Kimchi (cabbage) and Kkakdugi (radish Kimchi), 김치 & 깍두기 - Crazy Korean Cooking
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For those who have not stumbled upon foodgawker yet... consider yourself forwarned, you may spend hours upon hours of "gawking" at this site and never even scratch the surface!
This site is the dumping grounds for all foodbloggers. You can find recipes for anything you could possibly want as well as providing you with a few new favorite food blogs. Each recipe is submited by a different foodie, which leads you to thier individual blogs. There are top dogs like howsweeteats, lovefromtheoven, and browneyedbaker. And then there are the lil' pups like, well... me. :)
You can create your own login to submit recipes and/or create a "favorites" list of recipes to try out in your own kitchen.
If you ever find a recipe that needs modification in order to work in your ovenless kitchen and don't have the time or patience to try it out yourself.... send it my way. I will see if I can work some of my steamerific powers on it, or create something new altogether using the same flavors!
Now go get lost in the abyss I like to call foodgawker.
This site is the dumping grounds for all foodbloggers. You can find recipes for anything you could possibly want as well as providing you with a few new favorite food blogs. Each recipe is submited by a different foodie, which leads you to thier individual blogs. There are top dogs like howsweeteats, lovefromtheoven, and browneyedbaker. And then there are the lil' pups like, well... me. :)
You can create your own login to submit recipes and/or create a "favorites" list of recipes to try out in your own kitchen.
If you ever find a recipe that needs modification in order to work in your ovenless kitchen and don't have the time or patience to try it out yourself.... send it my way. I will see if I can work some of my steamerific powers on it, or create something new altogether using the same flavors!
Now go get lost in the abyss I like to call foodgawker.
Kimchi (Cabbage) and Kkakdugi (radish Kimchi)
WHAT'S IN IT?
Napa Cabbages - 4
Radishes 무 - 2.5 (1/2 for seasoning, 2 for radish Kimchi)
Coarse Sea Salt 천일염 - 3-4 cups
Flour or Sweet Rice Flour 밀가루/찹쌀 - 1 cup
Water 물 - 6 cups
Red Chilli Pepper Flakes 고추가루 - 8 cups
Anchovy Fish Sauce 멸치젓 - 1 cup
Shrimp FIsh Sauce 새우젓 - 1 cup
Green onions 잔파 - 14
Sugar 설탕 - 2/3 cup
Minced Garlic 다진 마늘 - 8 tablespoons
Minced Ginger 다진 생강 - 4tablespoons
Dropworts (OPTIONAL) 미나리- a handful
Oysters (OPTIONAL) 굴 - 2 cups
Clean Rubber Gloves 고무장갑 (highly recommended for your hands)
HOW DO I MAKE IT?
Preparation for Cabbage Kimchi:
1. Cut Napa cabbages in to halves and put an 3 inch incision at the end.
2. Immerse the halves in the water briefly and take it out.
3. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt all over getting in between leaves.
3. Leave for 4-6 hours.
(* Flip the cabbages after 2-3 hours)
4. Tear them in quarters and wash them thoroughly 3-4 times.
5. Drain all the water out by placing them over a strainer upside down.
Preparation for Radish Kimchi:
1. Cut 2 radishes into cubes.
2. Place them in a big bowl and sprinkle with coarse sea salt (about 1/2 cup) and mix it well.
3. Leave them for 2-3 hours.
(* Give it a mix in the middle)
4. Wash thoroughly 3-4 times and drain in a strainer.
Seasoning Preparation:
