On Wednesday I got two nice Birthday surprises. They were both unexpected. I have really been downplaying my birthday this year. I took it off Facebook. I'm sure you're asking, why would you do something like that? I've never been one to force my birthday onto people. I expect a close friend to call or have a beer with me. But that's about it. You can ask my Dad this. He knows I really don't like to be complimented, flattered or be in the limelight for too long. That's pretty odd considering my very social personality.
Anyway, the two birthday surprises were really something. I didn't see either one coming. I don't remember reminding anyone but the four people I hang out with the most in Korea. When the Bennigan's staff showed up with a goofy hat and a cake, I was shocked.
At our Teacher's dinner meeting Ms. Yoo disappeared to the bathroom for close to thirty minutes. I was so engrossed in the conversations I didn't think much of it. She returned with a grin on her face. Before I could even ask why, the Bennigan's staff came out with the ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. And they sang the Korean version of the Red Robin style Happy Birthday to myself and Mi Sun, whose birthday is the day after Christmas. A little embarrassing. But what an incredibly sweet gesture by Ms. Yoo.
Although maybe she is too sweet. She forced me to eat 4 or 5 slices of the ice cream cake. I lost count after she told me that we have to finish the entire cake. Who else at the table could be the designated eating anchor than the guy with the lactose intolerance???
After the 4 hour teacher's dinner I swung by the Waegookin Secret Santa party. I walked head on into my second birthday surprise of the day (although I was cued into this one because someone yelled out Happy Birthday before the cake was brought out). Like last time, it was a sweet shared birthday celebration.
You better believe I'm shocked
Now, sing Happy Birthday three times to Nati (left), Si Khoa (middle) and the crazy guy me.
Now, just if I can get everyone to forget that I am turning 27 on the Korean Lunar Calendar. Ohhhh where has my Korean youth gone? Just yesterday I was 24 in America.
Notes:
For Dave: Yes, I spent some time in the bathroom after indulging these quick melting dairy desserts. Lactose Intolerance: 100; Justin: 1 (I've still got Yogurt!)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES! YOU'RE 38 IN KOREA! A mere 36 in America. Only 2 more years until your 40 in Korea!
Next.......I'm dreaming of a whiiiiiiiite Christmas~ Just like the ones I used to know~
My first holiday season away from home. And I won't be home Christmas.
P.S. What happened to the flair and wit my writing had 2 or 3 months ago? I think this blog is missing it's chuckles. What do you think?
I scaled into some bushes above Mr. Miichin in order to get this darkest of photos
Personally, I think this is the best picture of Mr. Miichin. Mr. Miichin ----- 'Is this thing broken????'
Let me set up the context of this glorious photo. 5 minutes earlier Ryan told me he hadn't seen Mr. Miichin in a couple weeks. Just in case he made sure I had my camera. In the middle of a sentence While walking to dinner I stop and elate 'OH MY GOD! YES!' There he is. The rarest of all Bupyeong beasts. He's standing 10 feet from a window with his legs spread shoulder length like a statue. His eyes are glaring at his phone like God is calling him collect. 'Do I pick up?'
My first thought was to scale the flower/bush bed behind him. Unfortunately, the flash poorly illuminated him. 'Quick on his feet' Drake came up with the idea for the second photo. 'Just take a picture of the square like we are tourists.' Good call.
The semester is almost over. And a new batch of native teachers will be on their way soon. So, I think it's about time to sum up what I've learned during my first half of my yearlong contract.
1) You're gonna suck at teaching. If this is your first time as an ESL teacher, you're gonna suck for the first few weeks or months. But you'll get the hang of it. You're goal: GET YOUR STUDENTS TO SPEAK TWICE AS MUCH AS YOU DO DURING CLASS. 2 to 1 is a good ratio. 3 to 1 is far better.
