Hey guys,
Looks like you had a fun Thanksgiving! How was the rest of the day? I got a little homesick looking at all the pictures but I'm glad you guys had a good time. Looks like Cho enjoyed everything as well. I may have stolen the picture of you guys around the dinner table for my lesson. The kids thought Haley was me and my autistic student for some reason kept insisting that my family is Japanese. I don't know if it was because he saw Cho or if he confused Thanksgiving with a similar Japanese holiday but it was really bizarre and the other kids started shouting at him that I was American. Koreans are not big fans of Japan.
I did have a mini Thanksgiving last night with my neighbor, Erica. We both just threw together what we had and it actually turned out really good. We had sweet pumpkin soup, mashed potatoes, the worst gravy ever made (my contribution), Chicken, spinach salad, a baguette, and steamed veggies. It was the best meal I've had in a long time. I usually just eat kimbap for dinner.
I feel like my lesson plans have really come along and I'm really connecting with the students. Mostly, I think they all think of me as just a big kid. I have a student in Mr. Song's class, Joonsu who loves to chat and always asks me the weirdest questions. The other week he told me "My father is Obama". And later "I am killer!" His favorite thing to do is come in and say "Teacher, give me candy. I kill you!" I've started calling him Achmed, but he doesn't get it. I think he picks up a lot of English from watching TV so he likes to practice it on me. He was the one who kept using "shuttup" with his classmates. Yesterday, I found him messing around by my desk so I sat at his desk and asked if he would teach today. He got really animated and started writing random English words on the board and telling his classmates "Today will be game party!" When I told him he was fired, he sat at his desk and pretended to cry really dramatically over his dismissal. He told me I'm awesome though, so I felt really validated. I did let him control my powerpoints today and he told the other students I was his assistant. Someone's found his calling.
I've had a lot of students picking up swear words. It seems like every other day, I catch kids saying "Ah, sh**" Or "f$%@ you!". I don't know what TV shows they are watching but I have to stop the lesson for a lecture way more often than I'd like. The other day, we were learning how to say "Don't ____". So I had them making signs for things not to do. One student was asking me how to say something in Korean but I didn't know the word and the translator kept saying "an abuse" when I typed it in. Finally, Sarang, my little bus buddy shouts "Teacher, F$%&* you! F$%& you!" And I go "Ooooooh, SWEARING. That's the word you're looking for!" And was happy we'd figured it out but after a second it dawned on me that she'd just cussed me out and I shouted, "Oh my gosh, don't say that!" Apparently the letters A.C. somehow make a Korean swear word as well. I think it's when you read the letters out "Aye See" it must make a word. So when I was talking to my 6th graders about things we do in the summer, they said "Air Con" so I wrote A.C. on the board and the kids all started freaking out. So embarrassing.... My autistic student, Seunghyeok, couldn't let it go for the rest of the day. Seunghyeok's incredibly bright though. He remembers everything he learns in English and is more fluent than any of my other students. He'll always come into class wanting to know about a term he's learned. Like last week it was "Mister and Miss" and I told him he could also use "Mrs" for a married woman. So every day he would come in and say, "Hello, Miss Teacher! Mister is for man and Miss is for woman. And married woman is Mrs!" Then he got really into numbers for a while so he came in one day and asked me how many were in my family. Now, he can recite my whole family with the birth order and everything. It's pretty amazing. He's a funny kid. He'll sometimes mock the other kids during games and I'll sit there trying not to laugh while the other kids are completely oblivious about what he's saying.
My after-school class is getting really fun on Fridays. It's all the top English students from 3rd to 6th grade so we can do a lot more. My one 3rd graders, Seungri, is always a little behind but she's so sweet and complacent even when she's lost. She hasn't gotten the time that class starts down so she always shows up about 20-30 minutes early and I keep her busy drawing and writing on the board. Sometimes I'll put on the projector and we'll play around defacing the pictures of people in my presentations. Today I taught her to write her name in English and we talked about birthdays. She's a cutie.
