Korean in the Classroom

Overhearing students talking to each other in Korean is one thing; understanding it is another.

Whenever I start with a new group of students (which I did most recently last March), it's fun to see how long it takes before they catch on to how much I'm catching on to. 

When one student asks his friend the meaning of a word in the middle of class and I "just happen" to explain the meaning of that same word immediately thereafter, the class usally finds it a funny coincidence.

When I appraoch a small group to see how they are doing with the task I've given them, one student often whispers to his friend, "How do you say such-and-such in English?"  If the friend doesn't seem to know, but I've understood, I simply ask the group if they want to include something like such-and-such, and they often proclaim me a psychic.

After a few classes with a few too many coincidences and a bit too sharp of psychic skills, the students begin to ponder what seems to strike them as the final possibility:

Perhaps she understands us.

If I'm instructing the class, and I catch a student whispering about this possibility with a friend, I simply meet their gaze and give a quick, but clear smile.  Usually, frightened, they stifle a scream or sometimes, surprised, they can't help but giggle. 

It's a fun game to play with a new class and it seems to result in a slightly more open mind for both parties.  I get to see how much the students really did understand and how much they're still struggling with the content, and they get to chew on the fact that they've just been understood by a foreigner.

And, although it's usually either chit-chat or questions about what they're supposed to be doing in class, every once in awhile, I pick up a pretty neat nugget. 

At the boys' high school (where I teach one day per week) two weeks ago, one student thought aloud, "Today was the first day that the foreign teacher's class was actually interesting!" and, last week at the same school, one boy gazed upon a whiteboard full of sentences and wondered, "Wow! I can't believe we know all that!"

It's these less common, but more meaningful comments that help me to see what's working and what's not -- and it's always nice to know that something is.

* * *

 At break time during the 2-hour after-school lesson that I teach 
 once a week at the girls' high school, we went out to see the  
 infamous "autobike" that I've *cough* been riding around town on. 
 

* * *

Thanks for reading :)

Ocean Toes & River Legs

This is what happens when you rent a car on a beautiful day in the springtime.

 Entering Seoraksan National Park 

 Starting our way up Seorak Mountain 

 Buddhist Temples decorated with colorful lanterns 

 First viewpoint -- with fellow foreign language
 teachers in Yanggu (from left to right:
 Canadian, American, Japanese, Chinese) 

 Gaining elevation, losing leg strength 

 Summit!  That's the ocean below the sky.  

 The cameraman told us to do this...
 He climbs up here every day and sells cups of
 juice for $5 a piece...  I wasn't quite that thirsty.  

 Back down, it's "giant bacon" for dinner. Cook it yourself, then cut it
 with scissors and put a piece on a fresh lettuce leaf. Add a little rice
 and  some red  pepper  "sauce." Roll it up and eat it all in one bite.
 That  red  stuff  in the front is kimchi, and no, it's not bad grilled.  

 The beach that we saw from up top 

And this is what happens when you get home and realize that you booked the car for two days but it's only been one.

 Late breakfast, early lunch -- Buckwheat green onion
 "pancake" with red and white kimchi as sides 

 The main dish was these buckwheat noodles with red pepper
 "sauce," cucumbers, boiled egg, and a bit of dried seaweed. Pour
 in some cold "broth," stir it up, and find yourself full until dinner.  

 Just below North Korea, in the very north-easternmost corner
 of South Korea lies this less travelled, bright blue beach. 

 We soon realized we were the only ones in the tide pools
 not looking for food. 

 See there in the center? A blue and orange starfish! 

 And he thinks he's the one catching things... 

 Rock, sea, sky 

 Rock, tree, me 

 Who needs a shade umbrella when you could have a whole
 shade tent? I guess that's what people's logic is anyway! 

 Left the ocean in the afternoon and went to this shady river valley. 

 We drove out when evening fell and saw fish jumping --
  their silver bellies sparkling specks all over the place.  

* * * 

Put your toes 

in the ocean, 

Rinse your legs 

in a river,

Let your soul awaken 

to rest. 

* * *

Thanks for reading :)

Local Broadcast

Hi there!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was invited to participate in a broadcast on a local, volunteer-run radio program.  The broadcast has now been edited and uploaded!  For those who are curious, here's how to find it:

       1. Go to http://www.ygccfm.com
       2. Click on the green square (if it isn't already selected)
       3. Click on the blue, triangle "play" button next to the line with the word "caren" in it
       4. Skip to 25:09 and listen through until you hear the transition music (around 33:03)

The way that "Karen" is spelled, "caren," sort of indicates the way I feel about the broadcast after hearing the final version.  It was a really fun experience, but something always seems a bit off when listening to yourself talk like that!

