Last This, Last That

The fact that I leave Asia in four days is slowly sinking in. Some observations have helped me to come to terms with what didn't feel real for a while. This is the last jar of peanut butter I'll buy in Korea. This is the eighth-to-last cup of coffee I'll drink in Korea. This is FINALLY my last class with the fifth-grade savages. This is my second-to-last school lunch. This is the last time I'll teach adorable third-graders!

I was the opposite of sad to part ways with some classes, but I'm having some separation anxiety seeing how a handful of kids are not coping too well with my impending departure. Take third-grader Dana (to my immediate right below), who at the beginning of class nicely asked me—twice—not to go back to America. After we took the class picture, she quietly cried through the whole class. Of course, she was sitting in the front row. When I brought her a piece of candy and took a few pictures with her later, she seemed to have recovered. At least she snagged some close-up pictures of me on her cell phone to keep the memories alive.

Let's go shopping

A couple Fridays ago, I spent upwards of $2000 in less than three hours. Fortunately, it was money I made myself and the goods were a variety of items drawn (or folded) by my fourth-grade students so I didn't need a trailer to haul my booty home.

Lesson 12 was titled (somewhat confrontationally) "What Do You Want," so what better way to practice than to turn the classroom into a big marketplace? We practiced talking about money, then worked on important phrases like "I want a hamburger," and "How much is a camera?" I taught them about "Buy one, get one free," the American cousin of "1+1." After tearing out the $1 and $10 bills provided in the textbook's appendix (as the teacher I had the luxury of making $100 bills), the kids got down to work with a blank sheet of paper and their imaginations.

Left: More pens than you can shake a stick at (as Dale would say);
Right: A girl fills her bookstore with titles like Mayple [sic] Story 49 and Mama Boy.

Aside from the kid who just kept shouting, "I love money!" those little entrepreneurs churned out something for any shopper's taste: clothing, accessories, sporting equipment, food, electronics, pets, books, weapons, and even apartments. I passed on purchasing a new home, but was able to obtain the following treats:

• Three hamburgers
• Two TVs
• A camera
• A pet squirrel
• A pet puppy
• Goalie gloves
• Earrings
• A dress
• A bunch of bananas
• An origami piano
• A smartphone
• A car
• A book titled Face Code
• A book titled Oh! My god!
• A sword
• A tank
• Three bars of gold ("14K - mude [sic] in Korea")

Half of the students would close their shops to browse the goods the rest of the class was selling. They asked for deals, they made change, they begged me to buy their stuff. If only getting a car, apartment, smartphone and pet squirrel would be this easy when I return to the US.

Left: Hard at work on the animals for the Love Pet shop;
Right: He wears argyle and he's got money to spend.

Seochang Sweatshirt Fest 2011

"Is it wonderful? Fantastic?" the Nike windsuit-clad vice principal asked me midway through the morning portion of Seochang Elementary School's Sports Day. "Oh yes," I replied. "Sports Day is Korean elementary school's best day," Mr. Oo said with special emphasis on 'best day,' then he happily hustled off, leaving me wondering where he bought a windsuit that's not one shade of tan, but two.

Lacking a colorful windsuit of my own, I'd donned my sportiest outfit for the day and came prepared in running shoes in case my participation would be required. It turned out to be a day of only spectating and snacking, which was fine by me. With 25 events on the agenda, it was action-packed and all kinds of adorable.

The October day was sunny and warm, and the sea of yellow-and-blue sweatsuits with the school's logo stood out against the bright turf of the soccer field-turned-parade ground. It was clear whose mothers didn't invest in high-quality detergent, as the shades of yellow varied from bright lemonish to dull cornbread-ish. Organizers of the event kept things running like a well-oiled machine; everything stayed on schedule. While one age group ran 50-meter dashes or performed a flag twirling routine, another group was waiting in the wings and ready to shine in their upcoming act. Kindergartners made a couple appearances, and grades one through six each had at least three big events, some involving exciting costumes or equipment.

Hanbok galore! Kindergarten (top left), Second grade (top right), Third grade (bottom).