We did a scavenger hunt a little while ago with Choco Pies as the prize and the kids went nuts and tore the whole thing apart a lot faster than I expected. I think the choco pies were a little TOO motivating. So last Friday I did a photo scavenger hunt where they had a list of about 40 topics and had to take a picture to represent as many as they could. Whoever got the most pictures down won but the two groups tied. It was so fun to watch them though. They did Frozen, Mario, You are the President of the USA, Halloween, win a race, and a bunch of other things. I had one that was "horror movie" and they actually made the creepiest little short videos. One group made my really shy Phillipina girl look like the grudge and the other group got Seunghyeok, the autistic student, to slowly crawl towards the camera with a strobe effect. I was extremely creeped out. Luckily, all Korean kids carry around cell phones so I didn't need to provide cameras. It turned out really fun. I did have one topic that said "be an English teacher" and the kids just zeroed in on "English teacher" so every once in a while I'd hear "Teacher!", glance over and hear a *click* then "Thank you!" and they'd run off. The photos they showed me were not very flattering.
My 3rd graders are hilarious and so energetic. I always have the hardest time filling up the class time because they just burn through the material. They've started to plan the lessons for me though. Every class they tell me exactly what game they want to play, what music video they want to watch, and so on. Two girls who were in my after school class when I did the Cup song have been begging for it for months but I didn't know how to relate it to the textbook material. I finally came up with an activity by drawing a picture on the cups and having them stop after a few passes to say what was on their cup and the whole class is obsessed now. They love "cups". I played an Owl City song from Wreck it Ralph for them called "When can I see you again?" for a lesson on the word "can" and I didn't think the kids would be that into it because it's really fast. But they actually went home, learned all the words, and have made me play it before class for three consecutive lessons. One girl who never smiles cornered me in the lunch room the other day and said very seriously, "Teacher, next time. When can I see you again." I was surprised she even remembered the title before but she can sing the entire song.
I'm picking up a lot of Korean. The kids are always surprised when I can teach them a phrase using the Korean translation and keep trying to teach me swear words to add to my vocabulary. I've learned to just not repeat anything they tell me. I think the hardest lesson was one where the example was about a boy named "dongsu" but I kept mispronouncing his name so it sounded like the word for poop. I finally had to skip it because the kids wouldn't stop laughing :/
We have a 5th grade teacher who is like a drill sergeant. I'm pretty sure he has some kind of military background and he's super intimidating. I always hear him shouting at his students during lunch and I'm pretty sure that's just how he talks. He always makes his students stand up and bow to me before I start teaching and even though I've been here a long time, it still throws me off. I'll be fiddling around with the computer, loading my powerpoints or crouching under the desk to plug in my USB when I hear "ATTENTION! BOW!" and I get startled every time. I'm never sure what to do so I just stand there awkwardly while they formally greet me. These kids are not phased by anything though. Three times now, I've had a giant black wasp fly into the classroom and hover over their heads and they don't even give it a second glance. Meanwhile, I'm teaching and trying to keep my cool while tracking the wasp around the room and inwardly panicking. One time - I'm not even exaggerating here - the wasp was flying lower and lower and I was telling the kids how to do their project but at the same time, slowly bending into a crouch and sinking towards my desk. By the time the kids started their project, I had almost completely tucked myself under the desk. I heard one of the kids say something to their teacher about it and he walked over. I peaked out and watched him pick up two pencils, hold them in his hand like chopsticks and snag the wasp. Like Jackie Chan. No joke. I just stared as he walked toward the door but he stopped and offered the struggling wasp to me and I just said "Uh, no thanks" with my voice cracking. Oh man, I looked so foolish. But I am terrified of that man. And wasps.
