Just One Expat's Opinion: Under Pressure

From Wednesday thru Friday of this week I have no classes due to a field trip. Eight hours of "desk warming" each day. I have mixed feelings of relief for the free time and overwhelming boredom, as there's only so much lesson planning I can do in these 24 hours of desk time. Mostly, I have come to realize that without classes, and a very quiet and focused coteacher, I can go most of my day without saying a word. It's a strange side effect of not speaking the local language I guess.

However, I'm still in a fantastic mood because today is payday! I should be receiving my paycheck, a reimbursement for my plane ticket and a little extra settlement money. I have yet to be paid since arriving to Korea (back on Aug 18th which feels like a century ago) so I am literally down to less than 1,000 won ($1). The next task is figuring out how to use the ATM's that are almost exclusively in Hangul.

Even the tiniest of errands here in a land where I don't speak the language is a challenge. Admittedly, there are times when it can be frustrating. However, most of the time I enjoy the challenge. I find it to be like I'm part of some game show. As if my hands are tied and I have to find my way through an obstacle course. Except my hands are my ability to speak and read, and the obstacle course is life. Every time I attempt to take on one of these tasks, I hear Barney's voice (from How I Met Your Mother) in my head saying "Challenge accepted!"

Of course the best part is achieving success and feeling an overwhelming sense of pride from something as small as refilling my bus card. Or managing to explain to the taxi driver where I need to go with my extremely limited stock of Korean words. It also makes it a little easier to understand why my students sometimes stare at me like I have three heads when I say a sentence too fast, or give directions with vocabulary that is out of reach for them.

I guess I should talk a little bit about my experience as a teacher in SoKo, considering that is why I'm here, after all. (Not just for the food, which I've come to notice is the general focus of my blog posts...whoops.)

"During Breaks" - my students do all of these things (except review what they've learned).
"During Class" - it's as if they took a picture of my class. Love the little sneaky dude with the cell phone.

A little bit about my week...
My work hours are 8:40 am - 4:40 pm. I take a 20 minute bus ride to and from work every day. My friends from home will probably find that amusing, as they know that I rode the bus for the first time in 31 years just prior to leaving for Korea. The bus rides here are typically far more crowded than at home, usually with rows of people standing so tightly together that it is sometimes quite difficult to see your bus stop approaching through the window, let alone try to maneuver your way off the bus when it's your time to abandon ship. Typically the bus is full of high school students during commuting times. On the way to work they're silent and for the most part, sleeping. It always amazes me how they wake up as soon as their stop approaches, as if they have some kind of internal GPS system. On the way home from work they stink of cigarettes, are usually consuming some type of ice cream and are much more boisterous than the morning versions of themselves.

Tired teen.

About 40 more people are about to enter this bus.

A rare moment where I was queen of the bus.

As I've mentioned before, I teach three grade levels, 13 different classes, for about 21 hours a week and then I sit at my desk, "planning", to fulfill the rest of my 40 hour work week. I have two coteachers, my anti-social-but-still-helpful main coteacher who is female, married and busy getting her doctorate degree and my younger doesn't-speak-English-that-well secondary coteacher who is male, single, and also the music teacher.

Part of an English competition I judged.
This was the winner but they all win for being
super adorable.

One of my third grade classes

The third grade students are a ball of energy but very enthusiastic about learning English, as it is their first year of formal English instruction in school. However, they are by no means "green". English is ingrained from an early age in preschool, private tutoring and after school classes. I'm always a little exhausted after three third grade classes in a row, but I kind of love the feeling. These little guys are probably my favorite grade. They are close to the age that I would teach back in the states. They're so cute and they haven't yet become consumed by the tedious schedule and pressure that a student in South Korea endures.

One of my fifth grade classes

I teach fifth grade with my secondary coteacher who is a little more relaxed on the rules and I can tell he's considered a "fun teacher". I like their upbeat attitude on life, their excitement for any games I plan, and their fascination for me. One day, at the end of class, while they were watching a video, I braided my hair in the back of the room. Before I knew it, every girl in the room (and a couple boys) had completely turned around and were staring at me, enthralled with the fish tail I was making.

One of my sixth graders expressing his love for
one girl at a time. Those are different girls crossed
off. I guess he's a fickle little dude.

The sixth graders are somewhat of a mixed bag. The students who are better at English seem to really enjoy class and are eager to participate. Others, are not so good at English and prefer to stay quiet and aloof. And then there's those who just seem to hate life in general. They're tired, they're stressed and they're not at all excited about learning anything that won't give them a grade and contribute to their entrance into a good middle school. Because at this point in their world, grades are their only deciding factor in having a good life in the future.

