Progress in the Classroom

I wish I had my camera this week in the classroom, I am SO proud of my kids!

I have been teaching Jupiter B Class for just over 2 months now. When they arrived in March a few of them cried every day they had to leave mom behind, they cried when I said 'no,' and they cried when they had to do too much in the writing department. They also giggled a lot, loved singing ABCs, and talked to me in halting 1-2 word English "sentences".

This week I got to an activity in one of our workbooks that I was considering skipping, but then thought, "What the hey, maybe they can do it!!" We've been learning questions these days, "Can you fly a kite?" "Do you like red balloons?" "Are you a boy?" "What's that?" "What's this?" (those last 2 are a LOT harder than it seems!!!).

In the usual format I'm at the front of the classroom jumping up and down and exhuberantly and gesturing wildly with my arms while asking the questions and making some 'out there' facial expressions that keep my kids giggling and following along and answering questions in my sneaky teaching game playing. At first "Do you like ice cream?" was met with "Yes, I can!" and "Can you ride a bike?" was met with "No, I don't!" As we went on though it all, repeating, repeating, and repeating it with much tri-coloured board writing and many aerobic-explanations later and they were usually able to give me the right answer.

So our exercise this week was (drum roll please)... INDEPENDENT PARTNER WORK!! They had a chart in their book with 4 rows X 7 columns..., pictures at the top (ride a bike, swim, sing) and then 3 rows of blank boxes for themselves and 2 friends: Ask a question, record the answer - pretty straightforward, yah?

Though it took me almost 15 minutes and much role playing to get them to understand the activity (what? no teacher? only me and Sean talking? but why teacher??) they set off to do it on their own. I went around one by one to each of my 5 pairs to listen in on their conversations (sometimes standing behind them and making a talking hand in front of their mouth while I spoke the questions they should use) and I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the hour, lol... wiped right out! They still really had no idea how to take turns, which questions to ask for which pictures... The charts were sorta filled out the way I'd asked, and they'd sorta asked 2 friends the same questions, but ohhhh... it was mostly a disaster, lol...

Undaunted, that's right, undaunted, 2 days later I'd made up a new sheet and we tried it again... what harm could a little sleep and a lotta coffee do, right??? I handed out the papers, explained it twice at the front of the classroom (this time a puppet was my talking partner) and I left them to do it on their own... I wish I'd had a camera!!! 

They were so cute... pencils at the ready, using their friends names, asking the right questions and catching their own mistakes - ADORABLE! In 30 minutes the whole class (less 2 students who needed a bit of hand-holding) had their papers filled out with the cutests little smiley-faces for 'yes' and sad/angry/crazy faces for 'no.' I can't describe the feeling I had sitting in my chair watching them each take their turns in conversation, it seemed that they'd grown up right in front of me over the course of that class. As I sat there musing over how incredible they all were I was all choked up with pride, they are such amazing little kids. They are 5 and 6 years old, learning a completely foreign language, and after 2 months having little mock-conversations without me!

In the spirit of pushing my luck, I decided to use the last half hour to discuss the answers... "Aran, does Daniel like chicken?" At first I was wishing for a coffee refill (and maybe some Bailey's to go with it!) but sure enough after a mostly-brief explanation of 'he' and 'she' again they GOT IT!! Sure, it's still funny to say "he" when it should be "she" because they love the overboard reactions they get from me ("Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat??  She??!  Is Eric a girrrrrrrrrrrrrl??  Reaaaaaaally??!!"), but they know it's the wrong answer and the giggles last a good couple of minutes! What an amazing job this is...

I'm going to sign off for now, I just wanted to share a bit about how things are going at school... talk soon!  S.

P.S. Oh, and did I mention the small thing about how they can ALL read already??