1. Mix 6 cups of cold water with 1 cup of flour (or sweet rice flour) without any lumps.
2. Cook on low heat while stirring until it reaches "cream soup" consistency.
3. Take it off the heat and leave it for at at least 15 min.
4. Add 8 cups of red chilli pepper flakes into the flour soup.
5. Leave it for 20 min for vibrant color.
6. Cut green onions into 2-3 inches.
7. Shred 1/2 of radish. (or fine julienne)
8. Wash dropworts in cold water and drain.
9. Wash oysters in cold salt water and rain.
10. Add the following into the mix and mix well.
1 cup of anchovy fish sauce
1 cup of shrimp fish sauce
green onions
dropworts
shredded radish
8 tablespoons of minced garlic
4 tablespoons of minced ginger
2/3 cup of sugar
Making Cabbage Kimchi (application of seasoning):
1. In a big bowl, place some seasoning mix at the bottom.
2. Place each cabbage quarter on the bed of seasoning and add seasoning mix in between leaves.
3. Embed 1-2 oysters in each layer.
(*Oysters are only good if you plan to finish Kimchi within a month. Otherwise, it will give bitter taste.)
3. Place seasoned cabbages in a container for storage.
4. Leave it out in room temperature for a day or two for proper fermentation. (until it has sour taste)
5. If you are not eating them right away, refrigerate immediately.
(Then, leave it out a day of two before you want to eat)
Making Kkakdugi - Radish Kimchi (application of seasoning)
1. In a big bowl, mix radish cubes and seasoning throughly.
2. Place them in a container for storage.
3. Leave it out in room temperature for a day or two for proper fermentation. (until it has sour taste)
4. If you are not eating them right away, refrigerate immediately.
(Then, leave it out a day of two before you want to eat)
Napa Cabbages - 4
Radishes 무 - 2.5 (1/2 for seasoning, 2 for radish Kimchi)
Coarse Sea Salt 천일염 - 3-4 cups
Flour or Sweet Rice Flour 밀가루/찹쌀 - 1 cup
Water 물 - 6 cups
Red Chilli Pepper Flakes 고추가루 - 8 cups
Anchovy Fish Sauce 멸치젓 - 1 cup
Shrimp FIsh Sauce 새우젓 - 1 cup
Green onions 잔파 - 14
Sugar 설탕 - 2/3 cup
Minced Garlic 다진 마늘 - 8 tablespoons
Minced Ginger 다진 생강 - 4tablespoons
Dropworts (OPTIONAL) 미나리- a handful
Oysters (OPTIONAL) 굴 - 2 cups
Clean Rubber Gloves 고무장갑 (highly recommended for your hands)
HOW DO I MAKE IT?
Preparation for Cabbage Kimchi:
1. Cut Napa cabbages in to halves and put an 3 inch incision at the end.
2. Immerse the halves in the water briefly and take it out.
3. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt all over getting in between leaves.
3. Leave for 4-6 hours.
(* Flip the cabbages after 2-3 hours)
4. Tear them in quarters and wash them thoroughly 3-4 times.
5. Drain all the water out by placing them over a strainer upside down.
Preparation for Radish Kimchi:
1. Cut 2 radishes into cubes.
2. Place them in a big bowl and sprinkle with coarse sea salt (about 1/2 cup) and mix it well.
3. Leave them for 2-3 hours.
(* Give it a mix in the middle)
4. Wash thoroughly 3-4 times and drain in a strainer.
Seasoning Preparation:
1. Mix 6 cups of cold water with 1 cup of flour (or sweet rice flour) without any lumps.
2. Cook on low heat while stirring until it reaches "cream soup" consistency.
3. Take it off the heat and leave it for at at least 15 min.
4. Add 8 cups of red chilli pepper flakes into the flour soup.
5. Leave it for 20 min for vibrant color.
6. Cut green onions into 2-3 inches.
7. Shred 1/2 of radish. (or fine julienne)
8. Wash dropworts in cold water and drain.
9. Wash oysters in cold salt water and rain.
10. Add the following into the mix and mix well.
1 cup of anchovy fish sauce
1 cup of shrimp fish sauce
green onions
dropworts
shredded radish
8 tablespoons of minced garlic
4 tablespoons of minced ginger
2/3 cup of sugar
Making Cabbage Kimchi (application of seasoning):
1. In a big bowl, place some seasoning mix at the bottom.
2. Place each cabbage quarter on the bed of seasoning and add seasoning mix in between leaves.
3. Embed 1-2 oysters in each layer.
(*Oysters are only good if you plan to finish Kimchi within a month. Otherwise, it will give bitter taste.)
