Things have been really busy the past few weeks but it's calmed down now that winter camps are finally over and I just have a week of desk-warming before I head over to the Philippines. Such a relief.
The last couple days before break were fun. I had hardly any lessons to teach then my last lesson on Friday with the 6th graders sort of got cancelled. I had the lesson all planned out and ready but then Mr. Song texted me saying the 6th graders wanted me to come to their bbq party instead of teaching a lesson today so I said okay and went to their classroom. The boys were all crouched on the ground around two gas-stoves. They had every kind of meat imaginable piled next to them and kept throwing more and more on the grill. When they saw me they waved me over saying "Can you join us?" and handed me a plate stacked a foot high with meat. They told me they'd saved me the best meat. I knew my stomach would hate me but had to accept their offer. It was fun to sit back and chat with the kids though, we don't get to do that very often. I was peeved at first that my lesson had been thrown away but was glad they invited me to their Christmas party.
The holidays were nice. I was more homesick than ever on Christmas day so it was hard to be around people but I spent the day with the Canadian crew anyway. We did a gift exchange and ate a potluck-style dinner and everything was really delicious. I made some homemade eggnog that was pretty good considering I had to make a lot of Korean substitutions.
One of the guys brought Roman candles so of course we ended up having Harry Potter duels outside the complex by aiming them at each other instead of in the air. My days playing dodgeball really paid off and I got a good shot at Simon's leg and won mine. Yes, we're all in our mid-to-late-twenties. They were a bit drunk but I had no excuse.
New Years came at the end of my double-camp week so I was exhausted New Years Eve. I'd already finished a camp the week of Christmas at my smallest school, Odong. We did a Christmas theme so the kids learned some carols, learned to make frosting (unheard of in Korea so we used Mom's recipe), and we built "ginger-bread" houses out of salted crackers and weird Korean candies. They actually turned out pretty good and the kids were really creative about the construction of their houses. There were a few frustrations with houses that wouldn't stay up and one that got dropped just after the roof was attached but we managed with some wafer cookies for kids who were struggling and it all turned out really well. I'm pretty sure the kids just wanted to eat them the whole time. I kept getting handed little broken bits of houses dipped in frosting for me to eat.
The week with double-camps I think wasn't really supposed to happen. I was only supposed to do camps at my regular 3 schools but then a school out in Hwacheon (up North by the DMZ border) called and asked for my help with their camp and I'm too much of a push-over to say no. So I had to double-up with Sangcheon's camp. This meant spending all morning at Jichon (the school in Hwacheon) and then rushing to Sangcheon 40-minutes away and skipping my lunch break. It really ran me into the ground but the kids were so cute and funny that it was worth it.
Jichon is a REALLY rural school, even compared to my usual rural. The view from the school is all rice paddies and a frozen lake with a few huts here and there. We had nearly 20 students from grades 3-6 and they haven't met many foreigners so I was kind of an oddity for them. They kept insisting that I take off my glasses so they could see my eyes and wanting me to say things in Korean so they could make fun of my accent. The teacher kept insisting that I call role too, which I hate because the kids always mock how I say their names. I think he was doing it on purpose to troll me.
We had a lot of fun though. We made a music video to "better, faster, stronger" by daft punk and made Harry Potter wands. Then I taught them a market-game where they try to buy specific mystery items while shopkeepers want to make the most money. This game is always a hit since the students love to haggle and try out sales tactics. I always tell the students that if I catch them using Korean instead of English, I'll charge them $1 so the kids start desperately whipping out all the English they know. I had one girl yelling out at passing students "Beautiful girl! Come here!" Or "Hey, handsome boy!" and a boy waving a big sign yelling "Big sale!!" Some students would even grab their classmates and drag them over to their "shop". It was hysterical to watch. The kids learned "Too expensive. Give me discount" very fast too. I was reminded of my experiences shopping in the local markets in Chuncheon with ajumas and ajussis shouting whatever English words they know at me. There was a time when a group of guys around my age were selling Pepero at a booth on Pepero-day and one of them spotted me and shouted "Do you want to buy some pepero?" And I said, "Huh?" So all three of them started singing in unison "Would you like some pe-pe-rooooo?" and I sort of darted into a store because I was embarassed.
