English Camp: First day of week 2

Hi Readers,

Today is the first day of week 2. That means this week we're working with grades 5 and 6.

At the end of last week, we took the grade 3 and 4s to a local amusement park. Oh my sweet heavens that was fuuuuuun!!!

I'm surprised nobody had a meltdown, now that I think about it. It was just a great day of going on rides and being happy together. We must have gone on Viking 5 or 6 times. It was a small amusement park so the lines were short. It's also an old amusement park, so the rides seemed a little bit more dangerous than normal. Maybe that adds to the fun...

Johnny came over on Saturday and we had a sleepover. So nice to meet with him again. We're both longing to go to Tim Hortons.... Soon, soon. 

A professor of mine from CNU is writing a blog about the mountains in Korea and their connection to stories and folklore. He recently took a trip to Baekdu mountain, which is the most sacred mountain for the Korean people. Due to politics, it's located smack dab on the border of China and North Korea (there's a giant line to remind people of the border), but many Koreans (unspecified) go there to see it. 

Saying Goodbye part 1

Oh man dear readers, saying goodbye is hard on the soul. 

I feel a heaviness in my heart when I sit on the warm floor in my apartment, looking at emptied shelves and bulging suitcases. Some things still need to be taken care of; a mental checklist runs through my head like a stock ticker. Pictures of my family, pictures of my friends, pictures of my coworkers--each one represents a time of happiness that was so nice it warranted being paused and recorded forever. 

Last night I said goodbye to two of my very good friends from my French class. They, like so many others in Korea, have shown me incredible kindness and generosity. Ashamed, they say they are acting out of charachter as Koreans, and wish they could have done more to help. They even hugged me, which is really rare for this culture. 

Go to the bank, close the accounts, call the gas company to send someone over, do laundry, get things ready for the mail ship, cancel cell phone, return kitchen utensils to school, bleach the bathroom, buy garbage bags, pack pack pack, meet friend in evening, say goodbye again, rinse and repeat. 

Yesterday I met two of my grade 6 girls on my way to the bus terminal. "가지마!" They said when I told them next week I would leave. My grade 4s said it felt like a bad dream when I told them. "아이 러브 유 데이비드" said one. As much as it makes me blessed to hear things like that, I just hope that they enjoy English in the future. I'd even settle for "not hate English".

Today was my last day of work. I know I only play a small part in students lives; there will be another TaLK teacher here soon, eager to make a difference (hopefully). They will bring their own stories, perspective, preconceptions, and work ethic. I hope they work hard. The students deserve someone who will contribute to their lives in a meaningful way. I have to check my wake: what kind of trail am I leaving behind?

Tonight I say goodbye to my colleagues: my fellow teachers, my teammates. We go to Mujinju restaurant, a Gwangju institution. Everyone knows that place. I can see why--it's bossam, it's Jeolla-do eumshik, it's a match made in heaven. 

We go to a cafe, (Hweshik round 2) and talk some more about our desires and what it's like to be a young adult these days. Oh look, there's a purikura shop across the street! Let's take some pictures, they're hilarious :) Now we have good memories to last forever. 

I'm sure when I get on the airport bus on Tuesday, it's going to hit me like a ton of bricks. I have an album on my iPod that's emotional kryptonite. Between Hurricanes by Canadian artist Steven Fearing--I gave it a homesickness-inducing warning label. I'll listen to it on the bus and have a good cry. It's good for the body. 

Winter Camp: Final Day of Week 1

Hey readers, how's it going?

Things are good in Gwangju, but really cold these days. I can't complain though, it's nothing like the winter vortex over North America now (it's like that scene from "The Day After Tomorrow" I imagine). 

Today my students and I are going to a local amusement park, Kumho Family Land (or "pamiry lend" as the locals do). I thought we were going sledding, but I think we're going on rides and stuff. This is going to be fun, my kids are so excited to go on the "Viking", the ship that swings back and forth. 

Johnny might come over tonight, maybe we'll have a small party. 

I recently tried to get myself organized for my classes at UFV. I should call it a rude awakening--the workload and expectations of students are vastly different between our two countries. I signed up for a certain business class to avoid a different professor who assigns an extremely lengthy and undervalued major project, but I'm pretty sure the professor I have borrowed the project assignment XD oh no. 

I was able to go to a print shop and order some books to be made though, so I got that going for me, which is nice. 

The other day I was talking with my colleagues, and I was asking them about some cliches in Korean. Apparently the Korean equivalent of "who cut the cheese?" Is "who ate sweet potato?" Or "who ate an egg?" Lol. In North America we say that robins herald the arrival of spring. In Korea, one knows spring is coming "when the frogs wake up." And in English we can say our leg or foot has "fallen asleep" but in Korean you say it's electrified or something like that. 

I asked about terms of endearment in Korean. In English we have so many: baby, sweetie, dear, honeybun, honey, sweetheart, snookums, pumpkin, etc. Anyway, in Korean they can use familial names between couples which, now that I think about it, is kind of weird. Imagine calling your boyfriend "older brother~~" or your girlfriend "little sister" (actually I don't know if it works in reverse like that). Anyway, they also said that grandmothers will sometimes make a remark about their grandchildren when they are being cute or getting messy. Apparently they refer to them as "puppies eating poop".

Perhaps it sounds better in Korean XD

Winter English Camp: initial reflections

Hey folks, sorry to take such an hiatus, but I'm back now.