The teachers have a lot of field trips here where they'll close school early and the teachers will all go somewhere and it's all paid for. A couple weeks ago, we went hiking and visited the home of a famous Korean writer - Kim Yujeong. The home was like a traditional village with multiple structures and straw roofs. Mr. Song told me that the house he grew up in was similar and that he didn't even see a TV until his teens. Afterward, we went to dinner at a Dakgalbi restaurant where we had to kneel for a long time again. I'm slowly getting used to it but my legs still fall asleep every time. At one point I really had to pee and the bathroom was behind the counter where the owners work so I got up and went over. I asked the owner if the bathroom was free and she nodded. But just as I reached for the handle, I heard "HIT-TU-NI-NIM!" (that's my name if you couldn't tell) I knew it was the principal at my Tuesday school who is known for his drunk antics and being very loud. I kind of looked at the owner and slowly glanced over to see if he was actually looking at me and he shouted my name again. I knew he was going to want me to take shots with him and I really didn't want to. I looked at the owner again, kind of desperately and she nodded her head towards the principal so I walked over. It was weird because all three of my principals were sitting together. Tuesday Principal started insisting that I drink with him and I tried to explain that I don't like liquor while some other teachers helped me translate that I would drink Sprite instead. He didn't seem too happy and had one of the teachers translate that I shouldn't be offended by their culture. I tried hard to explain that it wasn't that it offended me but it was just a mess. Finally my main school's vice principal leaned over and said something that seemed to satisfy him so he grabbed the Sprite and had me drink and pour shots with him over and over. He even made me do a buddy-shot where you link arms and of course being the inexperienced-drinker I poured Sprite all down my front. I'm pretty sure all three schools think I'm the weirdest person ever. After that, he made me eat a bowl full of burnt rice (apparently it's some delicacy?) but I was so full so it was painful to force it down. When we were done talking, I still had to pee but I looked over at the bathroom and a huge line had formed. Then Mr. Song came over and told me it was time to leave so I got to sit in the car for 45 minutes to top it off. Apparently we have a 2-day retreat next weekend and I'm looking forward to even more awkwardness then.
Anyway, school's been good. This week's been a little frustrating because the school keeps telling me "no" on things and hasn't really worked with me on anything. I'm also having a hard time securing my vacation days. I'm supposed to take 10 days in the winter and my friends want to go to the Philippines but I'm afraid to buy my ticket before I know for sure what days I'll have off. Mr. Song's so busy that he rarely gives me time of day so it's hard to ask for things. I'm understanding more and more Korean too but the downside is that I've started to overhear teachers at my Thursday school (the one with low-level students and horrible textbooks) complaining about me. Mostly that I play too many games and the students aren't learning enough. So I guess I need to work on those lesson plans. I may ditch the textbooks all-together and see if they say anything.
Today I had my 3-6 grade after-school class and it was a blast. I taught them about American Thanksgiving. I didn't get too into the Pilgrims and Indians bit but I taught them what kind of food we eat and how we talk about what we're thankful for. I did mention pilgrims and Indians in passing and one of the girls asked "Teacher, English people killed the Indians?" and it got a little uncomfortable. I think Mr. Song might have told her about a conversation we had about America's history with First Nations. Anyway, I taught them what "thankful" means and had them write their own lists of things they're thankful for. A lot of them put "I'm thankful for me" "I'm thankful for computer games" "I'm thankful for my hamster" and other funny things but most of them turned out really nice. My little helper, Seunghee, wrote a really sweet letter to her mom about how grateful she is for her. I felt bad that I'd collected them when I read it, I should have had her take it home. One student wrote I'm thankful for "my you can't die" and I wasn't sure how to translate it or if I should be worried. Sounded a bit dark and I think it was my shy girl who has a hard time in school because she's half-phillipino and looked down on. But she might have just been saying she's thankful for life.
When we were finished writing, I took the kids to the stage and taught them "pin the tail on the turkey". It was a riot. The kids loved making each other spin and then giving each other bad directions while the blindfolded kid groped drunkenly at the wall. The end result was a very frazzled-looking turkey. I was glad the kids got so into the game, it's always hit or miss when I'm teaching alone because sometimes the games are too complicated for them. But this one was really simple. Turkey was hard to explain to the kids at first because they're convinced that it's just an extra-large chicken. But I showed them pictures of live turkeys and I think they got it. I don't think most Koreans have even heard of turkey.
Oh good news about the missionaries - Sister Seo's staying another transfer! I was so relieved, she's been here forever so we all thought for sure she was leaving and that would be really sad. I keep telling her and Sister McClusky that I'd make dinner for them and I don't want her to leave before I get around to it. Elder Smith is leaving though and that's kind of a bummer :/ he's the best at speaking Korean (aside from Sister Seo) and seems to keep the other Elders in check. It's so weird seeing all these missionaries come and go.
Anyway, that's it for me! It's been a pretty decent Thanksgiving and I may be going to one more dinner tomorrow. So 1 Canadian Thanksgiving and 2 American thanksgivings this year. Not bad. I loved seeing your pictures hope you guys have fun with the Stews today! You should take a paper cut-out of me so I can get my annual photo with Tony and Linds ;) Can't wait to hear how the party turns out sounds like you guys did some fun planning!
사랑 해요 - I love you!
보고 싶어요 - I miss you!
-HITTUNI
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