One Month Down for the Count

Wow, it’s been a hot and sticky week here! I didn’t realize that the humidity was this bad here! It’s not so much the heat that gets you, but it’s just the stickiness! It also doesn’t help that we don’t have air conditioner at school. I am in a constant state of sweatiness all day, every day… mmm, refreshing! On Sunday and Monday mornings we did not have hot water! That made for some freezing showers! I was worried that my internal thermometer was discombobulated b/d the water was so cold and it was so hot outside! It was a rough couple of days! But, now I have hot water and I’m constantly hot and sweaty… at least it’s consistent now!

I got a cell phone last week! This has brought a whole new freedom to my life! I’m able to do more things now! The phones here don’t have English ‘t-9’ so it’s very difficult to text! I feel like I’m just learning how to text all over again! It takes me forever to text one message! It is so nice to have a cell phone again… very convenient! What has my life come to that I can’t survive with out one?!? (They actually call them hand phones, not cell phones!!) Yeah I’ve caved to the societal norm… and I LOVE it! J

I did have my heart broken this week! It was a sad, sad day. One of our lessons for my 5th Grade lessons we are learning “She is tall.” What that means is we are teaching them descriptive words and sentences. My teacher had this great idea of having one student stand up and then have the class describe them. (We were learning things like ‘She is beautiful.’ ‘He has long hair.’ ‘She has a big nose.’ ‘He has small ears.’ You get it… Thankfully fat and thin were not descriptions we were learning!) I had this sick feeling every time she called on a student to stand up. We did it in about 2 or 3 classes. In one of those classes she had this boy stand up and the students started ‘describing’ him. He’s shorter, so of course they focused on that! They were just saying some statements that wouldn’t necessarily make you feel good about yourself. It’s like they were picking at all of his faults. I felt so uncomfortable for this kid so I was like okay, that’s enough, we should move on to the next thing. He was sitting in the front row and I saw his head drop a little lower with every comment. After we moved on to the next thing I looked over and saw tears going down his face! My heart just broke and it made me almost start crying. It was so sad! I felt awful for this kid. So, I ran (literally) to my classroom, which is in another building and up 2 more flights of stairs, to get him some cookies I had in my room. I got back to class when they were leaving and knelt down beside him and asked if he was okay and if he wanted some cookies. He told me he was fine and didn’t want the cookies. He didn’t want his classmates to know he was upset. This is a very ‘save face’ culture. This is pressed on them beginning at very young ages. It is very sad that children have to endure this. So after they left, I told my teacher we shouldn’t have the students describe their classmates anymore. She asked me why and I told her b/c it can hurt people’s feelings. She asked if the boy was upset and I said he was crying. She was like oh, I didn’t realize that. Which I honestly don’t think she did notice but still! She said most students think it’s funny to describe each other. I told her I understand, but it’s not funny for all students and it makes them feel bad. She understood and we kept to pictures the rest of the time. Then at lunch, I saw that boy and he comes up to me and says ‘Hello, Becky Teacher.” I said hi and asked him how he was. He said bad and kept walking, but he was smiling! It just shows that he wanted to save face so he painted on a smile!

There are times I just don’t understand this culture and I have a hard time stomaching some things. I am learning that I must take the good with the bad if I truly want to embrace this culture. It has taken some getting used to! They have some amazing things to offer and it’s an incredible group of people. But, there are also so many areas where they are harming themselves. It’s very interesting to be able to experience their culture without having to become a full part of it!

On a lighter note, I had a student bring in a pack of gum to class and I noticed it was a pack of ‘5’ gum. I got so excited (b/c they don’t really sell American gum here and theirs looses flavor very quickly!) when I saw it! I asked him where he got that gum. (He doesn’t speak very much English, so at first I think he thought he was in trouble so he was shy to answer!) His friends translated for him and he said he got it from his house. (Ha, I love that he thought I was asking where he literally got it from!) I asked if he got here in Korea. He said no, from Canada! Bummer… I thought I hit the jackpot… no such luck! I guess I’ll have to have my parents send me packages with real gum in it! It’s a cherished commodity here among us Native Teachers!