Unlike the track days of my youth, this event was not centered on competition. Ji-eun told me that the title on the program translates to "Presentation of Physical Education Training," and the product was a far cry from 40-yard dashes and long jumps. While there were races and competitive events (though I don't think a single ribbon was presented for winners), the day focused mainly on choreographed dances and fun events that included students' families. Some highlights:

• Fourth grade pom-pom dance
• Third grade relay pushing huge inflated balls (see video below)
• Second grade beanbag toss (into eight-foot-high baskets)
• Kindergarten dance in Hanbok with drums
• Second grade Hanbok dance
• Okay, all the Hanbok dances were great (third grade did one as well)
• First grade dance - they wore head handkerchiefs and white gloves, and their sweatshirt backs were decorated with a picture of a famous Korean cartoon character, the baby dinosaur Dul-li (see video below)
• Sixth grade flag race - runners had to pick up a colored flag from many on the track and continue toward the finish. Just after the first person chose a flag, a teacher with her back to the runners would raise three of the six available colored flags. If a student hadn't chosen one of the three colors, he or she had to run back and pick up the right color before finishing.
• Fourth grade hula hoop contest - all students began at the same time, in straight rows across the soccer field. If a hula hoop hit the ground, that student would sit down. Every 30 seconds, a teacher would blow a whistle, alerting participants to perform a new action while 'hooping: turning around in a circle, standing on one foot, standing on the other foot.

Then there were audience-participatory events. For a fifth grade "Mission Relay," five runners would start at a gunshot, then pick up one slip of paper among many on the track. On the slips were instructions the students had to follow on the way to the finish line: run without your shoe, run with your arms in the air, find a dad to run with you, find a teacher's whistle, and so on. In another event, grandparents raced to a huge bucket (with a student inside), picked up a makeshift fishing pole, dropped it into the bucket and pulled it out with a prize attached. And for a big pre-finale (the finale was a relay of all kids in grades four through six) moms and dads competed in an intense relay race. Whether a mom who fell and tumbled did it for theatrical purposes, I'm still not sure.

Left: Somebody's grandma fishes for a prize, Right: Fourth-graders battle to the hula hoop death.

When they weren't participating or busy eating snacks, the moms, dads, grandparents, brothers and sisters attending were amazing cheerleaders. I loved seeing family resemblances and sibling pride, like the tiny girl next to me during the final relay, who was at first fascinated with a dragonfly on my shoe, then sprung into action and yelled "Onee! Onee!" [Sister!] when she saw it was her big sister's leg of the race.Wish I could have snagged a commemorative yellow sweatshirt, but at least I have (a ridiculous amount of) videos to remind me of this fantastic day.

With the exception of the littlest ones on the ends, I teach all of these students.
See why I can't remember very many names?

Something...

...I've noticed here that would never fly in the US: they rarely use car seats. Once you pick your jaw up off the floor I'll mention a few more things I've noticed, because carseatlessness is just one of many somethings that probably wouldn't fly in the US. It's probably #45.

Hanbok & Hula Hoops

Starting with my fourth-grade classes last week, teaching got a little more difficult. It's hard to compete with the noise coming from the soccer field each period as dozens of students shout and clap while music plays and teachers blow whistles. Closing the windows makes it a little quieter, but drastically reduces the quality of the air inside the classroom filled with thirty hot, excitable eleven-year-olds. Plus there's still usually a ruckus in the hallway to contend with.

The excitement comes from school-wide preparation for an important event coming up on October 1: Sports Day. The specifics of this highly anticipated affair are unclear, but I'm very excited by what I've seen as students get ready: relay races, choreographed dances, hula hoops, pom poms, traditional Korean dresses (Hanbok), and enormous inflated balls (taller than the students rolling them across the soccer field and around a cone). Saturday might be the best day ever.

Important things are happening.

With all this going on, I was surprised to be the only one with a problem concentrating; students could care less about shenanigans outside the classroom and were totally engrossed in our game of the week. I've found it works like a charm to take a simple game students already know/love and modify it to include English. Exhibit A: Bingo. Exhibit B: Yahgo Game.

In traditional Yahgo (baseball) Game, one person thinks of a three-digit number (and frequently forgets it, if that person is me). One at a time, players guess the number. If none of the digits are correct, that "pitcher" gets 0 balls and 0 strikes. For each digit that's correct but not in the right place, it's a ball. A digit in the correct spot is a strike, so guessing the correct number results in three strikes (and lots of cheering).

Not only can this game be adapted to practice numbers in English, but also any category of words imaginable! Animals! Fruits! Colors! Sports! We tried them all, reviewing vocabulary and practicing simple sentence structure and plurals: "Do you like yellow, pink, and orange?" "Do you like bananas, pineapple, and lemons?" Rather than a never-ending game that would surely result from allowing any animal or any color to be fair game (I could just imagine the advanced kids' guesses: "Do you like iguanas, rats, and killer whales?" "Do you like light pink, dark blue, and burgundy?"), students worked their logic magic on a list of a dozen items from the given category.

