It's an Interesting Theory...

The other day I was presented with the theory that men are afraid of me.  Never mind that the person who came up with this was “three sheets to the wind” drunk when they shared this with me.  I won’t say why men are afraid just yet because I want to marinate on this first part for a bit.

Men are afraid of me.

MEN are afraid of me.

Men ARE afraid of me.

Men are AFRAID of me.

Men are afraid OF me.

Men are afraid of ME.

Ok, no matter where I place the emphasis, the meaning is the same...and it feels a little empowering.  However, as I am not big and scary, I feel that this is just not the case.  So, let’s move on.  Why are they scared?  My philosophical, and now slightly drunk, friend tells me it is because I am so beautiful that it intimidates them and they don’t know how to approach me.  (Let’s also be mindful that we are referring to Korean men in this debate...as that is where this conversation is taking place.)

Well, that’s a nice daydream.

So, I’ve sorta covered this in a previous blog.  I feel beautiful here in Korea because people tell me so...not that I have any delusions that I am any sort of special.  But we are, after all, what people tell us.  That’s the power of language.  Anyway, I feel beautiful here because I am not some exotic fetishization, but because I may actually have some semblance of being physically attractive.  Besides, I think I have a beautiful soul and that shows through.  But at the end of the day, I look in the mirror and know with 100% confidence that I am not bad looking, but average at best.  Let’s face it, I’m no Helen of Troy and my face is not about to launch a thousand ships.

I’ve been in Korea for right at 5 months now (and it is worth noting that I live out in the country), but let’s face facts, men are hardly knocking down my door or blowing up my phone.

So, I will digress a bit.

When I was reading up on the expat life in Korea, I read that expat women need to be aware that Koreans will find them especially beautiful because by Korean standards they are exotic looking.  Especially true for blondes and blue-eyes, but essentially anyone Anglo-looking.  So, sucks to be me…as a Korean-American I won’t be special-looking when I get to Korea.  Or does it?

I say this in the aftermath of the embarrassingly long time it took to have the realization that my boy students were more outgoing and friendly with me at first because I am female.  But, let me emphasize that these are teenage boys...it does not take much.

And there was that one kid that told me that I was beautiful and I look like Audrey Hepburn.

I do not.

But mad props to him for knowing who Audrey Hepburn is.

EPIK 365 Day 156: Egg Salad

It's easy for me to forget how dependent I am on school lunch for my caloric-intake.  This week there were no classes, so no lunch.  I've been bringing my lunch in, which is a drag to plan out and make sure I don't forget it in the mornings.  I've been eating this egg salad and ham sandwich-thing…it's not bad, but not really, doesn't compare to the hot and delicious school lunches I've gotten used to having.

EPIK 365 Day 155: Magnetic Poetry

Seven sets of letter cards made, printed, cut, laminate and re-cut this week.  Now, I'm on to working on magnetic poetry.  Only 2 more days to desk warm and I'm back to teaching…thank goodness!

EPIK 365 Day 154: New Decor

My usual coffee shop got a make-over this week.  It looks really good…fresh…cozy.

EPIK 365 Day 153: Uhhh…?

So, I am particularly concerned about the one second column, second row from the top.  It's says "I'm Single" with the picture of a sad looking guy on it.  What exactly is it trying to accomplish?  I certainly wouldn't wear it as advertisement or find the person wearing it particularly attractive.  Moreover, I would think it was just.plain.sad.  And on the off chance that someone gave it to me, even as a joke, I would be pissed.

EPIK 365 Day 152: THe Most Surreal Moment I Have Had in Korea So Far...

It's not been the adjustment to a "Korean-style" life, but sitting in a Korean McDonald's, eating a cheeseburger, and listening to Elvis Prestley.  For about three minutes I could have been back in Memphis.

And don't judge me!  Yes, I eat at McDonald's every once in a while...sometimes I miss grease, and fat, and MSG, and all that other horrible stuff they put in their food.

EPIK 365 Day 151: Scholars

This one is a bit of a throw-back, I apologize.  Busy nursing that school dinner hang-over. :)  Anyway, these guys are ancient scholars.

Proper School Dinner

At the end of the 2013 school year I went with the other teachers on a hike and then to lunch and games.  I thought, “so, this is the ‘school dinner’ I have heard so much about.”  I remember thinking that it was fun, but that some of the stories I had heard were greatly exaggerated.

Never mind.

That was apparently not a proper school dinner.  I had my first proper school dinner last night.

It was a farewell dinner for several of our teachers.  One was retiring flat out and the others were transferring to new schools.  Korean public school teachers can only stay at one school a maximum of five years then they have to move on.  So, of course, there is a party to bid them farewell and wish them well.