To explain:
The main goal in life of a Korean student is to get a good job so they can get a good spouse. And yes those two things are extremely connected in this country. I've heard from a few people that a Korean woman won't consider even dating a man unless he owns a home and a car and has a good job. And a Korean man is more likely to consider a woman to be his wife the closer she or her family is associated to one of the top companies in the country (i.e. Samsung, LG, Hyundai etc). In order to get a good job in one of the top companies, they have to attend one of the top colleges. In order to do that, they must attend a great high school which helps them get the scores they need on the extremely competitive college entrance exams. In order to get into a great high school, it helps if they attend a great middle school. In other words, these little sixth graders, who are actually only ten-years-old, feel the pressure of their entire life on their shoulders right now, in their second semester of their last year of elementary school.

My goal with my sixth graders is to try to get them to have a little fun whilst learning English. Or at least a 40 minute break from the pressure in their life. Sometimes it's easier said than done. There are some students that stare at me like they could care less what comes out of my mouth. Others seem just as enthusiastic and interested in me as the fifth graders. All of them are starting to realize that I generally want them to enjoy themselves (and learn a little in the process).

(A small disclaimer: as in any situation that ever existed, what I'm stating here clearly does not apply to every single person in this country. I'm certain some Koreans marry for love, some don't consider working at a good company to be their life goal, and some prefer a much more relaxed existence. I am only stating what I have learned about the Korean culture from the Koreans I have met here so far. In no way is this meant to criticize a country that has come up from the ashes in a Phoenix-like manner. Education is a priority because it is a key player in the survival of this country. They wouldn't be a hub of innovation without a strong push for education initiated immediately after the Korean war that left them in complete rubble.)

The dirt field that serves as a playground at my school.

A little bit of non-school related news on my life in SoKo...

*I tried shabu-shabu for the first time, it was an awesome experience. Check out the process in the pics below. I'm pretty sure this is one of my new favorite things to eat. It makes an event out of a meal. I could seriously write a whole blog on this.

1. Begin with a hot pot of broth, some veggies, dumplings and meat.

Meat is somewhat frozen so it doesn't
cook too fast.

2. Chop up veggies, add to the pot and cook, then add your meat. Then
eat a whole bunch of food. And repeat.

3. Once you've consumed your meat/veggie meal, add pasta to remaining
broth. (And more bean sprouts). Enjoy. Then add a pile of rice to the
last bit of broth.

4. Let the rice soak up the rest of the broth and crisp a bit at the bottom of
the pot. You're left with the most amazing rice you've ever tasted.
(And some delicious squash)

*I made hameul pajeon (해물바전) and a chicken/vegetable soup at home, both were delicious. I absolutely love the vegetables here in Korea. And the fruit for that matter. I also get super proud when I manage to recreate a Korean dish and when I'm able to make a western dish using the local ingredients. Each is a challenge in it's own way.

(ABOVE) My chicken/vegetable soup I made. In a wok. With chopsticks.
(LEFT) a bunch of super cheap, super delicious produce right next to my
bus stop on my way home.

(ABOVE) Homemade hameul pajeon. It's like a pancake/omelette thingy.
(RIGHT) a mandarin orange that's not in a can. Go figure.

Just a little bit of squash.

*I celebrated Jenni's birthday with some chicken and beer - Korean chicken is amazing. They truly do it better than us. Sorry KFC but you never had my loyalties to begin with. So glad Jenni had such a good birthday. It was especially awesome when the entire restaurant joined us in singing happy birthday before exploding in a round of applause.

Delicious Korean chicken in a sweet chili sauce.
With super convenient chicken-holding-tongs.

A popper gone wrong, and the beautiful birthday
girl and her beautiful birthday cake.

A room full of cheer for the birthday girl.

*I went to an awesome bbq on a rooftop in Chungdae. I had steak. I can't remember the last time I had steak. It was soooo needed. Plus I got to hang out with some of my favorite people, including another awesome couple Michael and Lizzie, who introduced me to some of their friends (cute football - or soccer - players. Not in the pics, sorry lady friends). Then had gelato!

Rooftop view

Gelato done three ways.

Fun little spoon/shovel.

*And I went to my first Samulnori (사물놀이) lesson where I got some of my frustrations out on the drums and met some new foreign peeps. I really think I'm going to like this class. Such a good way to start the week. It's just down the street from my apartment which forces everyone to come have dinner with me at one of the trillion amazing bbq places near my home. We stuffed our faces with more samgyeopsal and I even tried spam for the first time. It's not that good, but no surprise there.

SPAM and eggs

*More fun Korean things including the Korean cure for the common cold, another beautiful and tasty meal, a not-so-tasty snack, and the cutest store to ever exist.