Watching the wheels turn in their heads was amazing. Some students took notes with each of my announcements of balls and/or strikes. A student got eye rolls from his peers for guessing a different order of the very same three fruits the previous guesser tried (and got zero balls and zero strikes). Many helpful (but usually incorrect) suggestions were lobbed toward the guesser who bravely rose from his or her chair to deliver the pitch. The forty-minute periods passed quickly and enjoyably without having to hear the same prescribed key phrases from the textbook a hundred times, and especially because I got to think about delicious fruit.

• • • • •   Video previews of the coming attractions   • • • • •

Stray Observations

• Lindsay Teacher to third-grade class: "How are you today?"
  Song-won (a boy): "Tomato sauce!"
  Jeon-oong (a boy): "I am angry...bird!"
• Thank you everyone who has continued to send me mail!
• The principal said at lunch today he wants me to stay another year! Flattering, but no thanks.

Two for Tuesday

Students' t-shirts, pencil cases and notebooks are endless sources of confusion, entertainment, and sometimes even motivation. Today I'll highlight two lovely fifth-graders' notebooks.

First an excellent geography lesson, courtesy of Stacey:


And this happened:

   (To minimize squinting...)

Less is More

Fortunately for inexperienced non-formally trained teachers such as I, there is a thing called the Internet. And on that Internet are lots of other teachers who are willing to share their lesson plans. And among those teachers are people who are remarkably good at making exciting, flashy games in PowerPoint (I know! I though it was only for presentations, too!) that cause children to ooh and aah and squeal with delight.

This PowerPoint plays music, shows a ship blowing up, and launches fireworks for the winner.

But I've found that sometimes it's best to leave the computer off and keep things simple. Lesson Nine for fourth-graders at my school was "Is This Your Key?" As we observed with third-graders, possessives don't exactly come naturally, so the more practice, the better. To try to sear some basic phrases into their memories — and to give each student a chance to try out their English one-on-one with me — I played a guessing game with fourth-graders.

After practicing the pronunciation of "Is this yours?" (th vs. d needs as much repetition as r vs. l and z vs. j), "Yes, it's mine," and "No, it's not mine," I inadvertently mortified a few front-row students whom I attempted to use as demonstrators of the phrases. Improvising doesn't always work well, even if it's only asking a boy if my watch belongs to him. They do better with clearly structured scenarios, so we moved on to the game.

One at a time, a student would come to where I sat at the teacher's desk. In front of me were six items (pens, glue sticks, scissors, Post-Its, etc.), separated into two groups of three. I would mentally choose one from each group that was "mine" and the student would guess which it was, point to the item they chose, and ask, "Is this yours?" If she guessed incorrectly, she'd throw their hands up and return to her seat. If she guessed correctly, she'd choose from the second group. Two correct guesses resulted in 100 points for that student's team.

Oh crap, I forgot which one I chose.

Students took this task very seriously. The future sports coaches would shout instructions to their classmate as he or she stepped toward me, trying to impart wisdom gleaned from his or her own turn. Calmer students attempted deep concentration by rubbing their temples for the entire period. Potential police interrogators would look intensely into my eyes, then at object one, then into my eyes, then at object two, then into my eyes, then at object three. Fatalistic students would touch each item while reciting an eenie meenie miney mo-type rhyme (something about Coca-Cola being delicious). A handful of bored students grabbed the object closest to them.

I'm beginning to see what they mean when they say my face "makes a lot of movements."

After a moment of hesitation for suspense (and to enjoy the sight of the kids perched on the edges of their seats), I would reveal my answer and brace myself for the reaction. If too many heads hung low because of a string of "No, it's not mine"s, I'd turn things around and get some cheers with a run of "Yes, it's mine"s. Some lucky guessers looked like they just won a free bag of ice cream. All for choosing the right color of marker.

Success!

Blood, Sweat, Tears & Peanut Butter

Pirate ship flags! Team Angry Birds, Team Nothing, Team Tiger and Team Lion.

Crucial ingredients for a super fun fifth- and sixth-grade summer English camp, right? This group of kids put my patience to the test the week of August 8 (just before my summer vacation), but I dug deep and completed a semi-successful camp, then fled Korea for a week in Thailand.

