot next week. I'm not too concerned about the test, it doesn't mean much. If I pass I get a little certificate saying I passed and am allowed to move to the next level. Although, if I pass, I'll probably have a heart attack and won't be able to move up. If I fail, I'll just take the same level again. Since the class is over my head anyway in vocabulay and content, I feel like I don't have much to lose.
Hm, before I venture into any comments/analysis of Korean culture, I want to say thank you for everyone who is reading this, writes comments, e-mails and sends me things! I know I have a lot of support from home and it means a lot. The past three weeks I've been tired and out of it. I've missed everyone a lot, but everyone's support has been uber helpful and I am feeling much better.
Okay- some things I've noticed about Korean culture from a Western (biased) stance.
A. Koreans are very honest (blunt) and usually pretty accurate in their conclusions.
1. Today everyone keeps telling me, "You look tired." And since I did not get enough sleep last night I believe this is true.
2. My host siblings kept telling me how my host brother's English teacher has a husky voice and mimicking what it sounded like. I finally met the woman and they were 100% correct.
3. You look fat/thin today. Well, sometimes this might be true- or not. Generally Koreans do not have a problem talking about weight. It isn't unusual to be asked how much do you weigh?
An anecdote for when this is not true:
Scene: High School cafeteria, waiting in line for food. My co-teacher talking to gym teacher behind me.
Co-teacher: "This is the P.T. (Physical Training) teacher. He wants to attend your English class."
Me: "Oh! Great! Please come!"
Co-teacher: * smiling * "Uh, he says your pronunciation is not good."
Me: "My Korean pronunciation?" * confused since I didn't speak Korean... *
Co-teacher: "Uh...no, your English pronunciation."
Me: "Really? What?"
Co-teacher: "He says it sounds like konglish"
Me: "Oh, well, I don't know enough Korean for it to be konglish!"
** note ** konglish is a mix of Korean and English. Think Spanglish.
So, the gym teacher did some to my English class, where he proceeded to say I have bad pronunciation. Where the other teachers did an unussual thing- they lied to me and told me he said I had good pronunciation. (I only knew what he said, because of the say before.) But they also spent the next 5 minutes explaining to him that I had only lived in Korea for 3 months and grew up in America. I think he seemed satisfied- I'm not sure. Pretty rude, but I didn't let it get to me. Mostly I thought the whole situation was pretty interesting.
B. Koreans are very concerened about their appearance.
1. Clothes- always in good condition, designer if they can be, newest styles.
2. Hair- always done (even men)
3. Make-up- almost always. Someone asked me the other day if American don't wear make-up (because I don't). But I said that most did, I just didn't.
4. Body image- this does not just mean weight.
a. Double-eye lid surgey- very big here. Asians typically don't have the double eye-lid that Westerners do, and for some reason they
want it.
b. Calf surgery- this removes part of the calf muscle to make your legs look more slender. I think maybe making you "appear" taller.
c. Nose surgery- I think to make more of a bridge or something.
C. English education is EXTREMELY important
1. Private tutors- Korean parents pay through the roof for this.
2. Hagwons/academies- Ditto, private study places for kids
3. Some parents are able to send their children overseas
4. Some parents move overseas for this
5. English camps, etc.
6. Surgery- yes, it's true. Some children have the piece of skin under their
tongue cut/sliced, so they can pronunce the r and l sounds in English.
a. This is a very painful surgery as you can imagine, but it "works". Now, there are plenty of Asian children that live overseas (ahem, I'm an example) and I can pronunce the r and l sounds fine, without ever having my tongue detached from the lower part of my mouth (sorry Emily, I don't know the medical terms!). Yet, somehow this logic doesn't transfer over. Like any language, past a certian point, there is no way to master it completely and I think these sounds are an example of this. It's because these children grow up speaking a langauge that does not have these sounds, not the fact that their mouths cannot reproduce the sound.
Okay, I don't mean to "rag" on the culture here, but these are just some things I've noticed. And my history degree would not be any good, if I didn't recognize that I have a huge bias coming from a Western background. Generally I don't think these things are bad or wrong, but just a different perspective. Although, I'm not keen on on the surgery for children.