A Beautiful Spring Weekend

Had a really nice weekend just pass. Spent some time with friends, had some time to myself... nice... Friday night after work I took Mags and went over to Barb's place for Mexican night - woohoo! She made a CRAZY amount of food, and I had tacos and burritos and enchiladas for dinner... I should have taken pictures (my bad!), it was great! There were 7 of us in total, 3 Korean teachers from her school and 4 of us 'others.' Dinner was great, and when we were done we headed out for a couple hours of norae bahng - woohoo! (That's Barb and one of her co-teachers in the picture on the left). It was pretty fun (much funner to go with people who like to drink a little than those who prefer to be smashed all the time!). After that the buses had stopped running back to my place so I had to take a taxi back, but that's no biggee for a night of fun, it was so great to get out!


On Saturday the weather was beautiful I spent most of the day outside wandering around, until my feet hurt really! I took a few pictures after stumbling onto a pinwheel park (you can check the collage here and the rest on Flickr at some point).

Did a bit of shopping, enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. Though it wasn’t action-packed I really enjoyed the lazy wandering and lazing about. You can click on the collages to see them a little bigger if you'd like!

Met   my   friend Chelsea for a movie on Sunday morning (that’s right, movies here start playing at 7am and run past midnight showings!). She won free tickets somehow and invited me along to “Kick Ass.” I was a little worried when I heard the name, lol, “Kick Ass??” and more-so when I heard it was a comic-based movie, but it was fun. There’s been much discussion about the young girl in the movie because she’s so young and committing a bunch of ninja-style killin’ (I get the argument, but it’s a movie guys, don’t watch it if you don’t want to support it). I was surprised myself, but I really thought it was a good show!

After the movie we walked through a square at AK Plaza and found a group of kids dancin' up a storm trying to attract more kids to their church... now that's one way to drum up business!

For lunch we went for lunch… dalk-galbi (which, by the way, just means chicken-meat), a crazy-spicy chicken dish that’s cooked on a stainless steel pan in front of you.. I have only had it once before, when I first-first-first arrived in Korea, and it was the only time I thought I would die from hot-hot overdose! The dish was so spicy that really ALL I could taste was the spiciness of it, I couldn’t even taste the carrots or potatoes, or any other part of the dish, every swallow was eyes watering, nose running, lips burning, "hot! hot! hot!"… all bad: I swore never to eat it again. However, many years later I thought I’d be brave after 2 of my friends told me it was their FAVorite Korean food… how bad could it be?? If they could do it I could do it... Sure enough, it’s actually my new favorite dish, yum! yum!

After lunch and the movie we went and visited Hee-Won, Maggie’s vet, and stumbled upon the cutest little puppy... hmmm... maybe he'd make a good brother for Mags??

Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon came to Korea. Well, actually it was translated and now lives in Korea, is the more correct way to say it! I was thinking it was a bit crazy to go to a musical in a language I don't really understand, but I really wanted to see it since I've heard about it so many times. I mentioned it to one of my Korean friends, and she told me that one of her former students landed a role in it, and could get me cheaper tickets - woohooooo!!  Done*and*Done, I got me a ticket and went to the show on Wednesday night after school.

The SeongNam Arts Centre is only 3 subway stops up from my house so it was a quick n' easy ride. Finding my ticket on reserve wasn't that hard either (the girl was almost jumping over the counter when she heard my name, it was very funny). I didn't listen to the CD English version before I went (though I meant to!), so I wasn't sure what to expect, but on the subway over I was thinking even a foreign musical will be all singing and dancing, and I'm sure to enjoy it even if I don't understand!

The cast of Miss Saigon didn't let me down, it was WONderful! And the part that surprised me the most is that I really did understand most of the storyline... parts of songs were still in English, and for many things context spoke volumes (e.g. drunken GIs wandering around the neon-lit Bangkok streets recognizable by anyone who's been to KhaoSan Road) so it was easy to understand.

Some of the parts that stayed English due to context (Bangkok hawkers convincing GIs to come "try my sek-shee gulls," and a pimp dreaming his "Amelican Dweem" of being whisked off to the US post-war had me giggling in my chair. Even though I went by myself, I wasn't the only single person in the theatre by far, many people were on their own (which also surprised me because Koreans seem to do most everything in groups).