English names in this class ranged from ordinary (Sally, Sam, Tom and Tommy, Mike and Michael) to amusing (Alvin, Simon, Teo) to unusual (Chany, Demon, Prancisco). Personalities ran the gamut from ultra-quiet (I'm not sure I heard Michelle or Sara talk) to ultra-loud (Kyle didn't talk; he yelled everything) to enthusiastic and respectful (Jace, Kevin and Sam were my favorites) to sensitive and emotional (Tom burst into tears mid-class because he was thinking of his brother, who's sick).

We made eye patches! (Click to enlarge.)
Sitting L-R: Tommy, Annie, Elly, Sara, Teo, Kyle, Mike
Standing L-R: Sam (in green), Kevin, Jace, Simon, Lindsay Teacher, Michael, Tom, Chany, Prancisco
Not pictured: Alvin, Demon, Sally, Michelle

I realized quickly that my expectations were unreasonably high after a week with the charming third- and fourth-graders. The pirate-themed camp I'd planned with Ji-eun was less than a hit from the start. Most kids were advanced, so words like hat, sail, ship and island were a breeze. On the other hand, sword, parrot and even pirate needed some pronunciation practice.

Whereas little kids did well with crafts, coloring and songs, older kids needed action and movement to stay interested. Hot, humid weather prevailed over the rain, so we were able to get outside for slightly-tweaked traditional games. Red Light, Green Light became Nice Captain, Mean Captain. Duck, Duck, Goose became Parrot, Parrot, Pirate. Red Rover didn't change because practicing Rs is always a good idea with Korean students. After 20-30 minutes (and a water break), students returned to the lovely air-conditioned classroom with damp shirts and dripping brows.

Left: Taking a break from pirates, students play tag,
Right: Mike nabs Tommy in a heated game of Parrot, Parrot, Pirate.

I was more than relieved when Red Rover was completed injury-free, but our treasure hunt went somewhat awry. With free reign of the whole school and playground, each team hid a 2D treasure chest, planted obstacles like squid and typhoons, then wrote directions to the prize. Team Angry Birds decided to hide its treasure among the folds of a fire hose tucked inside a metal cabinet on the fifth floor. When Tommy eagerly reached into the cabinet, a jagged edge caught his knuckle and blood instantly gushed from his finger.

I sent him to the bathroom to wash the wound and I hustled to get my lone emergency bandage (fittingly emblazoned with the WWII slogan "Keep Calm and Carry On"), which I miraculously hadn't yet needed for a self-inflicted wound of my own. Luckily, camp was over for the day so we sent Tommy home with the (inadequate) red bandage and a wad of (quickly bloodied) toilet paper. Ji-eun and I surveyed the damage upstairs. It was evident from the trail of dime- and quarter-sized blood splatters that he had first headed to a bathroom on the south end of the school. Finding it locked, he had to go to the other end of the building where the trail ended in blood smears on the sink and faucet. Though I feared his mother wouldn't let him return the next day, he came back for more piratey adventures.

(Click to enlarge.)
Left: Mike hides a decoy treasure, Center: Simon tapes up a squid obstacle,
Right: Ji-eun cleans up the treasure hunt aftermath.

Cooking day brightened our spirits with chocolate and peanut butter. Ji-eun had mistakenly asked the students to bring ladles from home rather than rubber spatulas, but I was ready with extra bowl scrapers. The kids were suddenly angels as they watched me melt butter, measure peanut butter, and roll out balls of the gooey cereal/sugar/peanut butter mixture. After practicing cooking terminology and watching the demonstration, they whipped up their own batches of chocolate-covered "cannon balls." Who knew that a Christmastime treat from my mom's kitchen would find its way into a Korean classroom (with a corny new name)? "Smells delicious," they exclaimed repeatedly, and I caught more than one student dipping his fingers into the peanut butter jar when I'd stepped away.

Top left: Rapt students observe the peanut butter cannon ball-making process,
Bottom left: Kyle, Teo and Jace excitedly combine ingredients, Right: Elly, Annie, Mike and
Prancisco enjoy the fruits of their labors.

The campers' patience with the pirate theme was rewarded on the last day with a game of dodgeball, pizza & Coke and a partial viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. We sent campers off with bags of treats and their pirate "Wanted" posters (which they'd given a weathered appearance using a sophisticated crumpling-tearing-and-tea-bag-dyeing method). I thanked Ji-eun for her help and practically sprinted home to pack for summer vacation.

