Getting the Hang of this Teaching Thing

Before I begin, I must give a big shout out to all the teachers. I knew before coming to Korea that teachers put in a lot of hard work, but I didn't realize just how much. I feel that just within the last two months, I have gained so much more confidence and patience with myself and others. Not to mention a new love for kids :) I NEVER thought in a million years I'd be working with kids. When I first told my close friends and family that I was coming to Korea to teach kids, they immediately questioned me. But, when you have faces like these, how can you NOT love your job?

Chris and Edward

September was a pretty intense month for me. At the end of August, the Elementary students took their "Big Assessment" tests. This is a test given every two months to each class. It's a test on reading, comprehension and some grammar. Well this was my first time around giving this test. Luckily, I do not have to make the complete tests, but I do have to grade them. It's not a hard job, but it's very time consuming and sometimes comical. I remember one question from my student's test.

"Question: Scientists learn from their mistakes. What does that mean?

 Answer per my students: Scientists learn from their mistakes"

Not only was I introduced to the "Big Assessment" tests, but I also had to plan my first lesson plan for the month. Come to find out this wasn't all that difficult once I got the hang of it. I already have to make a weekly lesson plan for my kinder classes, so I already knew the gist of it.


While we're on the subject of my Elementary students, I will say they can be a bit of a handful at times. They like to goof around and talk in Korean at times. I only know a few words, like "fart". So I like to call them out for it when they say it. Silly kids think they can fool Jenn Teacher? I don't think so ;)

I feel the kids have adapted well to me for the most part. They know our routine and have gotten much better with listening. I'm extremely proud of my Elmo class! These are the 5 (Korean) / 4 (US) year olds. They're beginning to write and even sound out words. Sevin, the little girl we have coined the "badass" because she likes to bully the older kids, has always excelled in reading. But, Ethan and Isaac are coming along. Although, Isaac still thinks that "L-I-O-N" spells hamburger. Progress people, progress!!


Ethan has been voted my absolute favorite student. He showers me with hugs everyday and anytime I wear a colorful dress or scarf he says "Jenn Teacha bery bery prettyyy". He's already learning the art of brown nosing. What a smart, smart boy!

Ethan :)

At the end of October, each kinder class has to perform a song for a speech contest. This month I have Tweety class. I chose the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". I already told my co-teachers the competition is on. Jenn Teacher and Tweety class will be bringing the best darn dance moves that ILS has ever seen! Not to mention I have Judy, aka "Judy wit da booty", in my class. That girl can get down! She was named this by co-teacher and it's stuck ever since. 


I know you're probably thinking, well her job doesn't sound too difficult. And to be honest, it has it's days. I mean how can you really complain about a job where you get to snuggle with the cutest 5-year olds, color, dance and help the world by teaching children the difference between "their", "they're", "your" and "you're?"

Korean Food 101

Before coming to Korea, I was very nervous thinking I would not be able to eat because my chopstick skills were way under par. I could barely pick up a sushi roll for goodness sakes! Since coming here, I think I've done rather well. After several embarrassing incidents of dropping my chopsticks in the fire at Korean BBQs, I'm happy to say that I can now eat just about anything including rice, noodles and soup.

Since we're on the subject of food, I thought I'd educate everyone on some food that I have been introduced to. Now to begin I must confess, I have eaten more fried chicken while being here in SoKo than I have ever back home. Funny to think, right? Usually when you think of fried chicken, you think of the South. I'm not sure what the fascination is with it, but I almost feel as though the Koreans have embraced this more than the South back in the States. I have found there to be at least one fried chicken place on every block. I'm still trying to figure out how the Koreans stay so skinny.

A fried chicken place near my house

Thanks to one of my coworkers, it wasn't until recently that I was able to try some new Korean cuisine and I must say it was pretty darn good. I tried an assortment of foods and by far my favorite is kimbap. (I know, I know.  It sounds like a Hanson song. haha)

Kimbap (김밥), or gimbap, is basically rice, some vegetables and meat wrapped in seaweed. Many people will compare this to a sushi roll. Kim (깁) means seaweed and bap (밥) means rice. It usually contains eggs, tuna, or beef, and vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, or spinach. It's also very inexpensive. The cost of a roll will run you about 1000-2500 won, which is $1-$2.