3. Place seasoned cabbages in a container for storage.
4. Leave it out in room temperature for a day or two for proper fermentation. (until it has sour taste)
5. If you are not eating them right away, refrigerate immediately.
(Then, leave it out a day of two before you want to eat)
Making Kkakdugi - Radish Kimchi (application of seasoning)
1. In a big bowl, mix radish cubes and seasoning throughly.
2. Place them in a container for storage.
3. Leave it out in room temperature for a day or two for proper fermentation. (until it has sour taste)
4. If you are not eating them right away, refrigerate immediately.
(Then, leave it out a day of two before you want to eat)
Bong G – Wine cocktails to go on Gwangalli Beach
http://busan.cityawesome.com
Check us out on Facebook (and 'like' us too!)
If you’ve ever been to Hongdae in Seoul, you probably know about Vinyl, where you get mixed drinks in vinyl plastic bags. It’s awesome, and it’s a mystery as to why something like that isn’t around more in Europe or places where it’s legal to drink in the street. Amazing.
Bong G is Gwangalli’s poor man’s answer to Vinyl. They sell “wine punch” in the plastic bags that are definitely delicious. While it’s not liquor, it’s still novel and awesome to sip a wine cooler out of a plastic bag as you’re walking down the boardwalk.
Bong G also has coffee drinks and other beverages like iced tea. Beware though – the menu is in Korean. Just say “wine punch-ee” if you can’t read it.
I would really be singing the praises of Bong G if it were open more! Since it’s gotten a little warmer, I’ve been down at Gwangalli at least twice a week. So let’s say I’ve been there eight times this month. ONLY ONCE has Bong G been open! It was on a Friday night at around 9:30. I was there the following week at the same time (a little earlier, actually) and it was closed. I’ve been there on weekend days and evenings, and it’s closed.
It's a bag of wine.
So check it out, and good luck getting there when it’s open!
Directions: Pretty much in the center of Gwangalli beach, between the old Fuzzy Navel and Wa Bar (near Thursday Party). Look for the orange “Bong G” sign.
View BUSAN! AWESOME! in a larger map
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Follow |
Bowling in Nampo / Jagalchi
http://busan.cityawesome.com
Check out our Facebook page (and 'like' us too!)
It's weird... everything inside is in black and white...
Bowling at ABC Bowling Center!
It’s pretty much what you think… It’s Bowling! Good ‘ol American 10-pin (aka REAL) bowling. You get your shoes, get your ball, and you’re good to go.
One thing they DON’T have is alcohol. You’ll have to bring that in yourself from across the street at the Seven Eleven.
Prices are cheap. Three games ran our group of five about 10 per person.
The entrance. It's in the middle of some clothing stores. If you've gotten to the electronics/appliance store, you've gone too far.
Heads up: both times that I’ve been to ABC, there’s been an old man who walks around with a bottle of oil, lubricating everything he can, including hand rails. So be careful before putting your hand on things… it might be a little greasy.
Directions: Jagalchi metro station exit 1. You’ll see it on your right in the big building (see pic of entrance). Ride up to the third floor. Caution: Elevator doors close randomly and there’s no ‘door open’ button.
View BUSAN! AWESOME! in a larger map
Bieumsan Mountain (Jillye Fortress)
Thursday 21st April, 2011
True to her word, Joy rang me at around 11am to say she was taking me hiking around Changwon University. We confirmed the details and I would be waiting for her at 2pm.
In the morning I did a bit of study as I'm completing my TEFL certificates. I ate a good lunch before we left, which was a good idea. When Joy told me we were going hiking, I thought it was going to be a leisurely stroll around nature. But I was wrong. This was a full on, we're-going-to-climb-to-the-top-of-a-mountain type of hike.