I asked a girl to take my photo in front of the play's banner (note to self: next time ask an adult who will be able to stand without shaking!), and after lamenting about the size (small ONLY) bought myself a shirt (picture later!) to remember the show. I had a copy of the London recording at home to listen to already, so I didn't buy the CD. When I got home I did listen to the CD from the original London cast recording, and it helped me fill in the couple of gaps of things I'd missed (e.g. the full reason behind why Kim, Miss Saigon, killed herself), and I recognized every song from the show, fully translated near word-for-word!!

What a wonderful time... Overall I *loved* the show, and I'm so happy I went, it was worth every penny!

Quick Update

Korean Class!
Well, today after work (and after sushi with 5 of the Korean teachers) I went to my first "real" Korean class! There are only 4 of us in the class but it was pretty fun. My reading, vocab and pronunciation are higher than the others, but they only started class at the start of the month. The teacher is a young(er than me) woman from the US who is Korean-American, young and a bit disorganized but ok so far. I'm going to aim to continue with my Rosetta Stone at home, and then do the class twice a week (I'm paid through the end of May!). My Korean should get better! better! better!

Maggie has a new friend!
I met a woman on the temple stay trip who lives in my building. The bus was going by my building on the freeway, and just as I said 'hey! that's my apartment!' I heard someone else say the same thing - small world, hey??! I'd met her in the elevator before and we'd talked dogs (she also has a mini yorkie, his name is Deacon), just never crossed paths again since. We have now been out on a couple of walks with the dogs, and they LOVE one another - it's the cutest thing watching 2 mini yorkies run around together like a couple of wahoos, I should have brought my camera! As well in 'Maggie news,' she is getting fixed at the start of next month, and I have the vet on the lookout for a brother for her - either a maltese or another mini yorkie.

2 months has passed already!
Hard for me to believe it, but I've already been here for 2 months. I feel like I've done so much in that little time, though it feels like both forever and no time at all in each minute.

Miss Saigon
Tomorrow night I am going to Miss Saigon. It's going to be a bit of an adventure, as the show is entirely in Korean. It's at the Seongnam Arts centre which is pretty close to my apartment, only a couple of subway stops away. I finish work at 5, have my massage until 6, and then the show at 7:30 - exciting!

Photo Exhibit
This weekend I'm going to Seoul to see the Steve McCurry exhibit. He took this photo that you may recognize from a National Geographic cover in the 80s... I am so excited to go in and see his pictures, I *love* photography exhibits! It's here until the end of May but I want to get in to see it before I get distracted - maybe I'll also stop at a palace or something to take some photos of my own: I haven't take out my bigger camera since I got here!

GoGulSa Temple Stay
The first weekend in May I'm booked to go to GoGuSa Temple to stay for the weekend. It may end up being the 2nd weekend, but one or the other I'm heading out again! Different temple, and at this one the monks train in a martial art that is practiced as a meditation activity, sunmudo I think it's called? I'm looking forward to learning more about it!

And with that I'm off to bed... very tired and not yet recovered from the weekend past. Miss Saigon tomorrow, Korean class on Thursday, and before I know it the weekend will be here! I hope you are well wherever you are!

Monk for a Day at Magoksa

I spent the past weekend on a temple stay at Magoksa in Gong-Ju, about 2 hours South of Seoul. When I told my mom before leaving that I was going to try out temple life for the weekend she quipped that she now had to worry about me going off and becoming a monk! No worries about that per se (I still don't want to become a monk Mom!) but I had a beautiful weekend.

It's hard to find words for experiences like these ones. I've mentioned before that every temple has a way about it, a uniqueness, a feeling that sometimes stirs me deep down inside? This was another one of those times... I know I won't be able to pass on to you just what that means for me, so instead I'll share some of the loveliness of it all... (I'll post about a few activities a bit later)...

When you arrive through these gates it is said that you leave all of your troubles and baggage behind, free to embrace the peace and spirit of the Buddhist temple

These are the guardians of the 4 directions who keep the temple and its occupants free from all things bad that might try to enter  

Buddha's birthday is coming up, May 21st, so there are lanterns everywhere in celebration... these ones guided us along the pathway to the next gate for another meeting...