Please leave comments, I'd love to hear your responses! Plus, comments make me feel good! :)
-me
Oooo- yes, it's an extra update this week and it's extra long! I am talking to Victoria online and got inspired to blog about some Korean culture, some funny anecdotes, etc. I finished planning my teacher classes for next week, but I still have to plan for regular classes next week. I'll do that later. Right now I have some down time- it's Thursday here which means I taught two classes this morning and will teach three classes after lunch. I was supposed to study some Korean with a teacher today, but I have to help a girl with an English speech she will be giving at a contest this Saturday.
Next week there aren't any Korean language classes and that is really really nice. I just get very tired with teaching and then going to class (which takes an hour), class (which takes an hour), and then coming back home (another hour)! The break in class is because te university has midterms- so all extra classes are cancelled. It will be nice to have the time off. However, the week after that we have a test for class. AND I am certian I will fail it. So, I need to study a lot next week. I'm not too concerned about the test, it doesn't mean much. If I pass I get a little certificate saying I passed and am allowed to move to the next level. Although, if I pass, I'll probably have a heart attack and won't be able to move up. If I fail, I'll just take the same level again. Since the class is over my head anyway in vocabulay and content, I feel like I don't have much to lose.
Hm, before I venture into any comments/analysis of Korean culture, I want to say thank you for everyone who is reading this, writes comments, e-mails and sends me things! I know I have a lot of support from home and it means a lot. The past three weeks I've been tired and out of it. I've missed everyone a lot, but everyone's support has been uber helpful and I am feeling much better.
Okay- some things I've noticed about Korean culture from a Western (biased) stance.
A. Koreans are very honest (blunt) and usually pretty accurate in their conclusions.
1. Today everyone keeps telling me, "You look tired." And since I did not get enough sleep last night I believe this is true.
2. My host siblings kept telling me how my host brother's English teacher has a husky voice and mimicking what it sounded like. I finally met the woman and they were 100% correct.
3. You look fat/thin today. Well, sometimes this might be true- or not. Generally Koreans do not have a problem talking about weight. It isn't unusual to be asked how much do you weigh?
An anecdote for when this is not true:
Scene: High School cafeteria, waiting in line for food. My co-teacher talking to gym teacher behind me.
Co-teacher: "This is the P.T. (Physical Training) teacher. He wants to attend your English class."
Me: "Oh! Great! Please come!"
Co-teacher: * smiling * "Uh, he says your pronunciation is not good."
Me: "My Korean pronunciation?" * confused since I didn't speak Korean... *
Co-teacher: "Uh...no, your English pronunciation."
Me: "Really? What?"
Co-teacher: "He says it sounds like konglish"
Me: "Oh, well, I don't know enough Korean for it to be konglish!"
** note ** konglish is a mix of Korean and English. Think Spanglish.
So, the gym teacher did some to my English class, where he proceeded to say I have bad pronunciation. Where the other teachers did an unussual thing- they lied to me and told me he said I had good pronunciation. (I only knew what he said, because of the say before.) But they also spent the next 5 minutes explaining to him that I had only lived in Korea for 3 months and grew up in America. I think he seemed satisfied- I'm not sure. Pretty rude, but I didn't let it get to me. Mostly I thought the whole situation was pretty interesting.
B. Koreans are very concerened about their appearance.
1. Clothes- always in good condition, designer if they can be, newest styles.
2. Hair- always done (even men)
3. Make-up- almost always. Someone asked me the other day if American don't wear make-up (because I don't). But I said that most did, I just didn't.
4. Body image- this does not just mean weight.
a. Double-eye lid surgey- very big here. Asians typically don't have the double eye-lid that Westerners do, and for some reason they
want it.
b. Calf surgery- this removes part of the calf muscle to make your legs look more slender. I think maybe making you "appear" taller.
c. Nose surgery- I think to make more of a bridge or something.
