When I first lived in Korea I barely really lived in it at all. I stayed in my apartment trading the international financial markets, and when I ventured out – largely at the weekend on chaperoned trips – I felt more like a visiting alien, although to be fair that was the official classification the Korean government gave me; I still have the Alien Registration Card to prove it.
Recognising that living in Korea conventionally meant actually trying to live in it, I took the opportunity to do some writing for the local English-language radio station and appear on their shows, and later I got a part-time programming job so I started spending a lot of my life really out there, on the move.
Around six months ago Korean Brother went to a nightclub and related the events that shocked him to my wife the next morning.
Apparently several years ago during happier economic times when you went to a nightclub there was a point in the proceedings known as ‘sexy time’, when people would be invited up onto the stage to dance in front of the audience, for prize money typically around 1,000,000 won. The winner would often be the person who was prepared to perform the most provocative dance, and apparently there were few rules imposed by the nightclubs because this invariable involved removing some items of clothing, and sometimes all. But these are nevertheless fairly normal venues – not strip clubs.
I have long since given you a tour of my apartment, so I guess it's only fair to get a tour of my school. Worwick is very different from the public school I used to work at, but still fairly common as far as Hagwons or private academies go. We are the 5th floor of a building not too far from my house.
When the Riots happened, I was only 3 years old and on the other side of the country. Only until I was a freshman at UCLA did I understand what had happened on April 29, 1992, and its effects on the Korean American community.
Here in Los Angeles, I was surrounded by students who were the children of the Riots. I heard stories about their parents and relatives leaving with guns to help their neighbors protect their stores. They told me how they hid in their dark homes, afraid that they were going to die.
These accounts were eye-opening, especially since I was someone whose knowledge of the Riots was limited to brief excerpts from history books.
There's a new fashion trend that has been adopted by one of my kindergarten boys- faux 90's low riding!
Yes you read right low ride pants- or sort of. Faux-riding? Even if I don't know exactly what to call it, I do know how to spot it.
One of my Kindergarten boys, Leo, has multiple pairs of these pants. And I know I thought they were weird at first, but it wasn't until I was with a friend a few weekends ago and saw them on another little boy and he was slightly flabbergasted by them, did I think about how weird they really are.
Sorry for the picture quality, I didn't want to tell one of my more self-conscious students to bend over so I could take pictures of his weird pants- so I had to do it quasi-stealthily.
I randomly came upon this video the other day, and for someone who teaches both Kindergarten and 2nd grade, this video is like teacher voodoo.
I mean seriously these kids look like professional actors in comparison to the daily dose of calamity that seems to rule over my class.
I'm totally planning on trying to introduce the 'blow the answer in your hand' technique tomorrow. The key word here is trying.
Now I've been teaching in traditional and non-traditional ways for quite a few years now, but watching these "Whole Brain Teaching" videos made me feel super teacher-y, and also super inspired. Both the class and the teacher appear to have a great understanding and love of learning, which who doesn't want for their class.
I got to play hostess to my awesome friend Ahnna on her trip down to Busan.
I bought some new perfume.
Had a great lunch with Ahnna, did a bit of window shopping.
Oh yeah, and I bought a bike!
I bought a bike and I biked all over my neighborhood and even to the beach.
Many people come to South Korea to work. and for some. the change of culture can be too great. It is very easy to fall into a negative frame of mind and wish for a swift end to your stay. Most foreigners, out of a sense of duty, and also a tidy sum in their back pocket at the end of it all, see out their contracts as teachers. But a year is a long time and it is almost possible to see some people walking around with a permanent black cloud over their heads. I should know, I myself was one of them.
Yesterday was the dreaded "Parent Teacher Conferences", and I am glad to report that I am still alive and well.
I had found out about these conferences at the end of last month while looking at one of my student's newsletters. Now my Korean is far from good, but I like to look at the news letters to get an idea of when this month's field trip is and when the monthly birthday party will grace me with more cake. This time I saw mention of all the kindergarten classes and different dates- I asked one of the Koreans about it and was told we were doing parent teacher conferences.
Now I've taught open classes where the administration can come in and watch me teach, but this was my first parent teacher conference as a non-student.
Welcome back to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival. For those of you loyal readers you will remember that I've gone here before and had a great time. This time around things were still really nice and I had a great time, but man was it ever busiser than the time before. This time we had to wait 3 hours to get a bus back to Busan (a one hour bus trip).
