KOTESOL 2013

This past weekend I went to an international conference of KOTESOL members, mostly non-Korean English teachers, held in Seoul. There were many seminars and workshops as well as a few plenary sessions. It seemed like a TKO the first day because there were so many changes and alterations to the already published schedule, but the quality of speakers made up for it. 

I went to this thing for some professional development but also to seek some more direction in my own career path. One of the plenary sessions was about reflective practice, the taking of steps, as a teacher, to examine one's practices and critically reflect on them for future improvement. The same speaker also delivered a plenary session on career path trajectories for teachers--that one gave me much to think about!

The conference was held at a university, and one of my favourite moments of the weekend was seeing the huge long line of non-Koreans snaking out the door of the Subway restaurant at lunch time. I went myself 3 times :)

I also enjoyed being able to start up water cooler conversations with people....that's something I miss. 

Anyway, that was my weekend. This morning I heard my alarm, closed my eyes for ONE SECOND and all of a sudden I had only 10 minutes to get ready for work :( 

I hope today won't be one of those days. 

Take care!

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Oh and today is thanksgiving. Holidays pass by with no fanfare here :(

Typhoon Kito

Hi folks,

Just a quick update:

The typhoon that was supposed to come over the weekend didn't arrive until yesterday (TKO), and it was much underpowered. Seriously, the leaves weren't even rustling. Disappointed--last year we had a much better show. 

Performance day is coming up at my school, and Mimi wants my grade 3 class to do something. She suggested doing a song, so I spent a while researching songs that would be both catchy and easy enough for grade 3 students to sing, but in the end they weren't chosen. Mimi wanted stuff the parents would probably know, so we will be doing a medley of kiddy songs. 

I really enjoy the few golden moments that I can spend with my students outside of class. Sometimes I will see them lollygagging about, and then I get to talk with them or help them if they are having issues. Today some of my grade 5 boys were trespassing and playing with some stray puppies. It's these kind of moments that are my absolute favourite part of being a teacher, despite them not occurring in school. 

Today my grade 5/6 class impressed me so much! Our grammar focus was on the present continuous ("I am running") and the students really got a hold of it and made it their own. I was so impressed that I gave them a public commendation and gave them two candies each (normally I don't give candy, and especially not if they ask for it). 

Okay, that's about it for today :)

Suncheon Garden Exposition

Sorry if I re-posted that last post, I added a sentence to spice it up. 

Anyway, today was a red letter day (National Foundation Day-celebrates the creation of ancient Korea in 2,333 bc (not sure of validity, I heard it from my bank)), so I didn't have to go to work. Instead, I went on a field trip with the other international students from my university. We went to the Suncheon Garden Exposition and to Nagan Fortress. 

The garden expo is being really heavily promoted in Korea right now, perhaps because the Yeosu Expo went so well. 

Anyway, they had several different themed areas and lots of collections of plants. They had several gardens that were Korean interpretations of gardens from other countries (ex. "French garden", "English garden", "German garden", etc.). 

My favorite thing to see was this big hill they put in the centre of a lake. The designer had put two single-file tracks spiraling up the hill, each meant for an opposite direction of travel. In other words, you could see lines of people going up and lines of people coming down. It reminded me of Teletubby land or something ;)

When my university does these sorts of trips, they love everyone to be in groups, so people can get to mingle and know each other. I got to know my fellow group-mates from Malaysia and Vietnam (for some reason the Chinese students always disappear). 

Three things:

1. What a wonderful age we live in now! It's possible to meet people from all over the world and be friends. Give peace a chance!

2. When I was growing up, I didn't know much about South East Asia besides the fact that it was poor and dirty. What a strange experience then, to be lunching with regular teenagers (well, they're not teens now, but I like that word better) from that very region and realize that they're so normal and similar. 

3. These students were talking about relative costs. What an eye opener! 

Is Korea expensive for Canadians? Well, if you want to buy western food, electronics, gas, and fruit it's more expensive. But other than that, it's a little bit cheaper (especially public transit). In terms of studying abroad, I'd say Korea is a high value destination. 

However, from a SE Asian perspective, it's kind of expensive. Some of my fellow students were sad they couldn't go to other festivals in Korea because they don't have the money for it. 

One of the students said her Korean roommate works half-time and gets 800,000 won per month for it (around $770 CAD, or about $9.60/hour), to which all the other SE Asian students gasped in jealousy. To us, it's around minimum wage, but to these SE Asian students it's a lot of money per month. 

They told me the minimum wage in Malaysia is 5 Ringgit ($1.61 CAD), and having been there myself, I can say the cost of daily life is similar to Korea. Yikes!

Festivals and Bus Rage

Hey everyone,

Here's a quick update from the Land of the Morning Calm:

The Yongbong Music Festival started on Sunday, so I was looking forward to sitting at an overturned crate eating Korean kimchi pancakes and having a good time with friends by candlelight, but oddly it has been raining for the past few days. Maybe this evening will be drier and they'll let us have fireworks this time too!