The last day we played catch phrase and made "canape". I've never heard of canape but both camps made it and the teachers insisted it's a very popular Western food but I had no idea what it was. It looks like some kind of hors d'oeuvres or appetizer. Just crackers with a bunch of sandwich things piled on them. We made them at Sangcheon the 2nd day of camp and they tasted real gross. They used strawberry jam, cherry tomatoes, kraft singles, and ham. I think the jam ruined them :/ but the kids devoured them anyway. The ones at Jichon were muuuuuch better. Instead of jam we used mayo-tuna (which is tastier than it sounds, I think they add some spices to it). We also had various fruits and veggies as well as spring greens so it was more sandwich-y. The students were really sweet and kept offering me some of the theirs as they made them. I was happy to eat every single one since I was skipping lunch to travel to my next school.
Day one at Sangcheon, we were going over camp rules and introducing the teachers. I was surprised to see my full name on my name-tag. I've gotten so used to going by just "Whitney" on all my official documents and among my coworkers that I'd almost forgotten I have a last name. When my co-teacher Misun introduced me she asked the students if they knew what my name was. My 3rd graders have been trained by their teacher to greet me "Good morning, wee-doo-nee-teacher!" while the other students only ever call me "teacher". So the 3rd graders proudly shouted "wee-doo-nee!" and I nodded my head and smiled but Misun told them "Nooo, that's not her name". Because she's the one teacher who actually knows how to pronounce it I think she thought the kids were getting it wrong but she saw me nodding and said "Wait, is that your name?" And I had to awkwardly tell her "Well, no... but it's what they call me and I answer to it..." So I think the 3rd graders were confused after that.
We had 1st and 2nd graders at Sangcheon's camp, which I thought was weird since students don't start learning English til grade 3. 1-2 graders can barely read and write Korean so it seemed like a stretch for them. We had a few meltdowns but they still did okay. It was their first time interacting with a foreigner though so they were pretty weird around me. They mostly kept it together around Misun but anytime she left the room, they would crowd me and start grabbing at my hair, pull my earrings, and try to stare at my eyes and ask me awkward questions about the color. They also wouldn't accept that I don't speak Korean and were constantly asking me questions in rapid Korean no matter how many times I told them I didn't understand. It was ridiculous.
Anyway, by the end of the double-camps, I was really run down. And it happened to fall on New Year's Eve so I didn't end up doing much celebrating. I was supposed to catch a bus to Pyeongchang that night to go to a New Years party but as soon as I walked into my apartment, my knees buckled and I collapsed onto my bed and could not be moved. I was asleep by 9PM. But New Years day was nice. I was supposed to go hiking with the ward members, since it's a New Years tradition but it was too cold out so we went back to the church and had lunch instead. Sister Seo and some of the ladies in the ward made this amazing mandu (dumpling) soup that's traditionally eaten New Years day as a sign that you're one year older. It was seriously good. Afterward, I hung out with the missionaries and chatted for a little while before we parted ways. They still had to work that day so they went off to some appointments and I decided to stroll around town and see if any movies were playing. I ended up doing some shopping, sightseeing, and then caught the last matinee for the hobbit. I got myself some popcorn and a soda but as I was adjusting my coat and purse, I spilled half of the popcorn into the lap of an Ajuma sitting next to me. I apologized profusely in Korean and she just smiled and patted my cheek, telling me it was okay. It pays to be an adorable foreigner sometimes.
Cheonjeon's camp started last week and was a little frustrating, especially in the beginning. I still haven't quite gotten how to communicate properly with Mr. Song. Sometimes, we understand each other just fine and other times things get lost in translation so we're both confused. Anyway, I had been pestering him about camp for weeks because I wasn't getting any information. I had had multiple meetings with the teachers at the other 3 schools to plan out winter camp and divvy out roles but Cheonjeon was giving me nothing. I got little bits and pieces of what camp would be like from Mr. Song and actually had to ask some of my 6th graders what time it would be everyday, but still had no idea what to prepare. Finally, Mr. Song told me just not to worry. Other teachers would be leading the classes and I would just help them. He told me to maybe think about some games but otherwise it would be very easy. I don't know his definition of "easy" is, but that camp was nearly a disaster.
I arrived early the first day and no one was at the school except the maintenance man so he told me to come to the office and gave me tea, rice cakes and some oranges so I wouldn't have to sit in the freezing English room. I waited for about half an hour then texted Mr. Song to ask where the camp would be held in the school but still got nothing. Finally I wandered upstairs and followed the sound of screaming children. A nice Korean lady greeted me and told me she was one of the teachers. I asked her what we would be doing and she told me she had no idea. That was the first red flag. She showed me a stack of books the Vice Principal had just handed her and told me we might just be reading storybooks to the 2nd and 3rd graders. The 2nd graders haven't had a single English class aside from my afterschool class where they barely know a few alphabet letters.
