Friday Fives: Five Things I Have Learned About Myself This Past Year

Sorry, guys...going to go a little po-mo on you (post-modern, if you didn't know).

I've been a little self-reflective in honor of my one-year anniversary in Korea and at Jincheon High School.  It's been good...it's been bad...it's been really good...and it has been downright ugly at times.  However, I can honestly say that the good has outweighed the bad and I am truly looking forward to my next year+ here.

So, in a year of ups and downs, major life changes, and small tweeks, I have learned these 5 things about myself:



1) My Face is More Expressive Than I Ever Knew
Considering I was never "leading lady material" in community theater back home (though to be fair, community theater in a small southern town rarely lends itself to projects that do not star, uh, non-minority types) I never realized that my face is so expressive.  I always thought I had a neutral face for most situations, but apparently, my thoughts and emotions are much more visible of my face than I thought.

2) I'm Still Considered Short
The stereotype is that Asians...all Asians...are shorter than other, for lack of a better word, races.  This is so not the case for Koreans...most are quite tall.  In fact, in a high school of (roughly) 750 students...I find that I am shorter than all the boys and most of the girl students.

3) I Like Radishes
So, the South is not much for radishes.  The most famous Southerner/radish interaction is probably the scene in Gone With the Wind where Scarlett returns to Tara, digs a radish out of the garden and promptly vomits it back up.  Not the best PR job for radishes.  Anyway, those Southerners that do eat radishes probably eat them raw on a salad.  Radishes are so much more complex here....and I love them for it.   From kimchi to pickled to simmered in soup, I really enjoy the crunchy deliciousness that is a radish.

4) I Have Some Small Talent for Teaching
I won't say I am the best teacher...I'm not...in all likelihood, far from it, but overall, I don't do a bad job of it.  Most of my students seem to like me and like coming to class...like the two classes that showed up at the same time and argued over which class would get to stay with me.  But then there's also the class that refuses to so much as stay awake for me.  It's a tale of two extremes, but overall, students seem to enjoy me being here.  Even students I no longer teach...they are out of my scheduled classes, still come by to say hello, get excited to see me in the halls or cafeteria, or even in town.  One boy in particular squeals like I am a celebrity every time he sees me (uh, no matter where he is, in fact.)

5) Taking Random Foreign Language Classes Has Paid Off
Every now wand then, I can really impress students with my foreign language skills.  I'm not polyglot, but I have a smattering of language skills that they seem to find impressive.  Particularly, Mandarin Chinese.  Starting in Grade 2, they can opt to take Mandarin and they are so impressed that I can speak it with them.  That is to say, my Mandarin is better than my Korean, but not for long...I work very hard at studying Korea.  I have 1+ year to gain some degree of fluency, so I have a lot of work in front of me.