2) God bless all girls schools. I'm still on my honeymoon! Even though most of the kids still love me I know I am not the world's greatest teacher. One of the biggest goals, if not THE biggest, is to motivate your kids about learning English. I am a high energy teacher with a small face and big eyes (they like those facial characteristics here). That's why they like me. If that's what motivates them to learn, so be it.
3) If you're at an all boys school, you need to realize boys are going to mess around. They are going to talk, hit each other, maybe grope each other. There's gonna be some corporal punishment going on. If you show them clips from youtube or movies they will be easier to handle. Try to amuse them. Get them to play games in English. Or bring a video camera and tell them you are recording them. Both work. :P
4) If you know Korean, don't use it right away with your students. If you can help it, don't ever use it with your students. Why? Because your goal is to create an immersed English environment similar to your experience in Korea. The best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself completely in it. When you come to Korea you will be fully immersed in Korean. You will be forced to pick up words consciously and unconsciously. The constant use of contextual English around your kids will be an immense help to them. If they know you speak Korean, you are making it too easy for them. However, throwing out a 'I know what you are saying' every now and again isn't so bad for crowd control.
4a. Don't overestimate the ability of your students. Keep low expectations then you'll be pleasantly surprised. And they will understand you better.
5) Your job, like any job, will have its ups and downs. We've all had bad jobs. You won't be able to control who you work with or who you teach. Nor who is your vice principal. Try to remember everyone has problems at their school. You have friends to confide in and vent to. But remember they are having or will have problems just like you. Keep your chin up.
Here's the point: You're gonna suck. No reason to worry you'll get better. Just be fun and don't be a douche. Please.
Here's a list of websites to help you find lesson plans fitting to what you need:
These are the two sites that I use the most.
For all the native teachers who read my blog, please, post your useful links to the comment box.
Notes:
I have been thinking about useful things to know about Korea for incoming native teachers and my other readers back home. One of the things I have been considering is relaying simple Korean words you should know. Unfortunately, I am greatly deterred by my atrocious pronunciation. Let me repeat that ATROCIOUS. I'll always have Latin...wait....ugh.....
I’d like to officially kick off the ‘Pervert Alert’ Photography Competition. It isn’t your National Geographic photography contest. Although some of those tribal guys in loincloths looked like major pervs to me. I am seeing who can get the best picture of this wacked out individual:
Captured on Drake's iPhone
Standing in the stairwell for a prolonged period of time
Apparently, the door had the word 'SEX' written on it.
So, he stared at it like a retarded robot.
(*By the way Koreans NEVER use both doors in the stairwell until he stood in the way.)
Who is he? Unofficially, I have named him Mr. Mii Chin (equivalent of insultingly psychotic in Korean). To everyone who commutes around Bupyeong he is that crazy, scary guy who lurks in the underground shopping mall and subway. Many of you have encountered this rare urban beast. Every time I see him he is making some weird, wild gesture from wide, crazy eyes to looking a woman up and down then laughing. The wild stories about him abound. But I don’t want just a story. I want the best photo. Because we all know a picture speaks a thousand words.
So, let me lay down the ground rules.
Rule #1 THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: This is relatively dangerous because you don’t know this guy. Most of you cannot speak his language. Be careful. Let me stress this one more time. BE CAREFUL. You don’t have to be up in this guy’s face to take a photo. Capture him in his natural cave-like urban habitat while he is going about his daily business creeping out other people.
RULE #2 Do not openly antagonize this guy. If something happens because you antagonized him and you get hurt, arrested, or deported (if you hit him you could be), you will ruin the fun of this competition. Once again please be safe.
RULE#3 You cannot ask him in Korean to take a photo with you. This is cheating.
1a. If he does corner you, you are allowed to use Korean to escape. But I suggest the oldest trick in the book the wide eyes and point in a different direction. That move spans all language boundaries. And it’s worked for me once on another crazy Panda guy in Korea.
Rule #4 If you win I’ll buy you a beer or seven. This competition is meant to be fun. But who isn’t going to want a beer after observing a photo of this guy?!
