icecream & kimbap

I found the most amazing restaurant for all my 'take-out' needs.  It is a very small, mom and pop restaurant that is just around the corner from my apartment.  In fact, I have been walking past it on almost a daily basis and have never really noticed it before.  A lot of restaurants and stores around here are ran out of the front or lower-level of a family apartment.  They are very make-shift and often non-descript.  A lot of times you can't tell whether they are even open or not.   Anyway, I can get dinner here for just over $1 USD.   And it is super fresh, delicious and put together right in front of you.  Literally, right in front of you, because the kitchen and the dining area, are one and the same.   I love kimbap and this place makes the most amazing kimbap (it is basically a california roll, but has seaweed in it, ham , carmelized plant root, spinach, egg and a few other things that I can't identify.  In fact I am not even sure if it is spinach and egg:)). 

I have been going to this little restaurant every day for a week straight.  I love the people who work there too.  The other day i walked in and the son and mom were at one of the tables and the son was eating something out of a small plastic bag.  They exchanged a few words and then she takes the bag of food from him and literally takes the chopsticks right out of his hands and gives it to me to eat.  :)   The son I found out is 27 years old---I thought he was more like 17 though.  He tells me this is food for little kids, but he likes it because he is kind of a kid at heart (that is what I took from what he was trying to express).  So while they made my kimbap, I sat and ate her sons little kid snacks.  I love Korea.  It is such a sharing society.  One thing I have quickly learned is that if someone is offering to share their food, no matter how much you don't want it...or how it might seem strange to eat off of a strangers chopsticks--just do it and smile and say thank you.    It is just good manners here. 

They get so excited every time I come in there and it makes you feel pretty special in a land that is so foriegn.  It actually makes you feel like you have a place here and that you belong. I have only been going there for a week and it already seems like I have been going there for months.  I love how quickly people here welcome you and how quickly you are no longer a stranger.   Each time they ask me more and more personal questions.  Tonight when I went in it was "how old are you?" which is really important in Korean society so they know what their place is with you.  It also matters on who bows first and who bows the lowest and what the possible nature of the friendship might have the potential to be.  

The other day I went to home plus and ran into a few of my 6th grade girls.  They were besides themselves with excitement and instantly wanted to know where I was going.  I told them Homeplus (the wal-mart of korea) and then happily informed me that they would come with me.  They said, "christine teacher, we help you shop" and they proceeded to hook one of their arms in each one of mine and 3-people wide we proceeded to shop.  Afterwards they were hinting that "they were thirsty" (probably grateful we just did the "I'm hungry/thirsy lesson in class).   I told them I would treat them to a soda.  We get to the counter of a McDonalds type place inside of Home plus and naturally they see the icecream on the list and now they are no longer "thirsty" but very, undyingly hungry.  The kind of hunger that only icecream can heal. :)   So I bought them icecream and told them it was a secret.

Today, about 6 days after the fact, one of the girls comes up to me and says, "christine teacher, you remember?  min-ju and me?  we were at home plus".  I guess they were worried that I somehow forgot it.  It was kind of cute.  I was getting "knowing" looks from them in class earlier this week and I didn't react to it or acknowledge their knowing look, I guess they thought I didn't know who they were.  :)  

At lunch today, I was eating this meal in which you put a large leaf on your palm, put rice, a hot sauce, meat and whatever else is available to go into it.  It's delicious.  Actually, amazing might more adequately describe it.  I LOVE IT.  I think it is called Sam.    Anyway I was loading up the hot sauce on mine and a woman at the table seem really freaked out, and it caused her to get up from her spot about 5 seats over and come over to scold me, mostly in Korean.  I felt very foolish, as I knew I did something wrong, but I didn't know what it was, and everyone else, being fluent in Korean knew what I did wrong.  Anyway, through "Konglish" and gestures I figured out that the salt content of this sauce was out-of-control high.  She is the school nurse, so I will take her word for it.  I have noticed that I am drinking tons of water, but seem to have an unquenchable thirst and my lips are cracking lately and feel raw.   I love the sauces here, and apparently I have been eating enough salt, unknowingly, that could kill small animals.  Oddly, I am relieved to know why my thirst is out of control and my lips are about ready to fall off of my face.  Sneaky Korean, delicious, hot sauces!

This next week is the last week of the semester.  I honestly have no idea where the time has gone.  So happy to have survived!  Not only survived, but also loving it more and more all the time.  Even at my "bad school" I am starting to fall in love with a few of my classes and several of my students.  We have taken a long time to warm up to each other, but we have finally found our rhythm.  After our regular classes let out we will move into "summer camp" classes.  I will be teaching 3 differen summer camps at 3 different schools.  Fortunately these classes are pretty unstructured and they are supposed to be fun for the students.  So I will be teaching all about Halloween and doing facepainting, teaching Xmas songs, creating Super Hero movies and all sorts of other fun things.  Kind of looking forward to it.

At my main schools I have realized what I have been doing wrong as a teacher---which was "forcing" learning to happen.  I found myself really frustrated because the louder I talked and the more serious I became the less the students were interested in me and the less they respected me.  Over time, I have learned to take a step back and not "force" anything they aren't willing to learn.  The other big learning experience was, and don't be shocked here, they don't speak English.  So I was walking in, assuming that they knew a lot more than they did, talking to them like they understood what I was saying, which probably freaked them out and frustrated them.  I had to do a lot of, "putting myself in their shoes" and started using my daily interactions with everyone as a learning experience.  By that, I mean that each person I encounter, I can't understand what they heck they are saying if they are just talking to me, like I speak the same language.  But, when they break it down for me and use only 2 or 3 key words with lots of facial expressions and gestures, I can figure out 90% of what they are trying to communicate.  I know it seems like common sense, and it probably is, but I'm still learning a little something new every day.  I think after this year is over, I will be a lot more prepared to teach children if I decide to go down this path.  I will say that I am amazed at how many "conversations" I can have with people speaking 2 completely different languages.  Makes me realize how much more langague and learning is really about body language, facial expressions and intonations.