C. English education is EXTREMELY important
1. Private tutors- Korean parents pay through the roof for this.
2. Hagwons/academies- Ditto, private study places for kids
3. Some parents are able to send their children overseas
4. Some parents move overseas for this
5. English camps, etc.
6. Surgery- yes, it's true. Some children have the piece of skin under their
tongue cut/sliced, so they can pronunce the r and l sounds in English.
a. This is a very painful surgery as you can imagine, but it "works". Now, there are plenty of Asian children that live overseas (ahem, I'm an example) and I can pronunce the r and l sounds fine, without ever having my tongue detached from the lower part of my mouth (sorry Emily, I don't know the medical terms!). Yet, somehow this logic doesn't transfer over. Like any language, past a certian point, there is no way to master it completely and I think these sounds are an example of this. It's because these children grow up speaking a langauge that does not have these sounds, not the fact that their mouths cannot reproduce the sound.
Okay, I don't mean to "rag" on the culture here, but these are just some things I've noticed. And my history degree would not be any good, if I didn't recognize that I have a huge bias coming from a Western background. Generally I don't think these things are bad or wrong, but just a different perspective. Although, I'm not keen on on the surgery for children.
Please leave comments, I'd love to hear your responses! Plus, comments make me feel good! :)
-me
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Andong & Wonju
Hi all,
Sorry for the late update! Just wanted to write a few things about my two latest trips. The first one was to Andong for the International Mask Festival with two teachers from my school and their daughters. The festival was pretty big- apparently it's the twelfth year it's happened. They have large mask dance performances every two hours or so from different countries around the world. We saw a Thai dance and a Korean traditional dance. The Thai dance was okay- it wasn't necessarily a professional troupe. However, the Korean traditional dance was really cool! There are pictures up of the dances. There were lots of tents set up where people could buy food, gifts, and do arts and crafts. It was cool to see- a little boring, but I am glad I was able to I got to go.
This weekend I left to visit my friends in Wonju. I was told it would take 4 hours to get there on the bus, however it only took 2.5 hours! I was very surprised and unsure if where I ended up was the correct place! I had to take a taxi, subway, taxi and a bus to get to Wonju. Thankfully I had enough sense to get off the bus when I did, otherwise I would have ended up in a different town! I got to see my friend Lauren and we spent the day eating, going to a coffee shop and catching up on what's been happening in our lives. It was a really nice time. Sunday I went to church with her and then went to her choir concert that evening. It was really good! I also met up with some friends to see the concert- and that was cool too. I came back to Daegu on Monday (my students had midterms) and did some shopping, went to Korean language class, and the gym.
Hope all is well back in the states, please keep me posted! I'm still a little tired and am wondering if I'm going through another bout of culture shock- I had KFC tonight! Also, if you could please pray for my friend Laura's recovery after brain surgery. She's recovering well, but really needs prayer to heal quickly (her speech and movement of the left side of her body) so she can get back to her normal routine!
Miss you all!
-Me
Sorry for the late update! Just wanted to write a few things about my two latest trips. The first one was to Andong for the International Mask Festival with two teachers from my school and their daughters. The festival was pretty big- apparently it's the twelfth year it's happened. They have large mask dance performances every two hours or so from different countries around the world. We saw a Thai dance and a Korean traditional dance. The Thai dance was okay- it wasn't necessarily a professional troupe. However, the Korean traditional dance was really cool! There are pictures up of the dances. There were lots of tents set up where people could buy food, gifts, and do arts and crafts. It was cool to see- a little boring, but I am glad I was able to I got to go.
This weekend I left to visit my friends in Wonju. I was told it would take 4 hours to get there on the bus, however it only took 2.5 hours! I was very surprised and unsure if where I ended up was the correct place! I had to take a taxi, subway, taxi and a bus to get to Wonju. Thankfully I had enough sense to get off the bus when I did, otherwise I would have ended up in a different town! I got to see my friend Lauren and we spent the day eating, going to a coffee shop and catching up on what's been happening in our lives. It was a really nice time. Sunday I went to church with her and then went to her choir concert that evening. It was really good! I also met up with some friends to see the concert- and that was cool too. I came back to Daegu on Monday (my students had midterms) and did some shopping, went to Korean language class, and the gym.
Hope all is well back in the states, please keep me posted! I'm still a little tired and am wondering if I'm going through another bout of culture shock- I had KFC tonight! Also, if you could please pray for my friend Laura's recovery after brain surgery. She's recovering well, but really needs prayer to heal quickly (her speech and movement of the left side of her body) so she can get back to her normal routine!
Miss you all!
-Me
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