If you must know about the food...and you must, because whether you want to or not I will tell you.  We went to a sushi restaurant in the city.  Now, in America, sushi is not my favorite thing...I like it alright, but I don’t enjoy the chewy seaweed wrap that you sometimes get.   Korean sushi is more like sashimi, and there were some cooked items as well.  LOTS of food.  We started off with the raw stuff...big platter of 4-5 different raw fish and you wrap it in lettuce with your sauce and some shredded vegetables in this kinda sweet sauce...very delicious!  Egg soup and steamed mussels, raw oysters, quail eggs (they just taste like eggs), 2 different cooked fish...salmon and some white fish, but they were both good.  What else?  Silk worm larvae, but there wasn’t any pressure to eat those so I didn’t...I will one day, but I was not feeling it last night.  So, I thought that was it for dinner...I’m feeling pretty full...but they bring out another soup with ramen noodles and rice.  And I have to eat that too.  Its a fish soup made with the, ugh, leftover parts and you drop the noodles in and boil it all together.  Then you eat it with your rice.  Honestly, I enjoyed it, but my god, I was already so full!

Now, on top of the food, there is the alcohol.  Soju and beer.  Lots of Soju and beer.  And you have to drink Korean-style.  “Pass the cup” as one teacher described it.  Someone comes up to you with their shot glass (or you go up to someone else), gives you the glass, pours a shot.  You turn slightly away, down it, return the glass and return the favor.  There is no place for germophobia in Korea!  Just to be fair, you don’t have to do alcohol shots...there were Fanta shots going on too, but mostly women.  One of my favorite teachers is leaving (he calls me “little sister,” how Korean is that!) and he sat down with me and gave me his glass, so I know what is going to happen.  He asks which one I would like (Fanta, beer, or Soju) and before I can answer he pours a shot of Soju for me.  So, I down my shot to a round of applause.  I am really going to miss him! :(

After 3 hours of dinner and drinking, some of the faculty headed to noraebang, but the teacher I rode with was ready to leave for home so I headed back to town.  I would have gone to the noraebang, but since my co-worker had gone out of her way to make sure I knew about and was able to go to dinner it seemed in poor taste to tell her no.  Besides, I was more than a little tipsy as it was and noraebang-ing usually involves a fair bit of alcohol on its own.

EPIK 365 Day 150: Kids Were Here!

Students came to school for half a day to move to their new classrooms and I don't know what else, but they were at school until 11:30.  Anyway, I noticed some of their artwork as I walked down the hall this afternoon.

Also, apparently, the lady that cleans at school thinks it is the funniest thing ever that I will hop around trying to not walk on her freshly mopped floors.  For two reasons: 1) I don't want to slip and make a fool out of myself, and 2) I get so mad when people walk all over the floors I have worked so hard to mop, so I make an effort to not mess up other people's clean floors.

EPIK 365 Day 149: Desk Warming

Fairly certain all this desk warming will, if not kill me, at least mentally unhinge me a bit.  At times I am so bored its painful!  Working on letter cards and magnetic poetry-ish activities and so I'm keeping busy cutting out a million little things…the sad part is I still need to xerox another set of each so I have enough to go around, but have to go buy a different color paper.

EPIK 365 Day 148: How Did I Not Know This?

How have I been here 5 months and just now realized how extensive the "English Library" is in my classroom?  I knew I had some books, but had no idea that I had movies too.  Well, guess I will have to watch some to see if I can make a lesson plan around them.

Also, so sorry to be boring everyone with pictures of school and town.  I am stuck desk-warming for the next couple of weeks…which means I have to show up for school and stay my entire time, but have almost nothing to do.  I can do a little lesson planning and I make a lot of games, but really, I spend a lot of time pacing around my classroom.

EPIK 365 Day 147: The Corridor

Looking out my classroom door.  Looks a little eerie…feels more so without my students.  It's gonna be a long couple of weeks.

EPIK 365 Day 146: I Got an Oven,,,hey, hey, hey, hey...

Yes, in case you were wondering, I have been singing that all day.

It's a fancy-shmancy microwave and oven all in one thing.  With a few dozen presets.  Pretty cool.  Can't wait until I figure it all out!  The best part is it fits where my plain old microwave used to sit so it doesn't take up any extra room in my teeny-tiny kitchen area. ^-^

EPIK 365 Day 145: Ketchup

So, I am the proud owner of Ketchup now.  LoL.  No, I got French fries the other day and then realized that I didn't have any ketchup to dip.  Oooops.  Anyway, the fries were delicious….and now I have ketchup for the next time.

EPIK 365 Day 144: Secretly Greatly

My students recommend this movie.  It's based on a webtoon, but really, it is something fantastic.  The English name is "Secretly Greatly."  I had to watch with subtitles, but it didn't take away from the movie at all.  I won't ruin it with any spoilers here, but word of warning, be ready to cry.