The drive to the base of Bieumsan Mountain is about 15 minutes from my hotel. The afternoon was getting a bit chilly but a good temperature to hike. When we arrived there were many other hikers. Hiking in Korea is a major hobby and you see both individuals and groups going on trails. They also have all the right gear to do it. Bright clothing, professional hiking boots, hiking poles- They definately make this seem to be an Olympic sport!
The start of our hike
Part of the trail
Resting hut
We started off walking amongst the cherry blossoms, which sat along the rocky trail. We came across the first set of bridges to cross over. In total there are 11 bridges you have to cross in order to get to the base of Bieumsan Mountain. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. You could hear the birds chirping and the sounds of the wind gently breezing past you. The lakes were quite dry as at the moment there is no water. Summer is meant to be the Korean rainy season, so we should see the lakes fill up in the next couple of months.
The first bridge
The beautiful scenery
As we walked along, I started realising how I had underestimated the difficulty level of this hike. My body is not used to do this sort of exercise and I don't think my fitness level is up to what it should be, but I kept going. I wanted to reach the top of that mountain!
I asked Joy how often she does this hike and she told me atleast once a week. She does other hike routes within the same mountain, but they are the easier trails. She wanted to do this one with me because of the view when you reach the top. I was grateful she wanted to show me the view, but I wish there was an easier way of getting there... maybe an elevator?? hahaa
When we stopped at bridge 5 to take a rest, to my surprise I saw a chipmunck sitting on one of the rocks. It looked at us then jumped on the other rocks, until it disappeared. I was lucky enough I had my camera on me at the time, so I was able to take some really good, close up photos. Never in my life had I seen anything like it! It was way too cute! Korea has too many cute animals I've decided.
We were soon joined by a group of hikers, who shared some cucumber snacks with us. They asked us how Joy and I knew each other and why we were friends??? Apparently in Korea, if you are of different ages, you can't be friends. So by Korean rules, Joy and I can't be friends because there's a 10 year age gap between us. I just think this is ridiculous, but anyway! We thanked them for our cucumbers and continued on. As we walked along we saw that there were azaleas in bloom. Their purple colour looked amazing amongst the dull, grey background of the rocks. I loved it. I never imagined this was so close to the city, yet feeling like you were a million miles away.
Chipmunck!!
Trail with azaleas
Stepping stones
Fellow hikers that shared cucumbers with us
Taking in the view, the trail lead us to a dinosaur fossil site. It was of Triceratops and it's footprints can still be seen marked in the rocks along the lake. I was just amazed that something like this still remained here to this day, undisturbed.
Triceratops lives here!
Triceratops footprint
We continued on and there were many resting points where a lot of hikers were taking a break and having a snack. Joy turned around to me and said "OK Tahnee. The easy part if finished. Now we go up" and with her hand, showed me how steep 'up' was. I was now committed. The top of the mountain was 800 metres away and it was killing me. I was tired, my legs were feeling stiff and at this stage I couldn't understand why people do this for fun. What amazes me is that older people do this. You hardly ever see young, fit, young adults do this. No. You only ever see 30 year olds and up ages, around 60's I'm guessing, hiking. We finally reached the halfway mark where we took a quick break. You couldn't really see the view as the trees and shrubs were blocking the sight. 
Beautiful sight..
Cherry Blossoms...
Me and the Cherry Blossoms
With a long drink of water, I pushed myself on to finish this. We kept going and as we climbed the last set of wooden steps, we made it. We reached the top of Bieumsan Mountain and the view was spectacular. You could see the whole of Changwon city. I was so glad Joy had brought me here. I would never have seen this if it wasn't for her. I said to her 'I know I whinged and complained, but thank you' We both had a good laugh.
Joy and me before we reached the top of Bieumsan Mountain
View of Changwon City
Mountain view
I have reached the top of Bieumsan Mountain!!!
