I would have never believed that in August 2010 I'd be living in Seoul--alone. I'd also realllly never have guessed that I'd be teaching myself Korean.
Learning a new language is such a 알름다운 (beautiful) experience. I'm eager to try to read every sign that I see- it's like a whole new world is opening up to me. What once looked like beautiful art is now becoming words. Yes, it is a 어려운 (difficult) task, but it's worth every bit of effort. For having spent such a short period of time here and having no Korean teacher I am quite 만족스러운 (pleased) with my progress.
It's amazing what a 긍정적인 (positive) mindset can do for a person!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
사랑
My students are obsessed with asking me if I have a boyfriend. Daily I have to go through the questioning and explaining.
"No teacher does NOT have a boyfriend"
"Yes, I think you have"
"No I do not have"
"Why you no have??? You are very pretty"
So finally today I took it upon myself to learn the phrase to answer their questions: 우리 헤허졌어 "Uri heeojyeosseo" -- 'We split up'. Funny enough my favorite student replied "Yes I know, he lives in England" LOL. I asked him how he knew that and he said that he asked me on the first day and I told him that. Made me giggle that he remembered... this is why he's my favorite!
Of course the questions then came as to why I don't have a new boyfriend to which I replied 복삽해요-- complicated. How do you explain the perils of relationships to 11 year olds?? You don't. All of these kids still have parents that are married, and it seems that they all think their families are perfect. They always write papers about how nice their dads are and how they play with them and what great cooks their stay-at-home moms are. It really is so sweet. Who am I to tell them that the real world is a little more complex than that and that some people remain single for a very long time?! Instead I explained that I'm very happy to not have a boyfriend as it allows me time to myself to do the things I want, like coming to Korea :)
Have to admit though, one of the first words I wanted to learn was love (사랑). Beneath the layers of reinforced walls and armor, I'm a hopeless romantic at heart :)
"No teacher does NOT have a boyfriend"
"Yes, I think you have"
"No I do not have"
"Why you no have??? You are very pretty"
So finally today I took it upon myself to learn the phrase to answer their questions: 우리 헤허졌어 "Uri heeojyeosseo" -- 'We split up'. Funny enough my favorite student replied "Yes I know, he lives in England" LOL. I asked him how he knew that and he said that he asked me on the first day and I told him that. Made me giggle that he remembered... this is why he's my favorite!
Of course the questions then came as to why I don't have a new boyfriend to which I replied 복삽해요-- complicated. How do you explain the perils of relationships to 11 year olds?? You don't. All of these kids still have parents that are married, and it seems that they all think their families are perfect. They always write papers about how nice their dads are and how they play with them and what great cooks their stay-at-home moms are. It really is so sweet. Who am I to tell them that the real world is a little more complex than that and that some people remain single for a very long time?! Instead I explained that I'm very happy to not have a boyfriend as it allows me time to myself to do the things I want, like coming to Korea :)
Have to admit though, one of the first words I wanted to learn was love (사랑). Beneath the layers of reinforced walls and armor, I'm a hopeless romantic at heart :)
Monday, August 9, 2010
난 슬퍼요 (I am sad)
I can't believe the halfway mark has come and gone. There were times when a month in a foreign country seemed daunting, and now I'm wishing I had far more than two weeks remaining. Spent yesterday in bed feeling absolutely exhausted and ill. I was so upset as I only have one more Sunday left. The following week I fly out on Sunday so will not have that day to enjoy the city :(
One of my students gave me this in class wishing me a speedy recovery. I thought it was the sweetest thing!
