the perfect pouting child

Saw this little girl on the beach today and I could not resist taking her photo.  She was having herself a bit of a pout and of course she was utterly adorable doing it.  I am certain she would have had me wrapped around her finger in seconds.

(p.s. Happy Birthday Tracy!)

i adore korean children

Had a particularly nice evening.  On my way home I ran into 3 different students.  I just love running into my students outside of the classroom.  They just get beside themselves happy and all but trip over themselves to give me a big hello.  They're just being kids and they have no idea what happiness they are adding to my life.  It's very grounding in this foreign world to have people, of any age, recognize you and enthusiastically acknowledge you.  It just makes my heart happy.

Before I got to my apartment I stopped into a little store to buy water and, um cookies, before heading home. (just for the record they are "digestive" cookies, but I'll get to why I shouldn't be confessing to buying cookies later).  Outside of the store, I ran into one of my 5th graders and I said hello to her before she saw me, and she was so happy. There was a woman near with a few small children, and I assumed that was her mother, but she kept walking with me and I found out that was not her mother.  It was after 8 o'clock and a pretty intense fog had rolled in, and she said that she was scared.  I found out she was going home, so I asked if she wanted me to walk her home.  She said, "WOULD YOU?? OHHHhH THank you Christine Teacher!! YES, I AM SCARED, OH please".   So we proceeded to walk up and through the fog covered allies eating the cookies I just bought.  :)      It was fun and in truth as it was happening I thought, I would rather be doing nothing else, but walking through this creepy, fog covered alley in Korea, eating cookies with a 10 year old girl.  Life doesn't get much better than that.   She is one of the brighter students, so we were able to have a pretty basic conversation (weather, scared, cookies, straight, left, right, apartment).   Anyway, I love my kids.  I really do.   Walking back from her apartment, I just kept thinking, that even though I have had a few struggles these past few months, moments like these make it all worth it.

Moving on to different kid stories:  The kids that don't know you in Korea are a lot of fun too.  Sometimes a little awkward.  I was out to dinner a few weeks ago and this little girl comes up to our table and just stands there  and stares.  I say "hello" "how are you" "what's your name"...mostly just trying to get a feel for her level of English.  Anyway, after we covered the 5 basic topics, she just kept standing and staring with her nose pretty much on the table.  It went on for an uncomfortably long time (5 or more minutes), but I kept cracking up over it.     It happened earlier this week too.  This little girl kept staring and I would say hi, hello and then I could hear her mimicking some of my expressive words like, "woowwwww".   She then comes over to start showing off a bit (blowing bubbles, doing twirls), so I would say, "wowwwwwww" to her and she just loved it.   So then, I threw in a couple of other expressive words.   It's the little things really.

Last child story:  I was asked AGAIN by children at my other school if I was pregnant (message received loud and clear korea).  I decided to say that I was, because I wanted to see what they would do.  Well, they started putting their heads up to my stomach to listen to the baby's heartbeat and they were all putting their hands on my stomach too.  This is why I should not be skipping along the streets of korea eating cookies.  Well, I started running like a mad woman these past few weeks, so hopefully my cookie fat will start to recede.  Until then, I am lovin' my bundle of joy!

Tid Bits: 

Every morning I am given a military salute by the crosswalk guard and every day I salute him back.  I have come to look forward to our exchange. 

One of my students wore a shirt the other day that said, "I have a sweat smile" with pictures of hearts and cookies.  I adore lost in translations and there are an abundance here!  