Look at this dumb playground equipment

Even though they have cell phones in their hands from the time they're three years old, I have observed Korean children to generally be more easily amused than American children. Exhibits A and B: these lame playground contraptions at my school. They consist of only metal bars, yet tons of kids climb on them for the entire recess period. Maybe the budget ran out when the fancy track and artificial turf soccer field were installed, and all they could scrounge up were these paint-chipped playthings. Back in 1994 my elementary school had tether ball. I didn't even know how good I had it.

At least the triple-sided slide looks kind of cool.

Interesting Feedback

Summer English Camp was a ton of fun and hardly seemed like work. The students were really responsive to my attempts to be an energetic teacher, and they were enthusiastic about the material and activities I chose. But I'm not sure how they see me as a person. The newest portraits (on white board this time) are pretty different from how they thought I looked in May.

Jennifer thinks I have huge eyes and a club hand (she got the big forehead right),
Becky thinks I'm a good winker with some extra fingers, and Dana thinks I resemble a gnome.

The drawings were confusing, but this white board contribution made my day. I swear I didn't tell/ask/bribe her to write that.

Thanks, Lucy!

Happy Campers

Everyone's #1 at Summer English Camp.

Seochang Elementary School's Language Lab was abuzz the last week of July with two dozen third- and fourth-graders singing, dancing, crafting, shouting, snacking and hopefully improving their English skills. I was joined by Stella, a very experienced teacher, but I wasn't sure what to expect spending a whole week with her. It was her first time running a camp and she was a bit nervous, plus a month ago she told me my face "makes a lot of movements. The children like it. And you have a big mouth." She brought lots of great ideas, we worked well together and the week went smoothly (with only a few crybaby moments - none were mine).

Korean names are ridiculously hard for me to remember, but I had their English names down in no time, partly thanks to the brightly-colored name tags each kid made. Yuliana and Jennifer quickly stood out as the stars of the class. Mikey was also quick to volunteer answers, when he wasn't busy giggling and chatting with Befly, a cute boy who chose to name himself after a popular cartoon character. David wasn't shy about asking for help. Crystal was enthusiastic about everything. Lucy (my attendance sheet said Rucy) was really smart but usually looked bored (I tried not to take it personally when she told me on day two, "I can't wait to go home").  Helen was the self-appointed trash-picker-upper after every messy crafting activity. Twins Mimi and Flora liked holding my hand and taking cell phone pictures of me. Paul and Jason were a bit slow and Juliet was a bit whiny. Alex spoke loudly and confidently. Ken had a unique take on our coloring projects. Becky and Dana were sharp and adorable. Mary, Elizabeth, Lyna, Tina, Cindy and Angela were shy and polite.

(Click to enlarge.)
Front row L-R: Lyna, Mimi (or Flora), Dana, Cindy, Helen, Tina, Elizabeth, Flora (or Mimi)
Middle row: Befly, Crystal, Lucy, Juliet, Yuliana, Angela, Mary, Becky
Back row:  David, Jason, Tim, Alex, Paul, Lindsay Teacher
Not pictured: Jennifer, Ken, and Mikey (he was crying in the corner after an altercation with Tim)

Aside from the kids' fun personalities, one of my favorite parts of camp was daily snack time. Everyone was content and peaceful for ten minutes, and many kids shared with me everything from homemade rice cakes to corn on the cob to donuts. Here are some memorable (mostly) non-food-related moments:

Day 1: Space

• Plenty of repetition to try to get them past saying "locketship."
• Showed a video of astronauts in zero-gravity; everyone covered their eyes at a part showing shirtless men shaving.
• Constructed mobiles with dangling planets, stars and aliens. The kids were good sports despite the constant tangling of the strings.

Top left: Stella helps Tim untangle his mobile, Bottom left: Helen shows off her work,
Right: Elizabeth puts the final touches on her rocketship picture.

Day 2: The Sea

• Taught a choreographed song with fish, octopus, shark and whale actions.
• Mary cried during snack time because her mom hadn't packed anything for her.
• Colorful paper cup octopi were constructed; Becky named hers Billy.

Day 3: The Zoo

• There were crazy storms and flooding, but the majority of students still showed up.
• Practiced making Z sounds a lot to avoid the common pronunciation, "Let's go to the joo." The game Zip Zap Zop was a hit, but quickly deteriorated into Jip Jap Jop.
• Had to run my butt off when they kept picking me during Duck, Duck, Goose - there were a few tears when Cindy wiped out on the gym floor and skinned her knee.
• They were in awe of the coloring skills I utilized to make my giraffe headpiece. 

Paul, Alex and Mikey find out that reading is way more fun when combined with Jenga.