I spotted Mr. Song going into his classroom and went to talk to him. He finally gave me a printed schedule so I at least knew timetables and what classroom to go to. I had a free period for the first class so he told me to go relax in the office so I walked out into the hall.
I was stopped by a very flustered Korean woman who grabbed my arm and dragged me into the classroom where the 4-6 graders would meet. She introduced herself as the 3rd teacher and showed me a textbook full of short essays/stories and said she didn't know what to do. Did ANY of these teachers have a lesson plan?? She told me the 4-6 graders would focus on reading and as I skimmed the essays, I found them incredibly dry and boring. She kept flipping through the pages and crying "4 hours of this!" And it was pretty clear she wanted me to come up with a way to make it more engaging. The classroom was already filling with students and I had no idea how to make these textbooks interesting. The 6th graders had been telling me repeatedly the last couple weeks of school that they couldn't wait to see me at winter camp and I was about the deliver the most excruciating week full of intense reading to them. Finally, I remembered a reading game I hadn't had time to use for my 6th graders and threw it together as fast as I could. We read through the first essay a few times and helped the students translate (the 4th graders were especially lost) then we played my reading relay game in teams. It was rough but it got the kids more interested in the reading. Afterward, I edited an old quiz game to match the essay and we used it to review the topic of the essay. Then I had to go to the 2-3 grade room.
I went in expecting to assist the other teacher but she just handed me a storybook "5 little monkeys" and left the room. So once again, I had to pull a lesson plan out of thin air. I read the book slowly to the students, not that it made much difference for the 2nd graders but they seemed really bored still. So I made them all stand up and taught them some actions while I chanted the story. Eventually a few 2nd graders caught on and actually started chanting the story with me, which was such a relief. Then the actions mutated into a game of "Simon says" where we had to say "Doctor said" instead to match. It wasn't the best lesson but it went better than I expected and a few of the kids took turns being the doctor.
Luckily, Mr. Song's class was pretty well organized when I went in and he just had me play a simple alphabet game with the 1st graders. The rest of the week went a lot smoother now that I knew what the curriculum would be and knew that I actually had to make lesson plans despite what I'd been told. (Getting used to Korean surprises but I still hate them.) The Vice Principal took us all out for lunch the first day and we had some really tasty vegetable side-dishes and tofu soup.
Eventually, the teacher over the 4-6 graders got sick of the textbook and let me plan some games and activities instead. We played the market game, which went okay until I caught a 4th grader stealing some of the extra fake money and had to take all of his money away. He wasn't too happy but that's what he gets. I made some of the items random things like "a puppy" "snacks" and "concert tickets" to their favorite band. The kids went nuts and some of them ended up buying only puppies or snacks and missing the point of the game. Seunghee, one of my favorite 6th grade girls, made a cute little sign for her shop that said "Everything 30% off" but then only made $7 and sadly told me "Teacher, I'm poor". I told her sorry but she just smiled and said "It's just a game". At least one of them got it. Her team ended up winning my version of Scattergories anyway.
We did a photo scavenger hunt the last day and the kids were hysterical. One team had a boy pose with their object in every photo and he was a natural Vanna White. It was pretty funny. The kids were supposed to find something starting with every letter of the alphabet as well as a few funny bonus photos like "your group as a K-Pop band" and "Everyone in your group sitting on the same chair". They made for some pretty great photos. I ended up in a few pictures for "Teacher" or "Whitney". One kid did an entire dance number for his "K-Pop" photo. I tallied points at the end and the team that won first-place got to choose a prize first so every team ended up with a prize. The kids were pretty pleased.
My 2-3 grade class was the most difficult because of the huge contrast in their levels. And the other teacher didn't really want to help me she just told me to teach them phonics or read a book to them and then sat to the side. She was nice, she always gave me tea when I first walked in. She just didn't want anything to do with my lessons. I made a phonics puzzle that we did as a class and then played a few games to practice the sounds. I also taught them the hokey pokey but would stop the music randomly and shout out a number and they'd have to get into groups with that number. They loved it. The 3rd graders think I'm a walking jukebox and are always making requests for songs like "Owl City" and a food song they call "Yucky". I usually play a few songs at the beginning of class but then the kids get out of control. One boy made it particularly difficult during this class though because of his temper. He's one of my 3rd graders and has always been a bit of a wild card but he got really violent during camp. He wanted to call the shots on all the games and be in control and if I didn't give him his way he would always get in my face and start screaming at me. The last day, he actually brought a pocket knife to school and threatened me with it in the beginning of class. He held it up to my face and waved it around while instructing me on what games we would play that day and what roles I would let him play in them. I was a little shocked and looked over at the other teacher but she didn't even give us a second glance so I grabbed his wrist and slowly lowered the knife. He finally put it away but pulled it out a few times more during class so that I saw it. I ended up giving him very few roles in the games and luckily he didn't actually pull out the knife again but he did scream an awful lot. I told him repeatedly that I wouldn't let him take part in the games if he was going to scream so he sat in a corner and spent most of the class throwing paper airplanes at me. The teacher still did nothing but told me at the end that my games were too loud. Kind of frustrating.