EPIK 365 Day 143: Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day is a bit different here…being romantic is the girl's problem.  It's the boy's turn next month.  Anyway, it was also a special day…I didn't catch the name, but two students brought me this cup of nuts and told me that because it was this special day I needed to eat all of them.  They would help my skin be beautiful and keep me from getting sick.  Things have worked out so far so good with me "being Korean" so I eat them.  Can't really tell any difference, but it's only been a couple of days. :)

EPIK 365 Day 142: Words of Wisdom

One of my students who comes regularly for free-practice wrote this for me.  He was explaining to me that he understands reading and hearing English, but then he has a hard time translating fast enough to speak.  I keep telling him he does a good job and the fact that he comes to free-practice is going to help a lot.

EPIK 365 Day 141: CremeBle

So, I student gave me this yesterday…told me it was "very delicious", but Koreans say that about everything.  Anyway, I forgot about it and left it in my desk overnight.  Good thing, too…because this afternoon I was dying for a snack and remembered this.

It's kinda like a Moon Pie, but better.  The cookie part is more cookie-like and the filling is not so marshmallow-y.  It's a lot less sweet than a Moon Pie.  But it was really good and just what I needed to get an afternoon boost.

EPIK 365 Day 140: Breaking My Heart

I am having a hard week.

This is my last week to be with my current Grade 2 kids…next year they will be Grade 3 and I won't get to teach them.  :(  I have only had these kids as my students for a short time, but really, they are wonderful.  Even the "naughty" students aren't bad kids.  And my "good kids" and really the best!

EPIK 365 Day 139: 'Bout to Go All "Crouching Tiger"...

One more photo magic from the Trick Eye Museum for you...

Apples to Apples

So, if I were going to be 100% honest…and I try to be…after my wild weekend I was not entirely up to teaching Monday morning.  Thankfully, I had order some games and things for my class that had come in before I left for vacation.  I decided that Apples to Apples required the least amount of prep work, so that was what I would do in class last week.

If you don't know, Apples to Apples has "red apple" cards that are nouns and verbs and "green apple" cards that are adjectives and adverbs.  The game is to pick a red apple that goes best with the green apple that was picked.  So, if my green apple was "happy" you find the red card that you feel is the most happy and be able to explain it.  Pretty simple…and I have a lot of faith in my students.  So, we play.

Some highlights:

"Courageous"
     -We chose The Avengers because in the movie they save the Earth from aliens by fighting *points to word written on the board* courageously.

     -We chose "having a baby" because it is hard and lots of things can go wrong.

"Honest"
     -Recycling, because honest people recycle *mimes sorting trash* honestly and bad people do not.

"Lucky"
     -The Middle East is lucky because they have all the oil.

     -We choose Daniel Craig because in the zero zero seven movies he survives many impossible situation, so he is very lucky.

"Rich"
     -The Royal Wedding because they have the important guests, flowers, food, the dress, ring, the media.

     -Foie Gras because it is one of 3 perfect food.  (So the best part of this one is that they then act out   
      foie gras with one boy being the goose, one cutting out his liver and the feeding it to another.)

     -Cholesterol because you get it from eating too much rich food.

"Sweet"
     -Vomiting because if it is because you have eaten all the sweet foods then maybe it tastes a little sweet.

"Inspirational"
     -Global Warming because it is taking away the polar bears' home and polar bear tears make me want to do something.

And maybe the best one was "Exciting"
     -Honeymoon.
     -Why is a Honeymoon exciting?
     -The kid starts grinning and his friend bursts out laughing…
     -Never mind.  Don't answer that.  I don't want to know.


It was so much fun…I really enjoyed seeing the way my students think and letting them be creative and clever.  We will play again during the year…and not just because they beg for the green card (uh, they get the green card if their answer is best) or tell me "Oh, Teacher, I love you" or "Teacher, you are beautiful" when I give them the green card.  But because these students are so smart and clever and they work so hard and it is wonderful to be able to let them be creative and have fun.


Edited to Add:
"Scenic"
     -Student 1: Teacher, this word.  What is meaning?
     -Me: When we say something is scenic we are usually referring to nature.  It means something is nice to look at.
     -Student 1: Oh, like Teacher.
     -Me: Laughs
     -Student 1: Kidding…kidding.
     -Student 2: No, really.

EPIK 365 Day 138: Here be Dragons...

A little more photo magic for you…courtesy of the Trick Eye Museum.

EPIK 365 Day 137: Step Through Time

I just love the contrast of this!  This is at Gyeonghuigung Palace near the Seoul Museum of History.  One second you are in an ancient palace, the next you step through into modern Seoul.

EPIK 365 Day 136: Because Koreans Love Technology

We found this great little cafe in Seoul that specializes in Kona coffee.  And even cooler than the faux Hawaiian decor was the fact that there are iPads in some of the tables!  (By the way, that is Krista.)