I was at lunch yesterday eating lunch with my main teacher and she was trying to figure out a word for when people come into your class and watch you. She asked if ‘open class’ was right. I told her that is one way of saying it. I said it could also be called a ‘Supervised Class’ or ‘Supervision.’ She then asked me if that was correct or if it was ‘Konglish’ (Korean and English mix, like ‘Spanglish’)?!? I laughed out loud on that one! We Americans joke about that all time here and then I had my teacher actually ask! Ha! I also saw a sweet shirt on my way to school today! (Shirts usually have some great stuff on them!) This t-shirt said, ‘Head Over Hills’! Hilarious… it sounds right though, doesn’t it?!?

I told you there is a fire station right by campus, right? Well, if I didn’t, there is! I was walking to get to the bus stop and I was walking past the station (which is pretty much their driveway). All of the sudden I hear sirens and see lights and one truck comes out right behind me. I had to run so that I didn’t get hit by the other trucks coming out! It was a bit intense for about 2.5 seconds! That was the first time I had ever seen a fire truck outside of the station!

I met another teacher this week in my school. She actually speaks very good English. She asked me if I wanted to go to a movie with her and of course I accepted! Transformers came out here on Wednesday, so we went to see that! She took me to this restaurant before that was so good! It was chicken with soy sauce and then onion and noodles and other vegetables… fabulous! They gave us aprons to put on b/c the soy sauce splashes. She gave me one of the chicken legs to eat and I ate about half of it with my chopsticks. Then she said, “Oh, in our culture we just pick it up and eat it. It’s much more enjoyable that way!” I laughed and told her we did the same thing, I just wasn’t sure what to do here! I loved talking with her! I could hold a normal conversation with her! I found out we have tons in common. We are both the youngest of 3 kids, we both love sports, and her favorite sitcom is ‘Friends’… are you kidding me?!? There were times I thought I was talking to the Korean version of myself! I’m sure you can hear me saying “Me too!” and getting really excited every time she said something I liked too! I hope we start to hang out a lot! She said anytime I wanted to, give her a call. She invited me to go swimming with her (but she goes at 5am!!) and go play badminton with her! I am so glad I made a Korean friend I can actually talk to and hold a conversation with!

While we were at the theater, we saw one of the 6th grade teachers and his wife there. He always gets nervous when he has to talk to me! We play volleyball together! I’m hoping this will help him feel more comfortable to talk with me! It was so neat to see them outside of school though! They are normal people… not that I didn’t think they were, it’s just comforting! They’re both my age too so that makes me feel a lot more comfortable hanging out!

The theater is the mall so you park in the parking garage… experience (which I think I already told you about)!! Well, if they run out of spots, people park in front of other cars. It looks like this: - - l Therefore, the car in the middle is trapped. I asked her how people got out that way. She said they leave their cars unlocked and then you put the car in neutral and roll it! Yes, you read that right! Crazy, huh?!? So, we find our car (after we go to the wrong level) and there is a car in front of us. She tried to find a parking attendant to help us, but couldn’t. So the driver also leaves their number on their windshield or yours so you can call them if you can’t move it! She called the guy. But, he was walking up right when you dialed. It was a culture experience! I asked her if that happened often and she said yes! No way… that would never fly in the States. People are too impatient! Road rage would be at an all time high… or parking rage!

She was so sweet and she paid for my ticket to the movie and got us snacks—a drink and this phenomenal caramel popcorn! When we were leaving she also asked me if I had a cell phone charm. (For some reason, they like to attach charms to their phones. It’s like little key chains for your phone! I’m not a huge fan, but it’s very Korean!) I told her I didn’t, so she gave me one to put on my phone! And yes, I put it on right then! I had a fantastic night!

This week at work has been a bit long. On Wednesday and Thursday and probably Friday, I only teach for 10 minutes of the class and then head back to my class! They are getting ready for tests, so I don’t have much to do! I haven’t taught a full load since I’ve been here. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I actually have to teach all of my classes the whole week! I will be tired!!