The guardians with Action (with the elephant) and Wisdom... either one without the other doesn't really get you anywhere, so you should embrace them both as you travel through the second gate

The view when you first enter the temple grounds once you are past the gates... beautiful

The five-storied Ocheung Stone Pagoda is found in the centre of the temple grounds... it is unique because of the bronze that was used on the top of it (this technique was borrowed from the style of Tibetan Buddhism)

I love doorways most days, but I particularly loved this one with the light sneaking out... a doorway to illumination

This dragon is on the frame for the gong in the drum area... in Buddhism dragons are the highest creatures, so you see a lot of them

The view of one of the main temple halls where prayer is held... this one houses 3 Buddhas, one for long life, one for health, and one for... oh, I've forgotten, I hate that!

A view of the main temple hall from my favorite little temple on the hill

Lanterns marked most pathways... candles are strung within them, and many were lit up at night

We went to bed at 9pm (more like 10pm) and woke at 3am - monks do this every day. Despite being a little tired, the beauty of the morning made me forget -about it... no tourists, no bugs, the only things you could hear were the river and the birds. I left the group again for a walk on my own to soak in the peacefulness of the morning before morning prayers at 3:40am

The pathway up the mountain to my favorite little temple
(there are lots of temples at Magoksa (maybe 9 or 10?), all very different from one another)

The papers hanging from these lanterns are wishes that people have written to Buddha on this upcoming birthday... wishes for themselves, for others, for big things and little... the red lantern holds my wish

We all wore temple clothing, lovely and flattering as you can see  :)
This is me with our monk, the one who was in charge of our very large ANYTHING-BUT peaceful temple stay group... I think he may have even more patience than your average monk. Next time I temple stay I am definitely going groupless, because the experience really wasn't a peaceful one at most times!

This is my teacher monk... I skipped out on arts and crafts block after making my prayer bracelet and went for a walk on my own up the mountain. This monk was in a small hilltop temple that I stumbled upon, and when he saw me he invited me in to sit with him. He taught me about energy and prayer in Buddhism... it was really incredible... he also gave me his card and asked me to come back and talk with him again soon   :)

Looking out over the temple grounds from the hilltop temple hall... Magoksa is nestled in among the TaeHwa Mountains... it was so beautiful there

Bicycle Tour of Gyeong-Ju: Day 2 (BulGukSa Temple)

Of all the temples I have visited to this point in Korea, I enjoyed this one the most but got to spend the least amount of time in it. There was something about the place that just radiated calm to me. In a couple of halls monks were chanting, one of my favorite sounds in the world. I don't have a lot of words to tell you about th temple, but I can tell you a bit about some of the things I saw...

 

 

The Dabotap Pagoda, "Pagoda of Many Treasures"... is found on the flip-side of the 10won coin (thank you Wiki, I had no idea!). It was built in the year 751, and has been repaired after being damaged from an attempted theft (theives used dynamite to blow it open and get to the treasures, but they were scared off before they could get anything). You can see one stone lion on the staircase, but the 3 on the other staircases are not there. One is apparently in a museum in London, the other 2 are MIA. The pagoda is unlike others seen in different Buddhist countries because of the way it is built (its structure is unique to South Korea) and the ornateness of the carving/decoration.

Golden seated Buddha statue inside a temple

Seokgatap Pagoda, directly across from Dabotap in front of the temple

Amazing roof lines and tile ends, a guardian at the corner

More rooflines, I love them!

Beautiful lines, blossoms, so beautiful

Amazingly busy and beautiful pagoda housing

I think these things were kept for luck, but hopefully I will become better informed soon... honestly, I just thought they looked cool  :)

A beautiful walkway over the pond that leads to a literary museum

That was the majority of our last day... well, that and getting our bikes picked up and brought back to the rental shop. We had some more amazing food and then spent almost 6 hours on the bus back to Seoul. I managed to catch the very last train connection back from Seoul and arrived back at my apartment by 11pm, safe and sound and fairly exhausted. What a beautiful weekend it was...