In the Country

I've had a rather enjoyable week, despite the humidity and the MERS scare. Actually, as horrible as this probably sounds, I'm feeling rather thankful to MERS. For one thing, there's soap in the school bathrooms for the first time since, well...ever? I guess people are actually washing their hands now? It's a miracle! Also, since parents were freaking out about it, my school decided to close for 3 days, because allowing students to roam freely around town is somehow safer? One way or the other, teachers still had to come in, though it still felt like a bit of a vacation.

I've been feeling pretty burnt out lately, so I decided to use all this desk-warming time to learn some new teaching techniques in hopes of fanning the flame of my inspiration. I started a class on differentiated learning and mastery-based teaching methods, and while I don't know how much of this I'll ever be able to apply here in Korea (more on that later) it's all very interesting and inspiring and whatnot.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about delicious food and the fact that my manager is living my dream life. He's teaching at a great school, he has a nice house out in the countryside next to his manageable-sized farm, and he always knows where to go out for a delicious meal.
 

Look at his cute little cabin!

Making doenjang and soy sauce

On Thursday, instead of going out for lunch, we bought cup ramyeon and kimbap and had a bit of a picnic on the farm. It felt good to sit outside, enjoying the breeze, chatting with my coworkers, practicing Korean...basically the ideal afternoon.
 

Stealth shot.

 Another great thing about my manager is that he buys amazing fair-trade coffee and makes it for everyone nearly every day. I've gotten so spoiled. How can I go back to those instant coffee sticks?
 

Homemade wine.

Korean style raspberries.

It's funny...when I lived in a small town, all I wanted to do was get out, move to the big city. Then I lived in the city, and for a while I loved it. Maybe I'm getting older, but lately all I want is a cute little house in the country with a garden and a dog and a cat. I want to pick berries, make my own wine, and chat with my neighbors about the best way to grow tomatoes. Maybe that will happen in Korea, maybe somewhere else. Who knows? But I'm going to start researching how to make wine just in case.
 

Teacher Pretty
Middle school ESL teacher, lover of pink, eater of kimchi, addicted to Etude House, expert procrastinator, meeter of 2-dimensionial popstars: Ana. That's me.

About   Teaching   Advice   Beauty   How-To   Food   Langauge   Tumblr