Day 4: The Body

• Reactions to the Hokey Pokey varied - some were having a ball, others looked like they were in pain.
• Playing Charades to act out verbs from a story we read was really entertaining - Yuliana was the champion. (here's a video)

• For some reason, Stella and I could not stop laughing during an activity where students had to cut out a list of dozens of body words, then tape the words in the appropriate spot on a teammate's body.
   

Left: Dana needs a little help placing the body part labels on Elizabeth,
Right: Thoroughly-labeled Tina.

On the final day we reviewed a bit from previous lessons, played more games and finished everything off with a pizza party. We handed out laminated certificates for each student in a mini award ceremony, then bid them farewell. Getting hugs from lingering students felt great in comparison to barely being able to get in a goodbye as winter campers sprinted out of the ice-cold classroom on the last day. Improvement!

Weekend!

The little stinker on the right was giving me thumbs down as I left school. I asked him why in Korean, but the only answer I got was the sweet response shown below. I'm more than ready for the weekend.

Small Victory

A rare moment of peace and quiet.

Every other week I teach third grade. It's the cutest grade, but one of the naughtiest. This group seems to be the most enthused to see me, though some kids try to weasel out of our one-on-one interaction at the beginning of each class. I use a picture card to review a key part of the last lesson by asking each kid a simple question. Thirty pairs of brown eyes peer into mine as the students answer, "Is it a cup?" "No, it isn't." Some of them have pen marks on their cheek or forehead, one had something green caught in his teeth, some have wet hair, and one boy has a gaudy gold hoop earring. Each gets an enthusiastic "good job!" or a gentle reminder, and on we go to the lesson.

Last week we practiced talking about family members. The students brought in family photos or drew them into a book we made together. A picture could be seen through a window cut into the paper, and the outside of the flap said "Who's this?" The students then opened the flap to show the whole picture and write the appropriate sentence: "It's my mom," "It's my dad," "It's my sister," "It's my me."

Left: Good little practicers.  Right: "Uggggg Lindsay Teacher, go away."

Bless their hearts for finding a pattern. But it took a good chunk of class time to break them of this habit. The best (and most giggle-producing) method turned out to be having them ask (and point to) me "Who's this?" and I would dramatically respond, "It's ME!" A couple dozen times through that script and they delivered that all-important two-word sentence like little champions.

Things to work on next time: not dressing exactly like a third-grader; the proper spelling of it's.

Midway Musings

Spring! Sunshine! Flowers! 

Had a lady baboon been knocked up before I left Minnesota, she would have birthed her offspring by now! Maybe you didn't know that the gestation period for a baboon is six months? It's true, and it's the amount of time I've spent so far on my Asian explorations. I've made it half of the way toward graduating Korea (to borrow a phrase from my friend Benten).

May has been a mixture of rainy and beautifully sunny weather. Can't believe I used to constantly wear my warm brown jacket - soon I'll be shedding the bright orange uniform as well. The morning walk to work is green and lush and pretty toasty. Might need to take a cue from Korean women and use an umbrella to shield myself from those a.m. rays. And it's finally warm enough to go without a coat in school! I worried this day would never come.

The kids are always keeping me on my toes. For every student who refuses to participate in class and only says to me "Don't know English-ee," there is another kid who excels at everything and includes the phrase "As a result, we found the treasure," when writing instructions for a group treasure map. One of my favorite things is when I'm explaining something, then the light of comprehension suddenly clicks on and there's a big chorus of "Aaaahhhhhh!"s around the room. Another entertaining thing is when kids get a right answer or win a point in a game and they react like they've just won the World Cup or the Miss Korea Pageant. Every time. Today they even took it to the next level and acted like Oprah's audience members when she's giving out free stuff. The joy of the small things.

Girl Scouts and relay races. I never know what I'll come across at school.

Upgrade

I'm still getting used to the concept of "indoor shoes." Makes perfect sense in one's home, but I still feel a bit strange changing out of my outfit-appropriate footwear to don indoor shoes at work. To make matters worse, my slippers that were once cute had become dingy, stretched out, dilapidated and hazardous. Though I hate to use the L word, they literally had become slippers - I was slipping and tripping up and down the stairs and all over the place.

Now I leave a trail of pink glitter wherever I go, but at least I'm not tripping. Students are paying a bit more attention - who cares if it's just something shiny catching their unfocused gazes?