Last weekend Josh came to visit me. It was so nice to have him here and to play computer games with him. We even got to go to a conveyor belt sushi place. Best of all, we found a theatre was still showing the 2nd Hobit movie, so we got to watch it together. We met up with Johnny and had a wonderful dinner. Nothing like the company of good friends. Just like chocolate chips, it was semi-sweet. This was probably the last time I'll see Josh before I go to Canada, and vice versa. 

We did get to see the police board a crowded bus and haul off two young women as mediation, so that was cool. 

English camp started yesterday, and man am I excited. I love English camp because it's a more relaxed atmosphere and one can be more experimental with teaching methods. Yesterday we made team names and posters, and today we learned about colours. We played "I Spy" a little bit, watched the EBS video, and then we made play dough~! I love doing cooking demos with my kids because you really get to work the room and bring in energy and interest. Plus the kids just generally like making things.  The only setbacks were that you can't find jell-o in Korea, and Mimi couldn't find cream of tartar online (she thought it was an actual cream). Oh, and the salt I requested never showed up, lol. It was a little stickier than it should have been, but it went over really well (better than the "slime" we made in summer).

It's hard to believe it's only 2 weeks now. Josh said some stuff at the bus terminal that really struck a chord... I'm still happy to go home, and I'm glad I'm going at this time, but I'm feeling more trepidation about it now. Who knows what the future will bring?

Last Christmas in Korea

Merry Cristmas!!

Today it's finally here. 

I came up to Seongnam from Gwangju after work yesterday so I could celebrate with Josh. We woke up this morning, read the Christmas story, and then departed for town. We went to Itaewon to find a place that would be serving authentic Christmas fare on this most fine day. 

Visions of sugarplums, roast turkey with all the trimmings, and Christmas cheer filled our heads as we walked among the throngs of Korean people seeking their own version of this special holiday transplant. 

We went from door to door, asking if there was any room for Christmas revelers like ourselves. "Full" was what we kept hearing. We came to one house of cheer: the Rocky Mountain Tavern, where an employee was waiting outside. "Come back in a bit" he said. 

Saddened but hopeful we walked away and thought about what to do. Return to a place that might be full, or try an alternative (read: Mexican) Christmas. We returned to the tavern. "Any room for holiday-goers like us?" We asked a fellow Canuck. He checked the list. "There's room at our tables" he said. 

With hearts full of Christmas joy and tummies awaiting a feast, we chose a table near a Christmas tree and regaled ourselves with tales of Christmases long long ago. 

Finally, the food was ready. Tray after tray of garlic-herbed vegetables, mashed potatoes, seasoned stuffing, delicious and plentiful turkey, gravy, legit cranberry sauce, and homemade non-sweetened buns were presented to us. 

We must have gone up 3 times. 

I kept pausing and being flabbergasted at how wonderful everything was. Simply wonderful. They even started playing the movie Elf on the TV.

After our scrumptious dinner/lunch, we rolled ourselves out and went to Myeong-Dong, to shop a little before I had to go home. The crowds were almost impassable, so we didn't spend long there. 

Josh and I went to the bus terminal, I got my ticket, and we departed. I really had a nice time with him! We made some very happy memories that will last a lifetime. It's not so great being away from family at Christmas, but quality company makes a big difference. Thanks Joshua!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. 

Last Day on the Job

The past few days have been leading up to this. It's the final after school class. We finished up our reading initiative on Friday and prepared for the Christmas party on Tuesday. 

One thing I didn't expect was for all the other teachers to throw a Christmas party for their students on the same day I was doing mine. -.- 

We sang Deck the Halls together, then I gave them some cloves and oranges and we made those Christmas oranges that are studded with cloves. My students rudely wrinkled their noses at the smell of the cloves, but made some nice oranges anyway. I gave them some prizes based on the number of reading log certificates they had completed, and we are some Christmas cake together. 

We took a picture together, but it didn't really turn out well so I don't want to put it on Facebook. My kids make for the worst photographs unless you take candids....

Anyway, that was the last after school class. To be honest, I feel mixed feelings towards this ending, but I have to remind myself that I came to Korea to teach English, not to earn the affection of children. 

Anyway, we have 2 weeks of camp, and then it's goodbye Korea. :) :(

It's Gonna Be a Bright Sunshiny Day

How are you?

Things are going well.

Here's why:

- Recently, I found out that the video I submitted for the highly suspicious TaLK movie clip "contest" won a bronze prize. I placed 6th out of 13 participants and 6th out of 7 medal winners. Not bad :)

- Christmas is in one week! I can't believe it's so soon already. It's kind of nice to know that everything is taken care of though. Gifts are bought, mail is sent, reunions planned, decorations up (my family sent me a small model fireplace with tiny monogrammed stockings hanging from it), music is playing, etc. All we need now is some snow, which we should have gotten by now with all the farmers seeding the atmosphere and stuff.

- Today was just a funny day of classes. Today I co-taught grade 4 which is something I very rarely do. Their comically dubbed English educational DVD and being in a class of 25 Korean grade 4 students singing Feliz Navidad and stumbling over the Spanish lyrics was just so comical (in a nice way). In my after school class we finished the first level of a multi-level phonics textbook series. My students were so happy until I pulled out the level 2 book, lolz. They only have one more class, it's not the end of the world.

- I got my exam score result from my I/O psychology professor. Positive!

- Yesterday my grade 6s and I had a really great chat in English about the Christmas party I'm hosting next week. It was very positive and I'm so impressed with their abilities. These days we play Rummikub after school together and it's a fun bonding time.