Rule #5 Competition ends December 31st. That is plenty of time to find this guy. Dateline is up for negotiation though.
RULE #6 BEST PHOTO WINS!
Judges
Please remember these guidelines when voting:
It’s ok to snipe pictures of him from a hundred or so yards away.
I will be getting as close as possible to this guy to take interesting photos. I will get a photo of me standing next to him.
If he/she gets a photo with him, props to that person. That is my goal. But the main goal is to catch him in action.
The best photo of Mr. Mii Chin in action will be voted for online. I am going to post the best photos on here. I want all my readers (what is there like 12 of you?) to vote for the best photo in the weeks to come. I will post them week by week then altogether the last week of the deadline.
Notes:
If you aren’t in for this we can change the competition to an urban photography contest and you can take pictures of whatever you want in the city.
Ever since the weather began to become chilly, Koreans have been stingy on the heat. From my classroom to the indoor gyms we play at on Saturdays the heat is absent. What's colder than cold? Ice cold? No, me. It's so cold in these gyms that I think my 'lower regions' have gone to hibernate for the winter. But please don't kick me there to test that hypothesis...
The most popular way of heating your personal residence, hotel room, etc in Korea is floor heating. While my classroom implores the use of heating ventilation, the apartments, houses, and hotel rooms I have stayed in all put to use heated floors. The reasons for that is that it takes up less space, they like to sleep on the floor at times, and if air blows into their face while they are sleeping Koreans think they will die a FANDEATH.
Anyway, the last two times we played at the Buncheon and Catholic universities it has been ice cold in there. I can't get my muscles warm enough. I can't hold onto or shoot the ball. More importantly, I am afraid that I am going to tear another muscle. It's too cold for me to tell what kind of exercise my muscles can handle. Trying to get and stay warm for 2 hours in these ice cold gyms wears my muscles down. It takes too much energy to get my muscles warm and keep them that way. Most of all, I am surprised the gyms aren't heated. We are not the only one's who use the gym. So many people use the gyms from students to teachers to other groups they are using the gyms for basketball, badminton, etc. I'm simply shocked. I don't know if they are trying to save money, save the planet, or hate Waegookins. Maybe all 3.
My suggestion to you, if you are going to be in Korea during the winter bring your longjohns. Since I refuse to wear those. It's a good thing I have dri-fit. Thank you Nike for giving me a body hugging alternative. I feel so sexy, sexy (as the hip Korea kids say) in my tight spandex.......... . . . .
If you don't have any longjohns you can buy them here. Don't worry. Just bring some layers. Especially if your 200+lbs and taller than 6ft.You already know it's difficult to find big and tall clothes here. But here's something to add to the mindset of height differences between Americans (Mii guks) and Koreans (hangeuks):
I learned in my class the other day that Koreans draw their snowmen with only two circles. So when I drew my version, 3 circles high, they were all confused.
'Teacher, what that?'
'A snowman.' With unabated confidence.
'We draw snowman onree two.'
'Huh?What?'
She draws the snowman. Head and body only. What a pudgy snowman. My co-teacher looks over the students, 'His snowman drinks a lot of milk.'
Koreans:2 Americans:3. You know us Americans... it's either go big or go home. Just to throw them off I'm gonna start drawing my snowmen with four circles. 'That's what we call a 'Hans snowman.' Very, very tall and white.'
Since we are on the topic of basketball and I gave a RIP to Sunset Bowl let's give another R.I.P. to a dead Seattle icon....the Sonics.
Let's start this off right.....
Here's a little dedication to Shawn Kemp and the Sonics. Sigh....It's still 'reigning' tears in my heart..........
Next time.....the implosion of the Kingdome.
Notes:
Have I written an article about Korean homogeneous sentiments yet?
This is one constant, interesting theme I have found during my trip. We are definitely 2nd class citizens here.