because you must experience a korean bus

Thought I would show you one of my bus rides that I take 3 times a week.  It is a very lovely trip, up and through the mountains, passing gorgeous flowering trees and small farms and dumps you off right at a country beach area.  You feel so out of the way that you would have no idea that you were less than 15 minutes from the hustle and bustle of Ulsan.  This particular bus ride, was mellow by comparison.  Most of the ones up and through this mountain are a little faster and they take the curves like it's Nascar.  Don't worry, I also know that my specialty is not video.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGusEnaUR4M

self-esteem roller coaster

Earlier this week I was asked if I was pregnant by a 5th grader, prior to this event I had wondered in silent agony, if I was putting on weight.  Clearly, the answer is yes!  I guess when you are looking for inspiration to quit eating street corner vendor donuts and start taking the gym a little more seriously, inquiries about your pregnancy status will really help with that.  Obviously "pregnant" was not on the list of vocabulary words we were learning this week (or ever), so he did a little miming routine and said, "Teacher Christine, Teacher Christine" (gesturing for me to come over to him to have my ego slaughtered) and said, "baby in there????" pointing at my stomach. 

Well, since leaving the states, I have completely lost my workout routine and it has taken up until about 3 weeks ago, to start making it a part of my regular life here.  I have also indulged in numerous Korean treats that taunt you on every street corner----from waffles to donuts to fried mystery meats and veggies and chocolate yummy cereals and everything else in between.  I guess I sort of had it in my head that since I can't read the calorie or fat content because it is in Korean, than that is some sort of free pass?  Well, clearly this logic has failed me and my unborn child.

Today, all Korean children have been redeemed, by their much nicer peers. After finishing up at the gym, I was standing at the street corner waiting for the light to change, a couple of middle school girls come up to me and one says, "Hi my name is kim Eun-so" (while her friend laughs hysterically in the background).  I say hello and tell her my name.  She then asks where I am from etc.  After the light changes she says, "goodbye".  She then runs up to me and gestures at my face and says, "pretty"  (I really needed that!).  After she leaves a bus stops and a group of about 7 middle school boys get off and say, "hi!!!, where are you from??"  (i tell them), and then a few of them say, "I love you sooooooo much" (I tell them I love them too).   Their friends are also laughing uncontrollably and the whole time they are walking down the block they are yelling that they love me so much and very much and a lot etc.

Clearly I am teaching the wrong grade levels!   Anyway, from pregnancy to celebrity status all in one week.  I love Korea, even though the entire country sends me on an emotional roller coaster!  From pointing out my pimples, my weight gain, my 'funny' smell (?), my less then desirable outfit selections.   I am glad that they also point out the good, because not sure my self-esteem could take much more of this brutal honesty!   :)    Obviously I am exaggerating a smidge for the sake of the blog, because really the people here are so nice, sincere and gracious.  They do point out my good qualities in the same manner.  A lot of the things that are pointed out to me come across a little harsher than their intention i think.  Mainly because of the language barrier, because there are so few English words they know to express what they are thinking, that I think it comes off as a little more abrasive.

There is this little store/cafe that I have been going past for months now and I find that it greatly confuses me.  I have had no idea what it is, and, well I still don't.    There are a couple of photographs of a western woman drinking coffee at a table.  She is wearing a long, fluffy, white, terry-cloth bath robe with one of her legs crossed, so that it is exposed up to the thigh.  She is also wearing a towel around her head.  Up until yesterday I was reading the sign as "Comedy Cafe", and have obviously been confused by it.  Yesterday, after staring at it, I realized it actually says, "Comely Cafe".  I don't know if it makes any more sense to me now.  I was thinking it might be a spa, then possibly a coffee shop, then possibly some sort of call girl place, but I don't know.  The signs here tickle me though, I am in love with lost in translation phrases that are on stores & signs & t-shirts.  There is a restaurant called, "Korea Restaurant" with a picture of a green pasture full of cows plastered to the windows.  This sign, I get, but I still think it is odd advertising.  Maybe my next job in Korea should be proof reading translations from school books, to signs, to menus.  I guess you can buy a lot of "bear" here if you aren't in the mood for beer.

Most women here really dress up wherever they go--the middle of the day on a Saturday to go grocery shopping.  I am talking 3-4 inch heels, tights, skirts, full make up & hair--the works.  It is not too hard to feel like a troll in their presences.  Not ALL women, of course, but the majority of the 20-something crowd.  I realized yesterday that I think they take it a little too far, because there were a couple of girls walking on the beach in 4 inch heels (which I have seen several times).  It can be difficult to walk on sand barefoot, can't imagine doing it in heels.   This is one high-heel wearing country. 