The last day the school gave me 3 giant cookies but I really don't like the cookies here. They're always dry and way too crunchy. But the 2-3 graders saw me carrying them and kept begging me to give them to them so at the end of class I broke them into tiny pieces and somehow managed to feed the entire class. I was pretty pleased with myself and glad to be rid of the cookies so they didn't go to waste but then the other teacher handed me a new bag of cookies as I walked out the door. Ugh.
With camp finally over, I felt a huge relief. I just have a week of desk-warming now and then I go to the Philippines this Saturday. I've been needing that vacation. After school on Friday, Sunyoung took me and her daughter, Yena, to the frozen lake to bobsled. It was really fun. You sit on a wooden board and use two stakes to propel yourself around. The ice was pretty slick so we got going pretty fast. Yena struggled a bit with hers at first but she got it down by the end. Then Sunyoung brought us to a fancy steak restaurant that she had coupons for. It was right next to my house and was all American-style food. The owner spent some time in Italy studying culinary arts and spoke English really well so she was excited to talk with me. We had Caesar salad, margherita pizza, and steak with brussel sprouts. Then the owner gave us free broccoli-cheese soup. It tasted amazing, I haven't had American food in such a long time. Sunyoung admitted that she didn't really love the food there but she thought I must be homesick so had wanted to take me there. It was really kind of her. Yena asked her usual funny questions. Right now she's really caught up on wanting me to get married. She insisted on getting to plan my wedding and giving me a makeover. I told her it may be a few years but she was definitely invited. When we got in the car, Yena told me she had a gift for me and pulled out a clay wedding cake that she had made at school. It was really beautiful and intricate. I have it sitting on top of my TV in my apartment along with some origami that my 3rd graders made for me.
Sister Seo and Elder Boyack got transferred to Seoul last Tuesday. It was really sad, especially seeing Sister Seo leave. She had been joking saying "Chuncheon is miiine" after she got to stay last transfer. She's been here about 7-8 months so we kind of thought she'd stay forever. We had one last family home evening with the two to send them off with cake and games. The African girl that Sister Seo and Sister Mccloskey have been teaching came and we stuck together since no else spoke much English. The next day, Brother Kim had me and the missionaries over for dinner before they all went to the train station to part ways. We had a ton of food. I'm always amazed how much these tiny Koreans can eat. Sister Seo says that she'll come visit when she gets off her mission in July so I guess I'll see her again. She's from Busan way down the coast too so I'll have an excuse to go down there. Still sad not to see her at church anymore. She was the ward pianist and one of the bishopric members had been hinting that I might be next so I'm a little worried.
This weekend was the ice festival up in Hwacheon. The city is surrounded by a river and also has a giant lake in the center and it all freezes over this time of year. The festival is set up on the frozen river so you literally walk on ice through most of it. There was a ton of ice-fishing going on and one kid was bragging that he caught over 40 fish. People do bare-hand fishing there too, it's pretty hard-core. The buses from Chuncheon were really full. I guess a lot of people here are really into fishing. There was an ice-castle full of sculptures that we explored and then we went for Ice-quads and ice-soccer. Ice soccer was pretty intense since we were running around a frozen court on the river, kicking a hockey puck around. I scored a lot of our goals but I paid for it with some pretty colorful bruises. I'm part of a book club that meets in Hwacheon so I went with that group after our book discussion. It was a lot of fun and they had a ton going on - tube-rides, ice-slides, ice-ATVs, robot sleighs, hockey, ice-fishing, and tons and tons of booths with food and archery and other games. I'll definitely be going again if I'm here next year.
Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry for the long e-mail. I'll try to send one more often now that I'm not buried in Winter Camps. Let me know what you guys are up to, it's been a while!
-Whit
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