The price for the village buses around Gwangju has increased, as of October 1, by about $0.50. However, if you don't understand Korean, you would've missed the memo, as did the European teacher I often see on the bus in the morning. Naturally, she thought, as did I at first, that the bus driver (he's the kind of rude one I see on Tuesday) was charging her for a trip all the way to the bamboo forest! She vigorously argued with him and demanded her money back (in English - "NO! Give me my money now!"). Meanwhile this bus driver is explaining to her, in Korean, the situation. I felt very embarrassed as she started raging at him in front of a bus full of people. She even accused him of charging her more simply because she's a waygookin (any non-Korean).

Yikes. 

Bulgeum! (TGIF)

Hey folks, 

Here's a quick update:

Things are going well. Today is poster day in my after school class and CNU will have its student festival next week!

Hyeong Ah finishes work on Monday before she leaves to have her baby. I'm going to miss her! 

My family seems to have been avoiding me for the past few weeks, so I'm hoping we can connect again soon. 

Recently, a close friend of mine went through a major life change. I'm afraid it will put a lot of distance between us :(

The weather is getting cooler--Fall is on the way! Can't wait to be able to wear a jacket again. 

That's about all I can think of at the moment. 

Cheers

Post Chuseok Report

Hi Folks, 

Here's a quick update. I'm writing to you at the end of Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok ("chew-sock"). I took Josh and two of his friends from Daegu to the Everland Theme Park, along with several million other non-Koreans (read: Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian mostly). We went on many rides. It was very thrilling. My voice was still at 20% capacity, so I sounded kind of grouchy the whole day though, which was too bad. Also, the thing that happened to my knee in Australia came back, so I was pretty slow for the rest of the weekend. The spectacular parade and fireworks at the end of the day made up for it though. 

Johnny is of Korean descent, so he spent two days with his family, eating. 

Friday, Josh and I went to the National Museum to learn about the history of the Korean people on the peninsula. We even found ourselves being studied and photographed alongside the exhibits! After, Josh was tired so he went back home. 

I was on a mission to eat, however; so I went farther into the city. I had two things on my list: Ya Kun Kaya and Subway. Two things I enjoy most: good milk tea and legitimate sandwiches. I overcame throngs of pushy people in Myeong-Dong, traversed a raging river, and battled with some old people telling me about forced organ harvesting in China, but eventually I found the first place on my list hidden deep underground in a secret office food court. My prize was a delicious respite in a secret garden where some homeless people were sleeping. At first I thought I was drinking tea, but when I reached the bottom of the cup, it might have been coffee. Either way, it was delicious and so worth it. 

I had one more item to find on my main quest, and it involved some delicious, non-sweetened bread, crisp vegetables and tasty deli meats. After accidentally rear-ending someone while I was walking with my head turned, I found my way to a subway station. Getting off the train in a strange neighbourhood, I walked until I saw it, gleaming like a beacon in the night: Subway~

I ordered my sandwich and they were playing some orchestral music that sounded like it came from the final scene of a musical. There was audience applause and everything. As the clerk made my day, my mouth started salivating over the thought of turkey and bacon together. I sat down, unwrapped my sandwich as the music in the restaurant started building to its crescendo (you know the part of the song where it is most glorious and everyone is very moved and asks for an encore). Finally, the music reached its final, triumphant notes and something happened. 

I don't know how to describe the feelings I was feeling in that moment, but let's just say I took a moment and was elated. I felt like everyone in the world was clapping and congratulating me on this moment. 

It was a tremendous meal, except for the dangerous jalapeño lurking between hidden lettuce. My throat closed up for a time and I couldn't stop crying. Roll with the punches I guess. 

On the way home from Seoul, I was one of 4 people on the entire bus. SO nice and relaxing. Best bus ride ever. 

Chuseok Report

Right now it's the first day of Chuseok, which is Korean Thanksgiving but carries the same social importance as Christmas to us. Pretty much everybody gets three days off work and everyone returns to their hometowns to see their relatives and make food for their ancestors. (read: nationwide traffic jams)

However, I'm an outsider, so I'm observing this important holiday by going to a theme park :S

This past week was absolutely crazy. First, I regrettably had to handle a sensitive issue with a friend of mine, and then I got a sore throat. Then, immigration thought I was working illegally in Korea and wanted me to pay a fine and visit the ministry of education in Muan, and now I've lost my voice. And it's still 30 degrees. What a week. 

At least I was able to find a Ya Kun Kaya Toast in Seoul, which means some legitimately delicious milk tea :)

I'm a little bit jealous of Hyeong Ah. Her in-laws don't really treat her nicely so of course this time of year would be stressful because once a woman gets married, she'll celebrate every holiday with her in-laws. However, Hyeong Ah is playing the baby card, so she gets to stay home in Damyang while her husband goes away :) lucky! I told her she should order some pizza and watch movies, to which she replied, "yes, I plan to grow a couch potatoe this weekend" How cute :)