What a Weekend

Perfect weekend:

*Friday--> Watched a taekwondo "test" at Pyeongchang's 태권도 학원 with a friend. Who was there? Her brother, my homestay brother (what a surprise!), and a student from my high school. ^-^

*Saturday--> Rod a bus with the 교감선생님 and my 2-3 class students to attend a WEDDING! One of the teacher's was getting married in 강릉, which is near the East Sea (동해). An ideal location to host a wedding ceremony. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her white wedding gown and from the genuine smile on her face I knew she was happy.

Yes, it was a western-style wedding, but interesting nonetheless. Many people have said to me, "Bummer. Maybe you can see a traditional wedding next time!" However, my response to them is this: First, I feel privileged to have been invited, especially given that my wedding attendance (working at wedding receptions does not count okay!) is few.

Second, she is a dear teacher that I wish nothing but the utmost happiness and joy. Her big day just may have restored my desire to get married someday (not anytime soon, but someday). Prior to this weekend, she expressed her feelings of happiness, but kept mentioning that she was a bit late (meaning that compared to other brides, she was old). I kept telling her that age does not matter because you cannot rush such feelings of love.

Third, her homeroom class (including my homestay sister) prepared dance/performance to offer their well-wishes (축하합니다!) to their newly married 선생님 (teacher).

And finally, there were some unique Korean twists to the wedding. After all, this is Korea. ^^ For example, the parents of the bride and groom wore traditional Korean hanboks. And the lunchtime meal was to die for. 맛있겠다! Fourth,

After the wedding, another teacher helped convince the vice principal that I should see the East Sea and what 강릉 had to offer. He wanted me to ride the bus back with the students, but her persuasive skills paid off. I spend the rest of the day exploring and chatting with two of the teachers. There are some conversations that cannot really develop in the school (given the time constraints), so this was very pleasant.

Sunday--> Had my name called out once again at church ("Amy"... this still does not register sometimes) to receive a Bible (in Korean) and flowers before having a group of older women assertively push food in front of me :)

And then... cleaned and relaxed. Yes, I enjoy doing nothing sometimes. It allows my mind to unwind and refill with new ideas... such as deciding on some new passtimes (if time allows...which I will make time):

-attempt to learn a bit of Japanese (but Korean is still top priority ^^) from a friend

-attempt to teach (and relearn...) a bit of Spanish to a\the same friend

-attempt to master (or at least acquire some) the skills of badmitton (I played in high school, but in need of official techniques) from a student who dozes off in my English class, but becomes unbelieveably energetic when he comes in contact with a racket and birdie

-attempt to make use of the piano at my homestay house (when I am in the company of...myself...no one else needs to listen until I can improve ^^)

That is all for my revamped laundry list.

The Office (not the tv show)

Today a box of freshly prepared 떡 (rice cakes) was placed on my desk in celebration of the 100th day of life for one of the teacher's baby. In the past, many infants passed away from disease and other various causes at an early age, so today this is still a moment of joy. The proud father gleefully distributed the snacks throughout the office.

This sharing of snacks, beverages and food is not uncommon in the school.

-During my first week of class, a student's parents brought a large box of 옥수수 (corn) to the teacher's room.
-One teacher in particular has brought tasty breads to share on numerous occasions (그냥...just because). If I wished to give back with another kind gesture, I was told to give her husband something (not her). The reason being that if her spouse is happy, the household atmosphere wlll also be pleasant.
-Another example... Sometimes apples just appear on my desk. I have received them from students and teachers. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." If I eat all the apples will be allowed to go to Seoul (keeps away the "dreaded" swine flu kk). ^_^

Notable "Quotables"

As an ETA, I find myself filling the role of English teacher not only with my students but with the teachers as well. Many seem eager to learn a bit of English but are too shy to ask. So, a few weeks ago I decided to start utilizing the Cool Messenger system (similar to AIM) for my own purposes. I have been sending a daily English question, phrase or sentence to the entire staff, which sometimes brings about some interesting responses. ^-^

Today's sentence: "Can you please pass me (the, a, an, some) _______."
예) Can you please pass me a tissue or some napkins?
(휴지 is universally used for both words... and toilet paper).
My favorite response from a teacher: "Can you please pass me a firm friendship?"

On several occasions I was told I have a pleasant voice to listen to (aka it is easy to understand my pronounciation). My vice principal told me my voice is "beautiful," while another teacher said it is "deep." And another teacher replied, "No, it is interesting." What does this mean? Word choices are a bit awkward but so I fit right in (being that I am also awkward!)
*Perhaps I can start my career as a reciter on EFL or ELS tapes... If the job market remains the same, this may not be such a bad option haha.
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Student moments:
* "Teacher, you look stun."
(I thought he said, "stern." So my response was "Hmm? Am I scary?")
(Sound of dictionary keys clicking)
"Ooohhh.... Stunning. Ummm...thanks."