They Blinded Me With Science

On Friday my classes were rearranged/cancelled because it was Science Day! Despite the gloomy weather, tables were set up around the track to showcase various wonders of the science world. First I wandered between a few stations alone, but felt like a creepy interloper. I was really relieved when (at the station where we put marshmallow choco pies into contraptions to remove the air inside and watch the snack expand) a fourth-grade teacher asked me to follow along with her class. A timekeeper banged a gong and I followed the kids, many of whom had chocolate stuck to their teeth, to the next station.

Bubbles and dessert - two of my favorite things, disguised by a thin veil of science.

Together we played with the cornstarch/water mixture that changes between hard and runny consistencies, made ice cream, assembled necklaces of solar-sensitive beads and made cell phone charms by coloring clear plastic shapes then shrinking and hardening them in a toaster oven. I missed out on slingshots, wind-up rubber band airplanes, bubble-blowing and a couple more. My lack of Korean vocabulary skills prevented me from catching on to the finer points being explained during the experiments (or maybe the instructors were saying "Don't put it in your mouth," over and over), but it was fun to get my hands dirty with the kids. And now I have a handmade, color-changing necklace (on a leather cord!) that someone might be lucky enough to receive for his or her birthday...

Goopy - lots of shrieking here.

Ice cream making balls - also lots of shrieking while shaking & rolling these.

Four Months

As temperatures start to climb into the upper double-digits on the Celsius thermometer, it appears I have survived the Korean winter as well as the first third of my Asian sabbatical. The snow's been gone for ages but kids are finally starting to put away their Napoleon Dynamite snowboots. The evenings are getting longer. Flower stalls are showing up on the street more often than those selling neck warmers. It's tough to grasp the fact that soon I'll experience Korea without the filter of my mittens, scarf and coat. My friends, co-teachers and students probably won't recognize me when I'm not wearing the coat that has so far been my Korea Uniform.

The Big Tease

Hani observes some real, live students (!) singing before giving them loads of candy.

Refreshed and rejuvenated from the Lunar New Year holiday (and the four weeks of vacation that preceded it), the students showed their smiling faces at school this week! I had nearly forgotten about their dimples and fluffy haircuts, their shirts bedecked with race cars and teddy bears, their brightly-colored glasses and pencil cases in the shape of sandals, milk cartons and elongated puppies. I also forgot how loud they are, particularly the tiny fifth-grade boy in the Yankees cap. But it was all just a massive tease - from February 14 until March 1, they will be on Spring vacation.

Gross.

It was good while it lasted, though it got off to a strange start. "Teacher, you changed your face," said one third-grade boy, apparently thrown by my glasses and pulled-back bangs. My best friend did not forget about me and did not develop a consideration for personal space: "I love you," she said, from two inches away. I got some good feedback on my vacation activities from one fifth-grade girl who said (mostly) to herself, "Hiking is the best," after I showed a picture from Seoraksan. Some students were enthusiastic about discussing their vacations and hearing about mine and Hani's, and most did a great job reviewing phrases from the year (best third-grade phrase: "How many cows?" - fifth-grade was more sophisticated: "Look at the beautiful flower."). When Hani had them sing songs to kill time in a couple classes, some kids even added their own choreography. But one grim-faced girl was more concerned with her origami flower throughout class: "Lindsay. It's a lily," and the Michigan lover shown here was only interested in his new pet centipede ("Seven dollars!" he told me), which resulted in Hani sending him to stand in the back of the classroom for not paying attention.

To my utter delight, school lunches (duck! strawberries! spicy soup!) reappeared for three days, and I also had the pleasure of recording questions for a test with Hani. It was tough to decide, but these were my best lines:
- What a small elephant!
- Whose boat is this? Is this your boat, Anne?
- He's over there. He's making hamburgers.

On Friday I caught a glimpse of the sixth-grade graduation ceremony. The gym was packed with proud moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas and lots of babies, and everyone seemed to be holding a giant bouquet of flowers. Each one was tackier than the next due to excessive use of tulle, ribbons, colored paper and plastic, and other miscellaneous embellishments I'd never before seen with flowers.

A new balloon arch commemorated the special event.

Outfit of the week goes to Belle, a winter camp attendee (she's in the top photo, far right): she sported a yellow cardigan over her hooded sweatshirt (which had yellow drawstrings) with the text: "Happy With You [next line] AND ROCKET SALAD." As Belle and her classmates prepare to enter a new grade level in March, wondering or worrying about their new teachers and the new kids in their classes, I'll serve some more time "desk warming" in the empty school. Plenty of hours to drum up ideas for classroom games or activities, organize, email, catch up on the news, watch a movie (or five) and look forward to the entertaining episodes the new school year might bring.