View from the top
We stretched our muscles and breathed in the fresh mountain air- Life was good. After a while of resting, it was now starting to get late and we started heading down. We went a different direction, but it was a lot easier this time as it was all down hill.
It was now close to 5pm when we reached civilization. The hike had taken a little over 2.5 hours. I couldn't wait to get home to tell Daniel what I got myself into! One of Joy's friends has a little shop hut just before the mountain trail, so before we left to go back home, we went in for a feed. Her friend served us a Korean pizza with a traditional rice drink. It was delicious and exactly what we needed after a long walk.
Joy's friends food hut!
Eating delicious Korean pizza
I really enjoyed the hiking and it's something I've never really done before, so I'm looking forward to going again in the coming weeks. I'm going to be making the most of this hiking business!!!
Bieumsan Mountain (Jillye Fortress) remains copyright of the author Two Otters, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.
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Podcasting in Welsh and Kiwi
A strange combination of snark, science, British accents, and GOP weirdness.
SGU #301 got a bit naughty (I’m moist just thinking about it.) and it also got a bit nostalgic about the space shuttles. Steven Novella waded into space policy, but managed to stay agnostic about a public or a private space program. I wish the Rogues would be a bit braver. And then, there’s this “Science or Fiction” item on making oil.
Geologists and geochemists believe that nearly all (more than 99 percent) of the hydrocarbons in commercially produced crude oil and natural gas are formed by the decomposition of the remains of living organisms, which were buried under layers of sediments in the Earth’s crust, a region approximately 5-10 miles below the Earth’s surface.
But hydrocarbons of purely chemical deep crustal or mantle origin (abiogenic) could occur in some geologic settings, such as rifts or subduction zones said Galli, a senior author on the study.
Ben Smith vs. Dave Weigel place a bet, that Donald Trump’s bizarre run for the presidency will end, and it will be Tim Pawlenty vs. Mitt Romney. OK, but the damage, to my faith in anything remotely related to a public spirit, is done.
SeoulPodcast #114: Without Joe, but still one step from being the kimchi press version of SGU. Stafford was a pro with the interview with Greg Dolezal.
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Filed under: bhtv, East Asia, Energy, Korea, Link Dumps, Podcasts, Politics, Pseudoscience, Science, Space, USA Tagged: abiogenesis, ben smith, dave weigel, gop, oil, republicans, seoulpodcast, skeptics' guide to the universe, space shuttle
Damned Tourists *hmph*
Here's an English shijo poems I wrote over the weekend:
Teahouse in Nampodong, B-boy group outside raging tunes
Young to old, we take our photos, turn to traditional ways
Work, shopping, tired to the teahouse, we are all tourists here.
.
I wrote it last Saturday. I went to a Nampo teahouse (green sign 3F), to mark my midterm exams and outside, infront of the Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop, they had a b-boy group (Korean for a group of boy dancers) and several famous singers. I think it was a promotion for the BeanPole Clothing brand as that store was right across from the doughnut shop.Heres another I wrote a few hours earlier:
What we write or tell the young ones can only last for so long
Through our lives we work and play, slaves to a moments sensation
Take lovely pictures while ye may; we are all tourists here.
The Korean for the English shijo is as follows:
우리는 인생을 통해 일하고 즐깁니다 한 순가의 욕망의 노예가
아름다운 사진을 가능한 찍어보세요 우리는 모두 관광객 입니다.
Translation above by Sung-Yirahn 성이란. Typing by myself so any typos are mine --MWT.
.............
먹을수있는한 김밥을 드새요, 우리는 모두 관광객 입니다.
(Eat kimbap while ye may, we are all tourists here).
A decent substitute for the last line in the English could be:
Eat delicious hamburgers while ye may; we are all tourists here.
(먹을수있는한 맛있는 함버거드새요, 우리는 모두 관광객 입니다).
That last line with hamburgers makes me laugh, especially as I love Thomas Grill in Daeyeon/Kyungsung.