Kimbap (김밥)

The next dish I tried was bibimbap. This dish was so amazing! Bibimbap ("mixed rice") is a rice dish that is accompanied by cooked and fresh vegetables, a sunny side up egg, and beef (you can substitute chicken or any other meat). Some varieties are served in a sizzling hot stone bowl, with a cracked egg on top. This is so the egg can cook while in the bowl. I unfortunately haven't had a chance to try this kind yet.

Bibimbap

Below is a picture of kimchi jjigae. This dish was recommended to me by Lauren, the teacher who I had replaced. She said that it was a good cure for a cold. Kimchi jiggae is a stew-like Korean dish made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, and diced tofu. It's usually served boiling inside a hot sizzling bowl. It's a very good dish, but is also very spicy.

Kimchi jiggae

Another kind of Korean cuisine I recently tried was dak galbi.This dish hands down has one my vote for my favorite Korean dish. It's a little on the spicy side, but oh so amazing! Dak galbi is made by stir-frying marinated diced chicken in a chili pepper paste based sauce, and sliced cabbage, scallions, onions and tteok (rice cake) together on a hot plate. Just like Korean BBQ, everything is served family style. There's a giant wok placed in front of you and your party where you can watch it cook. It's a super yummy dish!

Dak galbi

As I try more food, I'll be sure to keep you all posted. A lot of people have been asking me, "how do the prices compare to those in the States"? Well it all really depends on the type of cuisine you are eating. All of these dishes posted above are all relatively inexpensive. You can get a full meal for about 5000-10,000 won. Now the prices fluctuate a lot when is comes to Mexican or Italian. A good Mexican meal will cost you anywhere's from 11,500-25,000 won. And to top it off, it's not as good as the Mexican back home. I certainly miss La Herradura :(

Chuseok Weekend

This past weekend was Chuseok. It's pronounced as "chew-sock" for anyone wondering. This holiday is where families travel back to their home towns to be with family and to pay their respects to their ancestors. It's basically their Thanksgiving. Well, thanks to this holiday I had a  full 5 days of play. So to celebrate I decided do some sightseeing.

My school celebrated Chuseok on Thursday with traditional festivities. Each student wore a Hanbok, or a traditonal Korean garment. They were all so cute! Also, each class made Songpyeons. Songpyeons are a traditional Korean food that are half-moon-shaped rice cakes stuffed with either beans or a sweet filling, then steamed. They are actually very good! My co-teacher, Rafaela Teacher, explained to me a myth that if you're pregnant while making the songpyeons you will have a healthy girl on the way.

Songpyeons

That same night I attended a teachers dinner at a Korean BBQ near my work. All the Korean and Native teachers attended as a farewell party to one of my co-workers and my welcoming. It was really great to be out with my Korean co-teachers and learn a little more about Korean culture.

For the Chuseok weekend Everland, an amusement park, and Caribbean Bay, a water park, had half-off ticket prices for foreign residents. Yippee! I jumped on the chance to go to at least one park. So on Sunday, I went to Caribbean Bay. It was a pretty decent sized water park and considering the holiday, it was pretty dead. Making lines non-existent and our visit even more enjoyable.

On Monday I met up with a group of friends and went to the Korean Folk Village. It's a living museum with replicas of traditional houses of the different social classes. It was such an experience. It's rather big so if anyone ever goes to visit, be sure to allot a whole day. We spent almost seven hours there. They had traditional Korean food, along with traditional Korean folk dancing and music.

One of my favorite attractions was the wishing tree which is were one can write a wish on a piece of paper and tie them to a tree that would later be burned.

Another attraction I liked was the totem pols. People would place these totem pols at the entry of their village or a building. They were used a tutelary gods to defend their town from disease or disaster.

For weeks I have been craving Western style breakfast but have hard a time getting my hands on any since most of the breakfast places are located closer to Seoul. On Tuesday I went to Butterfinger Pancakes in Jeongja to surprise one my co-workers for her Birthday. I cannot begin to tell you how blissful my meal was. They had any kind of breakfast food imaginable along with some amazing mac & cheese. 

Afterwards, we headed to see the LG Twins vs Doosan Bears game. These are generally big games since both teams share the same home stadium.

Overall this past weekend was one of the best weekends I have had so far in Korea. I spent it with good company and got to see a lot more of what I came here to Korea to see. Last night was by far one of the most exciting things I have encountered. While in the taxi on the way home from the bar, the taxi driver had me sing along to "Like a Virgin" with him. Madonna is such a legend no matter what country you're in.

I unfortunately have to head back to work tomorrow. I'm actually kind of excited to get back and see my little babies. I kind of miss them :(