One of my students gave me this in class wishing me a speedy recovery. I thought it was the sweetest thing!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
If You Wanna Learn Somethin Bring Your Mother
Last night I decided to treat myself to a couple sojutinis and hang out with the boys for a bit. I was back home by 7 and as I came in I saw Amber and some of the Korean guys from our building in the main kitchen. I went over to join them for a quick chat... which turned into more sojutinis (the Korean guys laugh hysterically at this word as apparently no one here says it) and an impromtu Korean session. It was really quite fun. I wrote my name in Korean for them and they were shocked that I knew how to do so. Then I asked them their names and proceeded to write both of them as well-- they gasped and laughed and said it was very good which obviously made me smile too :) I then proceeded to write any other words that they said-- asking for help on certain letters. It was a fun exercise and made me feel like my night of studying the alphabet had been worth it. Definitely also wrote "love sojutinis forever" in Korean just for fun, haha.
Today I wrote a couple of Korean words on the board and my students loved it as well. I wish that I could take these kids home to tutor me at night! They're so sweet when teaching me new words. It's a nice exercise to do during break as it allows them to be the teacher and me to be the student.
It's funny, in life the line is blurred as to where the learning ends and teaching begins. I like to think we are all forever learning and forever evolving, and if we're lucky enough forever teaching.
Today I wrote a couple of Korean words on the board and my students loved it as well. I wish that I could take these kids home to tutor me at night! They're so sweet when teaching me new words. It's a nice exercise to do during break as it allows them to be the teacher and me to be the student.
It's funny, in life the line is blurred as to where the learning ends and teaching begins. I like to think we are all forever learning and forever evolving, and if we're lucky enough forever teaching.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Sojutini Anyone?!
Two hours of grocery shopping, 20 minutes of carrying the world's heaviest box, and a potentially disastrous cab ride later I mixed up quite possibly the tastiest drink I've had while in South Korea... the mango sojutini. Will definitely be drinking some more of these stateside :)
Also I have to say that a sojutini is the perfect companion while studying the Korean alphabet. Made me feel slightly less dorky for being locked up studying while the others were out playing.
Will definitely be joining the others for the Wednesday night festivities. This girl needs a little break from dorkin it up. Teaching during the day and learning at night can be quite taxing. Especially when all my learning is self taught!
The teacher, I like to think, is more important than what she teaches.
Also I have to say that a sojutini is the perfect companion while studying the Korean alphabet. Made me feel slightly less dorky for being locked up studying while the others were out playing.
Will definitely be joining the others for the Wednesday night festivities. This girl needs a little break from dorkin it up. Teaching during the day and learning at night can be quite taxing. Especially when all my learning is self taught!
The teacher, I like to think, is more important than what she teaches.
A Day In The Life of an English Teacher
All the girls in my science class were absent and I had so much fun with the boys. I taught them to say 'yo', 'worrrrrrrd', and 'what it do' :) They are soooooooo cute! I taught them to lean their head back when they say yo, and seriously everytime one of them does it to me in the hall I just die. Cutest kids alive, seriously!!! When I wrote "what it do" on the board, one of my students asked "do you mean 'what does IT do?" LOL I had to explain that even though it makes no sense to say it, people will understand what it means.
In other news, several students in my class find the work to be too difficult, yet none of them seem to move down a level. Apparently this is because no parents want to admit that their child needs to be 'demoted'. You know the whole 'the customer is always right' thing, well here the Korean parents are the customers. What they say goes, even if it is detrimental to their child academically.
Today I had my first parent-teacher conference... think it went surprisingly well. The manager of the school is quite pleased as I convinced the father to allow his son to return to the program-- he was concerned that it was too difficult (finally a parent who is concerned in the right direction!). Yaaay for talking to the dad rather than the mom, men typically seem easier to deal with.
In other news, several students in my class find the work to be too difficult, yet none of them seem to move down a level. Apparently this is because no parents want to admit that their child needs to be 'demoted'. You know the whole 'the customer is always right' thing, well here the Korean parents are the customers. What they say goes, even if it is detrimental to their child academically.
Today I had my first parent-teacher conference... think it went surprisingly well. The manager of the school is quite pleased as I convinced the father to allow his son to return to the program-- he was concerned that it was too difficult (finally a parent who is concerned in the right direction!). Yaaay for talking to the dad rather than the mom, men typically seem easier to deal with.
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