* By the way, who is 예지원? My class made me jump when they started pointing at my photo. Apparently, I resemble her?

*I wear a hair binder on my left wrist everyday for many reasons.
1. Practicality (sometimes my needs to go up!)
2. Strange necessity (I need something on my wrist or I feel strange...)
One student notices that I have two binders on my wrist and asks, "Can I see one?"
I hand it to him and resume my lesson.
"Teacher! Couple. See?" (We have matching hair binders on our wrist... Oh yes, "couple" items are popular in Korea... I have forgotten ㅎㅎ).

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And then there is Minseok...
민석 said: "Pyeongchang is the Minnesota of Korea." (And it is so true! ^_^)

Always Be Prepared...

Preparation is key. This applies to an assortment of situations that can take place both inside and outside of the classroom.
For example: Classroom scenario
After a blissful weekend in Seoul (explanation to be revealed), I once again nodded off on the bus ride and managed to convince the taxi driver that yes indeed I could direct him to my homestay house.
*Tangent-->Being that it is the only house across the river and the fact that my Korean is still in the making, my taxi driver looked doubtful in my ability to direct him to my home. What house? There is a house! There may be one lonely house but there IS a house. As you may know, I can be a bit stubborn sometimes (or as I prefer to say "determined"), so I "determined" to give directions myself (not resort to calling my homestay family).
Despite my best efforts to come prepared, I managed to forget a vital teaching item... a key chain holding my office drawer key and flash drive. My head may have been back in Seoul (thinking about the magnificent RENT performance) or I was merely exercising my "humanness" by allowing something to slip my mind (another idiom/phrase that I can teach my students...hum). In any case, the drawer enclosing my candy supply (this is crucial in my classroom... no joke) was opened (thank you Ms. Jeong), my PPT presentation in working order (thank you DropBox)and worksheets were printed. Keep your close co-workers and friends nearby, and backup your important information (not only for technical purposes...). This is what I have learned. Phew... I wasn't looking forward to a repeat of week 1 ("Just talk and they will listen. Okay?")

For example: Outside of classroom
뱀... snakes
I had the privilege of having 2 snakes accompany on my journey down the would-be-pretty road (with the absence of bulldozers). One literally sprang back when I abruptly yielded to the lovely ("sarcasm" was a topic of discussion in my advanced evening class) creature in front of me. Perhaps it was cursing me for revealing my "foreignness" as was discussed in an earlier blog post.

Only in Pyeongchang...

Today I discovered that my usual Thursday classes are cancelled due to a practice test-taking session. To enter a university, high school students must take a College Scholastic Ability exam known as the dreaded... 수능 (suneung). 3rd- year students are busy preparing for the actual exam, which is less than 50 days away.
When I ask my students which university they wish to attend, I hear a variety of responses, but very few utter the acronym "SKY," which stands for Seoul, Korea and Yonsei University. These three universities rank the highest in Korea.

"Oh... SKY... I wish but I can't." This is the response that I have been hearing from many students as they are preparing for the practice or real 수능. Perhaps these universities are similar to what we call the "Ivy League" schools in the United States, but I cannot make an accurate comparison as the Korean and United States education systems greatly differ in expectations, values and learning methods.
So, today the 1st- and 2nd- year students are busy taking their practice 수능 exams. This can bea stressful day, but also a day to rejoyce because they are able to go home after the exam! Normally the students stay at school until around 10 p.m. Looking back on my high school experience, I don't know how they do it... I was exhausted enough with the layout of my schedule back home.

To my students--> "화이팅" "Fighting!"

My original intent of writing this post has been delayed as I have yet again went off on a bit of a tangent, but that is why I love writing. It allows me the space to speak (or rather...write) whatever is surfacing on my mind. Let it flow~ These days, my head often feels like it weighs 134 pounds as my mind wanders and thirsts for a few extra hours of sleep. However, many brillant minds gain creativity and excellence in a similar state of mind right? ^-^ I shall rest on the busride to Seoul. Upon arriving in Korea, one of the first things I was told was that Koreans (I know this is true about other people too, but this is what I was told!) have the lovely ability to fall asleep on anything that is moving). I have witnessed this on the Seoul subway. ㅋㅋ So perhaps, I am becoming more "Korean" in the sense that I can nod off on any moving vehicle. So as I attempt to memorize the Korean song I am currently "studying" I just may nod off a bit (or for the entire busride).

I have set many goals for myself, but one (hopefully) attainable goal is to be able to sing a Korean song from start to finish. Given that my classes were cancelled today, I decided to start the process (after polishing up tomorrow's lesson plans) and repeatedly listen to "내 머리가 나빠서" (Because I'm Stupid) from the drama 꽃보다 남자. Well...
Only in Pyeongchang... one of the teachers offered to help me and somehow convinced me to practice singing the song outloud... Like I said... only in Pyeongchang. ^^ That is all.