Living in Busan for 8 years I have had alot of time to reflect on what it means to be a long time resident here, versus my being a foreigner, always learning but never to become a true native Korean (caucasian face and race aside). I began to reflect on what it means then, to be a tourist. I realized that I am forever to be a kind of tourist here. But in essence, aren't we all tourists...
I had that final line buzzing in my head for the past 3 months now: Take your pictures while ye may, we are all tourists here. A modern day Carpe Diem kind of thing. In the 2nd poem I changed it to "lovely" to match a common traditional shijo form of 15,15,14 syllables.
Welcome, tourists all, to my blog. MWT.
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About the Author
Matthew William Thivierge has abandoned his PhD studies in Shakespeare and is now currently almost half-way through becoming a tea-master (Japanese,Korean & Chinese tea ceremony). He is a part time Ninjologist with some Jagaek studies (Korean 'ninja') and on occasion views the carrying on of pirates from his balcony mounted telescope.
Blogs
About Tea Busan * Mr.T's Chanoyu てさん 茶の湯 * East Sea Scrolls * East Orient Steampunk Society
Teaching
I thought I'd drop a little knowledge about our school and teaching requirements. I mean, we do a ton of fun stuff on the weekends, but we spend most of our time at work just like anyone else. I think I wrote a bit about our daily grind in a previous post, so I'll go into our actual teaching this time.
When you come to teach English in Korea you have a few choices of setting. You can teach at the university level, but that usually requires a Master's degree. You can teach at a public or private school, or you can teach at a hagwon, which is where we are. Now, a hagwon can mean a few different things, but essentially it means that kids come there after their regular public school hours as a kind of extra activity, similar to instrument lessons or tae kwon do. This usually means that the students' parents pay for the classes and have a fair amount of sway in terms of what they want taught, different from public school obviously. This also usually means that your hours are mostly in the afternoon and evening.
In our case, our hagwon is a kindergarten/Montessori school. Half of the building complex is a kindergarten and the other half is a kindergarten/Montessori school solely devoted to the teaching of English. We also each teach some after-school classes like I mentioned above, from 330-430. Then we are done! The hours are pretty favorable for a hagwon, considering many people teach classes well into the evening at other places.
Our students are all kindergarten age, and our afternoon classes are no older than 9. Teaching students this age presents some unique challenges as well as some really fun times. Nikki and I came in with no experience teaching children this age, but we have learned quickly.
We use a few techniques in class to keep things under control, but for the most part the students follow along with us. We have a list of the students' names on the board with 3 stars beside each. If they break a classroom rule, we erase a star. At the end of class, if everyone has 3 stars we usually play a game or do a coloring page or word puzzle. I rarely take any stars away, a stern voice or displeased look usually does the trick. Our rule of no speaking Korean in class is probably violated the most, but I give three chances on that one since it doesn't bother me all that much. Nikki teaches more classes of younger students aged 5 and 6, and I don't know how she does it. She has a serious song and dance show going sometimes when I walk past her room. She'll be able to write a bit more about her style.
One lesson that we have learned is that students this age have an incredibly short memory. It is useless to have rewards or punishments happen any more than 45 minutes later. We try to reward good behavior as soon as possible, and quickly address bad behavior as well. A 6 year old who was drawing on the table and got yelled at by his teacher at 10am will have no recollection of that incident by 1030.
To my eternal bewilderment, the students are also as thrilled by 5 minutes of playing hot potato or hangman as they are with 20 minutes of playground time, movie time, or bags of candy. There is really no difference. If the teacher is excited about a dinosaur coloring page, then the class is too.
Sometimes we joke about being a traveling clown show. We move from room to room doing our English routine: singing the alphabet, drawing and coloring pictures, and leading 5 year olds in chants and dances, only to have most of them asking us things in Korean, rolling around on the floor, asking to go to the bathroom, or picking their noses and examining the discoveries instead of diligently learning the finer points of the English language.