Also, I had prepared written answers to the questions, as I was told that reading them would suffice, but upon listening back, I wished I would've been brave enough (it was surprisingly nerve-wracking, even with the lack of a physical audience, just knowing that my voice was on record!) to speak out of the box a bit, and perhaps pick up the tempo a tad.

  Getting something ready to read was quite a task
  in and of itself!  I wrote what I thought might work first,
  then Jihoon helped me to work out the kinks.  

Regardless, this was my first broadcast and I did it almost entirely in a foreign language.  So, while I wouldn't exactly say that it's super smooth around the edges, I would say that the completion of the 'cast is cause enough for cheers.

For those who'd like to follow along while listening, click the link below to see a script (Korean) alongside a rough translation (English)...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tj4Dy-AvYRKx2yINpWVdtGJhiMWXZqUM4kDeL0_5xYE/edit?usp=sharing

Enjoy!

* * *

Thanks for listen/read-ing :)

Quite Some Time

An-neong-ha-se-yo?

I'd rather not call it a gap or a pause, but perhaps a respite or a break.

Regardless of your word of choice, however, I admit that I have not posted in quite some time.

This is partly because I was watching too many Korean talk shows after work for a while there and partly because a lot of aspects of life here have started to seem normal, making it difficult to find inspiration amidst the routine.

However, going back home for a couple weeks after Christmas and seeing many family members and friends, I was confronted a couple of times on my recent lack of recent updates.

Rather than going back and trying to cover past ground, I'll just start fresh from the present, perhaps throwing down a few flashbacks from the past, perhaps just pressing on from here.

Today's post: in pictures.

* * *

Continuously Chilly

 The sunrise, captured from the parking lot at school,
 shortly after 8am. 

 The high school I teach at is being remodeled, so we are
 temporarily sitting in a computer lab in the dormitory building.
 The students are on winter vacation, so I have no classes to teach. 

 After work, walking across the bridge.  They're getting
 the ice ready for skating and what looks like
 a kids' hockey tournament. 

 Leftover snow remains in shady spots, but
 new snow hasn't fallen in quite a while now. 

* * *

Year by Year

 I signed another contract last week -- now planning
 to continue teaching in the same town, but at
 a different high school, until February 25, 2016. 

* * *

Weekend Outing

 Out for lunch on Sunday with a couple of the wiser teachers
 from school (left: art teacher,right: retired science teacher). 

 It was a cloudy day, but we enjoyed the view walking
 around outside the Animation Museum in Chuncheon. 

* * *

Personal Pizza

 So this is what happens when you get to know
 the owner of a local pizza & chicken place! 

 I met these two ladies through one of the teachers here
 at school (right: restaurant owner, center: her friend). 

* * *

Radio Broadcast

 It just so happened that the restaurant owner's husband
 (not pictured) volunteers as head of the
 local radio program. 

 He invited me to be interviewed on the air.  Luckily, I was
 allowed to write down my answers to the questions ahead of time
 and just read them out... since it was conducted in Korean! 

 Funny how nerve wracking it was, being that there were only
 three people in the room!  Anyway, the interview is scheduled
 to be uploaded on February 1st.  I'll send you the link then! 

* * *

Thanks for reading :)

Summer Break

A week off for Summer Break and I spent it... Guess where!  In Seoul!  I stayed with a couple of old friends and saw a few new sites in the suburbs of the big city.  You can read the rest in pictures...

(Click to enlarge)

Road to Seoul 

 The city that once housed my everyday life --
 reflecting while riding in on the bus. 

Suwon

 Out the window of a university friend's apartment.  Somehow,
 the view seemed so similar to the first apartment I stayed in. 

 Hiking up the hill to a UNESCO World Heritage site,
 the Suwon Fortress. 

 Peering out as we stopped for a shade break. 

 A sign saying how many km away we
 were from several major cities all over the world.
 I think New York was around 11,000 km. 

 And a bell to ring.  3 rings for a dollar. 

 Back down in the city, some interesting wall art. 

 A decorated side street. 

 These two warriors were doing some sort of sword
 fighting demonstration when they paused for "Photo Time."
 I tried not to get too close.  

 Kids playing hard on a sunny afternoon. 

 An E.T. mural.  Is it just me or does this picture
 have some similarities with the one just before it? 

Bundang 

 Hiking a mountain, seeing the city. 

 Also seeing an ancient fortress. 

 Seoul

 I stopped by one of my favorite places in the city, Olympic Park,
 near where I lived for the longest, before heading home.  This
 photo was taken while riding a rented bicycle in the rain.
 Good to think back on old times.
 Nice to continue on with new. 

Thanks for reading :)