The Roads one Travels are... Unpredictable

As much as I feel the need to have control over my life, I admit that unpredictable and unexpected situations bring the best results. I am constantly fighting the urge to seize control, while just let things play out as they will. All in all, being in Pyeongchang is allowing me to literally live day-by-day and not worry about planning to far ahead. Why? 

1. Let's look at the high school situation. Lesson planning way in advance has proven to not be very effective as every class brings about different results. So I must be flexible with my activities, content I wish to cover, and classroom strategies. 

One reason I love my students... (there are many reasons, but this is one highlight). Receiving assignments such as this~ The spectrum is full. I conducted a class on goals~ Oh diversity presents itself in many forms. ㅋㅋ

Or with my homestay family. Day one, I was lucky if my homestay brother would utter a word to me, but now I spend a good chuck of the day with him. After church we walked home, I retreated to my room and allowed my sliding door to do its normal business (close on its own whether I wish this or not). 

However, this time my homestay brother walks in and asks, "지금 뭐 해요? Ipod 빌려주세요?" Basically he has taken a liking to my ipod touch, my taste in random music videos on youtube, and so on. I have been addicted to watching 꽃보다남자 (Boys Before Flowers), which is a popular Korean drama (based off of a Japanese comic). One of my friends back home complained about having the ending of the Harry Potter series ruined for her by a friend. Well, I found myself in a similar predicament as my homestay brother stretched out on my bed and insisted that the last episode (마지막!) is more amusing than the one I was currently watching. His look of excitement was enough to make me switch episodes and allow the now not so mysterious ending to unfold. Luckily we did not finish the last 1/4 of the episode (my homestay mother called me to help with dinner--> also a first! I was surprised but thrilled as I do wish to learn how to cook Korean food). So, 꽃보다남자 still has 15 precious minutes of surprise to hold my attention ^^ haha Actually, I am using the dramas for listening practice as well, so knowing the ending is fine by me. Some characters just may have grown on my  bit anyways... just a bit. :)

I introduced my homestay brother to the wonders of "skipping rocks" which he quickly took a liking to. I felt reminiscent of my days spent in Grand Marais, MN skipping rocks by the North Shore.

There's a first for everything. For instance, I played badminton in high school, but not with my Korean vice principal... I found myself invited to to the gym to participate and watch (I understood parts of the instruction from the coach... parts).  Or after taking a jog (aka: freely staring at some epic parasailing action near my home that I hope to partake in) seeing my host family grandparents riding a motorbike... ^-^

Or making my first 3-hour bus ride to Seoul and meeting a talkative middle school student whose name means "beautiful maiden" (미희). How did I know her name's meaning? She told me.  How else would I have known? haha When many students or adults cannot muster up the courage to speak to me (unless they assume I am Korean, which is a common scenario), this youngster had no fear and proceeded to chat with me until my bus arrived. ^-^

By the way, Korea is famous for the numerous festivals. On Thursday I partook in the Buckwheat Festival. Yes, there is a Buckwheat Festival. Yes, I ate many food and beverage items in which buckwheat was a main ingredient. 

And yes, being that the neighboring town was in the countryside, I rod (not a horse... keep guessing...) a donkey.  

And there was an a section of the festival that slightly resembles the "international bazaar" at the MN State Fair or Festival of Nations event. I said slightly because the represented countries were few, but included Turkey (which I had studied in for a month) and Ecuador (which I hope to travel to someday to regain the language ability that I have long since lost and learn more about the mesmerizing music). I was content.

News from Pyeongchang

Testing the waters of teaching has been a large part of my recent experience in Pyeongchang. Teaching English to a variety of levels and personalities has been an art that I have yet to master. However, my inner artist sends constant reminders. One must complete several painting before finding one that strikes her fancy. Some images will be crumpled, tossed and buried deep in the bottom on the trash bin, while other will be held daintily before being carefully placed in an strong frame. 

Although some lessons have caused my nose to crinkle and a stream of sweat to slide down my face, I can proudly say that I am learning. Trial and error is the name of the game... even across the ocean from the United States and a 3-hour bus ride away from Seoul. Yesterday my mixed level classes caused me a bit of frustration, as I am in search of a way to have all my students get something out of my lesson. I have succeeded in reaching some students, but no matter the case I always have half the room facing me with glazed expressions ("What is going on? You're going too fast") or half the room a bit bored... The classes separated by level have been going better though. Today was an enjoyable day though. ^^

By the way, I have officially made my foreigner's card known... aka I went jogging in the open. People don't do that here, but I wanted to exercise so...who runs outside? I do.

Heading to Seoul this weekend for a couple days in the city. I'l write more when I return. 

In the meantime, here is a video of a bike ride I took (attempting to find a place of privacy to sketch and reflect).