People Doing Nice Things For Me

My vacation in Seoul turned out to be quite laid back. Nothing too exciting to report - there was a lot of walking, several gallery and museum visits, lots of great food, and overall, a surprising number of people doing nice things for me. 

It started when I arrived at the Seoul Museum of Art to see the currently featured Chagall exhibition. I probably was supposed to pay to rent a storage locker for my big backpack, but the nice ladies at the front desk took the pack (which was surprisingly heavy for five days) off my hands so I could join the throng of museum visitors unencumbered.

From the museum I hustled across town to join a group of knitters having a Meetup at a cafe. I'd spent countless hours knitting a scarf since I'd arrived in Korea and had no idea how to finish it. Anna-Marie, the robust leader of the group, made my day when she completed the scarf for me while I looked on and promised to practice. Without that scarf, the chilly days spent walking the streets of Seoul would have been borderline unbearable. The two of us have since become pretty much inseparable.

Finishing the scarf made me late to meet Jo-anna and Sanghun, but they were amazing hosts despite my poor first impression. In addition to wining and dining me, they gave me the heads-up that I would see dog meat at the local market the next day. I'm glad I knew what it was so I could hurry past it rather than pausing to examine it more closely.

A fishy section of the market.

Thanks to a kind Korean woman in a mall who took the time to walk out to the street with me and point me in the right direction, I found the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Though the huge convention hall is still under construction, there's an open museum, a memorial for the stadium that used to stand on the site, and an art gallery. When I entered the gallery the woman gave me the informational brochure about the current display, then said in very clear English, "I have something for you." I was so flattered and excited! It was like my mom had sent a card to that very gallery and I'd finally arrived to retrieve it. Turns out it was a paper model kit of the Seoul Tower that she pulled from a box of dozens, but still, this one was just for me!

Back to wandering another market, pajeon being fried up left and right caught my eye, so I took a seat on a heated bench next to a middle-aged Korean businessman eating one. He helped me to see that I could get a lady-sized version for less money, and he politely passed me some chopsticks and the kimchi. I thought he would share some of his rice wine with me, but that entire bottle had his name on it (at 2 p.m.).

I followed the stream that runs through Seoul westward to an area with lots of palaces and the Office of the President. Near his office was a very informative museum about all things Seoul-related. It had lots of high-tech interactive displays and even a green screen situation where my scarf and I could get our picture taken with President Lee Myung-bak and the First Lady! A museum employee offered to help me, but I was able to crank out these two prize snapshots all by myself, and even instantly email them to myself.

In need of some professional grooming, I later found my way to the White Skin Beauty Salon, a place whose brochure promised I could "Have the 'Just done' Beauty Look Every Single Day!" For about $8.98, the esthetician skillfully tamed my neglected eyebrows. I guess it's not technically a nice thing she did for me since I paid her, but anyone who can beat into submission the unruly beasts that are my brows is a good deed-doer. I felt so guilty not tipping, but so it goes in Korea.

And at long last I was reunited again with my Minnesota friend, Jaclynn. We had a great dinner of seafood soup and caught up, then had an extravagant Sunday morning brunch - something I hadn't realized I miss so much. Miso soup, a variety of pastries, yogurt, tangerines, apples, peanut butter and green tea - quite the spread in bed (no dining table at her place). She even gave me a plastic bag of peanut butter to take home, possibly the best of all the good deeds of the vacation.

Almost ready.

Gone.

Other bits:

• Tried "doctor fish" at a cafe: You plunge your feet & calves into a tank with hungry fish - they're supposed to eat off the dead skin on your feet. Just tickled, wasn't so effective.
• Ate a peanut butter cupcake at a tiny cafe recommended in Lonely Planet. It was delicious AND they were playing Iron & Wine.
• Saw everything from centuries-old ceramics to a Warhol to a special exhibition by Sophie Calle at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. 
• Enjoyed every last bit of a serving of truffled sake infused mac & cheese at a posh restaurant near the Leeum. In a land where American cheese is used liberally, Gruyère and Parmesan were welcome departures from the norm.
• Missed belly dancing class, but stumbled upon a martyr museum instead. 
• Went hiking 100 meters into a national park, then had to wait for part of the group to catch up, then just ended up walking through a posh neighborhood and having lunch at a temple. 
• Attended a professional basketball game - kind of felt like a college game, but the players were even punier than college players I've seen.