Seoulong San Antonio!

Falling in Love with Korean Food

I didn't think it was gonna happen. It certainly wasn't love at first taste, such as in other countries I have lived in or visited. I've had instantaneous connections with Mexican salsas, Spanish hams and cheeses, Italian pesto, German pastries and sausages, Greek salads and fish...okay yadda yadda yadda. When I knocked on kimchi's door, I had to think for a minute or two to decide whether or not we were a compatible duo. We now are one with each other but at first I was unsure. I wondered when I came to Korea if I would have similar attractions to the foods here. Not at first, no I did not. However, at first my exposure to Korean food was so narrowed. Since my arrival here it has expanded tremendously. I have found a wealth of ingredients I never imagined possible.

Alison and Ms. Dawson

Okay now. Some of my older students (10-12 year olds) are constantly trying to correct my pronunciation. Not on everything but more specifically on names. According to them I don't pronounce some of thier names correctly or the names of the characters in our text books. I find this hilarious. Whenever I call upon Alison in class the other students begin laughing and telling me that I say her name wrong. Poor girl gets embarrassed too. They say, "no teacher! not Aaaalison, it's Ehhhlison." And I tell them that we say Aaaalison in Texas and that both ways of saying it are okay. But they won't stand for that excuse. Then there is my other class that insists that I say say Ms. Dawson incorrectly. How do they get so pompous to challenge their English teachers pronunciation? It's amazing.

Anyhow, the enormous contradiction at hand is that they should be worried about their own pronunciation and not mine! Like when they finish their classwork they all shout out, "teachuh, pinushee!" Which actually means, "teacher, finished!" But they turn the f into a p and add ee at the end. I correct them constantly but they love to say "pinushee" instead of "finished." That's a just the tip of pronunciation issues. There's hundreds upon thousands of ways to say words incorrectly, and they find them all. That is the biggest part of our job. Not so much the grammar, but saying the things and speaking. The Korean teachers focus on grammar and we (the foreign teachers) are there to make them sound right. Ahh, well. There's a lot more to elaborate on this later. For now I had to vent. ^__^

Intensives!

Gotta hate intensives when you're working at a Hogwon. Summer time should equal vacation time according to US standards, but here vacation is just more time to study English, or something else. So the little kiddos are on "vacation" but still going to classes. Just half as many classes, so it's still a break I suppose. Loco I say. What that means for the teachers is...we basically teach all day long, from somewhere around 9am until 9pm. Usually there are AM and PM teachers, but during intensives we are all AM/PM teachers. Lots of times things just don't make sense here, to me that is. I wonder if it is the language barrier, a mere difference of culture or me just not getting it! I cannot begin to describe the daily occurrences that perplex me. Why, why and why? I've never said or thought that word so many times in my life. But I'll elaborate more on that some other time. I find that going with the flow is the best way to deal with things. Everyone is usually smiling through everything anyway, no matter how long the hours or what frustrations are uprooted. Just smile, nod and do it! Ahh well, the motto is, "it could be worse." Like don't complain about 12 classes back to back because tomorrow or the next day it could be 15. Hahhaaa. However, when that paycheck comes rolling around with 3-5 hundred bucks of overtime, the compensation is somewhat worth it. And on top of that the kids are always cool. Well cool is not the appropriate term. They are just amazingly cute and smart and sometimes irritating at the same time.

Speaking of smart, a kiddo in my kindy class the other day was quite amazing. The concept of singular versus plural is for some reason difficult for the little guys to grasp. S or no s. They just weren't understanding. Why is it toys and not just toy? Why is there an s on toys? Then Sean had this moment of genius. He saw the light and in the midst of a completely quiet classroom he blurted out (at the top of his lungs), "teachuh! toys is more than one!" But as he said it he jumped out of his chair and stood tall with his eyes wide open as if it was some important event in his life. I still don't know if the other kids understand why there is an s. But Sean knows and hopefully the knowledge with spread like wildfire. Really cute stuff...

Okay, I should take a poll. Look at the the pic above and the pic below. One is an angel and the other makes me yell at him continuously. They are polar opposites! Which one is which? Hahhaaa. Well good luck, they both look cute regardless.

WOW! What a Month! 2 Months Actually, Going on 3! LOL

It is finally time to wipe the cobwebs and dust from my blog and get back to business. The past two months have been the busiest, craziest times and of course limited internet access didn't help the situation. It was mostly but not completely due to a taxi/pedestrian accident. Because of that I spent 99.9% of my time outside of work at a hospital or commuting to a hospital. Fun stuff, let me tell you. To make a long story extremely short, at this point in time I am fine, my friend is now fine and everything is just fine and dandy. Way better than fine actually. Anyhow, that was a crummy period but thank goodness it is all in the past and I am oh so ready to move onward!

Off to work now. To be continued momentarily...

Here but BUSY!!!

I just want it to be known to the internet world that I love life right now. Seoul life that is. I have not written in a while cause I have been so darn busy...working and having fun, back to back to back. My school is keeping me on my toes, both the teachers and the students. It's so chaotic at times, in and out of the classroom. But really it's a nice environment. The kids are still awesome, sometimes bad and sometimes good. It's cool to see how they change and get better at English. Also they open up to me more, which is good and bad. Tomorrow I have MORE classes with parents observing. I wouldn't care so much but my director and assistants are freaking out about it. I have to have my lesson plan planned out to the minute and tell them exactly how I will be conducting the class. Then they tell me not to worry about the majority of the kids, but to focus on the kids whose mothers are in the classroom, lol. So that is the latest with school. Then I've been hangin' out with co-workers a lot it's been tons of fun. Goodbye parties and birthday parties that last until the wee hours of the night. Ahh well, that's all to tell. I'm gonna hit the hay! NIGHT! ^^

Seoul National Palace

Science Class

I teach pre-school, elementary, middle and high school students. I work for an English Academy so the students go to their regular schools and come to the Academy for additional intensive English. I've only taken pics of the smallest of smalls because they are just too freakin' cute not too. Anyway, here is Kiwi class again...back in action. Everyday is complete entertainment on my part, for the kids and from the kids. Kiwi class loves science class! The other day was fun with 3-D glasses, there were lots and lots of wows. When science has ended and it's time to go home the "wows" are replaced with an equally enthusiastic, "home go, home go!!!" Never ever a dull moment. And when there is a camera around, every student turns into a super hero or movie star.