Hope everyone is doing well!! I am doing pretty good, but this last week was a hard one.
So...a few things I have noticed about Koreans that is very different from Americans is: EVERYONE (men and women) has charms on their cell phones; for some reason sky blue is considered one of the primary colors here (All of my kids can differentiate sky blue from regular blue...not sure why they picked that color and not periwinkle blue or lime green.) <---That is just a few of the ones that have stuck out so far.
A little update about my eating habits -- I tried to limit myself to only eating Paris Baguette one day a week.....that lasted a whole 2 days. We have only been to McDonalds and Mr. Pizza twice this past week.
Instead we have been eating a lot of the local Korean food which is cheap and easy. The only problem is I only know how to order 2 things so I will probably get sick of it really fast. One of these things is called dolsot bibimbap. It's rice in a hot pot with alot of different vegetables on top, some hot red sauce, and an egg on top. It's pretty when they serve it to you, but you are supposed to mix it all together.
If I ever open my own restaurant I will make a menu with pictures for any foreigners that come in. One of the good things about Korean restaurants is you get all you can eat appetizers with every meal. Usually those include seaweed (which I love), some kind of cheesy egg thing, and kimchi. Not sure if I told you about the kimchi yet.........it is cabbage that has had this hot paste spread all over it and then it is put in a clay pot and buried and they let it ferment for a while. Supposedly it is the national dish of Korea, but I wouldn't be bragging about it. It is really stinky and it tastes awful.....and let's just say you don't want to be anywhere near a "kimchi lover" when they pass gas!!! The other day Brett and I were eating at a Korean restaurant and I was eating one of the best appetizers I had had so far. I kept telling Brett "try this...the texture is like beef jerky, but I'm not sure what it is." I kept eating it until I realized that it was tiny dried baby fish with the eyes still in it, and I'm pretty sure the oily stuff it was in was fish oil. I didn't like it anymore.
At many traditional Korean restaurants you have to take your shoes off when you enter, and you sit down on the floor. About half way through the dinner I ALWAYS find myself wanting to stand up and do the goofy stomp/dance because my feet are both asleep. It's funny because I am the only one who seems to have that problem. Another problem with this form of dining is that I haven't mastered how to be graceful when I stand up. I always feel like I stick my butt in the air or in someones face (sometimes you are sharing a table with strangers).
Jonah, Sara, and Laura introduced Brett and I to Galbi the other day. Galbi is Korean barbecue, and it is AMAZING!!!! They bring out about 20 different appetizers and they cook the meat in front of you. Believe it or not, Galbi could give Texas barbecue a run for its money. It is expensive though....about $20 a person.
I got new furniture for my apartment!!!! I now have a small stand for my entryway, a chest that I put in front of my window, and a table. Brett got a desk, a chair for the desk, and a nightstand. We found all of this for the amazing price of.......drumroll......FREE!!! It was all on the side of the road by the trash pile. Apparently alot of people moved out last week.
This past week at school was so overwhelming. I shed quite a few tears. I only have two kids in my kindergarten class, but 5 hours in a classroom trying to teach two kids that are 3 or 4 years old (American years) is really hard.
Jeney and Peter are my kids names. The times that keep me going are when they say something in English and I know that it is because of me that they know that. I am their 1st English/foreign teacher. It has only been three weeks and Jenny can sing the alphabet song, she knows all of her basic colors (except sky blue), she knows a few songs, and she is like a little parrot. Peter (aka Spiderman) on the other hand is the complete opposite. He can say a few things....for example, when I shake his hand he says "nice to meet you." (That was one of our key sentences two weeks ago.) However, he has problems focusing (which is expected for his age) and he just wants to run around the room. His personality can flip from happy to pissed off to mopey within seconds. I am having problems with Peter just busting out screaming and trying to hit both me and Jeney constantly. On Wednesday I had listened to so much screaming and I was tired, so at lunch time I went in the teachers room and broke down. I talked to Michelle (our manager) about it and asked what to do and she sent my Korean helper in later that day to observe and see what he was doing. Michelle then in turn informed the entire Korean staff that I had cried, and somehow that afternoon Peter's mom found out as well. SOOOO, the next day Peter's mom came to the school and I had my first parent/teacher meeting with a translator.
I also have received my first gifts as a teacher. Jeney's mom gave me Chanel lipstick and Peter's mom gave me a picture frame. Brett got a gift too. He got Chanel aftershave. Koreans like to give practical gifts. I guess Jeney's mom was telling me I needed color and Brett's student's mom was telling him that he needed to shave!!
I also have a class from 2:30 - 4:00 now. They are beginner beginners like my kindergarten class, but they are 8 yrs old (Korean age) and they have a much better attention span. I only have two in that class right now...Alice and Bruno.
For the past three weeks I have had discipline problems with my Primary (4:05-5:35) class. I was overwhelmed with them, and I didn't know what to do about it, so on Friday I decided to make a list of classroom rules. They had to copy down the rules and if they do not follow them then they have to leave the class and write their vocabulary words 20x each. This scares the crap out of them. Friday was much better.
One last problem with this job.....I feel that my vocabulary is fading, and I find myself speaking to EVERYONE like they are one of my students that does not understand English. This means that I talk like a six year old and I try to act out everything I say. Sometimes this is quite comical.
I went to the fruit/vegetable market today (Saturday). It was pretty exciting! Everyone was shouting in Korean. (I have noticed that I tune out people speaking in Korean a lot of the time bc I can't understand them.) I got broccoli, potatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, and strawberries. I guess it would help if I knew how to cook. If anyone has any suggestions on how to prepare these things with only a stove please let me know. I think I bought them because they were the only things I recognized!!!
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