Ultimately, it is a great job. We have to remind each other that we should be just having fun with these kids and not getting to angry or worked up when things don't go well. If they are talking in class, sometimes I just start singing in a crazy voice or acting ridicuouls and they will be quiet in amazement. Some days I don't have the energy to do one more routine, but I just go in with a weird and goofy attitude and things actually go by more smoothly. I think, no one understands me anyway! What's the point of getting angry?
So, hopefully this post gave you a little look into our jobs each day. We hang out with 6 year olds and color and teach them words and read storybooks. It takes a ton of energy and we are beat at the end of the day. But, the days go by super fast and we are given freedom to teach in our own styles. If you have any questions about activities we do or other strategies for our classes, please leave a comment!
When you come to teach English in Korea you have a few choices of setting. You can teach at the university level, but that usually requires a Master's degree. You can teach at a public or private school, or you can teach at a hagwon, which is where we are. Now, a hagwon can mean a few different things, but essentially it means that kids come there after their regular public school hours as a kind of extra activity, similar to instrument lessons or tae kwon do. This usually means that the students' parents pay for the classes and have a fair amount of sway in terms of what they want taught, different from public school obviously. This also usually means that your hours are mostly in the afternoon and evening.
In our case, our hagwon is a kindergarten/Montessori school. Half of the building complex is a kindergarten and the other half is a kindergarten/Montessori school solely devoted to the teaching of English. We also each teach some after-school classes like I mentioned above, from 330-430. Then we are done! The hours are pretty favorable for a hagwon, considering many people teach classes well into the evening at other places.
Our students are all kindergarten age, and our afternoon classes are no older than 9. Teaching students this age presents some unique challenges as well as some really fun times. Nikki and I came in with no experience teaching children this age, but we have learned quickly.
We use a few techniques in class to keep things under control, but for the most part the students follow along with us. We have a list of the students' names on the board with 3 stars beside each. If they break a classroom rule, we erase a star. At the end of class, if everyone has 3 stars we usually play a game or do a coloring page or word puzzle. I rarely take any stars away, a stern voice or displeased look usually does the trick. Our rule of no speaking Korean in class is probably violated the most, but I give three chances on that one since it doesn't bother me all that much. Nikki teaches more classes of younger students aged 5 and 6, and I don't know how she does it. She has a serious song and dance show going sometimes when I walk past her room. She'll be able to write a bit more about her style.
One lesson that we have learned is that students this age have an incredibly short memory. It is useless to have rewards or punishments happen any more than 45 minutes later. We try to reward good behavior as soon as possible, and quickly address bad behavior as well. A 6 year old who was drawing on the table and got yelled at by his teacher at 10am will have no recollection of that incident by 1030.
To my eternal bewilderment, the students are also as thrilled by 5 minutes of playing hot potato or hangman as they are with 20 minutes of playground time, movie time, or bags of candy. There is really no difference. If the teacher is excited about a dinosaur coloring page, then the class is too.
Sometimes we joke about being a traveling clown show. We move from room to room doing our English routine: singing the alphabet, drawing and coloring pictures, and leading 5 year olds in chants and dances, only to have most of them asking us things in Korean, rolling around on the floor, asking to go to the bathroom, or picking their noses and examining the discoveries instead of diligently learning the finer points of the English language.
Ultimately, it is a great job. We have to remind each other that we should be just having fun with these kids and not getting to angry or worked up when things don't go well. If they are talking in class, sometimes I just start singing in a crazy voice or acting ridicuouls and they will be quiet in amazement. Some days I don't have the energy to do one more routine, but I just go in with a weird and goofy attitude and things actually go by more smoothly. I think, no one understands me anyway! What's the point of getting angry?
So, hopefully this post gave you a little look into our jobs each day. We hang out with 6 year olds and color and teach them words and read storybooks. It takes a ton of energy and we are beat at the end of the day. But, the days go by super fast and we are given freedom to teach in our own styles. If you have any questions about activities we do or other strategies for our classes, please leave a comment!
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