Please enjoy a few photos from the beach yesterday.

More of these carnival games that I still can't get over......

This is the main beach "drag"...on both sides of the streets there are street vendors, restaurants and carnival games.  In this photo I was mostly going for the moon sliver.

This was an accidental photo, but I like it.  It is taken from the beach of a hotel and a string of shops.

This is the main beach drag during the daylight. Without the lights, looks kind of unassuming.  On the right in this photo you can see some colored lanterns.  These lanterns are all over the city right now, in celebration of Buddah's birthday which is on May 9th.

Picture of the beach from a hill.  That is fog that you are seeing.

More carnival rides & games.

I like this sign, because it covers all bases. 

another picture of the beach from the hillside.

even the graffiti in korea is friendly

bird's eye view

This is a pretty neat view from my gym, which is on the 8th floor.  Weirdly, you don't realize how dense this city is until you look at if from this perspective.  When you are in the muck of it going about your daily grind you hardly notice it.  The other thing is that you can see this layer of haze, which is partly smog, but also the infamous yellow dust from China that is blanketing the country lately.

small talk

Yet another Wednesday, where I found myself at the end of school sitting on the side of the building, having a mini BBQ, with lots and lots of yummy alcohol drinks.  Off in the distance small children at play, the principal chain smoking cigarettes and all the teachers doing shots.  Ohhh Korea, what would I do without you?

On the bus yesterday I met a woman who started making small talk with me.  Here "small talk" involves asking you questions like, "are you married?, where do you live?, do you have boyfriend?, how old are you?".  She volunteered personal information about herself, like she is a 46 year old, divorced mother of two and has to work 2 jobs to make ends meet.  I gather that in Korea, divorce is pretty rare and still very much taboo.  Anyway, half way through the bus ride she is holding my hand (not non-stop, but on and off).  In Korea, hand-holding is a gesture of friendship and pretty much everything they do here they are completely in your personal space, which eventually you do get used to, but it does take some time to retrain your western brain.  She wanted my phone number and of course, I don't have it memorized, so she just grabs my phone out of my hand and calls her cell phone with it.  She wants go have a "hamburger" some time, but hopefully I can talk her into a Korean restaurant.  Her name is "Happy Song", just a nickname of course and she majored in English in college and would like to have a friend she can practice with, so I am really looking forward to possibly developing another friendship with a local.  

I was at my wits end at one of my schools and finally had a talk with the vice principal about the unruly students who are making my job an absolute nightmare.  That very day they called a meeting with all the teachers to help straighten their students out.  My 6th grade boys are by far the worst, and have caused me a couple of mild anxiety attacks.  Today they were made to stand in front of the class in a row and get a very long lecture, followed by them apologizing to me one by one and they bowed.  Amazingly, this class went really well.  It was fun, like I want them to be, and all the students were engaged.  Even the students who I honestly didn't think knew any English were breaking out the big words.  I was absolutely shocked.  During our BBQ, the 6th grade teacher gave me some helpful advice on how to maintain control of the class, so hopefully this will work.  I really don't want this to be the honey-moon phase, so going to really work on keeping it this way.

I am really finding my rhythm with teaching and I am enjoying it very much (aside from my problems mentioned above).  My main school, I teach 12 classes at, and I love all of them.  The students are fabulous, but that mainly comes with the fact that my coteacher at that school is always present in the room, and maintains discipline at all times.  She was the one who told me initially that I was a "burden" for her, but happily we have finally found a pretty nice working, respectful rhythm.  She told me the other day that she feels "lucky" to have me and that I really help her out in the classroom.  I expect a few more kinks, but things are slowly but surely falling into place and I hope it will only continue to get better.

Tidbits:   Deodorant is consdidered seasonal in Korea.  
              New strange store that tops the hairspray/sock store:    The T-shirt & Dog Food Store