Seollal in Seoul

So, with my newest “partner in crime”, the fabulous Krista, I went to spend Lunar New Year in Seoul.  Mostly because it’s a family holiday so most people leave the city and go to their hometowns.  This means Seoul is A LOT less crowded...to the point where you can get a seat on the subway.  Ok, yeah, a few things were closed, but it was a fair trade-off.

Anyway.

We met up a Seoul Station.  I took the usual city bus in, but Krista lives far enough away that she has to take the train in to make it in a reasonable about of time.  From there we headed to Hongdae, near Hongik University, where we had a hostel room booked.  Walking through Hongdae at 3 in the afternoon is not making our little trip look promising...the area seems all but deserted.  But we are going to persist.

We kill time until time to check in and we can “take a rest”, as the Koreans say.  Eventually, we head out into the area, which has come alive by then.  Hongdae is definitely a “night life” area.  We ended up at Club FF, a great little bar for the K-indie scene.  Saw a great Korean band, a mediocre band with a white guy fronting, and then an great French band.  Yup, French.  We also picked up the French band’s cd...because you should support independent artists.

Day two, actual Seollal, we headed to the Seoul Museum of History.  We wandered around Gyeonghuigung Palace for a bit, and met a nice Chinese family, who took their picture with us, and an elderly Korean man who told us that there would be special events at the museum that day.  We wandered through the 700+ years of Korean history at the museum before taking a break and watching some Korean dance and musical performances, both traditional and contemporary.  We headed back into the exhibits and finished up the last 4 decades or so before heading back to our hostel.

The next stop(s) for us, were the Ice Museum and the Trick Eye Museum.  So, we hadn’t planned on the Ice Museum, but it was included in the admission to the Trick Eye Museum so why not?  Not bad, the ice sculptures were nice, but nothing just “oh, my god” fantastic.  The Trick Eye Museum was a completely different story...shameless fun!  Simultaneously so cool and so cheesy.  There are all these great works that look weird on the surface, but once you pose and take your picture look 3D and super cool.  From there we grabbed a couple of “bagged drinks” at this little booth...and I mean alcoholic drinks, not Capri Suns.

We rounded out our day by going to Cocoon night club.  I wouldn’t consider myself a “club” kinda a girl, but then again, I realize that the club scene where I am from falls a bit short.  Anyway, a couple a shots of tequila and I was ready to dance in the smoke and strobe lights to some techno.  So, maybe not my permanent scene, but a lot of fun and I would most definitely go again.

The next day was rainy, so it kinda ruined our outdoor plans of seeing palaces and neighborhoods, but it was nice to relax and chill for a bit.  Headed back to Club FF that night to have one last night out and listen to a couple more really good bands before heading home to our quiet little country towns. 

EPIK 365 Day 135: First Edition

Some of my best students are on the school's first ever English newspaper staff.  I am not faculty advisor, but I helped with editing their articles.  They brought me a copy of the newspaper today and I could not be more proud of their hard work!

EPIK 365 Day 134: Bag Drinks

So, and I feel like I say this a lot here, is uber-cool.  This little place sells bag drinks…as in mixed drinks, not Capri Sun.  Not the best Cape Cod I have ever had, but it's the novelty of it.

EPIK 365 Day 133: Don't Judge Me, But...

…this is in and of itself awesome.  We went to a Korean Taco Bell (the food is more or less the same, by the way) and the little witticisms on the sauce packets is in Hangul.

EPIK 365 Day 132: Getting My Zen On

So, the Trick Eye Museum is simultaneously the coolest and cheesiest thing ever.  Shameless fun!

EPIK 365 Day 131: Angel Wings

So, the Ice Museum was a "unexpected pleasure."  We weren't planning on going, but it was included in the price of admission to the Trick Eye Museum, so why not?  It was really cute and really nice work on the ice sculptures.

EPIK 365 Day 130: Map of Seoul

So, the museum has this super-cool, giant, light-up map of modern Seoul.  There is a computer where you can select areas and it lights them up…but it's in Korean, so the best I can do is sound-out the letters once I have randomly selected an area.  That's not the point.  The point is that this is insanely cool.

EPIK 365 Day 129: Dancers

There were Korean performances, music and dance both contemporary and modern at the Seoul Museum of History on Seollal.  Very nice.  Really makes me want to be in touch with my Korean-ness.

EPIK 365 Day 128: K-Indie

Ok, so K-pop is fun, but not really my scene.  However, I could really get into the K-indie scene!

Apologies, Dear Readers...

So, I am assuming people have noticed I have been lax here lately.  I was on "Girls' Weekend" in Seoul this past weekend and and still recovering.  At any rate, I have some cool pictures and another full-length blog in the works for you and those will be up soon.

Happy Seollal, or Lunar New Year!
새해 복 많이 받으세요!