The new group of teachers arrived this week, so I’m not the ‘newbie’ anymore! I feel like I still don’t really know much, but it’s encouraging when I talk to the new teachers b/c they know even less then me! J

On Thursday I was going to duck out of school a little early b/c my teacher left for a doctor’s appointment. I decided to run downstairs real quick and then head out. It was 4.20pm and I was hoping to leave by 4.30pm. I decided to stop in and say hi to the teacher that we saw at the movies first though. He always gets so nervous when I try to say anything to him. I decided I was going to make him talk to me. I asked him if he liked the movie! At first he was a little shy. But then he tried actually talking to me. He told me I was the first Native Speaker he has ever spoken with! Now I understand why he gets nervous. I asked him if I made him nervous, but he didn’t know what that meant. So, I asked him I scared him and he said, ‘Oh, yeah!’ I laughed and told him not to worry! It was quite a conversation! I found out his wife went to KNU (which is where I live). He also remembered that I went to a Nazarene University in Kansas! He told me that when he was younger he had an English class, but he didn’t study and now he regrets it! I invited him to my class for teachers. He said he hasn’t come before he didn’t have the confidence, but now since he talked with me he will be confident enough to come! I recruited a new student!! We ended up talking until 5pm! I didn’t get to leave early, but that’s okay… the conversation was well worth it! It was so cute he kept getting so frustrated with himself b/c he couldn’t figure out how to say something and then he would run to his computer to look it up! We talked for about 35 minutes and we probably on said 10 sentences! Oh it was fun! He was so appreciative that I would come and talk to him! It gave me the confidence to talk to more Koreans, too! He said next time we play volleyball together we will ‘exercise’ (he said this instead of practice and I didn’t have the heart to correct him!) our English! I am looking forward to that!

I also had the opportunity to go to a Korean Ballet. We went to see ‘Cinderella.’ It was a great time and very entertaining! I felt very cultured after this visit! When we entered the performance hall, we were given these light blue bandannas. We weren’t sure what they were for so we just took them and smiled. (This sort of thing happens often here!) Well, at the end of the show all of the Koreans pulled them out and started waving them as they were clapping! It was quite a sight and very entertaining! Ours were in our bags so we (the 2 people I was sitting by and myself) didn’t get them out. So, a woman came by and tried giving us another one to start waving! So we pulled ours out real quick! Chalk one up to another learning experience! J

I was waiting at the bus stop today (now it’s Friday; I started writing this yesterday, so time is relative.) and my teacher pulled up so I jumped in with her to ride to school. She had her 7 year old (5 year old in American age) with her too. She was adorable! Her name was Annie and she is a very smart little girl. On the way to school every morning they listen to an English CD with songs and dialogue. We had a nice little conversation in the backseat. Her mom told me she wanted to meet me! I was very impressed with her! This put me to school way early, but it was okay. I had a chance to enjoy my Kim Bop that I brought for breakfast!

Today for lunch, my teacher took me out! She told me the Principal and Vice Principal doesn’t like us to leave, so this would be our secret! The restaurant had a lot of character to it! It was an old house and very cozy. The walls were clay and they had leather couches instead of chairs! I loved it! I was so bummed that I didn’t have my camera! I need to get better at carrying that everywhere with me! I used to be so good at that… I don’t know what has happened! This place is also famous for their Korean Tea. So, of course we had to try some! It was made from Jujubes. It wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t say it was necessarily good either! (My body is starting to get used to eating things I don’t really enjoy, so now I have a much higher tolerance!) The guy gave us a free drink. He told my teacher it was for me and it was on him! They are very generous here!

So, needless to say, this past week has been full of new culture experiences and new norms for me! It started off very slow, but now I can’t believe it is already Friday! I have been here for over a month now and that is so hard to believe! The time is just flying by and is far from boring or mundane! I am so blessed to be having this experience!