P.S. try to think of a theme for my SEATTLE Highlights section
The teachers here have immense love and deep relationships with their students. No, I'm not saying they are like Mary Kay Laternou who had a 'deep' relationship with her stud(ent). Korean teachers really care for their students like children. They are willing to go beyond that extra mile. Not all of them put forth the same amount of care. But I've never heard of an American teacher bailing you out of jail.
Ms. Yoo deeply cares for her students like children. It's not because she is unmarried and without children. It is common practice for teachers to go to a students house and talk with their parents or see how they are living. Ms. Yoo has gone to several students' houses to check up on them and speak with their guardians (a few of them live with grandparents). She even worries about the worst students.
I wouldn't say that American teachers don't care about their students. I know most teachers are concerned when a student royally pisses them off, On the other hand.I know there are teachers who would've like my head on a silver platter like John the Baptist. And deservedly so. For example, Brother Heustis, bless his soul, probably passed away from the amount of stress given to him by all of us. God probably cut him a break and killed him in order to relieve him of all of us. (R.I.P. Brother Heustis. Sorry for the time you told me I could 'stay there and rot in hell'). The point is students test our patience everyday. They are just kids. But a lot of us don't give the leeway or continue to care about them. These Korean teachers provide a good example of how to care for a student. (These teachers don't ------- http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/general-discussion/232528-where-were-these-teachers-when-i-hish-school-thread.html -----. It's not like I didn't want that to happen when I was 12. But it's just not right).
My co-teacher has given out here phone number to several of her students. Who call and text her. She looks after them like children. I know I would never give my number to any student. And kids will press you for your phone number here. 'Oh!!! Teach-uh, teach-uh! Hand phone????'. I just don't want to be hounded by the 13 year old who calls, hears my voice, then hangs up the phone. Ring ding click. But Ms. Yoo doesn't mind it at all. For a while she had one of her previous student's picture on her phone's background.
Teachers go to amazing lengths here. Some of you could say a teacher came to my house or you knew a teacher who went to students' houses because he/she cared about his/her students. But can you say your teacher would bail you out of jail??? Hell no. The last person I'm calling is my teacher. Even if my mom and dad refused to come get me. I wouldn't call my teacher. 'Umm....hey....Brother Heustis....think you could spring me from jail?' Well, that's what one student did. His mother and father both made up lame excuses. One said they were out of town. The other... who cares. They basically abandoned him in jail. So, his teacher bailed his thieving butt out of jail. Now, that's caring for a bad student.
In all fairness I bet if I called Coach Slatt back in high school to bail me out he would leave me in jail out of tough love. I had a lot of good teachers. But I would have never called them to bail me out.
But some teachers don't care about the school. They will show up late. They will leave class and go back to their office. Forcing you to teach the class by yourself. That can be good and bad. Whether they are exhausted or fed up with the students or school, you might get left alone with your kids. I know one all boys middle school where the native teacher has a tough time because his co-teacher doesn't always show up or leaves early without saying anything because she is tired. I am positive that co-teacher hates her job. And especially hates the way that school works. The boys are rowdy and incuragable. I know this because Ms. Yoo used to teach there. She has said on multiple occasions that when she worked there she wanted to kill herself. One of the times she exclaimed this in front my friend who is the native teacher at that school.
One of the native teachers is so annoyed with the majority of his all male classes that he has asked his co-teacher to try and teach them instead of him. Sorry, Ryan. I know it's rough out there in the all boys schools. It's so tough that Ryan is known as the corporal punishment master among the native teachers. He came to teach. Instead he is learning corporal classroom torture. Hello Guantanamo Middle School. (too soon?)
Like any school around the world kids are torrid little devils out for your reactions. I am lucky to be at an all girls middle school. I know this because I went to school at an all guys high school. And if you weren't a coach you wouldn't get any respect. We made teachers cry on occasions. Condolences to my friends at all guys schools. Kids are brutal. Then again they are kids.
Notes:
Ms. Yoo went to the hospital with excruciating back pains from the injury. She has been in there two days. I'm unsure if she will be back by december 9th. I doubt it. Miss you, Ms. Yoo!
